Tuscaloosa City Council Pre-Council Meeting - August 11, 2026
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Tuscaloosa City Council Pre-Council Meeting - August 11, 2026
The Tuscaloosa City Council held a pre-council meeting on August 11, 2026, at 6:30 PM. The council approved minutes from the previous pre-council meeting, discussed several property condemnation cases, considered business license applications, and received an agenda briefing from the city attorney. The meeting concluded with a certified executive session covering pending litigation, security plans, and real property matters.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of minutes from the previous pre-council meeting (motion and second, approved).
Discussion Items
Property Condemnations
- 1225 19th Alley – Tabled from the previous week. The property owner wishes to retain the house, but the structure is non-conforming (zoned BN, commercial) and repair costs exceed 50% of assessed value ($18,650 threshold). The City Attorney noted that a variance could be sought from the Zoning Board of Adjustment to allow repairs to the non-conforming structure. The property has two months remaining in its legal non-conforming status due to vacancy. Council expressed uncertainty, with some members leaning toward moving forward with condemnation. A 30-day tabling was suggested to allow the property owner (who is not the title holder) to apply for a variance. No final decision was recorded in the transcript.
- 2916 24th Street – The property received a housing rehab loan from the city in 1991; the owner passed away and the heir was unaware of the loan. The city holds a lien and has paid property taxes since 2004. The house is in very poor condition (tier 5 rehab classification). Discussion centered on whether to foreclose, demolish, and then donate or sell the land. The transcript does not record a vote.
- 3605 19th Street – The owner requested more time to complete repairs, but only minimal work (trash cleanup, tin roof patch) has been done since the property was posted on May 1, 2026. No permits were pulled. The owner had a buyer who backed out and was allegedly defrauded by a contractor. Council expressed sympathy but noted the impact on neighbors and the owner's lack of financial capacity. No vote recorded; the item was discussed.
- 3501 and 3503 19th Street – Two structures on the same lot. The owner has started repairs on 3501 (window, door, siding) and on the former TV shop (roof, carnage boards). Both are non-conforming. City staff recommended granting 90 additional days to continue repairs. The council discussed whether the commercial building could be used in the future. No final vote recorded.
Business Licenses
- Abe LLC (Smoke It Up Tobacco) – Request for approval letter as specialty retailer of consumable hemp products at 424 15th Street. Hours: Sunday 10-10, Monday/Friday 9-11, Saturday 9:30-11. Approved without questions.
- Cajun Restaurant Retail Liquor License – at 208 University Boulevard Suite A. Hours: Sunday-Thursday 10:30-9, Friday-Saturday 10:30-12 AM. Occupancy 76. Approved without questions.
- Theater Tuscaloosa Inc. – Nonprofit tax exemption for T. Earl Johnson Awards on August 11 at 6 PM at Bean Brown Theater. Approved without questions.
Agenda Briefing City Attorney Mr. Holmes provided an overview of multiple agenda items from pages 16-50 of the meeting packet, including:
- Purchases: Shepherd Services LLC ($25,655.50 for lift station repair), Stivers Ford ($59,127 for a Ford F-250), and two improvement fund disbursements for Tuscaloosa City Schools and Stillman College (District 1 funds: $3,000 and $500 respectively), and $2,000 to Spades Restaurant for feeding teachers.
- Public works contracts: John Wayne Plumbing ($11,919), Red Oak Paint Company (amendment, $65,000), Freeman’s Sheet Metal ($14,188), Building Specialties Company ($30,931).
- Appraisal service contracts: Southeast Appraisals for Oakdale drainage improvements ($4,500) and Beverly Heights Improvement Project ($4,200).
- Professional services contract: Locality Media LLC/First Due ($73,687.50).
- Contract with Carbon Enterprises ($35,265) with bid law exemption for water/sewer.
- Grant application: Alabama Mutual Aid System 2026 grant program.
- Ordinance adoption: Water Distribution System Engineering Standards 2026 edition (public hearing set for September 1, 2026).
- Appointments: Brian Bringark, John H. England, and Mike D. Smith as substitute municipal court judges; members of the Educational Building Authority of the City of Tuscaloosa (Father Paul Pradett, Jackie Weska, Matthew Hankins).
