LaFayette Mayor, City Council, on 431 Water Line
BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LAFAYETTE — At the Jan. 9 LaFayette City Council Meeting, the council and mayor voted not to pass a motion for Amendment 2026-02-09-01, which would approve the Highway 431 Water Line Project — with Council Members Emily Milford, Kim Langley and Charlene Story voting “yes,” and Council Members Toney Thomas, Tammie Williams and Mayor Kenneth Vines voting “no.”
Since the council meeting, many constituents have expressed their thoughts on the decision online, sparking community conversation on the best ways to proceed. With the widely agreed-upon need for water infrastructure updates, the Mayor and City Council Members have shared their perspectives on the project and further explained their decision behind their vote at the last meeting.
Mayor Kenneth Vines
Mayor Kenneth Vines said his desire is to update the LaFayette water infrastructure, but shared that he believes it is necessary to create a plan to fix the entire system, not just a section. Vines also said he is concerned about the expense of the project and the generations of residents it could impact.
“We got a lot of stuff that we need to do [other] than just saying, hey, [we’re putting] $2 million into this project, and it’s not going to solve the whole issue if we do that right now,” he said. “We’re moving our city pipe from under the ground so ALDOT can come in and do some paving. Okay, it’s their street, it’s our pipe, why not come together? We can work together and see what they can come up with to help with this funding and not put all the burden on the city. My thing is, there are a lot of things we need to sit down and look at. There are some grants out here that we can look at. A lot of grants and stuff on the state level are closed until 2027, [and] we didn’t meet the threshold to get that done. We have to find some way to get this funding, but there are some things you just can’t do overnight, when you talk about taxpayer money and that amount of money — and it’s not going to resolve the whole issue of the city.
“If I were a regular citizen, and I’ve complained to the city before that I had a problem with my water discoloration or muddy water — but it’s really discoloration of the water, and the city goes and fixes this right here, and I’ve been having problems for 10 years. I feel like, ‘Hey, I’ve been complaining for 10 years in my district, and y’all hadn’t put in a new pipe in my district.’ We’ve got to look at the overall city.
“It’s a lot of stuff that we have on the table, not just this one thing that just popped up all of a sudden. The water infrastructure was [a concern] way before I even became mayor — it’s probably been a 40-year thing. I’m in a position now to get it done, but I want the whole city taken care of, not just one part of the city. This needs to be resolved. Period. Hopefully, everyone will come together and have a town hall meeting to let people express how they feel about it. Not only will I pay [the cost of this] back, but other people are going to have to pay this back. My grandkids are probably going to have to pay this back. This is something that I think we may have to have a town hall meeting [about] and just put everything on the table.”
District A Emily Milford
District A City Council Member Emily Milford said she is concerned about the waterline withstanding the pressure and construction by the ALDOT project, and believes that the city has to start somewhere in updating infrastructure.
“The water project for the city of LaFayette, I feel like it’s something that our citizens have been wanting for a long time,” she said. “It’s no secret that the water in the city of LaFayette is in need of some pretty substantial infrastructure upgrades, we don’t need to kick the can down the road any more than we already have. We’ve got to find some type of identified project to get the ball rolling and to progress our infrastructure as far as the water goes. We’ve been discussing this for at least as long as I’ve been on the council, and if I’m not mistaken, this specific project had been identified even a little bit before that, and then the conversations just kind of kept going and kept going — the reason it got pushed to the forefront was because of the ALDOT timeline.
“[ALDOT is] going to provide us with new sidewalks, maybe a little bit of landscaping along the sides and kind of restructure some of the lanes [on a section of 431]. That was why this project was identified, because our water main runs under 431 and ALDOT was on board with us moving it, we wanted to get it moved, it was just a question of, ‘How are we going to fund it?’ And there were some options on the table that I felt pretty solid about. That was part of the reason that I went ahead and voted yes. I felt like if we were able to identify half of the funding in a couple of weeks, and I felt like we would be able to find a little bit more of the funding over the next several months. We would have been pursuing funding options the rest of this year, but we wouldn’t have been working on actually physically replacing the water line until the beginning of 2027 before ALDOT came in and paved. But since our vote was split three to three [and did not pass], ALDOT is not going to hold off on their project.
“I don’t want to vote to put the city in any kind of debt, but my concern is, if we didn’t do this project now, when [ALDOT] brings in a bunch of those big, heavy machines, and they come in and they start digging out the asphalt and pouring a new road — are the water lines that we currently have going to be able to withhold all of that new weight and pressure? I decided to go on and vote yes, because I felt like it was a good project for us to have identified to start with our water line infrastructure replacement. And I know our citizens are behind trying to have improved water. It’s been something that we’ve been talking about and that people have been wanting for a long time.”
District B Kim Langley
District B City Council Member Kim Langley said he believes action should be taken soon, and that funds held by the city and the possibility of grants could be used for the project. Langley also expressed his belief that if the city invests in the infrastructure, it could encourage businesses and families to move to LaFayette.
“We constantly tear up the road after [ALDOT] paves it, and our infrastructure is wearing out,” he said. “This is an opportunity for us to move this out from underneath the road, to solve this problem. It is not going to solve our discoloration problem with the water — it may help, and we hope it helps, but this is just a first step in starting to replace our infrastructure — and hopefully, this will start the ball rolling to do more replacement of the water line all through town — we have six miles of it. This [project] didn’t have anything to do with anything else but the location of [ALDOT paving], because the state is paving and there’s a possibility we can get up to $900,000 right now if we move forward with this. Who knows if that’s going to be available down the road.
