Addie McCluskey
Elmore Autauga News
The Prattville City Council passed resolutions naming 124 West Main Street “The Striplin Business Center” and the adjacent venue “The Lyric at Esther’s” on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, during their regular meeting.
Resolution 2 was to name the building, and Resolution 3 addressed the stage at the adjacent venue. Resolutions 4 and 5 addressed the venue itself, naming it “The Lyric” and “The Lyric at Esther’s,” respectively.
The first item up was Resolution 2, to name the building “The Striplin Center,” sponsored by District 1 Councilor Wade Newman.
“For the sake of what I think would be getting the outdoor venue named, I’d like to make a motion to move this item to the end of the agenda, so we can straighten that out before we bring this back,” said Newman.
Following Newman’s motion, there was no further discussion, and the council unanimously voted to move the naming of the building to the end of the agenda.
“To follow along with Councilor Newman, I think that Resolution 5 is the one that we have put the most time into and took feedback from our constituents,” said District 2 Councilor Marcus Jackson. “I feel like that one should be the first one that we address.”
Jackson noted that, in his time on the city council, he had never seen resolutions brought up from the floor, such as those reported on at Prattville Council delays 124 West Main Street naming yet again amid ongoing disagreement. He also observed that moving items to the end of the agenda was unusual.
“There have been a lot of things that have been done that have not been done before,” said Jackson. “Just because they were done doesn’t mean that there was some type of malice or some type of mean-spirited, or that we did it in a negative, sneaky manner. We were definitely being transparent.”
The council then voted on the motion to move the naming of the stage to the end of the agenda, which passed 4-3, with Newman and District 7 Councilor Thea Langley opposed and Jackson abstaining.
With Resolution 4 before the council, District 3 Councilor John Chambers motioned to move the naming of the venue “The Lyric” to the end of the agenda, prompting questions from the council.
“I don’t understand why we would push this to the end of the agenda when this is something that names the outdoor space,” said Langley. “This is what we are working on, naming the outdoor venue, and I did pull this up from the floor that day in an effort not to be mischievous or anything at all but in an effort to get this done… I don’t see any difference in Resolution 4 and Resolution 5 other than the order.”
In response, District 4 Councilor Tommy Merrick suggested that public feedback showed majority support for the original name, “The Lyric at Esther’s.” He supported moving Resolution 4 to the end of the agenda, so it would not precede the original name.
The motion ultimately passed 4-3, with Newman, Jackson, and Langley opposed, bringing Resolution 5 before the council.
In the discussion on naming the venue “The Lyric at Esther’s,” Jackson reiterated the initial reason for renaming it, citing public concern about Esther and Daniel Pratt’s ties to slavery, previously reported at Debate over Esther Pratt’s legacy prompts postponement of Prattville facility naming.
“You have people in this community who are upset because we are potentially naming it that, and again, nothing against the Pratts, but let’s look at the pain it has caused a whole group of people,” said Jackson. “We talk about Wilson Pickett, and the first thing people started putting out was that he was on drugs, accused of domestic violence, and on alcohol… who are we going to hold to a higher standard?”
Despite Jackson’s reminder, the council passed the venue name “The Lyric at Esther’s” in a 5-2 vote, with opposition from Jackson and Langley.
When the resolutions moved to the end of the agenda were revisited, the first item up was naming the building at 124 West Main “The Striplin Center.” Newman recommended an amendment, based on advice from the city’s economic developer, to make the name more specific: “The Striplin Business Center.” The council unanimously approved the amendment and passed the building name.
For the remaining items, the council consulted City Attorney Andrew Odom, as they were unsure how to proceed with the stage name and additional venue name after voting on “The Lyric at Esther’s.” Odom advised that they could either vote the resolutions down or postpone them indefinitely. The council ultimately voted to postpone the resolutions for “The Wilson Pickett Stage” and “The Lyric” indefinitely.
