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Record of Proceedings

Madison City Council Regular Meeting - February 23, 2026

City Council — Monday, February 23, 2026
BodyMadison, Alabama
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, February 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
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Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Unassigned speaker

4:47

Good

Speaker 1

4:47

evening,

Speaker 2

4:47

everyone, and welcome to the February 23rd, Madison City Council meeting.

4:52

At this time, I would like to invite Pastor Andrew, it's in with the Madison Church of Christ to lead us in our invitation and ask you to stand and please remain standing for our Pledge of Allegiance.

5:02

Thank you, Pastor.

Speaker 3

5:04

Let's pray.

5:06

Dear God, we thank you so much for the blessing it is to get to come before your throne in prayer.

5:10

And we know it's because of your son Jesus Christ that we can offer up this prayer.

5:15

Lord, we thank you so much for this great city that we live in that we love so much.

5:19

And Lord, I want to thank you for all of our city leaders, the mayor, the city council.

5:26

Lord, I want to thank you for our first responders, the city workers, and those that work here in this building and those that work all throughout this town.

5:34

Lord, we're especially mindful right now of uh the youth that are in this room, and we're so grateful for them.

5:40

And Lord, I ask that you please bless them with safety at their schools.

5:44

And Lord, I also ask that you bless their teachers, that you give them strength, that you give them wisdom and endurance for their job, and we just thank you for the great work that they do.

5:54

Lord, we also uh are mindful too of the resource officers that are at our schools that it's provide such a great service.

6:02

Lord, we all know and the blessing it is to have shadows of influence around us, and Lord, we pray that wherever we go, that we always love you and we love other people well.

6:12

And we ask all these things in your son's name.

6:15

Amen.

Speaker 2

6:16

Thank you so much, Pastor.

6:17

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

6:19

I pledge allegiance

Speaker 4

6:21

to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

6:28

One nation, under God,

Speaker 5

6:30

indivisible

Speaker 4

6:31

with

Speaker 5

6:32

liberty and justice for all.

Speaker 2

6:34

Thank you all very much.

6:36

You may be seated.

6:39

May I have the roll call, please?

Speaker 6

6:43

Council President Robleski

Speaker 2

6:45

here.

Speaker 6

6:46

Mayor Bartlett

Speaker 7

6:48

here.

Speaker 6

6:49

Councilmember Beer.

6:50

Here.

6:51

Councilmember Goodson.

6:52

Here.

6:52

Councilmember McKay.

6:54

Here.

6:54

Councilmember Lesman.

6:55

Here.

6:55

Councilmember White.

6:57

Here.

6:57

Councilmember Jackson.

Speaker 8

6:58

Here.

Speaker 2

6:59

Thank you.

7:00

We have a quorum.

7:01

Do we have any amendments to the agenda?

Speaker 8

7:03

No amendments.

Speaker 2

7:04

Thank you so much, sir.

7:05

At this time we'll have approval of minutes.

Speaker 8

7:08

Move to approve.

Speaker 2

7:09

Second.

7:09

I have a motion for Mr.

7:10

Jackson and a second from Mrs.

7:12

White.

7:13

Is there any discussion or questions?

7:15

Seeing none may have the vote, please.

Speaker 6

7:17

Councilmember Jackson.

Speaker 9

7:18

Aye.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████25%
Public Engagement█████████████████17%
Community Engagement████████████████16%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████14%
Youth Programs█████████9%
Personnel Matters████████8%
Senior Services███████7%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Madison City Council Regular Meeting - February 23, 2026

The Madison City Council held its regular meeting (Agenda No. 2026-04-RG) at 6:00 PM on February 23, 2026, in Council Chambers. Mayor Ranae Bartlett and all councilmembers were present, establishing a quorum. The meeting opened with an invocation by Pastor Andrew Itson of Madison Church of Christ, the Pledge of Allegiance, and approval of the February 9, 2026 minutes (Minutes No. 2026-03-RG). No amendments were made to the agenda.

Roll Call and Administrative Items

  • Roll call showed all councilmembers present; Council President Maura Wroblewski was present (transcribed as 'Robleski' in the raw transcript).
  • Minutes No. 2026-03-RG were approved unanimously.
  • No public hearings were held.

