OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Huntsville City Council Regular Meeting: July 27, 2023 - Budget, TIF Updates, and Board Appointments

City Council — Thursday, July 27, 2023
BodyHuntsville, Alabama
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, July 27, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
2:08

All right, it is five thirty PM on July twenty-seventh of twenty twenty three, and we are meeting in the City Council Chambers of Huntsville, Alabama.

2:17

Thanks to all of you who are with us tonight, as well as those watching online.

2:22

Please note for the record that all council members are in attendance, and we are convening this session of the Huntsville City Council, and the meeting will be called to order.

2:32

When we begin it, we will begin our meeting tonight with an invocation led by Pastor Jarman Leatherwood with the House of Hope and Restoration.

2:41

That will be followed by a Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilmember Devin Keith.

2:45

Please stand for the invocation and pledge.

2:51

Let us pray.

3:47

God grant protection to the families in our communities.

3:51

Help us to be understanding, ununited, unwavering in our efforts to see change in the city we say we love.

5:00

Council members, you have the agenda before you that's regular meeting of the City Council on July 27, 2023.

5:05

Tonight we have an item item number 21A that the administration has asked to be considered this evening, and that will require unanimous consent of the council.

5:16

We will also be taking this item out of order.

5:20

Items 15G and 15i are for the same board seat, and if G passes, there will not be a vote on aye.

5:29

Are there any other changes or additions to be made to the agenda?

5:35

Is there a motion uh to approve the agenda?

5:38

Motion to approve.

5:39

Motion by Mr.

5:40

Little, second by Dr.

5:42

Robinson.

5:42

All in favor, please indicate by saying aye.

5:45

Aye.

5:46

Any opposed, say nay.

5:47

Hearing none, the agenda will stand approved as accepted.

5:51

Council members, you have a copy of the minutes of the regular meeting of the Huntsville City Council held on July 13, 2023 before you.

5:59

Are there any changes or additions to be made to the minutes that you have received?

6:04

Mr.

6:04

President, I'd like to ask that my vote on item 21A be reported as no.

6:14

Yes.

6:14

Um on the last regular meeting of the city council.

6:19

Umless the clerk's office has an issue with that.

6:24

Um, I think we can make that happen, Mr.

6:26

Clang.

6:27

The agenda, I mean the minutes have not been approved yet.

6:30

All righty.

6:31

Well, we will hold that until that change is made in the minutes.

6:36

Is that acceptable to you, Mr.

6:37

Kling?

6:38

Correct.

6:38

All righty.

6:39

Council members, you have a copy of the minutes of the work session of the Huntsville City Council held on July 19th, 2023 before you.

6:48

Are there any changes or additions to be made to the minutes that you have received?

6:53

Hearing none, those minutes will stand approved.

6:57

The mayor has a special recognition this evening.

7:00

5A is the presentation of a life-saving medal.

7:07

Thank you, Ms.

7:08

President and Council.

7:09

Uh, if I could have Chief Giles and some of his command staff come up, and we have a life-saving medals to present.

7:19

Congratulations.

7:28

Thanks, sir.

7:29

Thank you all for giving us the opportunity to uh talk about this.

7:32

This is Officer Michael Tucker, Officer Western Widener standing to my left.

7:36

On November 21st of 2022, both officers were responded to 9th Avenue in reference to what was a shop's fire call.

7:44

A few moments later, dispatch upgraded or updated the call to a traffic accident with entrapment and injuries at the same location.

7:51

Officer Widener was the first one to arrive on the scene and quickly assessed the situation, discovering that the driver had been shot in his right upper thigh.

8:00

Officer Widener could see that the man was bleeding very heavily from the uh gunshot wound and made a decision to pull him uh out of his vehicle and place him on the ground so that he could get a better assessment of his injuries.

8:13

Officer Tucker then arrived, and both officers began rendering first aid.

8:18

They applied two tourniquets above the wound to stop the bleeding, but it was initially unsuccessful.

8:24

Two more officers arrived and began assisting by applying a third tourniquet.

8:28

Once Hempsey got there and took over care of the victim, Hempsey Supervisor, Mr.

