Madison City Council Regular Meeting – December 22, 2025

The Madison City Council held its regular meeting (Agenda No. 2025-24-RG) at 6:00 p.m. on December 22, 2025, in Council Chambers. The agenda included an annual update from Madison Visionary Partners, approval of minutes and a consent calendar, reports from the Mayor and councilmembers, a board appointment, one public hearing on weed liens, and first readings and resolutions from several city departments. All actions were approved without recorded dissent during the meeting.

Invocation, Pledge, and Minutes

• Madison Police Chaplain Robin Cramer offered the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Minutes No. 2025-08-WS (work session of December 3, 2025) and No. 2025-23-RG (regular meeting of December 8, 2025) were approved by council vote.

Presentations and Reports

• Christina Hearne, Executive Director of Madison Visionary Partners (MVP), presented the annual update: MVP helped fund renovation of Kids' Kingdom into a fully inclusive playground; helped lead fundraising for the new community center/Senior Center; hosted the third annual Madison Visionary Awards, distributing $15,000 in community impact grants to nine nonprofits; nominations and grant applications for 2026 are open with a January 9 deadline; launched the first Big Weekend of Service and the Serve Madison volunteer program; supported the Madison Mural Trail, fully funding the first two murals; and is currently working on the Miracle League of Madison (inclusive baseball field at Palmer Park) and Main Street Madison (downtown revitalization, formerly the Shops of Downtown Madison). The inaugural Gather Madison event on November 9 at Home Place Park drew nearly 500 attendees, more than 100 volunteers, and over 21 local organizations/businesses.
• Mayor Ranae Bartlett reported on the Eli Lilly investment announcement at Greenbrier exit; a Redstone/Space Command update with General Whiting; the Space Command sign unveiling and roundtable discussion; attending a Cub Scouts event where a student asked about widening Highway 72; meeting with Limestone County Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin; and the upcoming train alert system launch after Christmas. She recommended residents sign up for text alerts and noted the IT department is being contacted nationally about the project.
• Councilmembers gave end-of-year district reports: Councilmember Bier thanked staff and colleagues; Councilmember Goodson highlighted the Christmas parade and City Hall decorations; Councilmember White announced a holiday t-shirt pop-up at the Madison Senior Center; Councilmember Jackson noted the Madison Arts Alliance is seeking a vice president for sponsor recruitment and grant writing; Council President Wroblewski announced the Madison Library's Yappy Hour Info Dump event on Saturday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• Councilmember Bier reported that the Finance Committee had not met because of a lack of quorum, but the items had been reviewed. The consent calendar was moved, seconded, and approved.
• Items included appropriations for The Enrichment Center ($25,000), Wellstone, Inc. ($45,000), Land Trust of North Alabama ($10,000), Madison Visionary Partners ($55,000), and KTECH/Kids to Love Foundation ($5,000), all from the General Operating account.
• Additional consent items included Microsoft licensing renewal with SHI ($79,633.05 from the IT budget); acceptance of an Alabama Municipal Insurance Corporation settlement of $5,507.22 less a $1,000 deductible; and donations for Senior Center programs from S. Kollman ($200), P. Nichols ($40), DGore ($40), and KTran ($100).
• Source note: Councilmember Bier described the donations as approximately $340, while the agenda itemized $380 total.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Margie Daly (District 6) wished the council a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and thanked city workers.
• No other members of the public addressed the council during the general public comment period.

Board/Committee Appointment

• Councilmember White nominated Brenda Buschmann for reappointment to seat 4 of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Appeals, with a term expiring December 31, 2028. Buschmann has a background in sales, marketing, business development, real estate, and commercial space build-out. No other nominations were offered, and the appointment was approved.

Public Hearing: Weed Liens

• The council held a public hearing on Resolution No. 2025-385-R, authorizing weed liens on 20 properties for amounts ranging from $478.30 to $2,078.30. The city stated that itemized reports had been sent to property owners and that owners had been notified of the hearing.
• No property owners spoke. Margie Daly commented that many of the properties she looked up also owe taxes and may be heading toward foreclosure, and she suggested neighbors help each other with lawn maintenance rather than let properties go on the lien list. Councilmember Bier responded that one property in his district was owned by an investor purchased out of foreclosure, and he appreciated the concern.
• The resolution was approved.

