Yea vs. yay.

As he presented a committee report during a meeting Tuesday, County Commission President Jimmie Stephens instructed the assembled commissioners to say yay – as though cheering – rather than the customary yes vote of yea.

Stephens, a former schoolteacher, knew exactly what he was saying as he called for a vote on the sale of the Hallmark Farm property, in north Jefferson County.

In presenting the resolution for absent Joe Knight, Stephens said, “This is a big one – approval of the sale of Hallmark Farms.”

Sheila Tyson moved the item, Mike Bolin seconded it and Stephens said, “Amen. We have a motion and a second. All in favor, say, ‘Yay!’”

The action puts the official vote on the sale on the agenda for Thursday’s commission meeting. Approval would bring the county one step closer to being home to an agriculture center on the old Hallmark Farms property off Interstate 65 near Warrior. The resolution approves the sale of the development site for $13.5 million.

Jefferson County had to sign off on the deal as it was part of the Hallmark Farm Cooperative.

“They can’t move forward until they have possession of the property,” Stephens explained after the meeting. “Now, with them having possession of the property, we can begin to see things actually coming together.”

A bill passed the House in May 2024 and was signed by Gov. Kay Ivey allowing the Alabama Farmers Federation to build a state-of-the-art agriculture center on the Hallmark Farm property. The facility will be called the Alabama Farm Center.

Senate Bill 219  created a board – the Agriculture Exhibition Center Corp. – to operate the facility. That board will work directly with the county to ensure everything moves smoothly.

“They will have the property in hand where they can go out and actually raise the dollars necessary,” Stephens said. “It becomes real. It becomes a real project when they assume control of the property.

“That’s a wonderful thing,” Stephens continued. “They will be good partners, working together. We have committed (to providing) infrastructure that will help that project.”

Stephens said the county will fulfill its obligation but said the process had to proceed in stages.

“When they do what they need to do, as far as having the financing in place, we will begin and do our infrastructure,” he said. “Then you’ll begin to see great things happening in north Jefferson County.”