Huntsville City Council Regular Meeting – January 12, 2023
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Huntsville City Council Regular Meeting – January 12, 2023
The Huntsville City Council met on January 12, 2023, at 5:30 PM in Council Chambers, presided over by President Pro Tem Jennie Robinson due to Council President John Meredith's absence. All four present council members (Robinson, Kling, Keith, Little) voted unanimously on all items. Mayor Tommy Battle, City Administrator John Hamilton, City Attorney Trey Riley, and Clerk-Treasurer Ken Benion were present. The meeting featured a special recognition, a detailed presentation from Huntsville Utilities on historic winter weather impacts, several public hearings set for February 23, approval of a 136.28‑acre surplus property sale, council improvement fund allocations, and three second‑roster public comments.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Carol Thomas (2210 Apache Dr. NW) expressed concerns about the city’s education system, noting that one in four children are not reading at grade level and that several schools operate with a C average. She urged the council to ensure educational growth parallels the city’s economic and technological expansion.
- Jan Neighbors (7856 Waltzing Helm Rd.) reported progress on the Gateway Greenway Park project, including completed engineering drawings and a Zoom luncheon with author Richard Paul Evans. She highlighted the park’s function as a memorial for children lost at any age, with two similar statues already in Alabama drawing hundreds to annual candlelight vigils. She noted rising costs due to inflation and requested continued community support.
- Andre Wilson (District 2 resident) proposed an “all‑student quarantine” to protect children from COVID‑19 variants and school shootings. He argued that quarantining students to their attending schools would create a “zero infection zone” and improve accountability, transparency, and real‑time monitoring of student health, education, and safety.
Discussion Items
- Huntsville Utilities Winter Storm Presentation – CEO Wes Kelly, joined by Electric Cities of Alabama Executive Director John Hand, provided a comprehensive briefing on Winter Storm Elliott (December 22‑26, 2022). The storm brought record low temperatures (3°F) and record electric demand (1,475 MW peak, vs. 685 MW on Dec. 22). HU implemented rolling blackouts for the first time in its 90‑year history at TVA’s request (ELCP Step 50), opening breakers on the 46 KV system affecting about 8,000 customers per rotation, with most outages lasting 30 minutes. HU did not implement blackouts on Friday morning but complied on Saturday. The gas system set a new peak flow of 87,000 decatherms; water system saw 260 calls for broken pipes during the thaw, largely due to commercial/industrial HVAC issues from blackouts. HU identified stressed circuits north of U.S. 72 and has new substations coming online (Capshaw within 30 days; Old Monrovia and Burwell by summer). Project Share utility assistance is being expanded for affected customers. Council members asked about power surges, billing impacts, and HU’s policy of not disconnecting for non‑payment when temperatures are below 32°F or above 100°F.
- Surplus Property Sale (Unfinished Business) – Ordinance 22‑1030 declared 136.28 acres (Lot 2, Lanier Subdivision) south of Bob Wade Lane and east of Pulaski Pike as surplus and authorized a Purchase and Sale Agreement with Stanley Developers, LLC. Director of Urban & Economic Development Shane Davis explained that only 3.9 acres will be sold (at appraised value) for regional detention, enabling a planned mixed‑use development including approximately 250 new homes, commercial/retail, and trail connections to Wade Mountain greenways. Councilmember Keith noted that District 1 saw over 700 new residential lots through planning commission in 2022, the most of any district.
- Council Improvement Funds (New Business – held for discussion) – Two ordinances allocated $75,000 each from the new council improvement fund: 20H (District 4, Councilmember Kling) – $5,000 for the Angel of Hope memorial at Cleveland Avenue park, $25,000 for animal control to reduce euthanizations, and $45,000 for road/sidewalk repairs in District 4. 20I (District 1, Councilmember Keith) – $3,500 for Huntsville Revisited Museum promotion and preservation of history/art, with museum founder William Hampton speaking about his work.
- Memorial Parkway / Mastin Lake Overpass Agreements (20L‑N) – Three authorizing resolutions with ALDOT for traffic signals, roadway lighting, and maintenance on the Mastin Lake Road to Winchester Road project (ALDOT Project NH‑0001(610)). Director Davis noted the $50 million project will let in February, with main construction starting around May 2023 after utility relocations are complete. Councilmember Keith raised concerns about signage for small businesses during construction; Davis confirmed the city’s traffic engineering department can install and maintain wayfinding signs. Davis also urged residents to contact the city engineering department for complaints rather than ALDOT.
Key Outcomes
- Agenda approved as submitted.
- Minutes of December 15, 2022, approved.
- Proclamation presented declaring January 2023 as Mentoring Month; Big Brothers/Big Sisters of North Alabama recognized.
- Byron Thomas, HR Director, received 25‑year service pin.
- Public hearings set for February 23, 2023:
- Zoning of 2.56 acres on Oakwood Rd. / Research Park Blvd. to Residence 2‑A District (Resolution 23‑01, Ordinance 23‑02) – unanimous 4‑0.
- Vacation of right‑of‑way along Davis Circle (Resolutions 23‑03/23‑04, Ordinance 23‑05) – unanimous 4‑0.
- Finance Committee Report – Resolution 23‑06 authorizing expenditures of $48,462,382.60 – unanimous 4‑0.
