CC Minutes 2023.12.05
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PRATTVILLE CITY COUNCIL
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023
6:06 P.M.
The Prattville City Council met in regular session on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, at 6:06 p.m.
in the Council Chambers at City Hall. After the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag,
Councilor Merrick gave the invocation. Roll was called with all Councilors recorded as present.
Council President Boone declared a quorum and called the meeting to order.
THE CHARACTER TRAIT OF THE MONTH IS GENEROSITY… Managing my resources so
I can freely give to those in need.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Public Hearing and City Council Meeting November 21, 2023.
Council President Pro Tempore Strichik made a motion to adopt the minutes and Councilor
Merrick seconded the motion. There being no discussion, the minutes were adopted (6-0).
COMMENTS FROM PERSONS PRESENT REGARDING TONIGHT’S AGENDA:
Bryan Morgan, 1020 Saddle Ridge, spoke on Agenda Item No. 5 and his desire to table the
item because District 5 has no current representation.
Jon Lee Finnegan, 211 Deer Trace, spoke on Agenda Item No. 3 and her desire for amounts
to be in the title. Council President Boone explained the amounts are only put in the titles when
the City is expending money.
Hattie Lewis, 912 Wilberforce, spoke on Agenda Item No. 1 and requested more information.
Council President Boone recognized Mayor Gillespie. The Mayor advised Ms. Lewis to get with
Code Enforcement for details of the process.
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Gillespie opened his report with a project update on North Highland Park stating that the
new playground equipment fabrications are complete and should be delivered in the next few
weeks. The Mayor also updated on the asphalt turn lane extension project on Fairview Avenue
and Old Farm Lane, stating the striping of the asphalt will be completed once the asphalt is
cured, advising the new addition will help with traffic flow in District 3 as it continu es to grow.
Mayor Gillespie continued his report by updating on the Premise Health remodeling project in
the old Whitney Hancock Bank advising he will keep everyone informed on its progress.
Mayor Gillespie discussed the preparation for remodeling of the council chambers advising that
this would come before the Council for approval in the near future. The Mayor gave a project
update on the Doster Road paving project and the anticipated start date of December 11, 2023,
weather permitting.
The Mayor continued his report by notating upcoming events for the Christmas season:
Prattville POP Community Choir Christmas concert Thursday, December 7, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.;
Christmas Parade Friday, December 8, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. with the route will be the old box
route starting and ending at the Courthouse. He noted that parking in downtown will be closed
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off around 2:00 p.m. for the safety of all; and Main Street Christmas Tuesday, December 12,
2023, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Mayor Gillespie closed his report by thanking all of the departments who have worked to make
Prattville look great.
FROM COUNCIL ON SPECIAL COMMITTEES:
None
CONSENT AGENDA
1. RESOLUTION: To Grant a Restaurant Retail Liquor License to PRA Management, LLC
d/b/a The Goat Bar and Grill. {Sponsored By: Council President Pro Tempore Strichik}
2. RESOLUTION: To Authorize the Mayor to have Overgrown Grass and Weeds at 870
Wilberforce Avenue Abated Pursuant to Chapter 46 et seq., City of Prattville Code of
Ordinances. {Sponsored By: Council President Pro Tempore Strichik}
3. RESOLUTION: To Ratify, Affirm and Authorize the Mayor to Enter into a Lease Agreement
between the City of Prattville and the Autauga Creek Improvement Committee, Inc. (ACIC) to
Lease Certain Property on West 4th Street for a Period of Five Years. {Sponsored By: Council
President Pro Tempore Strichik}
4. RESOLUTION: To Authorize the City Attorney to Affix the Cost of Demolition of the
Dilapidated and Unsafe Structures at 902 Washington Ferry Road. {Sponsored By: Council
President Pro Tempore Strichik}
5. RESOLUTION: To Support the City of Prattville in Its Application for Grant Funding through
the State Industrial Development Authority (SIDA), Site Evaluation and Economic Development
Strategy (SEEDS), for South Industrial Park. {Sponsored By: Council President Pro Tempore
Strichik}
Council President Pro Tempore Strichik made a motion to place item numbers 1-5 on a
Consent Agenda and Councilor Jackson seconded the motion. The items were placed on a
Consent Agenda (6-0).
