[1:50] We all ready.

[1:54] I will call this March 3rd meeting of the Andalusia City Council to order. Uh

[2:00] just a couple of housekeeping things. Uh our mayor is at the power south trustee

[2:08] update which is an annual meeting. He is the chairman of the power south board.

[2:15] So uh he is missing the meeting here tonight. Uh Councilman Boswell

[2:21] is u not feeling well. Uh he had intended to be here. uh so would

[2:28] appreciate it if you would keep him in your prayers uh tonight. If you would

[2:34] join me, I will lead us in the prayer and the pledge.

[2:39] Almighty God, we thank you for your love and for your mercy.

[2:44] We thank you for the blessings that you have bestowed upon both this council,

[2:49] this city, and the residents of the city of Andalusia.

[2:54] Father, as our world is at war, we pray that you would touch the hearts and

[3:03] minds of coolheaded men, that they could make decisions that would bring peace

[3:10] and that the killing could stop. As we conduct this meeting, we pray for

[3:16] wisdom and insight to make good decisions for both our citizens and our

[3:23] town in Jesus name. Amen. >> Amen.

[3:28] » Attention, salute, pledge. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United

[3:35] States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under

[3:41] God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[3:46] » All right.

[3:51] » I'd like to welcome our guest. We have some that are special here tonight. Uh

[3:57] we're going to recognize some uh young men that

[4:03] have been involved in wrestling. So before we conduct any other business, I

[4:09] will come down to the podium and if the young wrestlers will come and join me up

[4:14] there, I will read the resolution and present them to you.

[4:34] She's tough. >> All right.

[4:38] And there is a young lady. So let me not miss that.

[4:46] So this resolution is being presented to each of you.

[4:51] Whereas the Andalusia Youth Wrestling Club is a nonprofit organization

[4:57] focused on teaching competitive wrestling. And whereas the group

[5:01] recently was reorganized and rebranded to compete as Andalusia Bulldogs.

[5:07] And whereas parents say that the team members had improved behavior,

[5:12] confidence, and discipline. And whereas every member of the 2526

[5:18] team qualified to participate in regionals for their individual ages and

[5:24] weight classes through team Alabama US wrestling. And whereas the Bulldogs

[5:31] Railen Stacks did win the 12 and under 64 pound girls state championship.

[5:40] And whereas Jaden Lockheart did win the 8 and under 98B boys state championship.

[5:48] And whereas Ronan Staxs did win the 8 and under 78B

[5:54] state boys championship. And whereas Ace Ace George did win the

[6:01] six and under 56PB boys state championship.

[6:06] And whereas they represented Andelusia with class, learning valuable life

[6:12] lessons about the rewards of hard work. Now therefore be it resolved that I,

[6:18] Major Earl V. Johnson, on behalf of the city council of Andalusia, Alabama, and

[6:25] all of its citizens, do hereby recognize Railen Stacks.

[6:30] Raise your hand. Jaden Lockheart,

[6:36] Ronan Stacks, and Ace George and their coaches, and

[6:42] extend to them our congratulations for their success and for representing our

[6:48] community so well. Adopted and approved this the third day of March, 2026.

[6:56] And congratulations to each of you. >> Let me see if I can get one for

[7:00] » Are these

[7:04] Where is Michelle? >> I'll get a picture for Michelle.

[7:06] » Are these individualized?

[7:11] » No. All right. One, two, three, four. Here

[7:17] we go. Congratulations.

[7:28] Congratulations.

[7:44] One, two, three.

[7:59] These are the kind of young people we want growing up in our town. One day you

[8:06] will be where I am and we want you to lead our town very well, just like you

[8:12] wrestle. Okay.

[8:32] It's always really good to see uh our young people rewarded for hard work.

[8:39] Hard work and discipline will take you long ways.

[8:44] All right. Uh you're more than welcome to stay. It's a brief meeting. We won't

[8:49] be very long. Uh or you can go ahead and and go, whichever you prefer.

