Member of the Alabama

MADISON – Parents getting their kids ready for the new school year will have the opportunity to save on supplies this weekend. The Back to School Sales Tax Holiday will be from 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 21 through midnight on Sunday, July 23.

Only certain items, such as school supplies, computers and clothing are eligible to be sold without state sales tax. Clothing must be less than $100 per item to be exempt. Computers, tablets and print-

Diapers, robes, gloves and underwear are also eligible.

Some local municipalities are participating and removing local sales tax.

“The sales tax holiday offers parents a way to save on back-to-school needs,” said Alabama Retail Association President Rick Brown. “Saving money for consumers while stimulating sales for stores is what this weekend is all about.” Go to www.revenue.alabama.gov or a full list of the tax-exempt items.

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Celebrate

Continued from page 1A way that highlights their selfless contributions is truly our pleasure.”

Mayor Paul Finley acknowledged the great influence military families have had on Madison, “The Madison community is built upon the regional military influence in our area. We thank our Veterans, Active Duty service men and women, and the Gold Star families for their sacrifice. We also thank Signalink for their sponsorship of the Celebrate Madison event, making this recognition possible. It is an honor for these military families, who have lived in many cities across the world, to call Madison home.”

Eligible families may be active duty,

Map Continued from page 1A cil chambers at Madison City Hall, 100 Hughes Road.

At a public meeting held nearly two years ago, on September 27, 2021, the city’s consultants presented data showing that redistricting is warranted. According to a statement released by the city, Madison follows a five-step process in reviewing and implementing redistricting.

Residents are invited and encouraged to participate in the following public meetings. All of the meetings will be held at city hall.

Public Hearing – Aug. 14

Council adoption – Sept. 11

In other business at Monday’s city council meeting:

Councilwoman Karen Denzine announced the Madison Police Department was recently honored with a re-accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). Madison Police became one of only seven police departments in the state of Alabama to receive the sought-after accreditation in 2019, which requires renewal every few years. Renewal for Madison came up this year and included an assessment by CALEA. The review yielded a “perfect assessment” based on a total of one-hundred eighty-eight factors including public feedback, internal budget management, and 911 response.

“The assessors concluded that the Madison Police Department was in full compliance with a hundred eighty-three of the CALEA standards with no issues, waivers, or other issues,” Denzine read from the report. She extended her congratulations to the police department for their excellent work and deserved recognition.

Dr. Bao

Continued from page 1A been a faculty member there since 2001.

Throughout his tenure at UAH, he has taken on various administrative roles, including Associate Dean of the College of Business, Associate Dean for Graduate School and International Services, and currently serves as the Chair for the Department of Management and Marketing. According to a press release from the city, the committee strives to promote dia- retired, or a Gold Star Family that live within the Madison city limits. The families selected will be recognized on the field and presented with a special plaque in the opening ceremonies of the event. Nominations can be submitted until Monday, July 31, by filling out a form on the Madison Chamber of Commerce website, www.madisonalchamber.com.

Celebrate Madison is hosted by the Madison Chamber of Commerce with the support of presenting sponsor Meta, the City of Madison, and a committee of local businesses.

Celebrate Madison is free to all Madison residents, and gates open at 6 pm.

Two new city business licenses were introduced at Monday’s meeting: “Liquor Manufacturer” and “Media Streaming Distribution”. According to Deputy Revenue Officer Ivon Williams, the licenses are a response to large growth in the area in these types of businesses. The Media Streaming Distribution license would require persons and businesses receiving revenue from online content creation, specifically through the podcast medium, to apply to the city for and hold a license.

Monday’s introduction of the licenses was a “first reading”. The proposals will be voted on at the next city council meeting on July 24. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and is held in the council chambers at Madison City Hall.

Other financial items addressed include the following:

• Payment of $103,838.14 to Midsouth Paving, Inc. for work on Hughes Road at Will Halsey Way

• Issue bids for construction of ADA sidewalk ramps in the Homeplace Subdivision

• Change Order No. 2 on contract AECOM Technical services, Inc. for the City of Madison Interchange at a cost of $259,751.80 from the 2022 Flyover Bond Issue

• First Reading for Franchise Agreement with new-to-town Crown Castle Fiber, LLC for small cell placement and installation of fiber lines

• Franchise Agreement with Knology of Huntsville, Inc that would allow usage of city easements and right-of-way for the operation and maintenance of a cable and broadband system within the City of Madison logue between the police department and the community at large. Monthly meetings cover educational topics on public safety and advocate for positive relationships between local law enforcement and those they serve. They are open to the public.

Places for seats 2, 4, 6 and the mayor’s appointment will expire soon

For more, go to www.madisonal.gov.

19 Front Street

Chad and Shay Lemond treasure their ‘Jewel of Downtown’

By GREGG PARKER gregg@themadisonrecord.com

MADISON - During their first fall in Madison, Chad and Shay Lemond were walking downtown at the Madison Street Festival when the house at 19 Front Street caught their eye.

“Wouldn’t that be a wonderful house to live in?” Shay asked Chad. When the property came on the market, the Lemonds viewed it, but a year transpired before they bought the house.

“Downtown Madison is filled with many historic homes. At 19 Front Street stands one of the most impressive,” Madison historian John P. Rankin said. “In 1860, the land where the house was built was initially purchased by Madison Station railroad agent, Dr. William B. Dunn, from Madison’s founder, James Clemens.”

