Staff Reports

The Fort Payne City Council was busy at its meeting on January 20th, accepting an offer from state officials for property to develop into a truck ramp, and discussing the possibility of installing speed humps or a four way stop on Alabama Avenue.

Late in 2025, Mayor Brian Baine said he received a letter from the Alabama Department of Transportation, which was looking to acquire land next to Alabama Highway 35 as it comes off of Lookout Mountain for an arrestor bed, also referred to as a runaway truck ramp. The properties in question include the site of the old Fort Payne High School gymnasium, currently occupied by Foster’s Training Center, as well as the two houses between the gym and 8th Street and the two houses between the gym and 5th Street, while 8th Street would remain open and connected to Highway 35. For the property the gym sits on, as well as a small sliver of land next to it city officials say was currently occupied by a ditch, ALDOT was offering compensation to the city in the amount of $478,080. This offer was separate from any that would be given to the homeowners who would be affected, as well as to the owners of Foster’s Training Center. The council believed it was a fair offer for the property, especially given that potential future offers from the state would likely be significantly less if the site was claimed under eminent domain. A motion to accept the offer was approved with no opposition.

The council also heard from residents living along Alabama Avenue between 14th and 18th Streets Northwest, who have noted regular concerns with speeding traffic and were hoping to see something done about the situation, finding a way to get cars to slow down between the two intersections. Council President Todd Simpson asked if the residents had noticed if there was a specific time of day it seemed to be more problematic, to which the residents said there was not, it was generally a problem throughout the whole day. During the discussion, various suggestions, such as electronic speed limit signs that shows cars how fast they’re driving as they approach the sign, “Children at Play” signs, and putting in a four-way stop at the intersection of Alabama Avenue and 16th Street Northwest were floated. Councilman John Smith said the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of a new four-way stop. Councilman Beau Genelin said he definitely wanted to move forward on options between 14th and 18th Streets, but also suggested the possibility of looking at doing more along Alabama Avenue all the way down to Glenwood Cemetery. The council made no ultimate decision on the matter at the meeting, but stood determined to take further action at future meetings.

The Fort Payne City Council also:

•Approved minutes from its January 6th meeting.

•Appointed Robbie Davis and Kevin Worthy to the Fort Payne Improvement Authority Board. Davis, Worthy, and Jake Johnson were selected by the council as finalists for the two seats. Davis received “yes” votes from all five council members, while Worthy edged out Johnson for the second seat by receiving three “yes” votes to Johnson’s two.

•Heard from Baine on a proclamation recognizing January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

•Agreed to postpone a pair of public hearings until a future date. One hearing, regarding the vacating of an unopened alleyway in the vicinity of Forest Avenue and 24th Street Northwest, was postponed until February 17th due to illness with some of the parties involved. The second, surrounding a request from the Fort Payne Improvement Authority for a portion of Watkins Avenue to be vacated in order to develop a new electrical substation on site, was delayed until March. FPIA officials requested the postponement to be sure all legal advertising requirements were met.

•Held a first reading on a rezoning request for property on Godfrey Avenue Northeast. The property would remain residential, but would become a classification of residential that would allow for slightly denser development. A public hearing on the rezoning was scheduled to be held at the next council meeting.

•Briefly discussed a possible addition to a city ordinance on the books, stating that the neither the mayor or any of the council members could serve on any paid boards. However, it was suggested that, as with term limits, this might not be able to stand up to any challenge from the state, as it involved regulations set out at the state level. It was also pointed out that in the city law as it currently exists, the mayor and council could not serve on paid boards unless they were specifically requested to do so by the board in question. With that in mind, the council essentially agreed to closely adhere to what is already on the books.

•Approved two alcohol license requests. One was to allow the on-site consumption of beer and wine at the soon to open Pace of Play Indoor Golf facility, while the other was a change of ownership for the license to sell at the South End Market at the South Y.

•Passed a motion to pay the city’s monthly bills.

•Before adjourning, the council voted to enter into executive session to discuss commerce and trade. No decisions came out of the session.

The next meeting of the Fort Payne City Council will be Tuesday, February 3rd at 12:30 P.M.