The Huntsville City Council met on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at 5:30 PM in the City Council Chambers. With Council President David Little and Councilmember Bill Kling absent due to illness, a quorum of three members (Councilmembers Jennie Robinson, Devyn Keith, and John Meredith) conducted the meeting. The agenda included special recognitions, a presentation from Huntsville Utilities, public hearings on unsafe buildings and nuisance abatement, numerous routine approvals, and a major development agreement for the City Centre Phase 4 project.
Speakers addressed the Council on non-agenda items:
Mayor Battle announced the appointment of Erica Washington to the Human Relations Commission (Place 9, term to expire September 24, 2028) and the reappointment of Shaquila Willie to the Huntsville Housing Authority (term to expire August 14, 2029). He also provided a budget preview, noting that revenue growth is slowing to about 3% and that the upcoming FY2025 budget will require discipline. He mentioned the Beautification Board awards and ongoing community activities.
I think it makes it a little bit more. It is 5 30 on Thursday, August 22nd, and we welcome everyone to this meeting of the Huntsville City Council. We are met in the council chambers, and any of you who are looking closely at the dias will see that we are missing a few people. Council members David Little, Council President David Little and Councilmember Bill Kling are feeling a little under the weather, but we do have Councilmember Devin Keith and Councilmember John Meredith here, and so we have a quorum with three members. Amen. Council members, please note that while um our council bylaws uh indicate that a majority of three members does constitute a quorum, and we will need three votes on all items. Uh we have two items on fifteen A and B board nominations that require a four-fifths vote. So when we come to those items, we will need a motion to postpone that vote until our next council meeting on September twelfth, and we will deal with it at that time. Are there any other um changes, additions that anyone wishes to make to the agenda? Is there a motion to approve the agenda as it's presented to you? Second. A motion by Mr. Keith, second by Mr. Meredith. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Uh the agenda is approved. You have also received the minutes of the meeting of August eighth, twenty twenty-four. Are there any changes or additions, corrections that you would like to make to those minutes? Hearing none, the minutes will stand approved. Uh, we now will have a special recognition presented by the mayor. Five A is a proclamation to declare the month of September as National Recovery Month. Mayor Battle. Good. Good and do partnership for uh drug-free uh America. We have some people here. Mayor good, yeah, Cheryl, sorry. Come on up. Please come up. Come on up on the diocese. Thank y'all for coming today. Last time I saw y'all, it was 104 degrees. We were outside getting ready to cut a ribbon and uh sweating quite profusely here. But this is a proclamation, and the proclamation uh has whereas behavioral health is a central part of health and overall health and wellness, uh whereas prevention of mental illness of mental and substance use disorders works, treatment is effective, uh, and people recover in our area around the nation. And whereas we must encourage relatives and friends of people with mental and substance use disorders to implement preventive measures, recognize the signs of the problem, and guide those in need with appropriate uh treatment and recovery support services, and whereas to help more people achieve and sustain long-term uh recovery. Ross Recovery Center, not one more Alabama partnership for a drug-free community, invite all residents of North Alabama to participate in National Recovery Month. Therefore, I, Tommy Battle, mayor of the city of Huntsville, do hereby proclaim the month of September 2024 as National Recovery Month in the city of Huntsville. And we want to say thank you for all the efforts that all of you have done uh and all that you you've stepped forward to do for our community on a day-to-day basis and tell us a little bit more about it. I know you can talk because your sunburn from the day. What a privilege. Excuse me, to be here tonight. Collaboration around the opioid epidemic is so important. And to have Ross Recovery Center here tonight, not one more Alabama and partnership for a drug-free community. One of the things that we really work well is in collaboration. We are the largest city in Huntsville, but we are a small city in the addiction prevention community. And so we work together to make sure that we're not duplicating services that is so important. We all do what we do very well, and we want to thank you for the recognition. Thank you. Anybody else? Y'all are good.