- Board reappointments approved:
- Katie Beasley to Land Trust of North Alabama (two‑year term ending Dec. 31, 2024) – unanimous.
- Abby Owens to Advisory Commission on Accessibility, Seat 8 (three‑year term ending Jan. 10, 2026) – unanimous.
- Traci Harris to Madison County DHR Board, Place 7 (completing term ending Aug. 1, 2027) – unanimous.
- Board nominations referred to January 26 meeting:
- Doug Martinson to Huntsville Public Library Board (four‑year term ending Feb. 10, 2027).
- Collin Keller to Animal Services Advisory Committee, Place 1 (three‑year term ending Sept. 9, 2025).
- Sewer easement vacation at 222 Washington Street (Lewter Hardware) – Ordinance 23‑10 approved unanimously.
- Unfinished business – Surplus property sale to Stanley Developers, LLC (Ordinance 22‑1030) approved unanimously.
- New business – Consent items (20A‑G, 20J‑K, 20M‑AD): All approved in one unanimous vote, covering travel expenses, donations, procurement, light duty vehicle contracts, budget amendments, carry‑forward appropriations, Huntsville City FC practice facility lease, SJ&L General Contractor contract for Ditto Landing access road, ALDOT lighting and maintenance agreements, Schoel Engineering contracts (Lowe Avenue streetscape and Fagan Creek LOMR), Rogers Group modification, REV Construction sewer contract, Sain Engineering for new city hall commissioning, HUD homeless assistance grant, firefighter cancer/LTD benefit, personnel strength ordinance, Checkr background checks, Marsh & McLennan parking lot insurance, AEMA EMPG grant, DEA task force agreement, letter of credit invocation, boathouse purchase, and special employee agreements for George Daigle and Kimberly Gosa.
- Council improvement funds approved:
- District 4 (Ordinance 23‑18) – $75,000 – unanimous.
- District 1 (Ordinance 23‑19) – $3,500 – unanimous.
- Memorial Parkway traffic signal agreement (Resolution 23‑22) approved unanimously.
- New business introduced for January 26 vote:
- Annexation of 4.50 acres east of US Hwy 431 S and west of Wade Rd. (Ordinance 23‑41).
- Surplus equipment auction (Ordinance 23‑42).
- Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:10 PM.
Meeting Transcript
It is January 12, 2023. Happy New Year, everyone. We are gathered in council chambers at Huntsville City Council or the City of Huntsville Council at uh five and it is 5 30 p.m. This meeting is called to order. We welcome everyone who's joined us here in the chambers and also joining us virtually. We will begin our meeting with an invitation offered by Dr. Sprite E. Simpson III with Maston with the West Maston Lake Baptist Church and Huntsville Public Safety Chaplains Director. You may not know that this year we are we're pulling all our invocations from our chaplains, and they have been wonderfully responsive, and we thank them for that service. And following that invocation, we will have Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilmember Bill Clink. All those who are willing and able to do so, please stand for the invocation and pledge. Let us pray. As we gather this evening, we thank you for the blessing of a new year. Thank you, Lord, for the great success that you brought us in the last year, and thank you for the blessings that are yet to come. We know that no human accomplishment is possible without you. Father, we ask that you resolve any differences that may knowingly or unknowingly reside in our hearts and help us to be more loving, more caring, and to treat each other in a way that is acceptable in your sight. We need your continued guidance as we move forward. Lord, we ask for unity in this council as it makes the important decisions that will enrich the lives of the citizens of Huntsville. And we ask that the results of the efforts of this council are greater this year than the accomplishments of all of our previous years. God bless our citizens, bless this council, and God bless the city of Huntsville. And please consider our petition as we pray in the powerful name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen. Please face the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. One nation, indivisible, intelligence for us all. Thank you, Dr. Simpson. Thank you, Mr. Clink. We should note that Council President John Meredith is out of town, and he has asked me to conduct this meeting in his absence. And for the record, a quorum of the council is present to conduct business. Are there any changes that anyone wishes to make to the agenda that you see before us? Seeing none, the agenda will stand as as uh presented. Are there uh you also have the minutes of the regular council meeting held December 15th, 2022? Are there any changes or additions to those minutes? Seeing none, the can the minutes will stand as as presented. Now we now come to special recognitions by the mayor. Uh 5A is a presentation of mentoring month proclamation to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of North Alabama. Mayor Battle. If I could ask Michelle Linville to come up. Michelle, please come up and um we have a proclamation for you with one, two, three, four, five, six, six, whereas is and a now therefore I. But the whereas is talk about mentoring and how important it is to mentor a child, how important it is to be someone who will step out and do good things for people and how big brothers and big sisters makes us an even better community by mentoring our young people who become our future leaders. And um very, very important. Michelle serves as executive director for uh big brothers, but um big brothers big sisters in the Tennessee Valley, and Michelle, we want to say thank you and want to recognize uh January 2023 as mentoring month in the uh city of Huntsville. So thank you so much. Thank you very much. Tell us what we got the problem commercial time. Oh, commercial time. Okay. Big Brothers Big Sisters is one-on-one mentoring where we work with kids for the overall goal now is we've kind of morphed a little to our goal is that every child will graduate high school with a plan, and that plan is either in uh enrollment to college, enlistment to the military, or employment right away.
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