Dunn built a small, one-story house where he lived until 1888 when his niece sold the property with other lots for $1,000. In 1889, Dunn purchased adjacent lots during an estate auction for the deceased Clemens. Dunn’s ‘house’ still exists as the western back wing in the current multi-story house, Rankin said.

The Front Street house is the first historic home for the Lemonds. However, Shay was renting a historic home’s apartment in Savannah, Georgia when they met, and they have lived in vintage apartments during their tours in Europe.

“We love all the unique characteristics and charm that comes with older homes versus what you find in modern-built homes,” Shay said. “19 Front Street is the jewel of downtown Madison with the double balcony, curved porch and just the history that comes with the place. We immediately were drawn to the property.”

Eventually, James Edward Williams bought the house for $1,000 in 1904 and expanded it to multiple stories. He also raised ‘Dunn’s house,’ turned it to face west instead of south and moved it slightly north to allow for expansion.

Currently, the Lemonds’ house has approximately 5,000 square feet in two stories, a walk-up attic and nine fireplaces (one is functional). The first floor has the kitchen, living room, parlor, laundry room and primary bedroom/bath. On the second floor, the Lemonds use two of four bedrooms for a game room and Shay’s office/sewing room. Chad uses an enclosed sleeping porch as his office.

The house’s exterior has traditional clapboard siding with brick chimneys. Two large wraparound porches span the house’s front. A small side porch acts as the main entrance to the building’s oldest section.

A back porch is scheduled for rebuilding.

“We enjoy living in our home and want it to be comfortable and welcoming. I used a lot of the colors in the house from

Benjamin Moore, three from the same swatch: living room, ‘Beach Glass’; owner’s suite bedroom, ‘Quiet Moments’ and bath in customized lighter adaptation of ‘Quiet Moments’; and an upstairs bathroom, ‘Healing Aloe.’ The entry foyer and upstairs halls use a soft, neutral creamy white.

“The house had been updated in 2010. I really liked the French white cabinets and a huge copper sink. I decided to get a copper hood for the stove to bring in more of an Old World feel to the room and changed the backsplash to a marble and glass tile,” Shay said. “We lived in France for three years, and I love a nod to French country in the space.”

Most rooms have handsome heart-of-pine floors.

When James Williams owned the house, he farmed cotton, raised livestock and ran a sawmill. His general mercantile store sat at Wise and Main streets. Williams owned a livery and sold farm implements.

Investing in the future, Williams started Madison Telephone Company in 1919 . . . many years before most Southern towns had telephones. “This wise and brilliant Madison resident became one of the wealthiest and most prominent men of his days in the town where he started as a sharecropper,” Rankin said.

Chad’s favorite, nostalgic features are the fireplaces. “A real link to what the original builders wanted, as far as design based on style of the wood, paint and tile in something both functional and necessary. We occasionally will find small pieces of coal outside, reminding us of what the fireplaces burned.”

Shay’s most cherished antique sits in the front parlor.

“We have moved all over with the Army and have collected many things. One of our first antiques is a small Korean rice chest that now sits in the front parlor,” she said.

The family room/kitchen is Chad’s favorite place in the house “It’s where we spend most of our time. Shay designed these rooms with the intent that it would be very comfortable and homey,” Chad said.

“This may seem strange, but I love the hall guest bathroom. When we bought the house, it had gold-and-red tile in the shower. “I wasn’t going to redo the tile and wanted to really bring it out while (giving a) nod to the history of the time period when the house was built,” Shay said.

Shay spent hours searching for wallpaper. She chose a William Morris paper, with designs dating back to the mid-1800s, called “Pimpernel in Brick and Olive.” “I just love the bold colors, design and how you might have found a wallpaper like this when the home was built,” Shay said.

She chose pieces in chinoiserie style, fashionable in the United States from the mid19th century through 1920s. She found the pieces locally: blackand-gold vanity mirror, Hartlex Antiques Gallery; rosewood chest and Japanese panels, Tammy Eddie Antiques; and small, red Chinese rice chest, Madison Antiques.

For the lawn, Shay is applying her gardening knowledge to reclaim neglected spaces. However, the Lemonds reluctantly had to cut several large trees that storms were threatening to uproot.

“I have a long-term plan to develop the grounds into different garden areas,” Shay said.

“I’m very influenced by Monet’s ‘Garden in Giverny’ and visited it many times when we lived in Paris. Monet planted his gardens to be painted.”

In their paintings, impressionist painters used color theory, which Monet implemented for garden plants. “I intend to try and do that with the garden here,” Shay said.

In addition, “a lovely saucer magnolia is absolutely stunning when in bloom.” Shay will add a trellis to showcase a climbing rose that’s quite old.

Originally from Otwell, Indiana, Chad moved to the Madison area in 2016 after retiring from the Army. “We moved to Madison in 2017 when Shay and my son joined me. I found work post-retirement after Shay encouraged me to look here based on what she had heard,” Chad said. He works in business development for Northrop Grumman.

“I’m from the greater Atlanta area and still have family there. Moving here put me closer to them,” Shay said. Shay is a real estate agent.

Their daughter Lily now lives in Madison after graduating from Auburn University in 2020. Their son Vaughn recently graduated from Middle Tennessee State University and still lives in Murfreesboro. What hobbies do the Lemonds enjoy? “Owning a historic home IS a hobby in itself,” Shay said.