Odalys Silvera (second from the left) was honored by Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller (second from the right) and Lisa Thrift (far right) during Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
BY MICHELLE KEY
MICHELLE@OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM
OPELIKA —
The Opelika City Council and Mayor Gary Fuller issued two proclamations during Tuesday night’s city council meeting. The first proclamation was to recognize Odalys Silvera for her work as founder of Esperanza House. Silvera founded Esperanza House in 2015 to serve the Hispanic children and families in the Auburn-Opelika area. The Esperanza House serves those families by tutoring students, educating families, providing childcare and connecting them to resources in the community.
The second proclamation declares the week of April 3 through April 7, 2023, as “Character Week in Opelika,” and calls upon all citizens of Opelika to extend the hand of fellowship to their neighbors and unite in service to the community. The Character Council of Opelika, which was formed nearly 20 years ago, has been organized for promoting, developing and reinforcing a strong character environment in all aspects that touch the lives of Opelika’s citizens.
IN OTHER BUSINESS
• The council approved a request from the Auburn-Opelika Elks Lodge No.1834 doing business as Auburn-Opelika BPO Elks No. 1834 for a private club liquor license.
• The council approved a request from La Perla Escondida Restaurant LLC doing business as La Perla Escondida, for a restaurant retail liquor and retail beer on premise alcohol license.
• The council approved a request for a temporary street closure from Opelika Main Street for a Community Vintage Pop Up Market on May 6.
• The council approved a request for a temporary street closure for the Lee County Master Gardeners for Tour to be held on May 13.
• The council approved a request from Opelika Main Street for Touch-A-Truck and Burger Wars to be held on June 3.
• The council held a public hearing regarding the demolition of property located at 414 Ave. A. Following the hearing, the council approved the demolition of said property.
• The council held a public hearing on a proposed ordinance to amend the Zoning Ordinance and Map to rezone nearly 210 acres of land located in the 3200 block of Columbus Parkway to a planned unit development (PUD). The council later introduced the ordinance for its first reading. The PUD proposed would contain 600 housing units.
• The council also introduced an ordinance to approve the annexation petition by Rodney and Laurie Jones to annex nearly 210 acres of land off Columbus Parkway into the city limits for its first reading.
• The council approved the purchase of Holophane lighting for Opelika Power Services.
• The council approved the purchase of two 2023 Chevy Silverado 1500 trucks from Glynn Smith Chevrolet for the Opelika Fire Department for the amount of nearly $89,500.
• The council approved the purchase of 19 Siemens single-phase voltage regulators with SEL Control Panels for Opelika Power Services in the amount of nearly $95,000.
• The council approved the purchase of a circuit breaker for Substation 10 for Opelika Power Services for an amount just over $136,000.
• The council approved the purchase of a Datacenter Nutanix Hyperconverged-Cluster Server System for the IT Department for nearly $256,000.
• The council approved expense reports from various city departments.
• The council approved a contract with Moores Construction for crawlspace incapsulation and ventilation installation for the Southside Center of the Arts for the amount of $118,000.
• The council approved the purchase of additional Rubrik hardware and software to expand current system for the IT Department for an additional three-year period for just under $246,000.
• The council approved certain tax abatements and exemptions for Hanwha Advanced Materials America LLC. Hanwha is located at 4400 North Park Drive and its addition is expected to include a capital investment of approximately $20,275,000 and is expected to create 50 new jobs.
• The council voted to table a proposed ordinance that would restate and revise cemetery rules and regulations.
• The council voted to remove the request for the legislature of the state of Alabama to adopt a local bill from the agenda.
• The council approved a special appropriation from Ward 2 discretionary funds to provide food and drinks at a public event.
• The council voted to approve an employment contract for Patrick McCulloch as the training coordinator for the Opelika Police Department.
• The council voted to approve amending of Sections 14-326 and 327 of the City Code of Ordinances: Business License Code.
• The council introduced an ordinance to amend Sections 5.7-11,12,13 & 5.7-17 of the City Code of Ordinances: Prescribing Charges and Fees for Cemetery Lots and Services for its first reading.
• The council approved the appointment of Aaron Kovak to the Historic Preservation Commission for a term that will expire Aug. 19, 2025.
• The council approved the reappointment of Patsy Boyd Parker to the Board of Education for a term that will expire April 1, 2028.
• The council approved the reappointment of Virginia Graham to the East Alabama Mental Health Board for a term that will expire April 1, 2029.
