SB322 Passes AL Senate
Amended Smith Lake Development bill now goes to AL House
A bill that would allow a parcel of land on Smith Lake to be annexed into the City of Cullman for the purpose of developing a resort community passed the Alabama Senate on Tuesday, April 22.
SB322 received several amendments prior to Senate passage, in an attempt to allay concerns that had been raised about the bill. Alabama State Senator Garlan Gudger spoke with ALPolitics.com shortly after the Senate adjourned Tuesday about SB322:
“We have been working diligently since last week, when the bill was introduced and then moved to committee, with our local delegation, which is the County Commissioners, the City Council, the Mayor and the developer, to try to enhance this bill and as some amendments that everybody was agreeable to,” Gudger said. “And so, we came up with those yesterday, and then we've worked all day today getting those done.”
Three amendments were added along with two Memos of Understanding (MOUs) that are being worked on for the community and the local school system.
One amendment ensures that the County still has sanitation rights in the development, protecting the County from the loss of that revenue. A second amendment puts a one year time limit on the project, so that annexation by the City cannot occur if the project is not funded by June 1, 2026. The third amendment mandates that the property cannot be used for a casino nor any other commercial or charitable gambling projects. These are listed in lines 376-384 of the substitute bill.
The first MOU will ensure that the two schools in the community, one K-8 and the other Cold Springs High School, will receive revenue from the development. The second MOU would provide revenue for the local volunteer fire & rescue as well as the Coroner, to provide safety services for the community.
“I think that this project will produce 300 jobs. I think it produces money for the County schools. I think it produces money for the Cullman County Commission. I think it helps Wallace State. I think there'll be millions of dollars for road improvement throughout the County in this particular area,” Gudger said. “This is a good project for Cullman County. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. If it doesn't work, then we haven't lost anything and nothing's changed, but if this thing comes to fruition, then everyone benefits,” Gudger said about the development SB322 allows.
Notably, one of the most vocal opponents of SB322, Cullman County Commissioner Corey Freeman has changed his stance and now supports the amended bill. He had released a Facebook post on April 14 strongly opposing it, to which Sen. Gudger responded on April 18. Shortly before SB322 passed the Senate on Tuesday, Commissioner Freeman made a post in support of the bill.
SB322 now goes to the House, where it has only five legislative days remaining to be passed.