“Anybody with any common sense knows things are only going to get more expensive. There is never a good time to spend this money — I certainly don’t want to see the city go bankrupt. But we have $700,000 in an account that we can pull from. We’ve got another $300,000 we can pull from somewhere else, it’s not going to push us into a bad situation. But I don’t have a crystal ball; things could go south, you never know. But we’ve got to move forward. We can’t keep sitting still, and we are notorious for kicking cans down the road. And to be honest with you, I’m sick of it.
“We’ve got to take a stand, we’ve got to make these repairs. No, we don’t like spending the money, but it’s got to be done. And if we’re not willing to invest in our community, how in the world can we go out here and ask companies and people to move into our area if we’re not going to do the work ourselves? I love LaFayette. I have always loved LaFayette. I lived in Auburn for four years. I was glad to get back to LaFayette. I want to see us move forward, and this is one step here, and we need to make some other steps — we got a whole laundry list of things we need to be doing — but this is just something that is part of running the city, and we need to bite the bullet and go on it. Then maybe this will be a catalyst for us to continue to improve the water system as we go along here. That is why I voted yes.”
District C Toney Thomas
District C City Council Member Toney Thomas shared his perspective on the project via Facebook, expressing his belief that the solution should look more long-term, and more time should be taken to make the decision due to its large impact on the city’s finances and constituents’ lives.
“There is no question that LaFayette’s water infrastructure needs attention,” he said. “Our system is aging, and improvements are necessary. However, I believe we must approach this matter with a long-term vision rather than focusing on one section of the line alone.
“Relocating the main water line under 431 comes with a significant financial commitment. Even with potential state assistance, the city’s remaining cost would require payments estimated between $17,000 to $20,000 per month. Given our city’s current financial condition, we must be cautious about taking on additional debt without a comprehensive plan.
“My goal is not simply to address one area but to see a structured, citywide approach that begins with strengthening and modernizing our water plant and then moves strategically into our neighborhoods. Fixing one section without addressing the system as a whole risks creating temporary relief rather than lasting improvement.
“What LaFayette needs is a detailed infrastructure plan, one that outlines priorities, identifies funding opportunities — such as grants and state or federal programs — and ensures we invest in a complete solution rather than a short-term fix.
“I support community discussion on this issue and welcome the opportunity for a town hall meeting so citizens can hear the facts, ask questions and provide guidance. Together, we can make thoughtful decisions that protect both our infrastructure and the financial stability of our city.”
District D Charlene Story
District D City Council Member Charlene Story said she believes the project would have shown the community that the city is moving towards progress and growth, along with supporting local schools and businesses through improving infrastructure.
“One of the main reasons I voted yes on the Highway 431 Water Resolution Project was because I believe it would have made a direct impact on the city of LaFayette. The reason why I say that is because it would have benefited the LaFayette High School, and LaFayette High School is where the majority of the citizens’ kids spend their time during the day,” she said. “They are experiencing the same issue that most people are experiencing, the discoloration of water, but I’m not sure how they handle it. But I think it would have been a great reason to vote yes, because of the LaFayette High School. Also, it would have helped some nearby residents, and it would have helped those local businesses that are right in town, like Renfro’s — they’re dealing with a lot of food, it would have helped them when they are having to deal with raw meat. It may have not fixed all discoloration in that area, but I felt like it would have made a big difference.
“I also voted yes, because I believe we had a real chance of securing that $900,000 grant that would have offset the cost of the project. A couple of weeks ago, I didn’t know much about grants. I didn’t know about the grant process, but Dr. Tee Smith — and I thank him for coming in and speaking with the mayor and council — he gave us some information about how grants work, how infrastructure grants work. I felt like the city of LaFayette would have met all the criteria to get the grant. A lot of people are saying that there was no guarantee, which no grant is guaranteed, but I felt like our city would have checked all the boxes to where we would have qualified for that grant, and that would offset some of the costs. I feel like there probably would have been more grants we could have secured.
“As we all know, in LaFayette, we have water issues, we have infrastructure issues, we need more business development and we need more housing in LaFayette. And I feel like if we had voted on that particular resolution, it would have shown our citizens that we are moving forward, and that we are actively pursuing opportunities to improve our city. We were pursuing those through grants, partnerships and even possibly creating a long-term plan where we fix this one thing — then we could have possibly fixed something else down the road. I feel like that would have been eye-opening for a lot of investors to see that we are committed to investing in our city and pouring back into our city. I really voted yes because it was taking a step in the right direction, and showing our community that we were committed and we were ready for change, progress and making a difference in LaFayette.”
District E Tammie Williams
District E City Council Member Tammie Williams said she wants to ensure the water infrastructure benefits all of LaFayette, not just those closest to where the water line would be replaced, and also shared her desire for long-term solutions.
“Having access to quality water is essential to life, and it’s imperative that we address the entire water system for all of our citizens, not just a select few businesses,” she said. “I was elected to serve the people, and I have an obligation to serve all of LaFayette. I am urging us to come together and find a permanent solution so that our citizens can stop having brown water in their homes. They deserve better, and we should be working toward better, starting with the water plant to the distribution system.”
There will be a Town Hall Meeting where locals can share their thoughts about the Water Line Project on Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. at the Alfa Insurance Building — 1006 Ave. A SE in LaFayette.
