Athens counters Huntsville move by annexing 183 acres to city

Emma Daniel, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
·3 min read

Dec. 23—ATHENS — One week after a stunning Limestone County annexation by Huntsville, the Athens City Council on Thursday unanimously approved expanding its borders south along Interstate 65 with 183 acres belonging to the Braly family.

Huntsville on Dec. 15 annexed 1,220 acres of Haney Ltd. property in Limestone County south of Huntsville Brownsferry Road, acreage that Athens officials had hoped to annex into their city.

That made Athens council members act urgently on the Braly property, and they held a special called meeting to vote on the annexation that they agreed will benefit their city.

"I don't have all the answers, but I know that if it's good for Huntsville, it's better for Athens," Councilman Harold Wales said. "I don't want to read any more about Huntsville coming over here and gobbling up 1,200 acres in Limestone County.

"I don't want to see us lose another acre."

The Braly family land will remain zoned agricultural, and the annexation came with an agreement to abate the non-educational city portion of property taxes for 10 years.

George and the late Jean Braly are listed as owners of the property annexed Thursday, according to Limestone County records. George was unable to attend the council meeting because of an illness.

Carol Carter, the Bralys' daughter, said the family wrestled with the decision on whether to annex into Athens or stay in the unincorporated part of the county, as the land has been in the family for over 100 years.

"It was a long decision," she said. "We really don't know what is best. We just have to take a chance."

She said she is looking forward to the improved services, such as sewage treatment and fire and safety protection.

"I'm not 100% sure we did the right thing, we just did what we felt was best for us and for the city of Athens," she said. "I'm glad it's gone to Athens."

Greg Skipworth, a teacher in Giles County and Athens resident, said he was pleased with the decision to annex more land into Athens.

"Unfortunately the way the constitution is written in Alabama and the way the state Supreme Court has ruled, it's open season wherever you live," he said. "For us, it's personal.

"We want to maintain the integrity of our communities, as Huntsville does not have a vested interest in what we think as citizens of Athens. It's all about greed."

State law requires annexed land to be contiguous to the existing border of a municipality. Huntsville was able to annex the Haney property because a corner of it touches a corner of property previously annexed by Huntsville.

Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks has said any property owner has the right to petition to be annexed into a municipality.

Wales said last week that Athens council members had thought the Haney property owners were going to annex the land into Athens. That made Wales glad to have the Braly property in his city.

"I think this is a great day for Athens, and it's a great day for the Braly family," Wales said. "There is nothing but winners."

Marks said Athens officials have been in talks with area property owners for nearly two years about property annexation.

"We hope and pray everything works fine," he said. "We're moving in a very positive way, a progressive way."

The Braly property begins south of Huntsville Brownsferry Road, southwest of the new Buc-ee's travel center. The Braly land continues south and west of I-65. It is on the north and east sides of the Haney Ltd. property annexed by Huntsville.

— emma.daniel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2437. Twitter @DD_EDaniel