Albany commission adopts ordinance to reestablish Keep Albany/Daugherty Beautiful

The Albany City Commission voted July 1 to adopt an ordinance reestablishing Keep Albany/Daugherty Beautiful, a civic governance body charged with neighborhood aesthetic and improvement initiatives. The commission removed a proposed provision that would have let the county commission chair appoint the board’s chair and instead left that authority to the Keep Albany/Daugherty board itself.

Commission members debated the governance change and asked staff to provide clear, bullet-pointed documentation of the city’s commitments and the benefits expected from the program. Mayor Bo Dura and city attorney Michael Custer confirmed the county had approved removing the county-appointment provision; Custer said the city attorney’s office had no further suggested edits at the meeting.

Commissioner John Howard moved to dispense with the second reading and act on the ordinance; the motion was seconded and the commission approved the ordinance in a roll-call vote. John Howard and Diana Brown voted no; Willie Weaver, Chris Gaines, Bob Warbington, Langstaff Junior and Mayor Bo Dura voted yes.

The ordinance’s proponents said the reestablished group will allow local business and property owners to lead beautification and public-safety projects in affected neighborhoods. Commissioners asked staff to add explicit contract provisions, including repayment language if a privately held project financed under city terms is sold during a fixed period, and to clarify any property-tax deferment language so the city’s financial exposure is explicit.

The commission’s formal adoption concludes the special-call item on Keep Albany/Daugherty Beautiful; staff said they will provide updated ordinance language and a one-page summary of the city’s commitments ahead of subsequent implementation steps.