Presentations and Awards

  • Mayor Bartlett and Councilmember Jackson presented Arbor Day Poster Contest certificates to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place 5th grade winners from Madison City elementary schools. Mayor Bartlett noted that Madison won first place in the state contest the previous year and that this year's state contest results were not yet available. Heritage Elementary's Bethany Price received the highest participation award.
  • Mayor Bartlett proclaimed February 23, 2026 as Trash Pandas Day in the City of Madison, recognizing the Rocket City Trash Pandas' 2025 Baseball America AA Bob Freitas Award for excellence in business operations, community involvement, and sustained success. The proclamation was presented to the team's general manager.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Kimberly Dialisandro, a resident of the Madison City/ Limestone County annexation area near James Clemens, expressed gratitude for senior center programs. She raised two concerns at the Browns Ferry senior center: 1) accessible parking - she said roughly four handicapped spaces at grade level could be relined to six, and buses could be moved to newer, more distant parking to add about 20 ground-level spaces for seniors with mobility limitations; and 2) the ceramics program - she said semester-based scheduling (three months on, three months off) and one instructor split between two locations have disrupted projects, and Monday/Tuesday pouring was eliminated with only five weeks left in the semester. She stated the process takes about four weeks per project and that Monday classes had only been able to pour twice in eight weeks. She also said no classes were scheduled or advertised at the new Hughes Road location. She submitted a map to the Mayor and Council.

Consent Calendar and Finance Committee Report

  • Councilmember Bier reported that the Finance Committee met at 7:00 AM that day, reviewed council travel and special projects budgets, discussed a future special project for 24/7 first responder access to a workout facility, and reviewed vendor agreements. He thanked new Finance Director David Lawling.
  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously via motion by Councilmember Bier, seconded by Councilmember Goodson. It included:
    • Resolution 2026-016-R: $5,000 appropriation to Thrive Alabama.
    • Resolution 2026-017-R: $5,000 appropriation to Fantasy Playhouse Children's Theater Academy.
    • Resolution 2026-018-R: $12,500 appropriation to United Way of Madison County.
    • Resolution 2026-019-R: $10,000 appropriation to U.S. Space and Rocket Center.
    • Resolution 2026-020-R: $5,000 appropriation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tennessee Valley.
    • Resolution 2026-074-R: disposition of negligible-value personal property under Section 16-108 of the City Code.
    • Resolution 2026-076-R: acceptance of a $6,301.55 insurance settlement (less $1,000 deductible) from Alabama Municipal Insurance Corporation for a December 10, 2025 claim involving a Public Works Ford F150.
    • Resolution 2026-092-R: declaring one Glidescope GO, valued at $1,400, surplus for trade-in to Verathon, Inc.
    • Acceptance of a $250.15 donation from PropertyRoom.com to the Madison Police Department Donation account.

Mayor and Council Reports

  • Mayor Bartlett celebrated the opening of Costco in Madison, noted that BJ's was the city's first wholesale retailer, and read an email commending Animal Control Officer Corey Burris for reuniting a family with their cat after checking its microchip and updating the owner's address.
  • Councilmember Bier (District 2) said he had received many constituent comments about development issues, thanked city staff for helping new councilmembers learn processes, and said some comments received were baseless and racist.
  • Councilmember Goodson (District 3) marked the council's 100th day in office, praised the 'Ask the City' event held at the Public Safety Annex, and announced the next event on May 8.
  • Councilmember McKay (District 4) highlighted the talent in the Trash Pandas organization and encouraged residents to attend games.
  • Councilmember Lessmann (District 5) praised city staff and HR Committee work and recognized retiring community leader Mac McCutcheon.
  • Councilmember White (District 6) reported attending the Huntsville Chinese Association Lunar New Year celebration and a Madison History Association civil rights event, and promoted the Madison Senior Center Travel Club.
  • Councilmember Jackson (District 7) congratulated the poster contest winners and promoted a Madison Arts Alliance reception for Jordan McGowan on February 28 at the Madison Public Library.
  • The Mayor also announced the Madison Public Library's Kanopy streaming service, recommended Jeff Spagel's bagel shop, and announced a Wednesday, February 25, 5:30 PM work session on short-term rentals.

