Category: Opelika City Government

This is a brief follow-on to a story first reported by The Observer , Opelika's community newspaper. Read their full story for complete coverage. The Opelika City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 6, gave final approval to new zoning standards for package liquor stores and awarded a $974,902 contract to Utility & Water Services for I-85 sanitary sewer improvements, The Observer reported. Five companies bid on the sewer job. New package stores must be at least… Read More

This is a brief follow-on to a story first reported by The Observer , Opelika's community newspaper. Read their full story for complete coverage. The Opelika City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 6, approved a $310,000 special appropriation from the city's unassigned fund balance to Opelika City Schools, including its Pre-K program, The Observer reported. It also approved a $100,000 annual contract with the Opelika Chamber of Commerce for programs including SNOPELIKA, the National Civics Bee… Read More

The City of Opelika is now taking proposals from companies that want to run health and wellness services for city employees, the city announced Monday. Bids will be opened Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m. at Opelika City Hall. The request for proposals follows a September council meeting where a proposed agreement with Symbol Health Solutions to operate the city's employee clinic was pulled from the agenda after council members questioned how the vendor had… Read More

The City of Opelika's Community Relations team picked up a national award and two regional honors at communications conferences in September, the city announced. At the City-County Communications & Marketing Association (3CMA) conference, the team received a Savvy Award of Excellence for its work on the Tunnel to Towers 9/11 "First in Alabama" campaign. The Savvy awards have recognized government communications work for more than 30 years. At the 2026 Southern Public Relations Federation conference… Read More

October 3, 2026 — Opelika, AL A leaking sewer manhole in a wooded area has been tied to dozens of dead fish in Halawakee Creek, WTVM reported Saturday, and the City of Opelika says it is investigating with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Longtime resident Wayne Atkins, a volunteer water sampler for the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, said he noticed a foul smell driving over the Beans Mill Bridge. After a Facebook post showed dead fish… Read More

Some Lee County voters are organizing a grassroots campaign to write in Sheriff Jay Jones on the November ballot, months after he lost the Republican primary to Cam Hunt, NowGeorgia.com reported. Hunt, a former Marine and former Lee County deputy, beat Jones by 307 votes in May. There is no Democratic candidate, so Hunt's is the only name on the general election ballot for sheriff. Former deputy Jack Carter has been urging voters on Facebook… Read More

This is a brief follow-on to a story first reported by The Observer , Opelika's community newspaper. Read their full story for complete coverage. The Lee County Commission on Monday, Sept. 28, approved a fiscal year 2027 budget of just under $80 million that includes a 5% raise for county employees starting in October, The Observer reported. Commissioners noted that planned capital projects can be done without borrowing. The commission also authorized an application for… Read More

The City of Opelika has named Mark Ennis, P.E., director of Opelika Power Services, bringing back a utility veteran who started there as a young engineer nearly 40 years ago. Ennis succeeds Brent Poteet, who retired after 10 years with the city-owned electric utility, the city said. Ennis joined Opelika Power Services as an engineer in 1986, worked his way up and served as its director for eight years before leaving in 1997. Since then… Read More

Two homeowners in Opelika’s Northside Historic District will ask the city’s Historic Preservation Commission on Thursday, Oct. 8, to sign off on changes to their houses: new porch work on North 10th Street and a sunroom addition on North Sixth Street. The commission meets at 4:30 p.m. at 300 Martin Luther King Blvd., according to the agenda the city posted on CivicClerk. 313 N. 10th St. Applicant Penny Searcy is seeking a certificate of appropriateness… Read More