Piedmont, AL – The rezoning of four parcels of property in District 7 from residential to highway commercial for the construction of a public storage facility highlighted Tuesday’s Piedmont City Council meeting.
During a public hearing, the council heard from Gary Price and his business partners, Keith and Jody Thompson, regarding the construction of a lighted storage facility along the Ladiga Trail coming into town and their plans for its use.
“We know there are several facilities here in Piedmont, but our facility, we’re hoping to kind of set it apart from everybody else’s here,” Price said. “We’re going to be doing 24-7 access. We’re going to make it for the more tech-savvy people. You can get on to it with your phone, get in via Bluetooth, WIFI, internet, the whole nine yards.
“There’s going to be 100 units. We have 10×10 and 10×15 to start with. Once we get phase one built out, we’re going to be looking at building phase two. It’s going to be determined by how fast we rent out all the units in phase one. We’re looking to add 80 more units on phase two. That’s probably all that property will be able to handle.”
Price said he and his partners are looking at “somewhere between 70 and 80 cents per square foot” cost for rental.
“We’ll be running lights over every third or fourth door, as far as security lighting in between the doors,” Price said. “We’re also going to be working to get overhead parking lot lighting, and make sure that it faces downward so that it’s not lighting up our neighbors’ property.
“We want to try and put in some way, like somebody who’s walking on the trail, to be able to get water or maybe have a park bench, that kind of thing. We would like to incorporate something like that into the facility as well.”
By a 6-1 vote during Tuesday’s regular meeting (District 5 representative Greg South was absent), the council approved the rezoning of the property. District 2 representative Richard Williams was the only council member to vote “no.”
“I would like to see an example of what (revenue) it would generate for the city,” Williams said. “Me personally, I would like to talk with more neighbors as to what they think having something 24-7, people coming in and out of there. We promote our walking trail, and honestly, the first thing you see when you come to town is storage buildings.
“Tonight was a no. If I had more information, like I said, I wanted to know exactly what it generates in revenue, if I had it in front of me. Two weeks from now, if I had all the information I wanted, chances are it would probably be yes.”
“I know storage buildings probably aren’t the prettiest thing in the world, just because they’re storage buildings, but I think it’s going to serve a purpose for the citizens of Piedmont and the surrounding area,” Mayor Bill Baker said. “(The city) will make a little money off this structure. I don’t see a problem with it at all. It’s an empty lot right now. I think it shows the city to be progressive bringing some new things in, being a storage building or whatever.”
Price said he and his business partners would like to break ground on the project within the next week.
The council also passed several other resolutions at Tuesday’s meeting. One of those resolutions allows the city to join the Northeast Alabama Purchasing Association, which includes the cities of Gadsden, Southside, and Rainbow City. The passage of this resolution allows the city to purchase items that have already been bid out at lower rates.
Two grass cutting resolutions at 407 and 409 Dailey Street, and at 411 North Center Avenue, were also passed, as well as a motion to continue to pay $6,250 a month to Piedmont Rescue Squad Chief Phillip Winkles until a new contract with him is reached.
Minutes from the previous council meeting and bills for payment totaling $453,895.54 were also approved.
During its work session, the council heard a report from Piedmont Arts and Entertainment Committee Chairman Terry Batey regarding the Independence Day festival held last Saturday at the Piedmont Sports Complex.
Batey felt the day-long event, which concluded with fireworks, was successful. He thanked the council, the event’s sponsors, and its volunteers who had a hand in making the event happen.
“I think everybody was pretty much happy with everything that went on out there,” Batey said. “I hope you guys are getting a lot of positive feedback out of it, and I hope the City of Piedmont is going to get the rewards of this positive feedback.
“We had a lot of fun doing it and appreciate the opportunity to do this. We just hope it brings the community closer together and brings more positive things.”
In their closing remarks, Mayor Baker and each council member thanked Batey, Ashlee Jones, and the rest of the arts and entertainment committee for their efforts in putting on the event.
The next council meeting is scheduled for July 19.
Mr. Fagan is a reporter for WEIS Radio. (Information Provided by WEIS RADIO)