Councilor Chamber made a motion to adopt the Consent Agenda and Councilor Merrick
seconded the motion. There being no discussion, the Consent Agenda was adopted with the
following results:
AYES : STRIPLIN, JACKSON, CHAMBERS,
MERRICK, STRICHIK, BOONE 6
NAYS : NONE 0
ABSTAINED : NONE 0
ABSENT :
AGENDA
1. RESOLUTION: To Authorize Demolition and Removal of the Dilapidated Structure Located
at 912 Wilberforce Avenue and to Award a Contract to RCR Excavating, LLC at a Cost Not to
Exceed $10,500.00. {Sponsored By: Council President Pro Tempore Strichik}
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Council President Pro Tempore Strichik made a motion to adopt the resolution and Councilor
Merrick seconded the motion. There being no discussion, the Resolution was adopted with the
following results:
AYES : STRIPLIN, JACKSON, CHAMBERS,
MERRICK, STRICHIK, BOONE, 6
NAYS : NONE 0
ABSTAINED : NONE 0
ABSENT :
2. RESOLUTION: Notice of Special Election for Councilor of District 5. {Sponsored By: Council
President Boone}
Councilor Merrick made a motion to adopt the resolution and Councilor Jackson seconded the
motion. There being no discussion, the Resolution was adopted with the following results:
AYES : STRIPLIN, JACKSON, CHAMBERS,
MERRICK, STRICHIK, BOONE 6
NAYS : NONE 0
ABSTAINED : NONE 0
ABSENT :
3. RESOLUTION: To Set a Public Hearing to Rezone Property Located Inside the Corporate
Limits at 941 Lower Kingston Road from R-3 (Single Family Residential) and M-2 (General
Industry) to T-1 (Manufactured Home Subdivision) (Petitioner: Austin Mitchell). {Sponsored By:
Council President Boone}
Councilor Striplin made a motion to adopt the resolution and Councilor Merrick seconded the
motion. There being no discussion, the Resolution was adopted with the following results:
AYES : STRIPLIN, JACKSON, CHAMBERS,
MERRICK, STRICHIK, BOONE 6
NAYS : NONE 0
ABSTAINED : NONE 0
ABSENT :
Councilor Striplin introduced the corresponding ordinance and made a motion to adopt.
Councilor Chambers seconded the motion. By Point -of-Order, this ordinance was held until
after the Public Hearing on January 2, 2024.
4. RESOLUTION: To Set a Public Hearing to Rezone Property Located Inside the Corporate
Limits at 307 Old Farm Lane South from FAR (Forest, Agriculture, Recreation) to O -1 (Office
District) (Petitioner: Little House Developments, LLC). {Sponsored By: Council President
Boone}
Councilor Chambers made a motion to adopt the resolution and Council President Pro
Tempore Strichik seconded the motion. There being no discussion, the Resolution was
adopted with the following results:
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AYES : STRIPLIN, JACKSON, CHAMBERS,
MERRICK, STRICHIK, BOONE 6
NAYS : NONE 0
ABSTAINED : NONE 0
ABSENT :
Councilor Chamber introduced the corresponding ordinance and made a motion to adopt.
Councilor Merrick seconded the motion. By Point-of-Order, this ordinance was held until after
the Public Hearing on January 2, 2024.
5. RESOLUTION: To Set a Public Hearing to Rezone Property Located Inside the Corporate
Limits at Highway 82 East and Constitution Avenue from B -2 (General Business), R-2 (Single
Family Residential) and PUD (Planned Unit Development) to PUD (Planned Unit Development)
(Owner: DHS-1 Holding, Inc., DHS-2 Holding, Inc., DHS-3 Holding, Inc and Greshman Place)
(Representative: Barrett-Simpson, Inc.). {Sponsored By: Council President Boone}
Council President Pro Tempore Strichik made a motion to adopt the resolution and Councilor
Striplin seconded the motion.
Councilor Jackson asked City Attorney, Andrew Odom, for guidance on postponing the
resolution until after a Councilor for District 5 is elected. Mr. Odom advised the procedures for
making a motion to postpone. Council President Pro Tempore Strichik inquired regarding the
effect of the delay. Council President Boone inquired of Planning Director, Scott Stephens
about the timeline. Mr. Stephens advised that he understood the developers have a defined
due diligence period with the property owner and any delay may cause a renegotiation of the
contract.
