Anniston council moves to executive session for property negotiations; ordinance on alcohol retailers set for later action

The Anniston City Council adopted its consent agenda and then announced a first reading of an ordinance described in the meeting as adopting "chapter 3 multiple 5 division 2" intended to regulate certain alcohol retailers; the council said it would not take action on the ordinance at this meeting.

Later in the session the presiding council member moved to adjourn into executive session to discuss the government body’s position on offers to purchase, sell, exchange or lease property and to review preliminary negotiations and market value where competitive considerations apply. The motion cited the council's need to discuss matters where the government body is negotiating and may be in competition with other public entities.

A staff member asked to note for the minutes that the discussion would be recorded. The transcript does not include a roll-call vote on the motion into executive session, only the Chair’s motion and the procedural invocation of the executive-session exception. No substantive deliberation about the properties occurred in the public record during this meeting.

The council earlier read several property addresses into the record as part of a separate public hearing on nuisance abatements. The ordinance and the executive-session motion were both announced or moved without additional public debate or a final vote at this meeting.