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Athens Council OKs bid to join North Alabama Public Energy District and names gas director to board
Summary
City Council approved forming a regional natural-gas planning district and appointed Braxton Gwynne as Athens' initial director after a presentation arguing the region should coordinate long-term gas infrastructure planning.
City Council members voted unanimously July 14 to support formation of the North Alabama Public Energy District, a cooperative effort described by the presentation as a regional planning body to evaluate long-term natural gas infrastructure and pursue funding. The council also appointed Braxton Gwynne, the city’s gas service director, as Athens’ initial director on the district’s board once the district is formed.
The move came after a presentation by Braxton Gwynne, who told council members the district is “a collaborative effort between Athens, Huntsville and Scottsboro to address the region's long term natural gas needs.” He said the district would provide “a formal structure to research, coordinate, and pursue funding for long term solutions.”
Gwynne and other officials framed the proposal as proactive regional planning. Councilman Wayne Harper added that representatives from the three cities had met recently and viewed natural gas as a “big driver” for the region’s future; Harper said the immediate step is to appoint the three representatives to begin design and planning work.
Council documents filed with the resolution state the applicants intend to form the North Alabama Public Energy District as a cooperative district “pursuant to section eleven‑ninety 9 B‑one Alabama Code of Alabama 1975 as amended” (language as presented in the meeting record). The resolution instructs that the district may be formed after the same or like resolutions are passed by the Water, Works, Sewer and Gas boards of Scottsboro and Huntsville and that the applicants must file required incorporation documents with the appropriate authorities.
The council voted 5‑0 in favor of the resolution and the appointment. No formal funding commitment for district activities or capital projects was approved at the meeting; officials described the current step as establishing governance and beginning regional planning work. Braxton Gwynne was explicitly identified in the resolution as “the City of Athens' initial director on the Board of Directors for the new district once formed.”
Because the resolution invokes state enabling language, subsequent legal filings and the companion actions by other municipal boards are necessary before the cooperative district formally exists and may pursue bonding or contract authority.
Council members and staff said the district's initial work will focus on infrastructure planning and seeking funding, but no specific projects, budgets, or deadlines were adopted at the July 14 meeting.
