The Athens City Council made some adjustments to the Athens Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance for establishments within the city’s Downtown Entertainment District. An audit revealed two establishments in the district were not making the 40 percent food sales requirement. The adjustment will lower the food sales requirement to 20 percent.

Council President Harold Wales expressed concerns about possibly removing the incentive establishments have to push food sales but voted in favor of the adjustment.

Jeremy Miller, owner of Limestone Legends Billiards, addressed the council as one of the two establishments not meeting the food ordinance requirement. He told the council that it wasn’t from a lack of trying.

“I read over the city bylaws and saw that the golf course had been 80-20 for a couple of years now and just wondered why downtown, since we made the entertainment district, that nothing had been updated with that ordinance for the entertainment district,” Miller said.

Several council members voiced their support for the change and felt changing the ordinance was fair and supportive of local downtown businesses.

“My feelings on changing this ordinance is we are giving them a better shot at success. That doesn’t just apply to these businesses but any subsequent ones that want to try a new model, which is what these businesses are doing. They are an unproven product. When they went into business, they did it because they had a passion for what they wanted to do. Because of their unique niche in our Downtown Entertainment District, they bring people in, and it was a little harder to gauge what they might do. I think we are giving them the opportunity to stay in business and to add a very unique proposition to our entertainment district that otherwise, we would not have. That’s why I support this,” Councilwoman Dana Henry said.

“I read that and looked at it and determined that it wasn’t us doing someone a favor for those two establishments but changing the ordinance for whatever lies within that entertainment district,” Councilman James Lucas said.

Public hearings

• Public hearing relating to the zoning approval for the sale of alcohol in the City of Athens by Elizabeth’s Cocina Mexicana & Bar, LLC, dba: Elizabeth’s Cocina Mexicana & Bar located at 616 Highway 31, Suite B, Athens.

• Public hearing relating to the zoning approval for the sale of alcohol in the City of Athens by Old Black Bear Brewing Company, 311 South Marion Street, Athens.

• Public hearing relating to the proposed resolution determining that a structure at 1420/1422 N. Jefferson Street is unsafe and a public nuisance, and ordering abatement of the same. Chief Building Inspector Erik Waddell recommended that the council take no further action on this property as the property owner had corrected the issues in question.

Consent calendar

• Resolution to approve travel/education expenses for personnel of the Public Works Department in the amount of $455.22.

• Resolution to approve travel/education expenses for personnel of the Water Services Department in the amount of $8,769.42.

• Resolution to approve the purchase of a 2023 Ford F150 Supercrew 4×4 pickup truck for the Information Technology Department in an amount not to exceed $43,000.

Regular meeting

• Ordinance amending the Athens Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance.

• Resolution to accept the proposal of Morrell Engineering to provide ADEM services for the proposed Roselawn Cemetery expansion at a cost not to exceed $49,135.

• Resolution regarding the purchase 108 acres of real property on Edgewood Road at $849,000. The use will be used for the future expansion of Public Works facilities and other purposes.

• Resolution to amend the Bituminous Paving Contract to re-stripe Brownsferry Street from US Hwy 72 to South Houston Street at an estimated cost of $20,000.

• Resolution to amend the Bituminous Paving Contract to resurface portions of Lindsay Lane from Westminster Drive to Chancery Lane and include Trigreen Drive at an estimated cost of $111,000.

• Resolution to enter into an agreement with Morrell Engineering for the design and CE&I or IAR-402-000-015, for the intersection improvements for Airport Road with a deceleration lane on SR-127 (Jefferson Street) to benefit Gregory Industries. The amount shall not exceed $136,000.

• Resolution to enter into an agreement with ALDOT for project IAR-402-000-015, for the intersection improvements for Airport Road with a deceleration lane on SR-127 (Jefferson Street) to benefit Gregory Industries at an estimated cost of $1.2 million paid by the Corporation Access Funds from the State of Alabama with no match of city funds.

• Resolution to allow the City Engineer to modify Coleman Avenue from Brownsferry Street to US Hwy 72 to include striping and to add corrected speed limit signs (25 mph) as per Ordinance 2020-2101, as part of the Traffic Calming Program. The amount isn’t to exceed $2,000.

• Resolution to allow Public Works to purchase and install a solar powered flashing school zone at US Hwy 31, along the eastbound lane of Hwy 251, just before the entrance of Swan Creek Drive. The amount shall not exceed $4,600.