Town Disbands Zoning
Board Of Adjustment

by Dwight Turner

The Town of Ardmore, AL Mayor and Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to formally dissolve the town's Zoning Board of Adjustment. The action came at the council's scheduled April meeting.

Functions previously carried out by the Zoning Board of Adjustment, mainly involving requests for variances to existing zoning ordinances, will now be carried out by the Town Council.

Dissolving the Zoning Board of Adjustment was the result of a lengthy process that had basically put the town between a rock and a hard place. The town had been unable to act on several Requests For Variance due to the fact that the current board had only three members, with two vacancies due to resignations. As a result, there were not enough members on the board to achieve a quorum.

Efforts on the part of the town council to recruit new volunteers to serve on the Zoning Board of Adjustment met with failure.

"We are a small municipality and we have a hard time getting people to serve," said Mayor Eugene Shannon after the vote to dissolve the board was taken. "This has put us in a position where we can't get any volunteers and we can't take the necessary actions we need."

Shannon went on to say that he believed the town could function as well with the town council assuming the duties of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

"For a number of years the board has been adopted," said Shannon. "Some towns have boards, some don't."

Under the resolution passed dissolving the board, the powers and duties of the Zoning Board of Adjustment will now be handled by the town council.

In other business, the council heard a report from Wayne Prier of the Ardmore Street Department on upgrades at the Alabama Park. According to Prier, most of the recent renovations and improvements at the park had been completed. Prier further added that the park was in good shape to host the upcoming Ardmore Renaissance Faire, slated for April 22 and 23.

Councilman Billy Shannon expressed concerns that security lighting in the park, particularly along the back section of the walking track, was inadequate.

"There is not enough lighting at the back of the walking track and it is really dark there at night," commented Shannon. "I wouldn't want any of my people walking around there at night, especially in the back by the woods."

Other council members and the mayor also expressed their concerns about lighting at the walking track. Prier stated that he would inform Street Superintendent Terry Barkley of the problem.

Council members also discussed problems at the park during last year's Renaissance Faire due to excessive rains. A number of vendors got stuck in the mud and the council discussed contingency plans in case of heavy rain at this year's event.

In other business, Councilman Mary Hobbs gave an update on progress being made in reviewing the town's ordinances. According to Hobbs, all of the ordinances have been categorized and placed in a binder for easier access. Hobbs went on to say that she hoped to give the council a full report by the June meeting.

Councilman Shannon also informed the board that the position on the Water Board, formerly occupied by Leon Mitchell, was vacant. Shannon made a motion to appoint Billy Ray Hall to the vacant position on the Water Board. Shannon's motion was seconded by Councilman Moody King and passed unanimously.

In a final discussion, Councilman Melody Duffey brought up the need for a public storm shelter in Ardmore. According to Duffey, a crowd gathered at the Ardmore Police Department during last Friday's storms and made it difficult for officers and the dispatcher to carry out their duties.

"People from Michigan even came in off the Interstate," said Duffey. "Traffic in the parking lot was terrible and police cars had trouble getting in and out."

The council discussed the need for a storm shelter but, as has been the case in the past, costs and land to build such a structure posed obstacles. Town Clerk Darla Daly reported that several years ago money was available to build a storm shelter, but the town did not have any land to build it on.

The next scheduled meeting of the Town of Ardmore, AL Mayor and Town Council is on Monday, May 8 at 6:30 PM.