[8:58] » Okay.

[9:03] Understand? All right. >> Good.

[9:05] » Okay. Good deal. We'll be glad to have you.

[9:09] » All right. We have our minutes from the previous meeting to be approved. Uh I

[9:14] would entertain a motion to approve the

[9:19] uh February 17th me minutes. >> Mr. Mayor Pro Tim, I move for approval

[9:24] of the said minutes uh from the uh meeting of February 17, 2026.

[9:31] » All right, we have a motion to approve. Do we have a second?

[9:33] » I second the motion. >> All right, is there any further

[9:36] discussion regarding the minutes? If not, all in favor raise your right

[9:42] hand and say I. >> I.

[9:45] » Any oppose the same privilege? And it carries.

[9:50] We have no unfinished business. Under new business, we have the Andalusia City

[9:58] Schools education sales tax request. Uh it was presented to us last August.

[10:06] Uh and we had agreed. We held off approving that, waiting for them to get

[10:11] the pricing for uh an addition to the new elementary school

[10:17] that came in under the price that they had anticipated

[10:23] and the the board of education, Dr. Shakespeare has agreed

[10:28] that we will uh approve everything but the request for the elementary school

[10:35] edition pending him getting the price to redo old Maine at the high school. It

[10:43] badly needs to be redone. So once they have that number, they will bring a new

[10:49] price to us and and we will consider that then. But for now, we will uh

[10:56] approve instead of the let me find my page. Instead of 4,620,

[11:04] we will approve 1,120,000.

[11:08] So, do I hear a motion to approve that amount?

[11:11] » Mayor Pro Tim, I'll make a motion to approve the Andalusia City Schools

[11:15] education sales tax request for 2627. >> Okay. and and it is for 2526.

[11:24] They they misprinted in in here. I forgot to tell you that correct.

[11:27] » So, all right, we have a motion to approve. Do we have a second?

[11:31] » A second. Motion. >> All right, we have a second. Is there

[11:34] any further discussion? Any questions? If not, all in favor of approving the

[11:40] request as presented, let it be known by raising your right hand and saying I. I.

[11:46] » Any opposed? the same privilege and it carries.

[11:52] The last uh item of business tonight is a

[11:57] franchise agreement with Ceasepire

[12:03] item B. >> Oh, I'm sorry. I missed the resurface.

[12:07] Uh, we have a resolution 2026-02

[12:13] to appropriate $85,000 from the capital account to be

[12:20] appropriated to cover the cost of resurfacing Third Avenue. The Third

[12:26] Avenue project has been approved. However, the the funding was not in the

[12:33] grant to pay for the resurfacing. It paid for everything else, but uh uh the

[12:40] resurfacing is on the city and we have a resolution here to pay for it out of our

[12:47] capital funds. So I would entertain a motion to resurface 3 avenue. Mayor

[12:54] Prom, I make a motion that we approve resolution 20 26-02

[13:01] resurfacing third avenue and the reservicing cost

[13:06] not to exceed $85,000 and will come from capital.

[13:11] » Okay, you heard have heard Councilman Mount's uh motion. Do we have a second?

[13:17] » Mayor Pro. I'll second that motion. >> All right, we have a motion and a

[13:21] second. Is there any further discussion?

[13:26] All right. If not, then all in favor, let it be known by saying I and raising

[13:30] your right hand. >> I.

[13:32] » Any oppose the same privilege? And it carries.

[13:37] All right. Now we are to the point of the uh franchise agreement and I'm going

[13:45] to ask uh Jake Cowan who is a senior vice president uh who happens to live in

[13:52] Covington County to come and tell us about this franchise agreement if you

[13:57] can use the microphone here at the podium.

