Anniston Finalizes Rebranding at Work Session and City Council Meeting

Work Session

1. 1.  Bids
      1. Bids for restrooms addition Anniston Museum Natural History
         1. The bids will open on 2/24 and be presented at the next meeting.
   2. Surplus Equipment
      1. Discussion of surplus real personal property for Police Department
         1. These items are mainly confiscated items.
   3. Fire Hydrant Installation
      1. Installation of a fire hydrant at McClellan
         1. Vapor Wake K9 wants to put in a fire hydrant and they are taking on the cost. This item is listed on the consent agenda.
   4. Alcohol License Applications
      1. Retail Beer (Off Premises Only) and Retail Table Wine (Off Premises Only) application for Amoco Food Mart Inc., d/b/a Amoco Food Mart located at 1000 West 15th Street inside the corporate city limits
         1. This item is on the consent agenda.
      2. 011 – Lounge Retail Liquor – Class I application for Live Lounge LLC d/b/a Live Lounge located at 320 S Quintard Avenue inside the corporate city limits.
         1. This item is on the consent agenda.
   5. Rebranding
      1. Presentation of the City of Anniston rebranding
         1. Public information Officer Jackson Hodges presented a TV commercial (shown below), billboard signs, and new images for the website and social media pages. He did remind all that the city logo was not changing. The new slogan “We are more” is going to be prominently displayed and the goal is to remind all that there is more to Anniston then any one thing, negative or positive. The TV commercial will run on Spectrum and AT&T for 5 months February through July. The billboards will be up from February through May. In addition a final decision was reached on the new city mission statement.  The final statement will be:

The City of Anniston strives to foster diverse community growth, economic opportunity, and public safety while preserving our citizenry’s confidence through transparency. 

1. 1. FY22 Budget Amendment

      

      1. Discussion of proposed FY22 Budget amendment
         1. Finance Director Julie Borrelli wanted to stress that most of the times being amended were minor changes and most were simply moving existing line items.
   2. Councilwoman Harris discussion items
      1. Discuss a request to allow hens with the city
         1. In 2013 a ordnance was passed against having any fowl in the city limits. Many citizens have asked to have this ordnance reconsidered due to an increase in a desire for self sustainability. It was noted that hens are quiet and roosters are not required to produce eggs. She did stress she didn’t want to cause code enforcement issues, but she also wanted to address an issue that had been brought to her by multiple sources. Councilwoman Harris also notes she had been contacted about this issue from a parent that homeschools. They want to teach about how to care for hens.
   3. Mayor Draper discussion items
      1. BAE
         1. BAE is looking to add a production line to their Anniston facilities. This would be at a cost of $600,000. $400,000 of that is being requested from the city.  A decision was made to continue to explore to possibility.
      2. Coldwater Mountain Brew Pub
         1. The new restaurant has requested an abatement of two percent of the city’s portion of the sales tax generated until $246,000 or the completion of the Chief Ladiga Trail, whichever comes first. This item has come before the council before, but no formal action has been taken on it. The last business that used the ADECA 722 olive for tax abatement was Jacks.
   4. City Manager Updates
      1. Fire Department collaboration with Gadsden State Community College
         1. Mr. Folks wanted to share the collaboration between Gadsden State University and the Anniston Fire Department to build a program that mirror the existing high school fore science program. Gadsden would until the new explanation to the fire department, but would provide the instructions and tools and models.

            

   5. Other Items
      1. Councilwoman Smith mentioned the tase issue in Anniston. She stress the importance of addressing this issue and working to resolve it. A discussion was held on a education campaign through the local schools as well as having more dump days. Additionally it was mentions to have various “tags” for trash pick up such as mattresses and other furniture. Currently residents can get tags for appliance pickup. Also a request was made from Councilman Roberts to stager the dump days so they didn’t call on the same dates the County has free dump days as well.
      2. Mr. Folks has asked that anyone interested in going on the DC trip please notify the city immediately so tickers and arrangements can be made.
      3. Councilwoman Harris mentioned an event that would be taking place on 2/23 at Pat Potter’s homes.  She has invited all the council and because that would constitute a quorum the media must be made aware. Ms. Potter has invited an architect from Switzerland who would like to offer free services to the city in a limited capacity.

City Council Meeting