By Crystal McGough, Editor
TRUSSVILLE – The Trussville City Council unanimously approved a resolution permitting Mayor Buddy Choat to enter the city into a media partnership agreement with local CBS affiliate WIAT Channel 42, for an amount not to exceed $72,000, taken from the General Fund.
“This is a year-long advertising campaign through CBS 42,” Mayor Choat said. “A lot of it has to do with focus on sports within our Entertainment District, our stage. They’ll have live broadcasts with the weather out there two times in the fall. It’s kind of a fall and then a spring/summer campaign. In the fall, we’re going to focus more on what’s going on in the district as far as ball games on the TV, music, any events going on. Then we come back in the spring and really start including more of the businesses and/or incorporate all of them together.”
Representatives from CBS 42 gave a presentation to the council at the workshop meeting on Thursday, May 4, proposing $36,000 each for the fall campaign and spring/summer campaign.
“One reason that I was in favor of doing this, and the council agreed, is their partnership with sports,” Choat said. “CBS Sports, as you know, carries SEC football this year, and so we’ll be on six times during the fall on Fridays prior to that encouraging people to come out … and enjoy the game, the restaurants and the shopping, or whatever they want to do. Also, they’re affiliated with the PGA Tour; also with the Masters Golf Tournament with March Madness. So it all kind of fits in sports-wise with what we think would be advantageous for our Entertainment District.”
CBS 42 General Manager Jimmy Cromwell confirmed for the council on Thursday that the fall 2023 to spring 2024 season will be the last year CBS will air SEC sports. As of fall 2024, CBS will lose SEC and pick up Big Ten Football.
The media partnership between CBS 42 (WIAT) and the City of Trussville will go into effect in September 2023.
“I’m pretty excited about it and I hope that the council will be as excited at the end of this as we are prior to,” Choat said. “I’m looking forward to it and I appreciate the council’s consideration.”
The city council also unanimously approved Ordinance 2023-006 ADM, officially establishing the Trussville Entertainment District.
“This is the official creation of the true Entertainment District for our downtown area,” Councilor Ben Short said, adding that he was excited about this ordinance. “We have six different liquor-license holders in that area now. The hours of the Entertainment District shall be Sunday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. During these regular hours, a person may be within the boundaries of the Entertainment District with an open container, provided that the requirements of this ordinance are followed. The Entertainment District shall close from 11 p.m. until 10 a.m., Sunday through Saturday, and during those hours, no person shall be within the Entertainment District with an open container. The hours of operation of licensed establishments within the Entertainment District shall not be affected by those hours.”
In other business, the council approved:
- Proclamation 2023-12, declaring May 2023 as Trussville Daybreak Rotary Club Month
- Ordinance 2023-007 ADM, authorizing the city’s general obligation warrant, series 2023, dated May 16, 2023, in a principal amount of $4,154,397
- Ordinance 2023-008 P&Z, rezoning two undeveloped lots on North Chalkville Road to IN-2 (Institutional) from R-1 (Single Family Residential)
- Ordinance 2023-009 P&Z, rezoning 5890 Stephanie Land and part of 532 Simmons Lane to R-2 (Single Family Residential) from C-2 (Commercial)
- Resolution 2023-30, continuing city fuel purchasing services with McPherson Oil
- Resolution 2023-31, declaring IT computers as surplus
The Trussville City Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, at 6 p.m., at the City Hall Annex. The council usually holds a workshop meeting on the Thursday prior to a regularly scheduled meeting.