Bill would allow city annexation for proposed Cullman County resort; gambling explicitly banned

A bill to authorize the city to annex property for a proposed resort in Cullman County advanced with a favorable committee report after brief discussion.

The sponsor, Elijah Jones, told the committee the measure would allow the city to annex “about a hundred acres in Dover County in Cold Spring, area of the Peninsula,” and said the project is intended to create roughly 300 jobs and produce capital investment in the “250,000,000” range. Jones said the project would generate recurring revenue for schools and county roads if fully built.

The bill, as explained to the committee, includes a provision that “prohibits any gambling enterprises including casinos.” Committee members also noted the legislation contains a sunset clause: if the resort project does not commence by June 1, 2026, the authorization expires. The sponsor also said a memorandum of understanding is being prepared to dedicate funds to local fire and rescue services.

Committee members asked several factual questions about ownership and acreage. The sponsor responded that no landowner would be forced to sell and that the proposal excludes gambling development. Questions about the identity of the current owner and precise acreage were raised during the discussion and described by the sponsor as matters he had recently been briefed on.

After discussion the committee voted to report the bill favorably. There were no recorded roll-call tallies in the transcript beyond committee members saying “aye” and noting no opposition.

The measure is now reported favorably out of committee; additional committee or floor action was not recorded in the transcript segment provided.