Anniston City Council amends consent agenda, hears DDA appointment comment and moves to executive session

ANNISTON — The Anniston City Council on the evening of Nov. 25 amended its consent agenda to include a fee waiver for First Missionary Baptist Church, heard a public comment from a candidate for the Downtown Development Authority and voted to go into executive session to discuss preliminary negotiations.

The council voted to add a motion waiving the fee to allow First Missionary Baptist Church to use the Carver Community Center contingency location on Nov. 23, 2025. The addition was placed on the consent agenda and the amended consent agenda was approved by roll call vote.

The council opened a public hearing on the appointment of Jared Snyder to the Downtown Development Authority. Jared Snyder identified himself during the hearing, saying, “My name is Jared Snyder. I live at 320 Chris P. Road in Ward 4.” No other public speakers were recorded during the hearing and the public hearing was closed.

Council members also moved to read an ordinance amending Article 7 of the city code governing traffic control policies by title only, per the council’s earlier work session. The public hearing on that reading produced no comments and the motion to read by title only passed on roll call.

During council comments, members praised municipal training and noted statutory training requirements. One council member said, “According to state law, we are required to complete at least 40 at 40 hours within our term,” and urged colleagues to take advantage of training offered by the Alabama League of Municipalities and other organizations. Council members also highlighted community events, including Aniston High School’s upcoming playoff game and a Christmas parade scheduled for Dec. 6 at 6:30 p.m., and mentioned an Anniston Police Department toy drive running through Dec. 23.

Near the end of the meeting the presiding officer moved to adjourn into executive session “to discuss preliminary negotiations involving matters of trade or commerce in which the governmental body is a competitor with private individuals,” saying that disclosure could have “a detrimental effect upon the city's competitive position if disclosed outside of an executive session.” The chair also stated that the council would not return to vote on any matter discussed in executive session. The motion passed on roll call and the meeting adjourned into executive session.

The council took no additional public actions before adjourning; formal votes recorded in the evening were the consent-agenda amendment and approval, the motion to read the ordinance by title only, and the motion to enter executive session. The public hearing on the DDA appointment was held and closed; no final appointment vote was recorded in the public portion of the meeting.