BAY MINETTE — Two public hearings brought controversy to the regular Bay Minette City Council meeting Monday night.

Nearly a dozen horse owners attended the meeting in protest of section 4-17 of the new animal control ordinance, set to be approved during the meeting.

The section, which addresses riding a horse in the city, states that "It shall be unlawful and punishable as a misdemeanor for any person to ride a horse or any other domesticated animal on city property (not including the Carol Hodgson Arena), a city street, a city road, a county road, a state highway, a federal highway or the right-of-way of any of the aforementioned roadways within the city limits of Bay Minette without a permit from the city of Bay Minette.'"

"A horse is a mode of transportation" James Phillips, a local horse owner, said. "Horse riders have to obey highway laws."

Mayor Jamie Tillery and Bay Minette Animal Control Officer Gina Ramer said the code was for the safety of horses, their riders and the public.

"In the last three years we've had a lot of people injured," Ramer said.

“A young boy was riding a horse on Clay Street in the late afternoon. The boy was not wearing any light colors, and the horse got hit by a car," she said. "The boy was injured, the horse was injured and it could have been worse for the driver. The horse went into the car, but it climbed out."

Ramer said another incident occurred during the annual Douglasville May Day celebration when a boy could not control his horse.

"He got near the stands, the horse reared up and fell back into the stands," Ramer said.

Bay Minette Police Chief Michael Rowland said that was why horses were no longer allowed in city parades.

"Several years ago we stopped permitting horse riders in parades, because of safety and liability issues," he said.

"This law goes a little too far," Phillips said. "It's too strong for people who are responsible horse owners."

Kathy Dobbins agreed.

"You are stepping over the rights line," she said. "I think this section should be omitted."

She and Phillips explained state code 32-5A-5 already governs the use of horses on roadways and could be used in the section's stead.

Phillips added the code could discourage the growth of the city.

"There are people whose fence is on the property line of the city, they can't ride their horse outside of their gate," he said. "If you've got people in the county who have horses and this ordinance is in place, people are not going to come in. You'll landlock the city."

Another question raised was the issue of the permit.

"Who would issue the permit and how long would it be good for," Sonny Dobbins asked.

Rowland said the permits would come through the police department as with any permit.

"They would be licensed as with any other animal through the police department and would be kept in a database," he said.

Tillery suggested the council pass the ordinance with the deletion of section 4-17 and the possibility of amending the ordinance later after more discussion with local horse owners.

"Can we strike 4-17 of this ordinance and in the future if an amendment needs to be made we can work together," she said.

Phillips, who spoke on behalf of the other horse owners, said that would be satisfactory.

"I would be glad to participate in coming up with something that gives teeth to law enforcement, but protects the rights of horse owners," he said.

The council approved the amended ordinance unanimously and agreed to work on a more appropriate section to be presented after the first of the year.

Property vacation

What was expected to be a routine public hearing followed by the first reading of a resolution to vacate Fletcher Drive turned into a slightly heated discussion between former planning commission member Harry Steele Jr. and Dobbins Builders owner Sonny Dobbins, who requested the vacation.

The original request included a piece of property owned by a resident who decided she did not want to be included.

Dobbins is asking for the property in Fletcher estates on Old McMeans in exchange for property located in the Brownwood community located on Old Pensacola Hwy.

"This property is not of any use to the city," he said. "We would swap it for property on Old Pensacola Road. The city might be able to use this property later."

Steele was the lone dissenting voice, and said city property should not be vacated unless it is in the best interest of residents.

"When I was on the planning commission very few properties were vacated. We vacated property for Walmart, and on 5th Street for a water well, but all those were for the convenience of the public. This is to help one person, Sonny Dobbins," he said.

"You should never vacate an alleyway unless it is necessary. It's just bad business," he said.

Steele accused Dobbins of "harassing" Thomaston "to the point she didn't want to have anything to do with this."

A discussion followed between Dobbins and Steele regarding Dobbins' method of obtaining permission from the other two landowners.

City attorney Scotty Lewis had already informed the council that Hiram Templeton, manager of the Alabama Power Bay Minette branch, had called because the company has a transmission line going through that property and said state law requires a municipality give the utility company 30-day notice before vacating the property.

Lewis recommended the council not take any action on the request during Monday's meeting, but put it on a future agenda.

In other business, the council:

—Entertained a presentation by Joe Marshall, founder of SNAP, the Special Needs Athletes Program. Marshall recently brought a special needs bowling league to Bay Minette and Baldwin County.

The league is at Strike City Lanes and is open to all intellectually disabled individuals. The league, which began in September, is comprised of eight teams and 36 special needs bowlers.

Marshall said the league needs non-disabled people to serve as partners to the athletes. Partners pay $10 a week plus shoe rental.

—Heard from Bay Minette Fire Chief Phil Bryars regarding Hurricane Ida. Bryars said the city suffered nothing more than a few downed trees. Rowland reported a significant decrease in overtime for his officers and said "for the first time in I don't know when we received no calls of flood issues."

—Agreed to donate $200 from each contingency fund to the annual Volunteer Fire Department Christmas Supper. The supper honors all fire fighters and recognizes the career and volunteer firefighters of the year. Bryars said the VFD has given to the city since 1991, including the first fire truck and "a fancy new building."