8:33

Burgess advised that the officer's quick action saved this person's life.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tax Increment Financing████████████████16%
Public Safety███████████11%
Procedural██████████10%
Public Engagement██████████10%
Zoning And Land Use█████████9%
Arts And Culture███████7%
Fiscal Sustainability███████7%
Parks and Recreation███████7%
Historic Preservation██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Huntsville City Council Regular Meeting: July 27, 2023

The Huntsville City Council convened its regular meeting at 5:30 PM on Thursday, July 27, 2023, in Council Chambers at 308 Fountain Circle. All five council members (Meredith, Robinson, Kling, Keith, Little) were present, along with Mayor Tommy Battle, City Administrator John Hamilton, City Attorney Trey Riley, and City Clerk Shaundrika Edwards. The meeting included presentations, public hearings, board appointments, a financial update covering the third quarter and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, and approval of multiple contracts and resolutions.

Consent Calendar

  • Agenda and Minutes: The agenda was approved unanimously. Minutes of the regular meeting of July 13, 2023, and the work session of July 19, 2023, were approved after Councilmember Kling requested his vote on a previous item (21A from July 13) be recorded as no; this was later handled by unanimous consent.
  • Finance Committee Report: Resolution No. 23-578 authorizing expenditures in the amount of $5,871,916.76 was approved unanimously.
  • Unfinished Business: Declaring equipment surplus (Resolution No. 23-571), granting a small cell license to Crown Castle Fiber (Ordinance No. 23-572), annexations (1.01 acres on Old Big Cove Rd. and 1.18 acres on Huntsville Brownsferry Rd.), and renaming Discovery Point Drive to Wilchrist Circle were all approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Agenda-Related Public Comments: No speakers signed up for agenda-related items.
  • Second Roster Public Comments: Four residents addressed the council:
    • Dr. Angela Sommerset (9 Chalk Stone Street) requested more transparent financial reporting from Huntsville Utilities, questioning the lack of reconciliation of general expenses and pandemic credits from TVA, and urged the council to scrutinize rate increases.
    • Howard Ross (2617 Excalibur Drive) reiterated a request for a city council resolution to seek an Attorney General's opinion on whether land contract purchasers can obtain building permits under Alabama Code Title 35, Chapter 14A. He noted that a council resolution is needed to submit the request.
    • John Price (5515 Panorama Drive, Huntsville) complained about an out-of-state developer (David Rhodes) whose excavation at 401 Clinton Avenue collapsed a retaining wall, endangering the adjacent property at 403 Clinton Avenue. He criticized the city's inspection and engineering departments for lack of response and noted the Board of Zoning Adjustment had flagged the issue.
    • Andre Wilson (District 1 resident) proposed using wristbands for student safety, advocated for an all-gender professional basketball league called the "Rocket City Ballers," and invited voting on sneaker names (Yeezy Air vs. Air Eeezy).

Presentations & Special Recognitions

  • Life Saving Medals: Police officers Michael Tucker and Western Widener were recognized for applying tourniquets to a gunshot victim on November 21, 2022, saving the person's life.
  • Burritt Museum Update: Executive Director Leslie Ecklund presented the museum's growth: a 350% budget increase (from $600K to $2.3M projected), 52,000 visitors in the past year, 40% of field trip participants from underserved schools, and 1,100 volunteers. She highlighted new capital projects funded by ARPA ($650K from the city) and a future need for public restroom renovations and parking expansion.
  • Mayor's Comments: Mayor Battle praised city departments and community partners for quickly relocating 100 disabled residents from the Summit facility after a water leak caused electrical fires on July 25, 2023.
  • Councilmember Comments: Members discussed storm response, school starting August 2, water conservation tips, broadband access in West Huntsville, and the upcoming Council President's Forum on August 1 focused on business organizations.

Discussion Items

  • Finance Update (Penny Smith, Director of Finance): The third-quarter report showed sales and use tax revenue up 7.6% over the prior year, ahead of budget. Property taxes, licenses, and permits also exceeded expectations. The city remains on track to end the fiscal year under budget by about 5%.
  • TIF District Update (Penny Smith & Shane Davis): A comprehensive review of all seven TIF districts showed they are performing at or above forecasts. TIF 3 and TIF 3A (which focused on schools and Northwest Huntsville industrial development) have closed early. TIF 5 (Redstone Gateway) has reached its $76 million cap; the final warrant for up to $2.3 million was authorized. Councilmember Keith discussed the possibility of creating a new TIF for infrastructure in the historic CNI area between Governors Drive and Holmes Avenue, with staff noting a public presentation may come in 30-60 days.
  • Redstone Gateway Final Infrastructure (Items 20A-D & 21A): To close out the TIF 5 investment, council approved (by unanimous consent to take out of order) an ordinance authorizing the final TIF Revenue Warrant (up to $2.3M) and then approved three related resolutions: (A) an omnibus amendment rolling up unspent balances, (B) a funding agreement for $5.4 million in excess infrastructure costs, (C) a triparty agreement with B.L. Harbert for construction management, and (D) a construction contract for Goss Road extension and mass grading ($5.88M). The final piece of infrastructure will complete the secure area of Redstone Gateway.
  • Apollo Park Phase III (Item 20R): A $7.8 million construction contract was awarded to Lambert Contracting LLC for the center 10-acre section of Apollo Park in Mid-City. The project includes an expanded lagoon, a creek-like water feature, walking paths, and a fitness court featuring art from the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (the only such court in the country). Boat launch access for canoes/kayaks was noted.
  • Board Appointments: Several appointments were made to various boards (see Key Outcomes). A notable split occurred for the Housing Board of Adjustments and Appeals seat previously held by Kelly May: the first nominee, Amanda Burns (sponsored by Meredith), failed (2 ayes, 1 nay, 2 abstains). The second nominee, Laura Forte (sponsored by Robinson), passed (4 ayes, 1 abstain).

