Demopolis moves forward on annexing 300 acres near Gallion for planned gas station

The Demopolis City Council approved a contract with the Hale County Commission that clears the way for Demopolis to annex 305 acres in the Gallion area.

The property at the intersection of Highway 69 North and Highway 80 in Hale County is being planned for a gas station.

The agreement must now be approved by the Alabama Legislature. Demopolis Mayor Woody Collins said officials hope the legislature will approve the annexation during the current session.

At a special called meeting on Jan. 27, the Demopolis City Council approved a contract that states Demopolis and Hale County will work together to develop unincorporated and undeveloped property at Highway 80 and Highway 69 N located at the key intersection of the West Alabama Highway Project.

A new Highway 69 going south toward Mobile from Highway 80 is under construction. The highway currently continues west of where Highway 69 N joins Highway 80.  

“This would be a premier intersection for something of a pretty good size,” Collins told the Black Belt News Network. Because the intersection is strategically located between Thomasville and Tuscaloosa, the tract would be an ideal place for a truck stop or gas station, he said.

With that in mind, the contract states that Demopolis will share gas tax or sales tax revenue generated by any business that operates at the intersection. Demopolis would keep 2 cents of the sales tax, and Hale County would get 1 cent; Demopolis and Hale County would each get 1 cent of the gas tax, according to the contract.

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The two governments will share expenses for developing the property using the same formula, according to the contract.

The Hale County Commission approved the contract before it was sent to the Demopolis City Council.

Collins said the property will be enhanced by a sewer line that will eventually pass through the area. The Demopolis Water Works and Sewer Board, which is separate from the city of Demopolis, was awarded a federal grant in 2018 to run a sewer line to Uniontown in Perry County east of the Highway 69 N and Highway 80 intersection.

Collins said construction of the sewer line is expected to start in August. The sewer line will pump wastewater from Uniontown to Demopolis for treatment, allowing Uniontown to close its existing lagoon and spray field system.  

Officials are hoping to get grants to lay a water line to the intersection as well, Collins said.

“The legislature loves the idea of a multicounty initiative to work out development on the new corridor,” Collins said. Construction of the West Alabama Highway Project going south to Mobile is funded, but funding for construction going north toward Tuscaloosa is less sure, even though some vegetation has been cleared along Highway 69, Collins said.