City official seeks up to $115 million bond for parks, athletic complex, riverfront and other projects

A city official for Gadsden City asked the council on an unspecified date to consider a bond package of up to $115,000,000 to pay for a series of capital projects across the city.

The official said the proposal is funded from a dedicated bond fund — referred to in the presentation as the “$3.20/$3.40 fund” designated for debt service and related projects — and does not draw from the general fund or day-to-day operating budgets for police, fire or public works. “We have been preparing for this for 3 years. This is our third year in office,” the official said. “We have cut. We have consolidated. We have reorganized, and we have strategized, and we have come to this plan.”

The presentation outlined a list of proposed projects and funding approaches, and a nut graf: the bond would finance parks and recreation upgrades, an indoor athletic center, a championship turf field at Gadsden State Community College, riverfront improvements tied to a U.S. Highway 411 reroute, trail development and repairs to the Broad Street Bridge. The official described the bond as intended to attract tournaments, students and broader economic development while preserving the city’s operating budget for staff pay and services.

Most prominent among the projects was a proposed Gadsden Athletic and Conference Center (referred to in the presentation as the GAC or GACC), described as a roughly 170,000–180,000-square-foot indoor facility with eight basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, a large weight room and an indoor walking track. The official said the facility would host indoor events independent of weather and that the city would relocate four softball fields near an on-site creek to accommodate the complex.

The plan would include a $2,000,000 championship turf field at Gadsden State Community College, a 5K cross-country trail and additional tennis and pickleball courts. The official said some amenities would be built through partnerships with Gadsden State Community College and that the college’s president, identified in the presentation as Alan Smith, had been engaged about the projects.

The speaker described a rails-to-trails project for which the city received a $3,000,000 grant; the presentation said the city would reallocate a previously set-aside $3,000,000 in undesignated funds back to undesignated and use the bond proceeds for the project match. The trail, the official said, would connect roughly 50% of the community’s master-plan route and the city would pursue additional grants to complete the remainder and extend connections to the Gadsden Athletic Center and Jim Martin Wildlife area.

Other items described in the presentation included: repairs and new lighting for the Broad Street Bridge using an appropriation cited as coming from Congressman Aderholt; renovation of a theatre façade and upgrades to sound and lighting; removal and replacement of two aging pavilions at the campground because of structural deterioration; night golf and a BMX track on capped landfill land at Nakalua (spelled in the presentation several ways); new inclusive playground equipment for several parks modeled on the playground behind Gadsden State Community College; and upgrades to the East Gadsden swimming pool with 0-entry access, six lanes for competitive swimming and handicap parking. The speaker also noted cooperation with the school system on pool access.

The official framed the bond as not affecting annual pay raises for city employees, saying employees have seen at least a 10.5% increase each year since the current administration took office and that the municipal budget had grown by more than 33% over three years. “None of this money comes out of the general fund,” the speaker said. “It doesn't affect the police pay raise or the fire pay raise or public works pay raise.”

The presentation cited planned coordination with outside managers for tournaments and complex operations, stating that “we are in talks with FSC to manage ours” and referencing existing arrangements elsewhere; details on any contract or formal agreement with FSC were not provided in the presentation. The speaker also referenced outreach and comparisons with facilities in other Alabama communities to support event recruitment.

No formal motion or vote on the bond appeared in the transcript. The official asked the council for questions and consideration; the transcript ends with the offer to take questions and did not record any council action, second, or result during the excerpt provided.

The official closed the remarks by returning to an extended metaphor about a bamboo tree’s multi-year root development and a rapid growth cycle to explain the administration’s argument that three years of planning have positioned the city to undertake the proposed capital investments.

Votes at a glance: none recorded in the provided transcript excerpt. The presentation requested council consideration of a bond authorization of up to $115,000,000 and discussed project allocations and existing grants, but the transcript does not show any motion, second, or final action by the council.