By Nathan Prewett, For The Tribune
IRONDALE – A proclamation honoring Walter “Bart” Rainey, one of the victims of the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church shooting, was read by Mayor James Stewart at a meeting of the Irondale City Council. Councilmembers also heard concerns about a license request for a short-term rental business.
Stewart read aloud the proclamation for 84-year-old Rainey, an Irondale resident who was killed when Robert Findley Smith opened fire during a potluck dinner on June 16, which also resulted in the death of two others.
“Bart’s final hours were spent in one of his favorite places on earth, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, a place that welcomes everyone with love,” the proclamation states. “[In] his last act on earth, Bart extended the hand of community and fellowship to a stranger, regardless of the outcome.”
The proclamation notes that Rainey attended Greenville High School in 1955 and attended college at Southwestern College and Troy University. He followed his education with a career in the forest products industry.
He was married to his wife, Linda, for 61 years.
“Bart will be deeply missed, and his legacy will live on in the hearts of his wife, children, and grandchildren,” the proclamation states.
During the regular meeting, the city council heard from concerned citizens about a business license being requested by a married couple seeking to run a short-term rental business on Fourth Avenue South. Residents mainly brought up issues of the character of renters and noise, including an incident of gunshots being heard in the area.
The matter was investigated by the Irondale Police Department, with Chief Jason Wiggins reporting that they were notified of a short-term (also likened to an Airbnb) business that was found to be operating without a license. He said it was in the department’s opinion that they are not following city guidelines while renting a building to others, namely out-of-city visitors.
Councilwoman Cindy Cuellar said that Wiggins’ report presented enough to deny the license.
“One of the things that we want to get through to everyone is that we have an ordinance in place,” Cueller said. “You will follow the ordinance, and if you don’t, we will not approve this. That message needs to be loud and clear.”
The council turned the matter over to comments from the public, from which several spoke. One of these was Terri Johnson.
“We, the citizens of Irondale, are concerned with the safety of our neighbors and community,” Johnson said. “We’re concerned with the lack of availability of affordable housing to families and individuals who wish to make Irondale their home rather than an investment, are concerned with the impact of short-stay transients who have no vested interest in the community, are continuing to observe a trend of homes in Irondale being bought by investors with no knowledge or concern of the current ordinance, who continue to operate short-term rentals under false pretenses or who try to legitimize them after the fact.”
She went on to say that the citizens represented in the statement are concerned that the current ordinance is unenforceable and requested that the city ordinance include a policy of prohibiting short-term rentals.
One of the owners, Jared Jefferies, admitted they did not follow the guidelines but said they would do so.
“We’re not trying to usurp the system, not pay taxes, or not trying to do anything illegal,” Jefferies said. “From my understanding, I didn’t really know the requirements.”
He said they currently have friends and family staying at the building and are not running it as a short-term for them. However, he added that such an establishment would positively impact the city.
Later his wife, Mia Jefferies, spoke.
“I care about Irondale,” Mia said. “I care about the future of Irondale. I’m not trying to turn it into something crazy; I don’t know what you’re thinking, but any concerns that you would have with me personally, you can come to me.”
She said that she would be willing to make concessions, such as not having local residents at the property, reasoning that people would be less likely to bring others there to potentially disturb the peace.
“So there are certain things that can be put in place at these types of businesses that can make everybody feel safe,” Mia said. “Because guests are just as scared coming into a neighborhood as residents are because everybody’s operating out of fear. Nobody knows who’s coming to our neighborhood; they don’t know where they’re staying. The guests want to be safe; the residents want to be safe; everybody wants the same thing at the end of the day.”
She reiterated her husband’s statement that they were unaware of the process of complying with the city ordinance. Later another resident, Mike Kofskey, who said he is a neighbor of the couple, accused Mia of lying and said that they had ignored the ordinance until it was brought to them by the police. Jared Jefferies denied this.
After further discussion, the council ultimately voted to deny the license.
In other business, the council:
- Held a public hearing and tabled a resolution requesting a property on Overton Road to be rezoned from C-1 Commercial District to C-2 Commercial District;
- Held a public hearing and approved an ordinance to modify existing zoning ordinances related to mini-warehouse or self-service storage facilities in the city; and
- Authorized the borrowing of $5,060,000 and the issuance of one $5,060,000 general obligation warrant.
The following was passed under the consent agenda:
- A resolution to fix the costs of demolition and removal of a structure at Hillside Drive for $4,103.81;
- Authorizing the execution of two lease amendments with Grants Mill Station in the amount of $8.73NNN for a police substation, detective unit, and other uses in Suite 123B of the Grants Mill Station Shopping Center; and
- Authorizing Steward to execute an agreement with Square Capital to provide for the online payment of registration fees for youth sports participants in Irondale.
Meetings of the Irondale City Council can be viewed on their YouTube channel.