CEDAR BLUFF —  In her second time around in the mayor's chair, lifelong Cedar Bluff resident Martha Baker said “the Lord only knows” why she decided to run for office again.

Still, she seems glad she did—at least so far—and is clearly excited about working with the members of the Town Council, a few of whom are greenhorns to local government as of the last election.

“We really have a great Council and we all work really well together,” Baker said. “Every administration has a different idea so we're still getting organized, but the town is doing fine.”

However, Baker said a few familiar problems—including a long-standing concern over road conditions—are still on the agenda at practically every Council meeting.

“Our greatest need, as everybody knows, is street repair,” she said. “We are working hard on getting some grant money that has been appropriated by the state.”

Baker said she and the Council are shooting for a $350,000 grant and have compiled a wish list of street repair projects throughout the town's five districts.

“Every road in town is bad, so you couldn't make a bad choice,” she said. “But we tried to reach out to every district and pick a road or two, so that every Council member would have a representation in any road repair, if we get the grant.”

Even if the money from Montgomery comes through, however, Baker cautioned that the resulting road project won't be extensive.

“We should be able to repair about two-and-a-half miles, altogether, which isn't much,” she said. “But we will take whatever we can get.”

Another sticky issue since Baker resumed office has been the relationship between the town and the Cedar Bluff Utility Board. The two have been waging a legal back-and-forth for months over how much authority the Council can exert over the Utility Board.

Utilities had fallen under the town's purview for decades until they were split into separate entities years ago following a federal investigation.

“There's no animosity but there is some concern,” Baker said. “I have asked for an attorney general's opinion about whether or not we can use a provision in the Alabama Code to expand the board from five members to seven.”

Baker said even though the Utility Board is comprised entirely of Cedar Bluff residents appointed by previous mayors and/or Council members, she worries about the stakes involved with a recent bond issue to fund sewage plant improvements.

“If for some reason they can't make their payments, financial responsibility ultimately falls back on the town,” Baker said. “My concern is that the town has no control over what happens at the Utility Board. If we are liable, we need to have a voice.”

Baker said she wonders if Utility Board members have the town's best interests at heart because it is her impression that they want “no partnership of any description” with the town.

“We don't know if [the Utility Board] is being run properly because we have no input,” Baker said.

On a more positive note, Baker said she looks forward to working with the Council to make future Liberty Day events “more exciting” for the thousands who come out every year for the town's day-long Independence Day celebration.

“We need to change things up a little bit,” Baker said. “Next year we're thinking about doing a concert in conjunction with Liberty Day, a big-name act.”

Baker acknowledged that there has been talk, since not long after alcohol sales became legal in the town a decade ago, about rescinding a resolution that regularly sends 20 percent of gross receipts to Cedar Bluff School.

“That's why most of the people voted for [alcohol sales],” Baker said of the annual allotment to the school, which typically totals several thousand dollars. “And I don't intend to ever take that away. That was the way the people voted.”