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Calera authorizes city attorney to coordinate with Chilton County in nuisance suit against burnout venue
Summary
Council approved a resolution authorizing the city attorney to coordinate with Chilton County's attorneys in ongoing litigation seeking to declare a motorsports burnout venue a public nuisance; Chilton County will lead prosecution and the city will be minimally involved to protect local interests.
Calera — The Calera City Council voted July 21 to authorize the city attorney to represent the city's interests in litigation that Chilton County has already filed against a motorsports venue known in discussion as the Peachtown Event Center (sometimes referred to as "Htown").
City leaders said Chilton County, through outside counsel Ben Goldman, has filed a complaint asking a court to declare the venue a nuisance and to restrain and abate its operations described in filings as a large "burnout" pit. The council passed Resolution 2025-39 to permit the city attorney to coordinate with Chilton County's counsel so Calera's local interests are represented without the city separately hiring heavy outside counsel.
"They're going to file this complaint. They're going to prosecute it on behalf of Chilton County regardless of what we do," the city attorney explained. "What this does is basically authorize him to just put your name on something they were already going to pursue and prosecute. Ben will not be charging the city for his actions; he's only charging the venue."
The police chief recounted three incidents linked to vehicles leaving the venue that affected Calera: a high-speed stolen vehicle that fled into woods; a pursuit that entered Calera and led to a crash that killed a young man; and a recent pursuit where a Calera officer blocked a vehicle to keep it off the interstate. Officials said those incidents prompted Chilton County to pursue legal action.
Council members discussed whether the city would incur costs. The attorney said Chilton County's attorneys would perform most of the filings and heavy lifting; the city attorney would coordinate and provide limited additional representation, likely minimal billable time. "You'd benefit from all this legal effort... you get to take advantage of his benefit the way this has been set up," the attorney said.
Council passed the resolution by voice vote; the transcript shows the motion, second, and council vocal affirmations but does not include a numeric roll-call tally in the record.
The resolution authorizes city legal coordination only; any final remedies (injunctions, abatement orders) are subject to court proceedings in Chilton County. The council did not vote on a separate action to pursue a business-license revocation or other administrative remedies at the meeting.
Next steps: the city attorney will coordinate with Chilton County counsel and report back to the council as litigation proceeds.
