By Crystal McGough
ARGO – The Argo City Council unanimously approved an ordinance annexing 54 acres of land off Angus Street into the city of Argo for the purpose of a new residential neighborhood development, during the regular council meeting on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
Image courtesy of Brandon Bowen and Glenn Davenport
Co-developer Brandon Bowen spoke to the council Monday night about his plans for the new community.
“I’ve been a part of two work sessions now with the council,” Bowen said. “Angus Street, kind of back behind where the Argo Drive-In was, 54 acres there, we’ve purchased that land and proposing to develop it into a neighborhood there.”
The proposed neighborhood will consist of approximately 29 1-acre lots with one home on each lot, all of which are in the Springville School System. The community will also have two ponds, with the potential for a walking track around one or both ponds, as well as 11 acres of natural, wooded preserve area with hiking trails.
“We actually have in our plan to keep much of the wooded area there for trails,” Bowen said.
The proposal also includes a community clubhouse for use by residents to host parties and events, as well as a potential community pool and fire pit.
Bowen and his partner, Glenn Davenport, plan to begin building in the spring of 2022. The homes will be 3+ bedroom/2 bathroom single-level concrete slab homes that will be approximately 2,500 square feet in size, and will include large front porches, soaring living-space ceilings, open floor plans, designer kitchens and plenty of natural lighting. Proposed building materials include portions of brick exterior, Hardy siding, standing seam metal roofs, and some timber frame/exposed bean construction interiors.
Left to right: Mayor Pro-Tem Dusty Stinson, Councilor Michael Hicks, Councilor Danny McCarley, Councilor Dennis Griffin, Councilor Ann Brown, Mayor Betty Bradley and Better Basics executive director Dr. Kristi Bradford
In other city news, the Springville Area Rotary Club donated a “Book Nook” to the city of Argo, which will be installed in the city’s park near the municipal complex. The “Book Nook,” in concept, is similar to a Little Free Library.
“The Book Nooks have come with a partnership,” Jamie Townes of the Springville Area Rotary Club said. “The Trussville Area Rotary originally built them, but the Springville Area Rotary is a satellite club that’s just now starting in Springville, Odenville, Argo and Margaret.”
Townes said that the Rotary Club has partnered with a non-profit organization called Better Basics for the management of the Book Nook. Better Basics was started by retired teachers as a means to advance childhood literacy.
“During the pandemic, when a lot of children were cut off from schools because they didn’t have proper internet access or even computers in the home, we began asking volunteers to please fill these Book Nooks for us,” Better Basics Executive Director Dr. Kristi Bradford said. “You may have seen these before and might know them as Little Free Libraries, but these are different. Little Free Libraries, their motto is to take a book and leave a book. But with these, Better Basics, my organization, we want kids to take the books and take them home and keep them at home. We will keep the books filled in this Book Nook, along with the Springville Rotary Club.”
The Rotary Club will place donation boxes at the local schools, as well as various areas throughout the community, and Better Basics will ensure that the books are clean, in good condition, and age-appropriate for children.
In other business, the council approved the following:
- Resolution 11-8-2021, authorizing and providing premium pay to city employees though the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) Funds
- Motion to change the date of the 11/22/21 council meeting to 11/29/21
- Motion to change the date of the 12/27/21 council meeting to 12/28/21
The next meeting of the Argo City Council will be Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, at the Argo Municipal Complex. The regular meeting will begin at 6 p.m., following a 5 p.m. work session.
