Council approves 2019 budget, deliberates over BallCorps payment
MADISON — Madison City Council faced more disagreement among themselves than usual at their Sept. 24 meeting.
During the council’s presentation of reports, an added resolution to reimburse BallCorps nearly $372,000 for architectural fees caused tension in a discussion on whether to approve the resolution or table it for another week or two.
District 4 Councilman Greg Shaw adamantly proposed that the council table the resolution until they could meet with BallCorps again and reach further agreement on all parts of the budget. He argued that the council should work out an agreement for all parts before approving just a portion.
District 3 Councilman Teddy Powell expressed a desire to do what the council previously discussed, whether that meant paying now or holding off. Mayor Paul Finley then explained the agreement and strongly argued in favor of approval without delay.
“When we came down to the final pieces that we needed to as a city and BallCorps as a team, together with the owner, we sat and agreed that we would go forward with the bid and that anything going over that $46 million number would be negotiated,” Finley said. “We’ve looked at contractual pieces, we’ve looked at things that we’ve talked about—we did say we wanted to get that money back to them. What this [resolution] does is meets the number that keeps us where we said we would be, which is, in essence, the $46 million plus interest for what we said this ballpark would cost and then gets us to the table … to finalize this where it’s a product that helps both of us get as much as we possibly can from the monies that are there, but it keeps it within what we told our citizens that we would do.”
Finley also explained that BallCorps spent “about $100,000 more on the front end” to keep the project going while the City of Madison was still working through legal ramifications “to meet what cities have to do.”
“We’re very appreciative of that, and we said we will do everything we can to give all that money back,” Finley explained. “With that said, we also agreed—and the owner sat in a room and said ‘I’ll work with you guys to make sure we stay at that number.’ This keeps us at that number and continues us all moving forward together collaboratively.”
Both Megan Zingarelli, city attorney of Madison, and Mary Beth Broeren, planning director, strongly advised the council to approve the resolution. Zingarelli said that doing this would allow Madison to meet their goal of staying within the project budget and said it’s “right in line with the license agreement.” Broeren said $206,000 is assumed in value engineering, which she hopes to discuss with BallCorps when they are back in town next week.
“We’re just trying to find a way because that’s very important to them, and it’s reasonable that we would pay for all the architectural fees,” Broeren explained. “We’re just trying to find a way to do that and maintain budget because we hear from you all to keep it within the budget, and this (the resolution) is a way to do that.”
Finley noted that Madison has ample room to make the changes “we need to make, want to make and can make.” District 2 Councilman Steve Smith also said adjustments can still be made later on.
“This does what we told our citizens we would do, and that’s who I’m most accountable to,” Finley added.
The council voted 4-2 to approve the resolution. Shaw and District 6 Councilman Gerald Clark dissented. Although Powell voted to approve, he expressed some reservations.
“I only did this for the team, but I can tell you if the other side does not come to the table, I will not vote for another dime,” Powell said.
“If we can’t work as a team, my votes are out, too,” said District 7 Councilman John Seifert.
Council President Tommy Overcash was absent until the latter part of the meeting.
In contrast, council voted unanimously to approve the City of Madison’s 2019 budget. In a video, Finley shared highlights from the 2018 budget and noted that Madison had about $10 million leftover. Finley shared highlights from the 2019 budget, including “doing more with less” in terms of some staff numbers and paying cash instead of credit on some projects. With Madison City Schools, the budget will fund more school resource officers to increase school safety. By improving the franchise agreement with Huntsville Utilities, Finley said three big projects will have additional funding.
Infrastructure funds will repave part of Hughes Road from the end of the five-lane expansion by Eastview to Highway 72, as well as a multi-use path next to it. A sidewalk will also be added on Palmer Road from County Line Road to Palmer Park and the Bradford Creek Greenway. Finley said the city plans to spend about $800,000 to repave different streets throughout the city.
With Dublin and Palmer parks, the budget will plan for the addition of adult programs and overall safety improvement.
One of Madison’s fire battalion chiefs will work full time in emergency management and work to set up shelters in city.
The Sealy Project is also addressed in the 2019 budget. It includes plans for 190 apartment units, about 10,000 square feet of retail space and a connecting road from Sullivan Street to the football stadium. A Home Place Park project will include a new gazebo, seating and paths.
To view the video and read more about the 2019 budget, visit www.madisonal.gov/budget2019.
“This is the sixth year I’ve been on the finance committee to submit a budget to council for approval, and I feel like this is the best budget that’s been presented,” Smith said. Both Clark and Finley agreed.
Seifert noted that the Bob Jones High School homecoming parade will be Thursday, Sept. 27. The parade’s new route will begin at the new Ace Hardware store on Hughes Road and end at Bob Jones.
In other business, Madison Baseball Association President Chris McFarland gave a presentation on recent and upcoming improvements made to Palmer Park. Recent updates include new batting cage nets, as well as repaired and replaced fencing around the cages. Soon, MBA plans to install permanent roof structures over all eight batting cages. MBA also plans to improve their fields by leveling them. For field 5 in particular, MBA will develop it into a multi-use field that can be used for “any age group.” The council unanimously voted to approve these upgrades later in the meeting as part of the recreation resolutions.
Almost all council members voted to approve the consent agenda and finance committee report. Many of these items included construction payments on projects such as the Balch Road roundabout, improvements to Balch Road and the widening of both Hughes Road and Sullivan Street. Some other items were payment for site grading services for the multi-use venue, a travel advance and the acceptance of a grant for 18 helmets and 18 ballistic vests. The council also accepted two donations: $7 from Jaleel King and $36 from Chambers Bottling.
Powell was the only member to vote “nay” on the consent agenda and finance committee report. He did not specify his reasoning.
On the other hand, the council unanimously voted to approve all resolutions on the agenda for the Planning, Recreation and Legal departments. These respectively include:
- a proposed ordinance to vacate a portion of a utility and drainage easement on a Neldabrook Way property
- a professional services agreement with Orion Planning + Design to simplify the zoning ordinance
- a professional services agreement with Geo Solutions, LLC for material testing and inspection services related to the construction of the multi-purpose venue, not to exceed $110,000
- an updated fee schedule with Stripes Officiating; as a side note, Seifert asked that interested Madison residents fill the two vacancies for basketball coaches
- the second reading for a proposed ordinance to amend chapter 4 (alcoholic beverages) of the Madison City Code to add an option for urban center zoning district to the license categories
- a proposed ordinance authorizing the first amendment to the lease, license and management agreement with BallCorps, LLC
- subscription renewal agreement with Bentley Systems for EBid Exchange Procurement Software