Department Reports

Engineering

• Resolution No. 2025-407-R was approved, authorizing a professional services agreement with Halliburton Surveying & Mapping, Inc. for a topographic and right-of-way survey on the east side of Hughes Road between Lynbrook and Oakland Trace for the Hughes Sidewalks at Discovery Middle School project, not to exceed $9,300. Councilmember McKay asked whether the sidewalk could be removed by future Hughes Road widening; the engineer said it is possible but likely several years away, and the next widening phase does not extend to this section.
• Ordinance No. 2025-408 (first reading) would amend the city's flood damage prevention standards to incorporate state and federal changes; staff described it as non-substantive. Second reading is scheduled for January 12, 2026.
• Resolution No. 2025-412-R was approved, awarding Bid No. 2025-023-ITB for street sweeping services to Sweeping Corporation of America, LLC at $64,965 per year for up to three years, paid from Stormwater User Fee. The council asked residents to move vehicles off streets and noted the communications office will publicize general sweeping time frames.

Legal

• Proposed Ordinance No. 2025-413 (first reading) would authorize Madison Utilities to dispose of certain personal property, including motors and trucks, as required by state law. Second reading is set for January 12, 2026.

Planning

• Proposed Ordinance No. 2025-409 (first reading) would vacate a utility and drainage easement at 157 Shalerock Drive, Lot 97 of Moore's Creek Phase 3, to allow backyard improvements. A second reading will occur at the next meeting.
• Ordinance No. 2025-421 (first reading) would assent to annexation of the commercially developed property at 8094 Highway 72 West, where Costco is located on the north side of Highway 72. A second reading is planned for a future meeting.

Police

• Resolution No. 2025-403-R was approved for purchase of three 2026 Ford Police Interceptor AWD Utility vehicles from Stivers Ford Lincoln through the state bid list: $44,466 per vehicle, $133,398 total.
• Resolution No. 2025-404-R was approved for three lights-and-sirens outfitting packages from Haynes Emergency Lighting: $14,857.30 per vehicle, $44,571.90 total.
• Resolution No. 2025-405-R was approved for three dash cameras from Axon Enterprise, Inc.: $46,602 total. The police chief said the cameras include license plate readers and in-car cameras; councilmembers noted these are not Flock intersection cameras.
• Resolution No. 2025-414-R was approved for Power DMS document management services: $4,697.09 through FY 26 and $45,623.69 in FY 27. The chief explained the system will consolidate disciplinary, use-of-force, pursuit, and coaching records currently in IAPRO/Blue Team into Power DMS, with off-site storage and state retention reminders; the city may be able to drop other software licenses later.

Recreation

• Resolution No. 2025-396-R was approved for a TripMaster Software agreement for MARS and Madison Senior Center transportation systems: a one-time fee of $7,845 plus monthly billing of $1,465.
• Resolution No. 2025-415-R was approved, awarding Bid No. 2025-022-ITB for the Palmer Park Lower Quad LED Lighting project to Big River Electric, Inc. in the amount of $90,000 from Fund 38.
• Resolution No. 2025-416-R was approved for a one-year licensing agreement with Can Play Adapted Program for special needs adaptive sports programs, at $1,000.

Key Outcomes

• The consent calendar, all resolutions, and all first-reading ordinances on the agenda were approved without recorded dissent.
• Brenda Buschmann was reappointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Appeals.
• The weed lien resolution passed following the public hearing.
• The next regular council meeting is scheduled for January 12, 2026.
• After adjournment, the transcript includes a mayor's statement on city growth: Madison has grown by almost 13,000 people per decade, more than a thousand per year, and the mayor described the state of the city as strong, citing Money Magazine's ranking of Madison as the 12th best city to live in nationally, Niche's ranking as the best suburb in Alabama, and the school district as the number one district in the state.

Source Note

• The agenda for the meeting is included in the source package, but no written minutes were provided. The transcript reflects approval of minutes No. 2025-08-WS and No. 2025-23-RG.
• Some roll-call responses for Councilmembers McKay and Lessmann are not audibly captured in the transcript; no contrary votes or abstentions are indicated.