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By WILLIAM MARLOW | Special to the Reporter

CHELSEA – The Chelsea City Council held a meeting on Tuesday, April 6, to address everything from education funding to upcoming development projects.

During the meeting, the City Council held a public hearing on whether to rezone Chelsea’s Business Park.  Currently, the park is classified under the city’s agricultural and residential district. The resolution would reclassify the 10.8-acre park, which is located at Foothills Place, as part of Chelsea’s general business district. The City Council passed the resolution unanimously.

In addition to zoning changes, the City Council passed a resolution approving a bid from Powell Builders, a construction company based in Pleasant Grove, for a road and utility project in the park.

The City Council also voted to expand the city of Chelsea by annexing two properties. One of the properties, located off Brasher Lane, spans down Shelby County 41 and comprises 40 acres. The City Council annexed the property from Highland Lakes Development, LLC.

“This makes Chelsea officially contiguous with Highland Lakes, which is one of our neighboring communities,” Mayor Tony Picklesimer said during the meeting Tuesday.

The second property that was annexed is located in Sterrett.

Altogether, the two properties would increase Chelsea’s city limits by nearly 45 acres.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the Chelsea City Council continued to focus on education. The City Council awarded a Nick Grant to Forest Oaks Elementary School. The school received an additional Nick grant last month along with four other Chelsea schools. In total, the City Council awarded nine Nick grants in March making this the 10th grant the City Council has awarded since that time.

Forest Oaks Elementary School principal Stevi Sims said she welcomed the opportunity to partner with the city of Chelsea and have the school become the most recent recipient of the grant.

With the grant, which totals $69,000, Sims said the school was able to purchase 55 ChromeBooks, two MacBook Pros, several iPads as well as interactive panels and whiteboards.

“We thank [Chelsea City Council] very much for the support and their continuing efforts in providing our students with the most engaging and fun learning experience that we could possibly provide them with,” Sims said.