Councilor Jackson made a motion to postpone the resolution until the March 5, 2024, City
Council meeting and Councilor Chambers seconded the motion.
Council President Boone expressed her thoughts of the delay being unnecessary since this
resolution only sets the Public Hearing. Council President Boone further explained that if there
was a runoff election that it could possibly delay this process even further.
Councilor Jackson inquired about the lack of representation in District 5 and Council President
Boone advised that while each councilman is assigned to district, they all represent the City of
Prattville. She explained that the constituents of District 5 could reach out to any of the
Councilors with their concerns.
There being no further discussion the motion to postpone Resolution No. 5 until March 5, 2024
failed with the following results:
AYES : JACKSON, CHAMBERS 2
NAYS : STRIPLIN, MERRICK
STRICHIK, BOONE 4
ABSTAINED : NONE 0
ABSENT :
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There being no further discussion, the original Resolution was adopted with the following
results:
AYES : STRIPLIN, CHAMBERS, MERRICK
STRICHIK, BOONE 5
NAYS : JACKSON 1
ABSTAINED : NONE 0
ABSENT :
Council President Pro Tempore Strichik introduced the corresponding ordinance and made a
motion to adopt. Councilor Striplin seconded the motion. By Point -of-Order, this ordinance
was held until its Public Hearing on January 2, 2024.
6. RESOLUTION: To Establish 2024 Redistricting Guidelines and Milestones. {Sponsored By:
Council President Boone}
Council President Pro Tempore Strichik made a motion to adopt the resolution and Councilor
Merrick seconded the motion.
Councilor Jackson asked City Attorney, Andrew Odom, questions in regards to the Resolution
presented.
Since it was determined that Prattville is a Class 6 Municipality. Have we contacted the AG’s
office since it was determined that Prattville city council never held a referendum vote in order
to abandoned a commission form of government and to adopted a Mayor -Council form of
government? Do we need to contact Senator Chambliss and Representatives Lawrence and
Starnes for some guidance in this matter since it may require legislative action?
I spoke on this previously at the 9-6-22 Council Meeting, but essentially Prattville was
established as a Class 6 Municipality based off of our population from the 1970 census. This
state law, §11-40-12, is what established Prattville as a Class 6 Municipality. The referendum
vote to abandon a commission form of government only applies to those local governments
who previously had a commission form of government, which we did not. Therefore, the
applicable redistricting statute for Prattville as a Class 6 Municipality is § 11 -46-23, not 11-44D-
8. I spoke with Rob Johnston from ALM last September following your email with him, and he
agreed with me that §11-46-23 would be the redistricting statute applicable to the City of
Prattville.
Who was involved in the decision-making process for establishing the proposed guidelines?
City Attorney, Andrew Odom and City Planning Director, Scott Stephens worked to put together
the draft guidelines.
What factors were considered when determining the proposed guidelines for redistricting?
As a base line we looked at adopted guidelines for the 2011 redistricting process? As well as
the Voting Rights Act and caselaw surrounding its interpretation, including the State of
Alabama’s Allen v. Milligan, the statewide redistricting case heard by the United States
Supreme Court. The guidelines include the traditional redistricting principles of equal
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representation based on district population within 5% deviation range, one person one vote,
strive to make district boundaries easily identifiable (i.e. neighborhoods, streets, streams, etc.).
Were there any legal requirements or regulations that influenced the guidelines? Because
there are no guidelines or ordinances currently in place, therefore where did you all get the
legal guidelines and ordinances in order to develop these proposed guidelines?
These guidelines were influenced by the Voting Rights Act, Supreme Court precedent and state
law, and most of the proposed guidelines were utilized by the City with the 2011 Redistricting
Resolution.
Why was there no council or community input involved while taken into consideration the
proposed guidelines?
The Resolution adopting the Redistricting Guidelines is just the starting point for the redistricting
process, as the guidelines anticipate getting input on proposed redistricting plans from the
public through at least two public hearings. In addition, alternative plans and feedback from the
Legal Defense Fund (LDF), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP), and citizens alike.
Was the NAACP and Legal Defense Fund contacted per their request dated 7/5/22?
