Cover image: Provided by the City of Huntsville

The Huntsville City Council kicked off the month on October 12 with a rather packed and exciting meeting.

Shane Davis, Director of Urban and Economic Development, gave an update on Huntsville’s progress in restoring the Mill Creek neighborhood near downtown through the Choice Neighborhood Initiative, an initiative that aims to leverage public and private knowledge and resources to assist struggling neighborhoods with disadvantaged residents.

Some projects underway include school safety, landscaping, adequate street lighting and improved commercial developments. This week, Davis says, Urban and Economic Development will finalize plans for the neighborhood with feedback from residents. Current resident and general public meetings are slated for October 18 and 19.

Housing and urban development was not the only item on the agenda for the meeting.

A representative of C3 Productions LLC, the production company behind large-scale music events like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, also delivered a presentation about a music festival to be hosted in Huntsville in 2024.

Councilmember Jennie Robinson was emphatic about the significance of such a large-scale organization taking interest in Huntsville and its potential to continue developing Huntsville’s reputation as a music destination. The Council voted unanimously to allow Mayor Tommy Battle to enter into a three-year partnership agreement with C3 Presents.

After the excitement died down regarding the new music festival, the council returned to a heated topic.

After some debate, Huntsville City Council approved an ordinance making cellphone usage while driving a primary offense in the City of Huntsville, which means mobile device usage while driving will be grounds for a traffic stop. This is a more stringent regulation than state law, which still penalizes mobile device usage while driving but can only enforce it after pulling a driver over for a primary offense like passing through a red light, swerving, or speeding.

Meredith voted against the implementation of the new law because many of his constituents were concerned such a law would be disproportionately enforced on African American drivers.

Councilmember Devyn Keith shared that as an African American, he felt he has been unjustly pulled over in the City of Huntsville due to racial biases and shares concerns for how the law could affect the community. Keith asked that Council Member David Little, the ordinance’s strongest advocate, to take special accountability in keeping in contact with the Huntsville Police Department to make sure there aren’t any irregularities in the races, genders, ages, etc. of people pulled over for mobile device usage. Little agreed.

The first six months of enforcement will only result in the issuance of warnings to help both the public and police department adjust to the new law.

Before the ordinance passed, it was amended to remove the penalty of up to 10 days in jail after the third subsequent mobile device use offense in 24 months. The maximum penalty for the third offense in 24 months is now $150 in fines and an amount of community service to be assigned by a judge.

To end off the meeting, Council Member David Little was elected as the new Huntsville City Council President. Former City Council President John Meredith was nominated as well but ultimately declined nominations for President Pro Tempore and Third Presiding Officer, which went to Council Members Jennie Robinson and Bill Kling, respectively.

For more information, please visit www.huntsvilleal.gov/government/city-council.