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Opelika CRA reallocates savings from Rose Titus Prayer Garden, agrees short maintenance handoff to city
Summary
The Opelika Community Redevelopment Agency approved a budget amendment at its May meeting to reassign savings from the Rose Titus Prayer Garden to other contractual services and staff equipment; the CRA will maintain the garden for a limited period, then hand it to the city.
The Opelika Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday approved an amendment to its FY2024–25 tax increment funds budget to move leftover money from the Rose Titus Prayer Garden to other contractual services and to buy new computer equipment for staff.
The action follows months of cleanup and improvements at the site, and agency staff told the board the park came in roughly $31,000 under its original $60,000 line item, leaving funds available for reallocation.
Agency director (staff) said the CRA had repaired plumbing and electrical, installed lights, benches and fountains and “completed the installation of hundreds of flowers, to create the butterfly garden.” He told the board: “I think the final cost for the park is gonna run up to to $29,000. So we’re $31,000 under budget, and we’d like to move that to other contractual services.”
Board members praised the work. “I saw the garden today, and it is absolutely beautiful,” Board member Bass said. Several members said the garden is complete and that future ceremonial tasks such as a ribbon cutting and any larger public program should be handled by the City of Opelika.
The resolution that the board passed — moved by Board member Bass and seconded by Board member Taylor — amends and re-adopts the CRA’s general operations budget for the year beginning Oct. 1, 2024. The roll-call vote was unanimous. The resolution directs the interim executive director to transmit the amended budget to the state oversight authority, and it describes the specific reallocations in an attached exhibit.
During discussion the board directed staff to continue the current maintenance arrangement for a short, transitional period and to coordinate with the city manager on a long-term handoff. Director (staff) said the CRA has been hiring the crew that planted and will continue maintenance every two weeks “as we’re doing right now,” and estimated the current maintenance cost at about $200 every two weeks. Multiple members said that two months of continued CRA-funded maintenance would give city crews time to take over and to receive training.
Board members also asked staff to arrange horticultural training for city beautification personnel so the plantings and butterfly-host species are maintained correctly. The director said Flamingo Nursery, the contractor that planted the garden, could be asked to provide training and occasional follow-up maintenance.
Board members debated setting aside a small amount of the savings for a ribbon-cutting event. Some favored $500 from the saved funds; others suggested $5,000 to cover event costs and a short maintenance window. The board did not amend exhibit language on the floor; the director said the money will move into the CRA’s “other contractual services” line item (which funds consultants for programs such as commercial façade and home rehabilitation) and that event and maintenance expenses will be paid from that line as discussed.
The board’s vote approved the budget amendment as presented. Next steps: staff will 1) transfer the approved amounts into the identified line item, 2) continue twice-monthly maintenance for a short period while arranging training with the city’s beautification crew and the nursery, and 3) transmit the amended budget to the state oversight board as required by the resolution.
