Story by Donna Thornton donna@southerntorch.com

Tourism numbers have been very good in DeKalb County in recent years, DeKalb County Tourism Board Director John Dersham said, while giving the Fort Payne City Council an update on visitors to the area last week.

The number of tourism dollars spent in DeKalb County has doubled in eight years, he said, to a remarkable $159 million spent in the county last year.

“In 2023, $1.4 billion in state and local tax revenue was generated by travel and tourism,” he said, making it the second largest industry in the State of Alabama behind agriculture.

He said there were interesting trends in tourism recently.

“Our numbers exploded in 2021,” Dersham said. After the COVID-19 pandemic eased and people thought conditions were safer to come out, they sought out leisure areas in Alabama, such as DeKalb County, with its parks and camping. “We’re one of the best,” he said.

In larger cities such as Birmingham and Huntsville, which see more 

convention and conference traffic, and business travel, the numbers came back slower.

“They came back like a bomb last year,” Dersham explained. “We’re just busted loose. They had greater growth in those cities last year than we did,” while the pattern sort of normalized for leisure travel areas.

For this year, Dersham said, the DeKalb County Tourism Association continues to advertise. He thanked the council for its continued support. “You’ve gotten our new travel guide. We’re doing that once a year, every year, with the help of Southern Torch/Times-Journal. It’s really pretty, and its magazine-sized,” he said – something not many counties produce. “We’re very proud of that.”

Lodging numbers are consistently good and growing with short-term rentals in the area, Dersham said.

Mayor Brian Baine had good news Tuesday for Fort Payne residents: He got a call July 12 letting him know that the city has been approved for traffic light at U.S. 11 and Airport Road.

“This has been a long time coming,” Baine said. “We will be getting that light up.”

The city council authorized an agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation for a traffic signal modification at U.S. Highway 11 and Highway 35 at the south Y for the Food City development. The agreement will upgrade the traffic signal. When questioned, Baine said he was not sure how the traffic flow will be at the Food City shopping center.

“It doesn’t really matter what we think so much,” council member Lynn Brewer said. “ALDOT’s going to do what they want. They know more about it than I do.”

The council approved purchase of five 2024 Chevrolet Tahoes for the police department, after considerable discussion about the pros and cons of purchasing the sometimes hard-to-get vehicles. While Police Chief David Davis recommended OKing purchase of five, one motion was proposed to buy only three Tahoes at this time. It failed.

However, talking about the matter further, council members reasoned that purchasing three vehicles for roughly $120,000, and rotating out or selling two vehicles for would allow the city to purchase the other two vehicles for about $30,000.

“That kind of makes sense,” Watson said, as an investment the city can build on, and a move toward a fleet program of rotating out vehicles regularly, selling them before they lose value and gain maintenance expenses. A motion to buy five vehicles was approved.

The mayor reported the city pool must close a week earlier than usual because of needed repairs for a leak. The pool closed July 26. He said the pool needs some “tlc” and it must be addressed in city budgeting. He said the city has spent $110,000 on a pump at the pool already.

The skate park located at the complex has drawn cautions from the city’s insurers, requesting some changes that have been made. The park has been closed, Baine said, and the city will be looking for a possible location for a park.

The city is looking at putting batting cages – something needed for some time – in the skate park location.

Watson reiterated that the city plans to establish a new, better skate park, and has been in talks with concerned citizens about doing so.

Baine said since the city’s surveys related to the city master plan leaders have been aware of the desire for more activities for young people. “It takes time and it takes people who are willing to invest in that for our city,” he said. “We are moving forward on that.”

The mayor also made reference to recent national events.

“Given the state of our nation, I don’t care where you sit, on what side of the fence you sit on, now is the time to work together,” he said. “We’re at a crucial point in American history that we have got to work together.

There’s no better place to do that than on a local level, the mayor said. “Are we all going to agree on everything? No. But we can agree to disagree and move forward, and get these things done that need to be done and get this country back” he said, to the ideals that led to its founding.

The council conducted a public hearing on a proposed alcohol application from Food City for an on-premise beer and wine sales license. No one spoke against for in favor of the license.

The council went into executive session at the end of the meeting, to discuss trade and commerce.