Huntsville City Council Regular Meeting - November 10, 2022

The Huntsville City Council held its regular meeting on Thursday, November 10, 2022, at 5:30 PM in the City Council Chambers. Council President John Meredith presided, with Councilmembers Jennie Robinson, Bill Kling, and Devyn Keith present; Councilmember David Little was absent. The meeting began with an invocation by Reverend Don Darius Butler and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Ty Oswald, founder of Bearded Warriors. The agenda was approved with the deletion of item 23E and unanimous consent granted to introduce item 21A.

Consent Calendar

• Agenda and Minutes: The agenda was approved as amended. Minutes from the October 27, 2022 regular meeting were approved; Councilmember Kling abstained due to absence at that meeting.
• Unfinished Business: Ordinance 22-882 declaring certain property surplus and authorizing disposal via Managed Asset Recovery Services was approved.
• Finance Committee Expenditures: Resolution 22-901 authorizing payments totaling $14,342,696.02 was approved unanimously.
• New Business Consent Agenda: Items 20A through 20D, 20G, 20H, 20J, 20L through 20V, 20X, and 20Z through 20AB were approved in a single motion. These included travel expenses, donations, low bidder agreements, a license agreement with 5 Points Group LLC (Resolution 22-906), engineering services for Fern Bell Park (Resolution 22-910), a cooperative agreement with Alabama EMA for the FY2021 EMPG grant (Resolution 22-914), elevator maintenance at 178 Greene Street (Resolution 22-915), a FTA grant amendment (Resolution 22-916), workers' compensation settlements for J. Jesus Sanchez Vega, George Jones Jr., and Chass Shannon (Resolutions 22-917 through 22-919), invoking letters of credit for five subdivisions (Resolutions 22-920 through 22-924), a professional services modification with Nelson/Nygaard (Resolution 22-926), a court reporter agreement with Ileen Shoemaker (Resolution 22-928), a special employee agreement with Woody Maples (Resolution 22-929), and renewal of the Government Crime Policy with Zurich Insurance (Resolution 22-930).

Public Hearings Held

• 9A – Public Nuisance at 4801 Aubrey Cir. NW: A public hearing was held on a fire-damaged property. Community Development Director Scott Irwin reported the structure had a 100% loss rating. No public comments were received. The council unanimously approved Resolution 22-883 ordering abatement of the nuisance.
• 9B – Grass Liens: A public hearing was held on Resolution 22-884, authorizing assessment of costs for cutting overgrown grass/weeds on 74 properties. The total assessment was $23,540.75 (average $318.12 per property). Of the 74 properties, 40 were owned by non-local entities (25 out-of-state, 1 out-of-country). Councilmembers expressed concern about absentee landlords and requested exploring enhanced penalties. The resolution passed unanimously.

Public Hearings Set (All for December 15, 2022 Regular Council Meeting)

• 10A: Amending Air Pollution Control Rules and Regulations (Resolution 22-885, Ordinance 22-886).
• 10B: Zoning 1.16 acres on Old Big Cove Rd. to Residence 1-A District (Resolution 22-887, Ordinance 22-888).
• 10C: Zoning 5.47 acres on Wade Rd. to Highway Business C-4 District (Resolution 22-889, Ordinance 22-890).
• 10D: Rezoning 16.32 acres on Oakwood Ave. and Meridian St. from Light Industry to Residence 2 District (Resolution 22-891, Ordinance 22-892).
• 10E: Rezoning 10.47 acres on Swancott Rd. from Commercial Industrial Park to Highway Business C-4 District (Resolution 22-893, Ordinance 22-894).
• 10F: Rezoning 4.33 acres on Holmes Ave. from Residence 1-B to Neighborhood Business C-1 District (Resolution 22-895, Ordinance 22-896).
• 10G: Amending Front Yard regulations for lots on major streets (Resolution 22-897, Ordinance 22-898).
• 10H: Adding Article 77 – Medical Cannabis Facilities Regulations (Resolution 22-899, Ordinance 22-900).

All public hearing setting resolutions passed unanimously.

