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Prattville council adopts new rules for naming and renaming city-owned places after amendments
Summary
After debate and two amendments, the Prattville City Council adopted an ordinance creating formal procedures for naming and renaming municipally owned properties; the measure includes a provision that accepts longstanding informal names while allowing for future council action on specific addresses.
The Prattville City Council on a unanimous voice vote adopted an ordinance to set formal procedures for naming and renaming municipally owned properties, after several amendments and a brief recess to finalize language.
Councilors debated whether properties currently known by informal names — such as Vista Pointe Park and The Grove — would remain in use under the new rules. The council voted to accept existing informal names pending a later ratification or resolution, while carving out an exception for one address discussed separately. Council members also added language giving the council authority to create committees or panels to implement the ordinance’s procedures in ways that suit different facility types.
The ordinance was introduced as an administrative “housekeeping” measure intended to bring a consistent naming process to the city. City attorney staff and planning officials told the council the ordinance, as written, applies to all municipally owned property and that council resolution can be used to ratify or revoke names when necessary. One councilor who drafted the ordinance said the amendment adding committee authority would provide the flexibility to handle naming for fire stations, parks and larger venues differently.
During public comment several residents urged prompt implementation and clearer communications. Patrick Lucas, who identified himself as chair of the county Democratic Party, asked the mayor to “respect the authority of the council and to uphold the decision made on behalf of the people of Prattville.” Jackie Nicks later praised the meeting’s transparency, saying, “This has been the most transparent meeting I have been to.”
The council’s adoption ends a period in which staff and councilors said they discovered a mix of properties with and without formal naming records. The ordinance gives the council tools to ratify long-used names and to address any that later prove problematic.
Next steps: staff will publish the ordinance text and a list of properties subject to the rules; the council can return to specific names for separate votes if disputes arise.
