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Residents press council over Riverwalk deal and a long-running Chapel Road zoning violation
Summary
Two residents used public comment to press the council: Paul Hamrick criticized the Riverwalk deal, alleging the city would lose money and that the Hoover Healthcare Authority faces a $76 million obligation; Chris Silico described a multi-year zoning violation at 2200 Chapel Road and asked for mayoral and council intervention.
Two residents used the public-comment portion of the Hoover City Council meeting to press elected officials for action on separate, long-running local controversies.
Paul Hamrick of Meadowbrook spent his time criticizing the Riverwalk project and related city financial arrangements. Hamrick alleged the Hoover Healthcare Authority is on the hook for $76,000,000 over 20 years and contended the city is subletting 31,000 square feet of an unused building at a cost of about $756,000 for that floor (which he said becomes roughly $1,100,000 when other maintenance charges are added). He said the city plans to lease that space to the state for about $200,000 in the first year, creating what he characterized as a roughly $900,000 net first‑year loss. Hamrick also asserted the city is paying $16,000,000 in "pre-rent" to the developer and questioned undisclosed developer fees and legal costs. In the meeting record he urged the council to halt the project and said these financials explain the city’s reluctance to join ongoing litigation over simplified sales-and-use-tax (SSUT) rules because the Riverwalk tenant situation could be affected.
Chris Silico of Bluff Park described a separate problem at a property he identified as 2200 Chapel Road: he said the lot is zoned for single-family use (E-2) but has been used as a multi-family rental compound for decades. Silico told the council he and neighbors have logged more than 100 emails and attended meetings with city staff, attorneys and courts over roughly four years; he said municipal court charges were filed and a variance request was denied, but the condition persists. He asked for a meeting that would include the mayor, the city attorney, the city administrator, the planner, code enforcement, and the full council to draft a path to compliance.
Council members acknowledged the comments. No formal council action on either the Riverwalk claims or the Chapel Road enforcement request was recorded at the meeting; staff or council did not provide a specific remedy during the public-comment period, so both matters remained open at adjournment.
