Residents urge Opelika to tackle blight and preserve Harte Cemetery; clerk reads follow-up complaint about power at Monroe Avenue

Several members of the public spoke to the council on March 3 about neighborhood issues and historic preservation. Maddie Culler, a resident of 706 Orchard Avenue, asked the council to mark a hazardous pond area on 1st Avenue and sought an update on a planned walking trail over the Covington wreck, which she said was no longer active. "That's dangerous...somebody's already drowned in that one time," she said, urging safety measures.

Billy Allen, speaking from Stone Mountain, Georgia but identifying local concerns, praised ongoing volunteer efforts to clean blighted properties and urged the council to take a more active role, suggesting Opelika look to LaGrange's Marbury Street Cemetery project as a model for restoring Harte Cemetery north of Opelika High School.

The city clerk read a written follow-up complaint from Lindbergh Jackson regarding denial of temporary electrical power at 1408 Monroe Avenue. The statement said the property owner had spent in excess of $40,000 on interior and exterior work over the past three years, installed fencing to address violations and requested that charges against the owner and Miss Humphrey be reviewed and vacated.

Next steps: the city clerk filed the follow-up complaint into the record; public-commenters asked the council to prioritize cleanup and preservation initiatives.