Much business was discussed in the Monday evening April 14, 2025 Duck Hill Board of Alderman Meeting. However, the main topics of discussion for the meeting were regarding the unsolved murder of Michael Ringold who passed away in 2021 and the establishment referred to as “The Corner” or “The Corner Cafe.”
Firstly, Duck Hill resident Maxine Ringold, mother of the victim, questioned if there had been any update on the murder case of Michael Ringold. Police Chief Tim Gholston explained when he took over the position as Police Chief he reached out to ORG but had not heard any updates on the case. Following this, Maxine Ringold requested the Board have Carrollton Street renamed to Michael Ringold Street to honor the victim. A lengthy discussion ensued. While all Aldermen seemed to be in favor of honoring Ringold, the main barrier to this course of action was the legality involved in changing a street name.
“To change the street - because it affects everybody’s mail - I think you have to have a public hearing to do that. You could put like a monument up or something somewhere and you don’t have to do all that,” Board Attorney Adam Kirk advised on the subject.
“If you change the street you do have to go through some hoops to put everybody on notice cause it’s gonna affect - everybody on Carrollton Street’s gonna have to change their address,” he explained.
Alderwoman Shernell Everett-Brown offered instead of changing the street name, that a memorial plaque be put up on Carrollton Street for Michael Ringold. Maxine Ringold stated that this course of action would be appreciated if the name of the street could not be changed. Board Attorney Kirk explained to move forward with this, the board would need to get quotes on the sign. Mayor Al White offered to take the lead on getting estimates for the memorial. No further action was taken by the Board on the subject.
The Board moved immediately to the next matter of business, brought before the Board by Resident Kim Cooley. Cooley explained that she and many other residents have had an ongoing issue with “The Corner” or “The Corner Cafe” establishment which is a building positioned at the corner of Martin Luther King and Carrollton Streets. Following the introduction of the topic, the Board began a lengthy discussion addressing a possible curfew in effect for the area.
“Being that so much violence - based on this, someone lost their life, someone had ran into somebody’s house - those incidents occurring repeatedly in that area, it needs to be some particular time set. And if it’s not now, then when? Because too much is going on that’s causing a lot that it shouldn’t be causing,” Alderwoman Likisha Small spoke up on the subject.
“Both of those incidents happened at like two or three o’clock in the morning. The Cafe wasn’t even open. - So giving them a curfew is one thing, but how do you stop that when The Cafe wasn’t even open at the time,” Alderman Chris Caldwell questioned.
At this point, Alderwoman Everett-Brown interjected, explaining that she believed that a few years prior the Board of the time had instituted a nine-o’clock curfew. She stated that she did not know if the curfew was ever lifted. Cooley also stated at this point in the discussion that she believed that The Cafe is not within the proper zoning boundaries in the Town of Duck Hill. She stated that according to her research, the building is zoned in a residential/recreational area of the city. Cooley stated that there is a strip of property available on Main Street which is zoned commercially, if someone wanted to open a club legally and within the city zoning ordinances. Cooley went on to cite a number of issues she has observed with The Corner, including hearing gunshots and loud music, as well as having overcrowded parking. In addition, the building supposedly has no running water or sewage, making it illegal to do business out of under town ordinances.
“There’s all kinds of people up there from all other counties, when there could easily be something there that could bring revenue to the town,” Cooley stated on the subject.
“So you have cars from Vaiden and all these other places there - that’s not contributing to the local economy - in a place they’re really not supposed to exist now, in the middle of a residential area,” she added.
“I’m asking for the place to be relocated or shut down. Before something happens that we all regret,” Cooley finished.
Alderwoman Linda Bennett suggested requesting assistance from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in investigating the establishment and possibly assisting in noise/crime control. Most Aldermen at the table seemed to agree on supporting the establishment and/or enforcement of a curfew, however this led back to the question of whether or not a curfew had been previously established. Ultimately, the Board agreed to check on the curfew and the zoning ordinances. The topic was then tabled until the next meeting, with Alderwoman Morgan Eskridge requesting the item be added to the May meeting agenda.
In other news the Board:
• Approved the meeting minutes for March, 2025.
• Accepted the docket of claims.
• Accepted the chief of police report from Police Chief Tim Gholston.
• Heard the library report from Librarian Dena Rainey regarding recent National Library Week events and hints to upcoming events in June and July such as Touch A Truck, Night-time Bingo, and Freedom Ranch.
• Approved request from Seshandrial Miers for police escort for a Lupus Awareness Walk planned for Saturday, May 3, 2025. The Board requested that the organizers get in contact with Police Chief Gholston to iron out the specifics of the route.
• Heard Alderwoman Small’s report that the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) workshop has been rescheduled to Friday, May 2, 2025 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, May 3, 2025 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Duck Hill Gym. For those interested, Alderwoman Small is handling sign-ups.
• Held an executive session regarding a personnel matter in which no action was taken.