[14:03] Thank you mayor pro team council opportunity and u speak on this. So uh

[14:10] ceasefire we have a a grant from the uh federal government to deploy a 677

[14:17] milei uh fiber optic middle mile network which is just a a highcapacity uh fiber

[14:24] network. Um it'll uh covers 27 counties in South Alabama. Of course, it includes

[14:30] Andalusia and Covenant County. Um, uh, in Andalusia, we would deploy, uh, a

[14:36] high-capacity cabinet, which would be the electronics that serve fiber to the

[14:39] home, um, and the underlying, uh, the network. Um, in in Andalusia, we would

[14:45] have three routes out. So, we would have multiple redundancy where if, uh, one

[14:50] fiber path got cut, uh, or up to two fiber paths got cut, we could still uh,

[14:54] maintain um, a network service. Um and so as part of the grant with the federal

[15:01] government, phase one would be complete the 677 mile project by July of 27. Um

[15:09] and then phase two uh as soon as that's complete, we move into market expansion.

[15:13] Um and as part of uh as part of the grant and taking the federal dollars, we

[15:18] will operate open access and non-discriminatory network, which just

[15:22] means uh we will provide service at at uh non-discriminatory rates. uh to any

[15:28] other provider whether it's another telecom provider that competes with us,

[15:31] a cell phone provider, another phone company locally. So, they could also use

[15:35] the network to increase their um reliability and redundancy.

[15:40] » Um Mayor Pro Tim, anything else you want me to cover?

[15:43] » Uh I think that pretty well covers it. Um, and just for general information,

[15:51] uh, the charges that Ceasefire will incur are consistent with all of the

[15:58] other internet providers that have a franchise agreement with the city of

[16:03] Andalusia. Um, before you start moving to homes,

[16:08] we're looking at at least a year. >> Yes, sir.

[16:11] » Or or a little longer. >> Yes, sir. But for businesses that are

[16:15] along the state right of way, you'll be able they'll be able to get service much

[16:21] faster. >> Yeah, we hope before the end of the

[16:23] year. >> Okay.

[16:25] So, so this project is ex or or service is expected to start sometime by the

[16:32] fourth quarter or a little earlier. >> Yes, sir. So, and and the city is hoping

[16:39] that by having an additional internet provider that it will make the other

[16:45] internet providers um make their service uh more

[16:51] dependable. The biggest thing that I hear is that

[16:56] people uh can't use it. uh businesses have to have it to bill uh to get my car

[17:04] tuned up. If the internet doesn't work, they can't do it. Uh if they get it

[17:09] tuned up and then it goes down, they can't bill me. So, all these things are

[17:14] important to businesses and particularly to individuals who work from home with

[17:20] the requirement of high-speed internet. So, this will make it even better for

[17:25] them. they'll have more choices and and we're hoping by having multiple

[17:31] providers uh a person can get redundancy and never

[17:38] be without internet. It's not likely that two providers would be down at the

[17:44] same time. So that's the thinking of the city as we enter into this agreement.

[17:51] Okay. >> Does does the council have any questions

[17:53] for Mr. Cowan? Okay. He answered most of our questions

[17:58] upstairs in the workshop. So, all right. You have before you the resolution

[18:05] uh for telecommunication services and redundancies in the city of Andalusia.

[18:12] Do I hear a motion that we approve the franchise agreement?

[18:17] » Mr. Mayor Prom, I so move. >> All right. We have a motion from

[18:21] Councilman Nicks. Do we have a second? >> A second. A motion. All right, we have a

[18:25] second from Councilman Mau. Is there any further discussion?

[18:30] If not, then all in favor of the agreement, let it be known by raising

[18:34] your right hand and saying I. >> I.

[18:37] » Any oppose the same privilege? And it carries.

[18:43] Let me uh that's all of the business unless someone has something. Uh let me

[18:49] again say to you young people, uh we're proud of you. And uh keep in mind we're

[18:56] going to need you to take a seat up here one day. Somebody will have to run this

[19:00] city because we're we're going to get old.

[19:05] So you guys give that a lot of thought. All right. If there is no further

[19:11] business, then we will be adjourned.

Andalusia City Council Meeting March 3, 2026

Transcript