New Alamo City Hall in the Works

In its May 17 session the Alamo City Council voted unanimously to charge City Manager Jeffery Floyd with looking into securing an engineering firm, an architect, or an agency to start the process of building a new City Hall.

The current City Hall is located in a former convenience store at the corner of U.S. Highway 280 (Main Street) and Georgia Highway 126 (Commerce Street) in downtown Alamo. This building was renovated and occupied about 40 years ago after the City moved out of a structure on Commerce Street believed to have been constructed in the 1940s. The current City Hall has undergone several modifications since its acquisition, including the addition of a front counter. In the Council’s January 2021 meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Patricia Woodard proposed the development of a Strategic Planning Committee to aid the Council in the enhancement of Alamo’s City Hall. This Committee was formed and has met four times since then. During the Council’s May meeting, Committee members Joshua Simmons, Sandra Brown, and Leigh Ricks addressed the Council, clearly communicating their unanimous belief that a new City Hall is necessary. They cited as concerns the lack of compliance with ADA standards and other safety factors, black mold in the bathroom and no usable space for privacy when discussing bills and other private matters. The Committee stated in an April 19 Council meeting that “a new City Hall will boost the morale of the employees and citizens of the City.” Woodard commended members of the Committee. “They were so diligent. They were on time. They were there and they did what we wanted them to do. But they weren’t there to agree with us; they were there to work on behalf of the city.”

During the meeting, City Attorney Russell Clark addressed the Council about the need to appoint a Zoning Administrator and a Zoning Commission due to “a petition for the rezoning of a business here in town.” Though these positions have been filled in the past when the need arose, currently, there is neither a Zoning Administrator nor a board of Zoning Commissioners; however, the City does have a zoning ordinance and a zoning map.

“What we need to do is appoint a Zoning Administrator, which could be an ongoing position, and to appoint [five] Zoning Commissioners,” Clark advised. Although the Zoning Administrator does not serve for a spe-