Athens City Council approves zoning, contracts, purchases and salary ordinance; safe‑room lease conditioned on grant funding

The Athens City Council approved a package of ordinances and resolutions at its meeting, including a zoning change for a small parcel, contract awards for public works, purchases for city buildings and equipment, and an ordinance setting mayor and council salaries. The council also approved a 30‑year lease to site a community safe room on county‑leased land, but the lease is expressly conditioned on receipt of grant funding.

Votes at a glance

- Zoning ordinance: Council approved zoning approximately 0.76 acre owned by Haney LTD as EST (estate/residential and agricultural). Vote: 4 yeas, 0 nays. The property was described as about 900 feet northwest of the western terminus of Lehi Lane; the planning commission recommended approval and staff reported no objections.

- North Hill Industrial Park contract amendment (due‑diligence extension): Council authorized the mayor to extend the purchaser’s due‑diligence period in the contract until July 2025 and to amend the contract as necessary. Vote: 4 yeas, 0 nays. The action responds to a buyer’s request for additional time to complete environmental due diligence.

- Consent calendar (items A–F): Approved 4 yeas, 0 nays. Items included: travel/education expenses for fire department personnel; travel/education expenses for cemetery/parks & recreation personnel; a restaurant retail alcohol license for Crackle LLC d/b/a Eggs Up Grill (22083 U.S. Highway 72 East); purchase of a vehicle for the building inspection department; purchase of seven MSA G1 SCBA air packs and 14 MSA 45‑830‑minute bottles from Sunbelt Fire for the fire department; and purchase of one John Deere Gator TX model 2025 tractor for the cemetery/parks & rec department.

- Community safe room lease and project: Council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to lease property from the Limestone County Commission for development of a community safe room on Ninth Avenue. The lease term is 30 years and is conditioned on receipt of grant funding; the city may terminate the lease if grant funding is not received. Vote: 4 yeas, 0 nays.

- Taylor Electric hourly rate acceptance: Council accepted the hourly rate proposal from Taylor Electric for 2025 transmission and distribution improvements (as‑needed hourly work and storm response). Vote: 4 yeas, 0 nays. Staff said the work is paid primarily from aid‑in‑construction receipts and sets rates for outside crews used when city crews cannot keep up with workload or during storms.

- Brawley Boulevard roadway extension contract award: Council authorized the city engineer to award the Brawley Boulevard roadway extension contract to Grayson Carter & Son for $1,132,569, to be funded from 2024 general obligation warrants. Vote to suspend rules and award: 4 yeas, 0 nays.

- Network infrastructure for 105 West Green Street (former PNC building): Two items approved by council to ready the building: (1) purchase and installation of network drops from DJHAV Inc., $14,435, funded from the capital infrastructure fund; (2) network switches and wireless access points from C Spire Business, $17,921.77, procured through the North Alabama Cooperative Purchasing Association and funded from the capital infrastructure fund. Both items passed 4 yeas, 0 nays.

- Salary ordinance: Council adopted an ordinance fixing the mayor’s annual salary at $7,500 per month ($90,000 per year) and council members at $1,400 per month, effective at the first council meeting in November 2025. The ordinance also authorizes medical benefits for the mayor equivalent to those normally accruing to full‑time city employees, as allowed by law. Vote (suspension and adoption): 4 yeas, 0 nays.

- Travel expense for Councilwoman Dana Henry: Council approved travel expenses for Councilwoman Dana Henry to attend the Alabama League of Municipalities meeting; recorded outcome was 3 ayes and 1 abstention (roll call showed the measure carried with one abstention; the transcript did not map individual roll‑call names to the abstention explicitly).

Discussion and context

Most items were handled with brief staff summaries and roll‑call votes and required suspensions of the rules for immediate consideration. City staff explained the reason for the due‑diligence extension for the North Hill Industrial Park sale was to allow additional environmental review requested by the buyer. The safe‑room resolution included a specific funding contingency: the lease is conditioned on receipt of grant funding and allows termination if funding is not received. The Brawley Boulevard award included a specific contract amount and the funding source (2024 general obligation warrants). Purchases for the former PNC building were funded from the capital infrastructure fund and will be procured via cooperative purchasing where applicable.

Ending

Council concluded the business portion of the meeting after approving the agendas, minutes, and the items listed above. Several items, including the rebid of a previously protested electric construction package, were flagged for later return to the council when scheduling or procurement issues are resolved.