Discussion Items

• Councilmember Keith’s Requests: Keith asked the administration to provide a summary of ballot referendum #6 and its impact on Huntsville, and to schedule an end-of-year review from Police Chief Hampson addressing recent violent incidents, including a shooting into an occupied home where a child was injured. Chief Hampson confirmed the investigation was ongoing and agreed to meet.
• Councilmember Kling’s Concerns: Kling highlighted two neighborhood issues: (1) McThormore Acres residents were unhappy with a Planning Commission decision; a public hearing is set for Dec 15. (2) The Merrimack neighborhood faces a Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) decision approving a duplex after construction had proceeded without required variances; the appeal process goes to circuit court, not the council, causing financial burden. Kling asked if state law allows changing the BZA appeal to go to the council instead.
• Mayor’s Comments: Mayor Battle announced tree planting (1,350 trees at John Hunt Park and Wade Mountain), volunteer appreciation, volleyball championships, professional soccer coming to Huntsville, and Veterans Day events.
• Councilmember Comments: Robinson reported on a homeless services panel that noted $13 million in annual funding and a new homeless detail (Officers Killingsworth and Boyd). She thanked veterans. Kling and Meredith also honored veterans and shared community updates.
• Finance Director Report: Penny Smith presented FY22 financial results: general fund strong, sales and use taxes up 12%, lodging taxes up 33% (19% above pre-pandemic). She noted inflationary pressures and a potential recession, with the Fed raising rates to 4%. The city plans to use liquidity for cash payments and pay off interfund transfers.
• Held New Business Items (Each approved unanimously after discussion):
  • 20E – Vision Composite Products Purchase Option: Resolution 22-907 authorizing a purchase option for 10.98 acres in Cummings Research Park at $99,500/acre ($1,093,206 total) for a new R&D center.
  • 20F – S&ME Engineering for James Record Road: Resolution 22-908 for design services ($31,121) for intersection improvements, part of Martin Road Phase II.
  • 20I – Public Safety Academy Phase II: Resolution 22-911 with Fite Construction for $17,469,325, adding a burn tower, rappel tower, fire pump test facility, running track, and driving course for regional training.
  • 20K – TTL for Fire Station 20: Resolution 22-913 for engineering services ($35,256) for construction materials testing at Fire Station 20 on Bergreen Road.
  • 20W – CentralSquare Alarm Management Software: Resolution 22-925 for alarm registration and personnel support, funded by user fees (25% city, 75% vendor split), with no cost to the city.
  • 20Y – Nola Van|Peursem Architects for CSI Building: Resolution 22-927 for architectural services ($366,500) to design a new Crime Scene Investigation building and warehouse on Wheeler Avenue, co-locating evidence storage.
• New Business Introductions:
  • 21A – TIF Refunding Warrant: Ordinance 22-905 authorizing a $16,574,000 taxable general obligation warrant to refinance a portion of the Series 2010-B TIF revenue warrant for Redstone Gateway. Finance Director Smith explained the debt is paid by TIF ad valorem taxes; the city has no financial risk. Introduced and approved with unanimous consent.
  • 21B – Expanded Drug Testing: Ordinance 22-931 amending the personnel manual to allow expanded drug and alcohol testing for certain certified positions.
  • 21C – Surplus Equipment Auction: Ordinance 22-932 declaring equipment surplus for public auction.
  • 21D – Annexation: Ordinance 22-933 annexing 2.56 acres on Oakwood Road and Research Park Boulevard.
  • 21E – Police/Fire Hiring Rate Increase: Ordinance 22-934 raising minimum hiring rates for Police Officer/Cadet and Firefighter/Cadet positions and amending related sections.
• Committee Elections and Council President Appointments:
  • 22a – Planning Commission Representative: Councilmember Robinson nominated President Meredith; Councilmember Keith nominated David Little. A roll call vote resulted: Meredith aye, Robinson aye, Kling abstain, Keith nay – motion failed (need majority). Motion to postpone all committee elections (22a-22d) to Nov 17 passed unanimously.
  • 23 – Council President Appointments: President Meredith moved to postpone appointments (Top of Alabama COG, Community Action Agency, Advisory Commission on Accessibility, Insurance Committee, board representative, Finance Committee chair and vice chair) to Nov 17. Motion passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

• All consent items and most new business items were approved unanimously.
• Failed Appointment: The appointment of Tom Estes to the Huntsville Tennis Center Board (Resolution 22-935) failed with a vote of 1-1-2 (Kling aye, Robinson nay, Meredith and Keith abstain).
• New Nominations: From the floor, Councilmember Robinson nominated Kristen Wilson and Councilmember Keith nominated Keith Rice for the same Tennis Center seat; these will be considered at the Nov 17 meeting.
• Postponements: All city council committee elections (Items 22a-22d) and Council President appointments (Items 23a-23f) were postponed to the November 17, 2022 regular council meeting.
• Directives: Staff was asked to explore legal options for enhanced penalties against absentee property owners and to review the BZA appeal process to potentially allow council review instead of circuit court.