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City Council Recaps | Dec. 3, 2024

by | Dec 4, 2024 | Politics

Opelika Council recognizes OHS football team

BY MICHELLE KEY
EDITOR@OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

OPELIKA — The Opelika Pickleball Club presented the city of Opelika with a check for $100,000 during the Dec. 3 city council meeting.
Also during the meeting Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller and the council members recognized the 2024 Opelika High School football team and coaches as well as the firefighters, police officers and Dispatcher of the Year honorees that were announced at the Second Annual Valor Awards dinner in November.

IN OTHER BUSINESS

  • The council held a public hearing regarding the vacation of a portion of the right-of-way of S. 6th Street and later voted to approve the action.
  • The council held a public hearing regarding the amending of the Zoning Ordinance & Map to rezone a 10,890 square-foot lot located at 1001 1st Ave. from C-3, GC-S to C-1, GC-S and then later introduced the ordinance for its first reading.
  • The council approved a request for a downtown street closure for Christmas in a Railroad Town on Dec. 13. The council also approved a special appropriation of $1,250 to Opelika Main Street for the event.
  • The council approved expense reports from various departments.
  • The council approved the purchase of 624 Toter 96-gallon EVR II Universal/Nestable Carts for the amount of $37,605 using the Sourcewell Contract No. 041521-TOT.
  • The council approved the purchase of one Marathon RJ-250 self-contained 30 cubic yard compactor for just over $45,000 using the Sourcewell Contract No. 040621-MEC.
  • The council approved the purchase of audio-visual system updates from The ESB Group Inc. for the training room and courtroom. The cost of the updated system is just under $157,000.
  • The council voted to accept a sanitary sewer easement from Delta Development Group LLC.
  • The council approved a professional services agreement with Harmon Engineering for the design of the Gwin Mill Drive extension to Calhoun Drive. The estimated compensation due to Harmon under the Agreement will be between $85,000 and $100,000 and shall come from the 2025 budget for roadway construction funds.
  • The council approved the reappointment of Harold W. Morris to serve as public defender.
  • The council approved the reappointment of John Wesley McCollum, Jr. as municipal court judge.
  • The council approved an annual appropriation contract in the amount of $15,000 with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
  • The council introduced an ordinance to approve an annexation petition by Moore’s Construction LLC for the annexation of six acres located at 448 Lee Road 174 (Albright Road) for its first reading.
  • The council introduced an ordinance that would approve the first amendment to a lease agreement with the Opelika Chamber of Commerce for its first reading then voted to suspend the rules and passed the motion to approve the ordinance during the meeting.

Auburn Council denies townhome development application

BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER

AUBURN — The Auburn City Council on Tuesday night unanimously denied a conditional use application to build a multi-unit townhome development after neighborhood residents voiced overwhelming opposition to the project. Those objections included concerns about maintaining community character, loss of vegetation and decreased property values, among other issues.
The Planning Commission originally recommended approving the conditional use by a vote of 4 to 3 at its Nov. 14 meeting. The proposed development, which is located at the end of Cherokee Road, would build eight townhomes in a subdivision that is currently nothing but single-family homes.
Ward 2 Council Member Kelley Griswold, who represents the area that includes the proposed development, said he opposed the proposal as is.
“I feel badly about the potential loss of the woods and the vegetation and whatnot, but I’m going to have to go along with the desires of the community, of the 23 citizens I’ve heard from,” Griswold said. “I feel strongly that my role is to support the desires of my constituents.”
While most citizens’ comments at Tuesday’s meeting addressed vegetation loss, the property’s poor drainage and maintaining the neighborhood’s character, others brought up concerns about how the proposal made its way before the council.
Brad Prater, whose property sits next to the property, said a letter he received clearly identified the proposal as a townhouse development while documents released at the Planning Commission meeting characterized it as a multi-unit development. He added that the city’s zoning ordinance makes a clear distinction between those two types of developments.
“At best this is an administrative oversight that should require readvertisement and rehearing at the Planning Commission level, and at worst this is a bait-and-switch tactic,” Prater said. “During the Planning Commission meeting video, you hear staff say that at this point you wouldn’t know if this was going to subdivide or not, which is incorrect.”
However, not every neighborhood resident opposed the townhome development.
Fellow neighborhood resident Sarah Collins, who has advocated for more affordable housing in the city at past city council meetings, offered a different perspective on the proposed development.
“I think I can speak for our neighbors in saying that we wish that it weren’t being developed, but because it is going to be developed, I actually support town homes going into this area. It is a quiet neighborhood. These [townhomes] go at the back of that neighborhood and give an opportunity for folks to join in this quiet community and allow a little gentle density to go in as well,” Collins said. “It provides more sustainable options to people, both from an environmental standpoint and a financial standpoint.”
Blake Rice, who is the vice president Barrett-Simpson Engineering and represented the developer at Tuesday’s meeting, told the council there is an alternative proposal that would build five or six single-family homes instead of the eight townhouses.
The developer can now go through the same process to apply for conditional use to build those single-family homes.
The council also addressed several other items of business:

  • The council approved a $74,480 contract with Bodine’s Landscape Services for landscape maintenance services on various islands and medians located throughout the city.
  • The council approved a three-year, $47,952 contract with CuraLinc for the city’s employee assistance program.
  • The council approved a lease agreement with Hacker Properties that allows the company to build a stairway and covered patio intended for outdoor dining at 160 N. College St. That agreement has an initial 10-year term, with five one-year renewal options for a potential total lease term of 15 years.
  • The council approved a $95,586 contract with Stivers Ford Lincoln to purchase two 2025 Ford F-150 Supercrew pickup trucks for the Environmental Services Department.
  • The council approved a $85,554 contract with Stivers Ford Lincoln to purchase two 2025 Ford F-150 pickup trucks for the Police Department.
  • The council approved a three-year, $169,992 contract with UKG Kronos Systems for time and attendance software.
  • The council approved a $48,449 contract with Wastequip to purchase 40 eight-cubic-yard front load containers.
  • The council unanimously voted to reappoint Elliott MacIsaac to the Public Park and Recreation Board. His six-year term begins on Dec. 19 and ends on Dec. 18, 2030.
  • The council approved an amendment to the city code that updated the floodplain development ordinance to be compliant with new state floodplain ordinance.
  • The council approved an agreement with Cleveland Brothers to vacate a utility easement located at 1287 Ogletree Road.