Key Outcomes

  • Votes on Ordinances & Resolutions: All items on the consent agenda (see Consent Calendar) and the new business items (20A-F, 20H-Q, 20S-AC) were approved unanimously except for Items 20G (donations) and 20R (Apollo Park), which were discussed separately and passed unanimously.
  • Board Appointments:
    • Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council: NiCarla Friend (Place 5), Brian Webb (Place 13), Jonathan Rossow (Place 7), Missy Hanks (Place 9), Shelly McCulley (Place 11) – all approved unanimously.
    • Health Care Authority: Phillip Bentley Jr. (Place 3) – approved unanimously.
    • Housing Board of Adjustments and Appeals (seat vacated by Kelly May): Amanda Burns – FAILED (2-1-2). Laura Forte – APPROVED (4-0-1).
    • Madison County DHR Board: Sinead C. Lounmala (Place 1) – approved unanimously.
  • New Business Introductions:
    • Ordinance naming the Championship Soccer Complex at John Hunt Park as the "Loretta P. Spencer Sports Complex" (21B).
    • Ordinance declaring property surplus to lease to Lendon Commercial, LLC (21C).
    • Ordinance declaring property surplus to donate to the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering (21D).
  • Meeting Adjourned: The meeting adjourned following the second public comments roster.

Meeting Transcript

All right, it is five thirty PM on July twenty-seventh of twenty twenty three, and we are meeting in the City Council Chambers of Huntsville, Alabama. Thanks to all of you who are with us tonight, as well as those watching online. Please note for the record that all council members are in attendance, and we are convening this session of the Huntsville City Council, and the meeting will be called to order. When we begin it, we will begin our meeting tonight with an invocation led by Pastor Jarman Leatherwood with the House of Hope and Restoration. That will be followed by a Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilmember Devin Keith. Please stand for the invocation and pledge. Let us pray. God grant protection to the families in our communities. Help us to be understanding, ununited, unwavering in our efforts to see change in the city we say we love. Council members, you have the agenda before you that's regular meeting of the City Council on July 27, 2023. Tonight we have an item item number 21A that the administration has asked to be considered this evening, and that will require unanimous consent of the council. We will also be taking this item out of order. Items 15G and 15i are for the same board seat, and if G passes, there will not be a vote on aye. Are there any other changes or additions to be made to the agenda? Is there a motion uh to approve the agenda? Motion to approve. Motion by Mr. Little, second by Dr. Robinson. All in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Hearing none, the agenda will stand approved as accepted. Council members, you have a copy of the minutes of the regular meeting of the Huntsville City Council held on July 13, 2023 before you. Are there any changes or additions to be made to the minutes that you have received? Mr. President, I'd like to ask that my vote on item 21A be reported as no. Yes. Um on the last regular meeting of the city council. Umless the clerk's office has an issue with that. Um, I think we can make that happen, Mr. Clang. The agenda, I mean the minutes have not been approved yet. All righty. Well, we will hold that until that change is made in the minutes. Is that acceptable to you, Mr. Kling? Correct. All righty. Council members, you have a copy of the minutes of the work session of the Huntsville City Council held on July 19th, 2023 before you. Are there any changes or additions to be made to the minutes that you have received? Hearing none, those minutes will stand approved. The mayor has a special recognition this evening. 5A is the presentation of a life-saving medal. Thank you, Ms. President and Council. Uh, if I could have Chief Giles and some of his command staff come up, and we have a life-saving medals to present. Congratulations. Thanks, sir. Thank you all for giving us the opportunity to uh talk about this.

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