The Atmore City Council’s August 14 meeting wasn’t exactly Christmas in July, but it only missed it by a couple of weeks.
The council, sitting one member short due to the absence of District 2’s Jerome Webster, approved the use of two city parks for two Christmas events.
Don Taylor was unable to attend the meeting, but had asked that Concerned Citizens of Atmore be granted use of Houston Avery Park on December 16 for the annual Christmas in the Park observance.
The event, which will last from 5 to 8 p.m., will feature Christmas decorations, Christmas songs and the live Christmas story of Jesus. Individuals or families will also be able to have their pictures made with Santa and his elves, and there will be games for adults and children, along with free food.
The measure passed by a 4-0 margin.
The second and final agenda item was consideration of a request from McCullough Christian Center to park cars at Tom Byrne Park during the center’s first Jingle Bell 5K Run, which is scheduled for December 2.
The course will be the same as the one used by Grace Fellowship for its 5K run that is part of Mayfest.
Following disposition of those two items, the council went into executive session for a briefing from Coastal Gateway Economic Development Alliance’s Will Ruzic and Jess Nicholas.
The exact purpose of the closed-door session is unknown. Mayor Jim Staff said the session was to discuss the good name and character of an individual; Ruzic said it was to discuss commerce, which is not listed among the reasons under which a meeting may be closed to the public.
After the executive session, Staff, Ruzic and Nicholas said that the purpose of the meeting would become known in “about two weeks,” when a “major announcement” would be made.