Yes, I was in communication with Ashley Burrell of the NAACP last July after receiving the
letter, and they were provided with Census data/shape files for the purpose of providing us with
any alternative plans they could come up with. After that Alabama State University was
released of their contract and the process was halted the process at that point. We continue to
plan and stay in contact throughout this process LDF and NAACP.
Were any of their concerns taken into consideration when developing these proposed
guidelines?
Yes, particularly with paragraphs 10 and 11 on the proposed guidelines , “Proposed redistricting
plans requiring less change to current districts in order to balance population and comply with
criteria set forth herein will be generally preferred over plans which require more change to
achieve such balance and compliance.” not losing what we already have but using that as a
benchmark to move forward and equalize the population.
It should be required that council be included in all communication, via email,
between personnel hired and their staff concerning this process. The Planning Department,
City Clerk, and Mayor should be copied as well.
Yes, Mr. Odom agreed and stated there are a lot of moving parts to this process and open
communication is needed so everyone can be informed and on the same page.
Has any of the entities, that are being considered to be hired, had any communication or
meetings regarding these proposed guidelines or redistricting process with City personnel? If
so, what was the nature of the conversation(s), who authorized this vetting process, who was
present, and who supervised all of this? Should the council have possibly had an executive
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session to discuss vetting potential entities to help us with this process? Please forward notes
and documentation from these meetings/communications.
Myself and Scott Stephens met with Richard Allen , who was selected be the Federal Courts to
come up with alternative maps for the State of Alabama. With that experience, we gathered
information on what type of redistricting services he could offer. Scott Stephens has also been
in contact with someone through the State’s Legislative Reapportionment Office as well that
can provide alternative services.
Councilor Jackson asked that Resolution No. 6 be tabled to allow consideration of all
information to include experts in this field and further review before making any final decisions.
He asked that this be tabled until the following meeting so that any legal implications can be
reviewed also.
Council President Boone inquired of Mr. Odom regarding the date of the hold on the original
redistricting due to the Alabama decision. Mr. Odom stated the delay was made in June of last
year and went into September. Council President Boone stated this is a government mandate
that has to be completed and we have a deadline of August 2025 in order to have all necessary
data for the election process and notify the public of voting locations. This is only the beginning
of the process and this first step needs to completed.
Councilor Jackson stated that the Milligan case didn’t get resolved until October 2023.
Council President Pro Tempore Strichik advised he didn’t have an issue with holding Resolution
No.6 for two weeks.
Councilor Jackson made a motion to table the Resolution until December 19, 2023 and Council
President Pro Tempore Strichik seconded the motion.
There being no further discussion, the Motion to Hold until December 19, 2023 was adopted
with the following results:
AYES : STRIPLIN, JACKSON,
MERRICK, STRICHIK 4
NAYS : CHAMBERS, BOONE 2
ABSTAINED : NONE 0
ABSENT :
COMMENTS FROM PERSONS PRESENT:
Craig Clement,1317 Cherry Tree Lane, spoke on Resolution No.’s 2 and 5 and having no
representation on District 5.
Patrick Lucas Sr., 1211 Caliber Crossing, spoke on representation and timelines of
redistricting.
Barbara Robinson, 123 White Oak Court., spoke on North Highland Park and additional
information on the finished look of the park, timeline, and upcoming meetings.
El White II, 621 W. 4th Street, spoke on the redistricting, transparency and communication. Mr.
White also spoke on the Library Board and random gun fire in city limits and Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder.
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Edward Clinton, 359 Bent Tree Drive, spoke on under water springs and drainage issues to his
and surrounding properties.
Lenny Schaefer, 1277 Ridge Trail, spoke on the Library Board and freedom of speech versus
discretion.
CLOSING COMMENTS:
Councilor Jackson thanked Chief Thompson and the Police Department for the press
conference and assisting the family during the recent homicide investigation.
Council President Pro Tempore Strichik thank Kelly Cook and staff for all of their hard work in
the downtown area.
Council President Boone advised the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting would be
held Tuesday, December 19, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.
ADJOURN:
There being no further business to come before the Council, Councilor Merrick made a motion
to adjourn and Councilor Jackson seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 7:17 p.m.
(6-0)
APPROVED:
Paula G. Barlow
City Clerk
Lora Lee Boone, President
Prattville City Council
Loucretia Harrell
Assistant City Clerk