BY MICHELLE KEY
MICHELLE@
OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM
OPELIKA —
On Tuesday night, the Opelika City Council approved a request for a special use permit with Verizon Wireless at 600 Floral St. This resolution had been tabled during the Oct. 18 meeting and a motion to remove it from the table failed during the Nov. 1 meeting.
Ward 3 Council Member Tim Aja addressed the council and said, “I just want to thank everyone that has weighed in on this tower over the past few weeks on all sides of it. We received a lot of good information that truly made this a decision that came down to a few things in my particular opinion.”
Aja then listed the items that helped him make a decision on the matter.
“Number one … any safety concerns are outside our purview — our ability to deny the tower for safety concerns … would lead to us being sued for denying it for reasons that we cannot deny it for.
“Number two, in my opinion, it comes down to another thing. We’ve got areas that the tower can be in, and we can use the location that is presented for us or we can use three to four other locations for other towers to cover the same location. I have to vote for efficiency.”
The motion was approved with Ward Two Council Member Erica Baker Norris giving the lone “nay” vote.
PROCLAMATIONS
Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller issued a proclamation to Valerie and Mike Smith, owners of Southern Crossing, declaring Nov. 26, as Small Business Saturday.
CITIZENS COMMUNICATION
Mike Newman, former pastor of Pepperell Baptist Church spoke to the council regarding the church’s sign during citizens communication.
The church received a permit from the state of Alabama in January 1979 to erect a sign for the church. When Opelika enacted its own ordinance a few years later, and the church was told that while its sign did not meet the standards within the new ordinance, that the church’s sign would be grandfathered in as long as the church maintained the sign and kept it in good order.
When development on the property where the sign was located was started, workers damaged and ultimately tore down the sign.
Newman contacted Fuller for assistance in getting a sign reestablished.
“He [Fuller] was very cooperative and interested in helping, even volunteered to contact the owners [of the land] to get permission to re-erect a sign,” Newman said.
Fuller consulted Planning Commission Director Matt Mosley and the three visited the site together to get a better understanding of what is involved. Mosley concluded that since the sign had been taken down, it could not be put back up because of the city sign ordinance.
“He [Mosley] strictly interpreted the city’s ordinance without regard to prior circumstances and our grandfather rights, and it was his opinion that since the sign was down, no matter the cause, that it could not be put back,” Newman explained.
Newman asked the council why the church lost its right to be grandfathered in.
“Now my question for the council tonight, is how or why we lose our grandfather status when we had nothing to do with the sign coming down?” Newman asked. “We did everything that we were told to do to get the sign in place and intact as long as it was under our control. The sign has a lot of value to us, even in the electronic age.”
Newman said that visitors said they would visit the church because they saw the sign directing to the church. He explained that the permit with the state is still valid and is renewed every year.
“I am here tonight to ask for your help,” Newman concluded.
OTHER BUSINESS
– The council approved a temporary street closure for Opelika Main Street on Nov. 27 for a celebration for Rick Lane for First United Methodist Church of Opelika.
– The council approved a temporary street closure for the Younglife 5K event on Dec. 4.
– The council approved a weed abatement assessment for 915 York Ave., following a public hearing on the matter.
– The council approved the awarding of a bid to Mowery Elevator Co. for elevator maintenance service and repair for Opelika City Hall, the Opelika Sportsplex and Fire Dept. No. 1.
– The council approved the expense reports.
– The council approved that a doublewide trailer owned by the city is now considered surplus and can be disposed of.
– The council approved the purchase of two Grasshopper 329 B Mowers for the grounds department from the Omnia Partners Contract #22-6640 in the amount of a little over $22,400.
– The council approved the purchase of sports lighting for the Floral Park Soccer Fields from the Sourcewell Contract #071619-MSL for $219,000.
– The council appointed Harold W. Morris to serve as a public defender for the Opelika Municipal Court starting Jan. 1, 2023, following the retirement of the Honorable Joanne Camp from the position effective Dec. 31, 2022. Camp has served as a public defender for Opelika for almost 30 years.
City Attorney Guy Gunter said, “Joanne has vigorously represented people charged with crimes in Opelika City Court. That is a very difficult job because these people are often at a difficult place in their lives and city court is not a place people aspire to be. She will be greatly missed.”
– The council approved a professional services agreement with L.P. Campbell to have the company manage a grant in the amount of $210,000 received by the city of Opelika.
– The council approved a resolution agreement with NextRequest, LLC for records request maintenance software for IT.
– The council approved a resolution for a license agreement with Earl Dudley, LLC for a Continuously Operation Reference Station at city hall.
– The council approved a contract with Diversity Training Group, LLC for Diversity, Cultural Inclusion and Anti-Harassment Training for HR for $15,000.
– The council approved a contract with Sain Associates, LLC for intersections analysis and recommendations for $30,000.
– The council approved a proposal by Sain Associates Inc. to retime traffic signals for $48,000.
– The council approved a resolution to purchase CISCO Meraki cameras and hardware from CDW Government, LLC for over $389,000.
– The council authorized an engagement letter to Himmelwright, Huguleuy, & Boles LLC for the annual auditing services for the city.
– The council approved a request for approval of a special use permit with AT&T at 1315 Madison Ave.
– The council approved a request for approval of a special use permit with Verizon Wireless at 10 Veterans Parkway.
– The request regarding an annual appropriation contract FY2023 with Arts Association of East Alabama in the amount of $25,000 remained on the table. A meeting with the Arts Association is scheduled to be held before the first meeting in December.
– The council approved an annual appropriation contract for FY2023 with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County in the amount of $42,500.
– The council approved an annual appropriation contract for FY2023 with the East Alabama Healthcare Authority for a combined amount of just over $376,000.
– The council approved an annual appropriation contract for FY2023 with the Opelika Theater Company in the amount of $5,000.
– The council approved a special appropriation to Envision Opelika on behalf of Worthy Squared in the amount of $2,500.
– The council approved a request to table an ordinance to amend the Zoning Ordinance and Map in order to rezone 8.928 acres of land located at 1531 and 1617 1st Ave. from M-1 to a planned unit development (PUD).
– The council voted to suspend the rules to vote on an ordinance to set a date for a Special School Tax Election on Feb. 28, 2023. This election is to renew the school tax — not to vote on a new tax. The council then voted to approve the date of Feb. 28, 2023, for the election. Also, it is important to note that this will be the first election using the new districting map and voters need to make sure they know where their polling place is located.
The next council meeting will be Dec. 6.