The Athens City Council on Monday passed the master development plan for the Links at Canebrake, a 296-lot subdivision to be built just south of the exclusive Canebrake Club neighborhood off Lindsay Lane.

The Links, being developed by D.R. Horton, was the subject of a passionate public hearing earlier this month where residents asked the council to require changes to the plan. The primary change sought was a natural buffer between the Canebrake Club and the Links, but there is no precedent for such a buffer between residential developments.

Despite an hourlong public hearing at the March 12 meeting, no Canebrake residents spoke at Monday’s meeting about the plan. Athens resident David Malone came to the podium to chide the council about how the March 12 public hearing was conducted.

He pointed out that some Canebrake residents were allowed to come to the microphone three or four times to speak and that some people continued to speak out about the development plan during the council’s regular session.

“Let’s not let the value of an individual’s home determine how long the public hearing lasts and how long the individual can speak,” said Malone, who was present at the March 12 meeting. “It was awful to see it go that way.”

Council President Chris Seibert told Malone it was an “emotionally charged public hearing” and he took responsibility for how the hearing was conducted.

“People made an effort to come to a meeting and were given their opportunity to speak,” Seibert said.

Bond vote not unanimous

Elsewhere Monday, the council voted to authorize the issuance of $20 million in general obligation warrants. About $16.5 million will be used to build a new 70,000-square-foot recreation center, while the rest will be used to make improvements to the former Pilgrim’s Pride property, which the city purchased in July for $550,000.

The vote wasn’t unanimous, however, as District 4 Councilman Joseph Cannon voted against the measure. He said he simply “wasn’t comfortable” voting for the issue when there are people living in his district who have needs beyond a new rec center.

“I’ve got people in my district who want water out of their ditch and people who want to be on sewer,” Cannon said. “I understand we need the rec center, but I just can’t put my name on it to say I’m OK with it.”

He also said the city could have possibly gotten a similar interest rate through borrowing from a local bank as opposed to going to the bond market.

City Clerk Annette Barnes-Threet said anyone interested in purchasing a warrant for the rec center project can call her office at 256-233-8004.

Other business

In other business Monday, the council:

• Held a public hearing and then tabled a resolution to vacate public ways shown on a plat map of the College View addition to Athens, now known as the Pilgrim’s Pride property. City attorney Shane Black asked the council to table the measure so an issue raised by an adjacent property owner could be resolved;

• Approved $834.27 in travel and education expenses for the Public Works Department;

• Approved $39.08 in travel expenses for Athens Fire & Rescue;

• Authorized Public Works to dispose of scrap dumpsters, with proceeds from the sale going to the Public Works capital account;

• Approved a resolution to submit the annual Municipal Water Pollution Prevention Report to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management; and

• Approved an ordinance to abandon a utility and drainage easement on lot 71 of the Farm View subdivision.