By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Atmore City Council, sitting two members short, authorized during the council’s Monday, November 23, meeting a project development agreement with Jack’s Family Restaurants and awarded a contract for building a new cell at the city landfill.
The trio of council members — Eunice Johnson, Shawn Lassiter and Chris Harrison (Webb Nall and Jerome Webster were unable to attend) — also approved two zoning changes, gave the green light to an alcoholic beverages license for a local restaurant and heard a complaint about a new business operating on Ridgeley Street.
Jack’s, a Birmingham-based restaurant chain, is set to begin building its newest eatery after the first of the year, according to Jim Avery, the company’s director of development.
“We’re looking to start construction in January, and hopefully by early April, we will start serving our chicken, biscuits and other food in Atmore,” Avery said after Monday’s meeting.
Several infrastructure upgrades will be required, and the company will pay for most of them. The city will repay the company by charging it only 2 percent local sales tax until the cost is recovered.
The landfill upgrade will be done by Grady Ralls & Sons of Evergreen, which will be paid $281,000 to construct a sixth cell in the municipal solid waste dump. A landfill cell is basically a trench or pit that has a liner. It is designed to isolate waste from adjacent cells or to separate different types of waste.
In other business Monday, council members:
*approved the rezoning of the strip mall at 300 Church Street, from Downtown Business to General Business, in order to allow location of a liquor store there.
*approved the rezoning of specific parcels on Cindebran Drive, from General Business to Low Density Residential, and specific parcels on Whippoorwill Lane, Bob White Drive, Rockaway Creek Road and Fillmore Drive — from Medium Density Residential to Low Density Residential — for expansion of a planned subdivision.
*approved an application for an on-premises wine, beer and spirits license for Whistle Stop on North Main Street.
*heard from Sandy Helton of Vin-Tiques about broken bottles and trash being scattered along Ridgeley Street from patrons of a party rental business in the former Country Charms building.