Prattville council pledges up to $2 million over five years for downtown museum/STEM center

Prattville's City Council on Tuesday voted to amend the fiscal 2025 budget and pledge up to $2 million toward design and construction of a downtown museum and STEM education center called "The Pratt." The commitment will be paid from the city's 1-cent sales tax education reserves on a reimbursement basis and is capped at $400,000 per year for five years beginning with the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2025.

The resolution, introduced by Councilor Boone, says the project is envisioned as a museum, archival library, STEM education center and event venue. The resolution also notes a $2 million allocation from the State of Alabama's 2026 Education Trust Fund that is intended to support the project.

Daniel Oakley, the city's finance director, explained how the sales-tax reserves are structured. "So you have a 1' sales tax. Total value of it is around $9,300,000. We take 10% off the top, and that gets put into our general fund reserves bank account. So you've got 90% of the 1' sales tax remaining. That 90% is then divided into 4 equal buckets, 1 of which is the education bucket," Oakley said, describing further how the education bucket is subdivided among Central Alabama Community College, the Autauga County Board of Education and an accumulating education reserve.

Oakley told the council the education reserves bank account "currently has $2,200,000 in it," and that the city estimates the education bucket for the current year to be about $522,000, leaving a cushion for the pledge. He also said the pledge is reimbursement-based and that "there shall be no obligation for funding in any fiscal year covered under the pledge should no eligible work be performed on the Pratt."

Council discussion touched on why the project is classified as an education expense. The mayor said the facility and library had been discussed previously as part of the education bucket and that proponents envision school field trips, artifacts, STEM programming and other educational uses. Councilor Marcus asked the council to consider dedicating a portion of the facility in memory of the late Councilor Albert Strickland; the council did not act on a naming decision during the meeting.

The motion to adopt the resolution was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. The resolution authorizes the mayor and finance director to execute required documents and allows unspent pledged funds in a year to be encumbered forward through fiscal year 2029.

Why it matters: The pledge directs a material portion of the city's education reserves toward a high-profile downtown cultural and education project. The funding mechanism is reimbursement-only and includes a clause that relieves the city of obligation if no eligible work occurs in a given fiscal year.

The council's next regular meeting is scheduled for June 2025.