Chilton County work session: public hearing on Lehi Lake maintenance agreement pulled after agreement changes; resident criticizes notice practices

A public hearing the Chilton County Commission had scheduled for Tuesday night to discuss an agreement involving the Lehi Lake peninsula has been pulled after commissioners received a revised version of the agreement, Commissioner Perkins said during Monday—s work session.

The commission intends to move at tomorrow—s formal meeting to cancel the hearing, Perkins said, because the document advertised for the hearing changed after the legal notice was published. "In order to have a public hearing on an agreement, you have to have the public hearing and the notice go out on that particular agreement that you're gonna discuss," Perkins said. "Due in part to changes being made to the agreement, then it kind of nullified our public notice."

The items at issue include a proposed maintenance arrangement for the peninsula at Lehi Lake Public Landing, a property on the Coosa chain that county officials said is federally regulated. Alabama Power, which owns the parcel in question, lost an operating permit on the Coosa chain in 2018 and therefore cannot enter new leases on that land, Perkins said. That constraint, and further revisions to the proposed agreement, created the need to withdraw the hearing until the county can publish a correct, final document.

The change prompted public criticism of how the commission notifies residents and makes hearing materials available. A resident identified only as Amy told commissioners she had to visit the courthouse twice, fill out a public-records request and pay $20 to obtain the maintenance agreement referenced in the legal notice. "Public notice of hearing was publicized 100% by the book as required by law. But there's a big difference between doing what's legal and doing what's right," she said during public comment, urging the county to put full hearing documents on its website and use social media to reach working residents.

County staff said the public notice PDF was posted to the county site but that the maintenance agreement itself was not posted when Amy first tried to obtain it. Commissioners discussed ensuring the "entire PDF" of future hearing materials is posted online and suggested adopting a resolution to make full documents available going forward. No formal vote was recorded on that proposal at the work session.

Perkins and other commissioners described the Lehi Lake effort as an attempt to improve a scenic "Flatlands" peninsula by adding routine maintenance (mowing, trash pickup and restroom upkeep) and limited amenities for bank fishing and public use, rather than creating a revenue-generating RV park. But because the property is subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permit conditions, some activities — such as adding picnic tables or other uses beyond an authorized boat launch and bank fishing — may not be permitted under current federal requirements, Perkins said. Alabama Power's permit status on the Coosa chain means the company currently is limited in what it can authorize on the site.

Commissioners said they had received public support for improving the peninsula but that the permit constraints and the timing of revisions to the county—s draft agreement made it inappropriate to hold the advertised hearing. Perkins said he hopes the county and Alabama Power can resolve permitting questions so the commission may revisit the proposal in the future.

The discussion also touched on a broader practice question: how the county publicizes hearings and how residents can access documents. Amy requested that the county allow free, digital access to hearing documents and to avoid charging copying fees when a document is specifically required for a hearing. County staff confirmed the entire hearing packet is public information and indicated they would work to make routine documents available digitally. Commissioners said they would consider process changes to improve transparency.

Looking ahead, Perkins said the commission will reissue correct notice and reschedule the hearing once the final agreement is ready for public review. The commission did not adopt a formal policy change during the work session; any resolution to amend notice practice will appear on a future agenda.

Ending: The commission adjourned the work session and will consider the motion to cancel and related procedural items at its regular meeting tomorrow night.