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The Bainbridge City Council gathered at City Hall last Tuesday evening for their monthly meeting. Following the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, the first item of new business on the agenda was a proclamation presented by Mayor Edward Reynolds, recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month.

Following this, City Engineer Gabe Menendez presented the council with an overview of a sewer work project; specifically, the project focuses on the sewer line that crosses Calhoun Street at Florida Street. The line, Menendez stated, has been compromised.

“It is, quite honestly, failing,” he said. “It is still functional, but it is failing.” Menendez informed the council that the city has begun advertising a repair project, with bids on the project expected to open on June 26.

After Menendez concluded his presentation, the council heard the second reading of the proposed third supplemental bond ordinance from Trey Monroe, managing director of Stifel.

Monroe informed the council that this bond ordinance would fund the repair of the sewer line, as well as the completion of the city’s fiberoptic system. Monroe informed the council that the ordinance’s financing had been secured, and “if the council approves the second reading here tonight, the financing terms are set, they won’t change.” The transaction is scheduled to close on June 26.

Monroe went on to explain that the best bid for this came from J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. “They offered a fixed rate to the city, of 4.45%, for a 12-year bond,” he said. “The city will have the option to either refinance or pay this bond off beginning December 1, 2030.”

The council voted to adopt the bond ordinance.

Next, the council entered a public hearing for a zoning text amendment. Steve O’Neil, Director of Community and Economic Development, spoke to the council about the proposed amendment, which dealt with build-to-rent (BTR).

“This is not a ban on BTR, we’re not banning it,” O’Neil said. “What we are doing is requiring it as conditional use in all of our single-family residential districts.”

O’Neil went on to explain to the council that the proposed amendment has changed since it was initially presented last month, having received feedback from realty companies and others and incorporated it into a revised version.

Following O’Neil’s presentation, the city ended the public hearing, and voted to approve the amendment.

Another public hearing followed, this one for a proposed ordinance amendment regarding the City of Bainbridge Cemetery Trust. O’Neil again took to the podium to speak to the council about the matter. He explained that the amendment would create a cemetery committee to “evaluate the needs of all the cemeteries, and make recommendations to the Cemetery Trust Board of Trustees on improvements and needed items.”

Following the public hearing, the council voted to adopt the amendment.

O’Neil then presented the council members with Planning Commission recommendations to consider; namely, the rezoning of 1601 Pierce Street from Heavy Industrial to Highway Commercial. He also informed the council that, following previous discussions about semi-trucks on residential property, the commission recommended “no further action on the matter with regards to developing an ordinance.” The council voted to approve the Pierce Street rezoning.

After this, City Manager Roy Oliver presented an alcoholic beverage license for approval. The council approved, with Councilman Keenan Adams recusing himself from the vote, as an investor in the business.

The council next heard a street closure request, that from Richard Collins with Southwest Baptist Church, requesting the closure of Green Street from Collier Street to Miluli Avenue on June 11, from 5-8:00 PM. The council voted to approve the closure.

A special park use event permit was presented to the council next. The permit was for an event at the Earle May Boat Basin, scheduled for May 25. The council voted to approve the permit.

The next item of business on the agenda was mayoral re-appointments; these included Rhonda Kendrick to the Historic Preservation Committee, and Tom Conger and Sterling Widner to the Downtown Development Authority. These were approved.

The final item on the agenda was a bid on the Wheat Avenue Phase III storm drainage and street improvement project. The winning bid was from Doyle Hancock & Sons Construction, Inc., for $2,132,115.80. The council voted to approve the bid, and the meeting was then adjourned.