- Amendments: Municipal court and saving center exhibits, water distribution system expansion policy, land development regulations.
Executive Session The council moved into executive session, certified by the city attorney to discuss three topics: (1) pending litigation and legal options for imminent litigation, (2) security plans and critical infrastructure, and (3) real property purchase/sale/lease/valuation considerations.
Key Outcomes
- The minutes of the previous pre-council meeting were approved.
- Business licenses for Smoke It Up Tobacco, Cajun Restaurant, and Theater Tuscaloosa were approved (no objections noted).
- A public hearing was set for September 1, 2026, for the Water Distribution System Engineering Standards.
- The council entered executive session; no votes were recorded on the condemnation cases or other agenda items during the open portion of the meeting.
Meeting Transcript
The minutes. All right, we have a motion in the second so our minutes from our previous pre-council meeting stand approved. Um so now for our new business. Can I get Mr. Williams? I got quite a few for you tonight. So the first one was tabled from last week, 1225, 19th alley. This one was the lady that said she wanted to keep her house. So speaking with um, because we kind of threw it on them at the last minute the conditions of it's not it's no longer zoned for residential and the cost of repairs is more than 50 percent, so it kind of threw a kink in it for them to try to save it. We talked today uh with uh Zach in planning. So if they're adamant on trying to want to save this thing, he says that he's okay with tabling it for now for 30 days, excuse me, for them to um go to ZBA for a rezoning for residential, yeah. Well, not a reason, not a reasoning, but uh I'm sorry, a variance. I'm sorry, a variance. Look, that's the reason why I'm not in zoning. So a variance, so to be able to make the repairs, um, but no more than 30 days to put in the application, and that's but you know, they may not even ask for that, but that's where we're at. We're we still want to move forward with the condemnation. And um so I have had some conversations with the petitioner, so right now I'm unsure because I thought we were going to move forward with the condemnation. Yeah, but um, I have more direction tonight before the vote. Okay, I'm just curious why ZBA not planning, why not rezone it? If that their intend is to stay residential, it is a I'll come to the microphone. I know my voice carries, but still um it's a non-conforming structure, and so in order to move a little bit quicker, what they would be able to do is request a variance to allow the repairs to a non-conforming structure, which would be uh an easier threshold than rezoning because the property was zoned BN even in our in the old zoning code, so it's been commercial for a very very long time. Um, and the rest of that block is as well. Can they occupy it? If they get a approval to repair it, can they occupy so it had been occupied uh according to Mr. Williams? It had been occupied until the structure was posted. So it's been sitting vacant for four months, so it has two months left on its legal non-conforming status as well. How long if it got a variance so they could repair it? How long would they have repair it? Or would that be up to the or it would come back to us for it? Come back to us. So if we play this out, uh with this one, let's say the petitioner, um, the gentleman who owns the property, the individual who came last week uh is not the owner on the title to the property, and so if you choose this evening to uh to allow them time to apply for that variance at the zoning board of adjustment, um, and they do so the ZBA grants it for a reason, then it would come back to y'all because it would still be in that condemnation process, and y'all would be holding it to all right, then you know we want to see progress happen, come back to see us in 90 days. Um, so you would have that continuous progress needing to be met, but the property would still be in condemnation, and I think that's a really important thing to remember in this. Yeah, so I I'm unsure because like I said, I was um more leaning towards uh moving forward with the condemnation process, and then also this is not just a new um situation with this piece of property, correct? Yeah, it's it's been on our radar for quite some time, and I mean it don't get in this condition overnight. My question, and I don't mean to be offensive to anybody, but do they have the money to fix this? And then last week we talked about this the repairs being over 50 percent of the assessed value, the assessed value, yeah. So anything anything more than 18,650 will be more than 50 percent of that assessed value. So we'll just see which owner shows up tonight. Yeah, that's what I mean. Okay. Um so anything else for Mr. Williams on that item. Yeah, okay. So this one's for the condemnation of 2916 24th Street. This house here at some point was uh had gotten some money from a grant many, many, many, many years ago. Uh and so the city has actually got a lien on the property. Um it's been written the grant and all of that. I think it's been written off, but I'll let Mr. LePerry uh explained that to you.
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