Decatur council approves resolution to back Cook Museum expansion, including city-built parking deck

The Decatur City Council voted 4–1 on Resolution 25-191 to approve city participation in a land swap and parking-deck plan intended to enable expansion of the Cook Museum of Natural Science, now designated by the state as the North Alabama STEM Center. The museum has secured a $9.5 million appropriations designation from the state to support a near-doubling of its footprint, and city officials said municipal investment in parking infrastructure is necessary to accept and leverage that state funding. Brian Hook, a Cook Museum representative, told the council the museum has welcomed more than 512,000 guests and nearly 80,000 students since opening in June 2019 and that the planned expansion would grow the museum from about 62,000 square feet to nearly 120,000 square feet. Hook said the expansion would add new STEM labs, programming and exhibition galleries and that the city’s ownership and operation of a parking deck—achieved by a land swap—would provide the adjacent land the museum needs for construction. “The state’s investment is a critical catalyst for both public and private investments to nearly double the scope of the museum,” Hook said. Hook said the museum and Princess Theatre would share a safer, back-of-house lot under the plan, and that roughly 300 existing parking spaces would be replaced while future demand could reach 400–500 spaces. He also said the project has generated private development interest, including a letter of intent from a third party to construct a 130-room hotel adjacent to the site. Public commenters were split. Sharonda Ackland said she had “serious concerns about the urgency, timing, and transparency” of approving the resolution before newly elected city leaders and a new planning director were in place, and asked for clearer cost and accountability information. Another resident asked why the city needed to act immediately and challenged whether the projected daily visitor increases justified a new deck. Supporters included the Decatur Downtown Redevelopment Authority and the Decatur Morgan County Chamber of Commerce. A DDRA representative said the expansion is a “once in a generation opportunity” that would bring construction jobs and long-term economic growth downtown. Danielle Gibson, Decatur-Morgan County tourism director, said the museum is a cornerstone of the city’s tourism strategy and that visitor spending supports local jobs and lodging tax revenue. City staff and other presenters said approving the resolution was a necessary first step to allow the state funds to be accepted and to keep private developers from withdrawing while engineering, plats, vacations and site-plan reviews proceed. Staff noted multiple planning approvals will still be required—including subdivision plats, vacation requests and at least three site-plan reviews for the separate buildings described—and that utilities relocations and street vacations are expected as the project advances. Councilmember motion and vote: Councilmember Pfeiffer moved to approve Resolution 25-191; Councilmember Pike seconded. Roll call included an explicit “No” voice from Councilmember Jackson; Councilmembers McMasters and Hoover were recorded as voting “Aye,” and the chair recorded the final vote as 4–1 in favor. The resolution authorizes the city to proceed with the land-swap and parking-deck framework that would enable acceptance of state funds and further private investment. The city and museum emphasized the next steps will include formal planning commission reviews, engineering, and public hearings on plats and site plans before any construction begins. The resolution does not itself obligate the city to a final construction contract or a specific debt issuance amount; council discussion indicated exact city costs for the parking deck and any utility relocation remain to be determined. If implemented, city staff said the project would require multiple planning-commission submittals and public review sessions; staff projected initial design and review milestones would follow but did not provide a binding timeline for construction.