Department Reports and Resolutions

  • Engineering: Resolution 2026-067-R passed, authorizing a $16,800 Professional Services Agreement with Nivens & Associates Appraisals, Inc. for appraisals for Project 22-008 Bradley Street Improvements, paid from Fund 38. Resolutions 2026-079-R, 2026-080-R, and 2026-081-R passed, accepting Barnett's Crossing Phase 2, Barnett's Crossing Phase 3B, and Madison Branch Phase 2A into the city maintenance program.
  • Facilities and Grounds: Resolution 2026-087-R passed, authorizing an agreement with Intergraph Improved Properties, LLC for division of utility bills for the Public Safety Annex at 23 Ludie Richard Drive.
  • Human Resources: Resolution 2026-068-R passed, changing the Communications and External Affairs Officer position to Senior Communications and External Affairs Officer. Resolution 2026-069-R passed, changing the Parks & Recreation job classification. Resolution 2026-070-R passed, establishing a merit-based employee recognition program with plaques, awards, and cash bonuses consistent with state law; HR staff said funding was already in the budget. Ordinance 2026-077 passed on second reading, amending Personnel Policy 3, 'Service Categories and Employment Status,' to add a department head position. Resolution 2026-073-R passed, creating a senior accounting assistant position in the Police Department. Resolution 2026-085-R passed, approving the Director of Operations & Communications job description without adding a new position.
  • Information Technology: Resolution 2026-088-R passed, authorizing purchase of one 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew Cab 2WD from McSweeney Auto Group through State Bid Contract No. MA240000004917 for $40,407.15 from Fund 12. IT staff said the truck would support travel among 14 remote sites, replacing high-mileage, unreliable vehicles.
  • Legal: Proposed Ordinance 2026-082, authorizing an amended and restated lease, license, and management agreement with BallCorps, LLC, was read for the first time; public notice was given February 11, 2026. Proposed Ordinance 2026-083, amending Chapter 10 of the City Code on distribution of lodging tax proceeds, was also read for the first time. Both are scheduled to return March 9, 2026.
  • Planning: Proposed Ordinance 2026-059 (vacation of a utility and drainage easement at 52 Green Creek Road) and Proposed Ordinance 2026-075 (vacation of a utility and drainage easement at 480 Production Avenue) were both read for the first time and will return March 9, 2026.
  • Public Works: Resolution 2026-089-R passed, awarding Bid No. 2026-003-ITB for crushed stone and aggregate base to Grayson Carter & Son Contracting, Inc., as the low bidder, from the Public Works budget.

Key Outcomes

  • All resolutions on the agenda passed unanimously with no recorded dissents.
  • Ordinance 2026-077 was adopted, amending Personnel Policy 3.
  • Two legal ordinances and two planning ordinances were advanced as first readings and are scheduled for further consideration on March 9, 2026.
  • The public comment about Browns Ferry senior center parking and ceramics scheduling was referred to the Mayor and Council, with the speaker's map accepted.
  • A City Council work session on short-term rental procedures was announced for Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 5:30 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the February 23rd, Madison City Council meeting. At this time, I would like to invite Pastor Andrew, it's in with the Madison Church of Christ to lead us in our invitation and ask you to stand and please remain standing for our Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you, Pastor. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank you so much for the blessing it is to get to come before your throne in prayer. And we know it's because of your son Jesus Christ that we can offer up this prayer. Lord, we thank you so much for this great city that we live in that we love so much. And Lord, I want to thank you for all of our city leaders, the mayor, the city council. Lord, I want to thank you for our first responders, the city workers, and those that work here in this building and those that work all throughout this town. Lord, we're especially mindful right now of uh the youth that are in this room, and we're so grateful for them. And Lord, I ask that you please bless them with safety at their schools. And Lord, I also ask that you bless their teachers, that you give them strength, that you give them wisdom and endurance for their job, and we just thank you for the great work that they do. Lord, we also uh are mindful too of the resource officers that are at our schools that it's provide such a great service. Lord, we all know and the blessing it is to have shadows of influence around us, and Lord, we pray that wherever we go, that we always love you and we love other people well. And we ask all these things in your son's name. Amen. Thank you so much, Pastor. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you all very much. You may be seated. May I have the roll call, please? Council President Robleski here. Mayor Bartlett here. Councilmember Beer. Here. Councilmember Goodson. Here. Councilmember McKay. Here. Councilmember Lesman. Here. Councilmember White. Here. Councilmember Jackson. Here. Thank you. We have a quorum. Do we have any amendments to the agenda? No amendments. Thank you so much, sir.

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