Andalusia is slated to have a new, 62,000 square- foot sporting goods store, thanks in part to an agreement approved by the Andalusia City Council Tuesday.
Dunham’s will locate in the Sanford Station Shopping Center located behind Southern Independent Bank on the east side of Andalusia in space formerly occupied by Dirt Cheap.
The company will make a $5 million investment to open the local store, which is expected to employ 35 to 40 employees. Dunham’s, which first opened in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, in 1937 as Dunham's Bait & Tackle, currently has more than 259 locations in 25 states.
The council entered an agreement with Watson and Downs Investment II, LLC, in which it agreed to rebate 2 percent of the city sales taxes collected there with a cap of $1.5 million.
“This will plug a leak in the local economy,” city administrator John Thompson said, adding that the store will offer many items not currently available here.
The closest Dunham’s location is Ozark, he said.
Mayor Earl Johnson said he visited that store, which is smaller than the one planned here. Johnson said he was impressed with the store.
“It’s like a sporting goods store on steroids,” he said. “They have clothing, shoes, boots, hiking boots, you name it, they have it.”
Johnson said the store fills a retail niche that will help draw shoppers to the local community.
In other business, the council:
• Agreed to surplus five vehicles
• Agreed to make a contribution to the Alabama High School Rodeo Association, which will hold state finals in the Covington Arena June 5-7.
The Andalusia City Council on Tuesday approved an amended request for funds from Andalusia City Schools to complete a sidewalk and entrance project at Andalusia High School.
ACS has received a Transportation Alternatives (sidewalk) grant to improve pedestrian traffic on its campus. The school system will provide matching funds of 20 percent for the project, which was approved earlier this month.
However, Dr. Daniel Shakespeare, superintendent of education, amended that request so that the system can also update signage and enhance the front entrance to AHS. The amendment added $481,770 to the total request for the 2025-26 school year.
The funding is from an education sales tax approved in 2013.
The council also:
• Approved a special events retail alcohol application for Off the Trax, for a Crawfish Cookoff planned there on March 28, 2026.
• Took no action upon the first reading of an ordinance to surplus property owned by the City at 220, 222 and 224 South Cotton Street.
Workers spent much of Friday filling a 20-foot hole in the turn lane on East Three Notch near Piggly Wiggly where a water leak kept City of Andalusia Utilities crews busy most of the week.
Joey Raybon, director of water and sewer operations, said the problem began when a contract installing fiber hit a water line.
“Water lines are usually four to five feet deep,” Raybon said. “This one was seventeen-and-a-half feet deep.”
Raybon said he believes the line was installed before the area was built up for road construction, which would account for the depth.
Raybon said because the line was so deep, L&K Contracting was called in to assist with the repair. City crews began working to repair the service on Monday night, and it was late Thursday before the line was repaired.
“Part of the problem is we didn’t want to turn the water off and interrupt service,” Raybon said. “We were trying to fight water and dig down to the problem simultaneously.”
There was a temporary disruption to service at two businesses on Thursday, he said, adding that City Utilities worked to keep that disruption to a minimum.
Raybon said he and other city employees consulted with ALDOT before beginning to fill the hole. Once the hole is filled, Raybon said, the lane will be reopened, and the fill materials will be given time to settle before the lane is re paved. Mid-day Friday, he said he hoped the hole would be filled by the end of the day.
He expressed his appreciation to employees in his department, the public works department, Andalusia Police Department and L&K Contracting for their help.
The City of Andalusia invites local residents interested in providing input into the City’s plans for the current quadrennium to attend one of two town hall meetings set for Tuesday, March 31.
The meetings will be similar to those held in 2021 in which local residents provided input into updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Concordia, the architectural and community planning firm with which the City partnered to update that plan, will facilitate the Town Hall meetings.
The meetings are set for the Adult Activity Center, 401 Walker Avenue (behind the Church Street Cultural Arts Centre/Andalusia Ballet) at noon and 5:30 p.m.
For additional information about the meeting, contact Michele Gerlach at 334.428.1143.