Kalenski Adams showed up to Government Plaza Wednesday hoping that city funding to support the MOB Music Festival would get the support it needs to move forward.

He will have come back again in hopes that the meeting will take place.

The council, in an unusual moment, did not approve its agenda. The action meant the council meeting was abruptly shut down, leaving the audience and some council members confused and speculating about what was amiss.

“I think it will get resolved,” said Adams, who goes by “D.J. Dirty Dan” and who was representing Opportunities for Entertainers in hopes of receiving funding to support MOB Fest on July 14-16.

The council vote was split along racial lines with the three Black members – Council President C.J. Small and Councilmen William Carroll and Cory Penn — abstaining. The council’s three white members – Ben Reynolds, Gina Gregory and Joel Daves voted in favor of the agenda.

It takes a five-vote supermajority to adopt a council agenda.

Their vote came after Small read through his traditional instructions for a council meeting that include, among other things, for people in the audience to silence their cell phones and electronic devices. He also disclosed the time limit rules for speakers on non-agenda items, and that there should be no personal attacks on council members during public commenting.

After the abstentions, Reynolds said he was “confused” over why the agenda was not voted on.

“We didn’t have enough votes to adopt the agenda,” Small replied.

The council then immediately adjourned.

Carroll, after the meeting, was approached by some upset constituents over why the meeting was not conducted. He declined to comment to the media.

Penn could not be reached for comment, and the council’s spokeswoman said a statement would be forthcoming. Nothing was released as of 1 p.m.

Reynolds and Councilwoman Gina Gregory said they were unsure about why the council’s agenda was not voted on. Gregory said it was the first time during her 18-year tenure on the council that an agenda was not approved at the start of a meeting.

She said council members had, before, individually blocked certain agenda items from being voted on.

“The agenda being adopted is an ordinary process, procedurally, that the council does every week,” said Reynolds. “There appears to be some underlying issue. I don’t want to speculate. I’m not a part of those meetings, so I’m not sure.”

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson was not at Government Plaza at the time of the council meeting. His spokesman also said he was unsure of why the meeting’s agenda was not adopted.

The council agenda included few high-profile issues. Reynolds noted that that abrupt cancellation of the meeting will slow down renovations at Bienville Square. The council was set to vote on a $3.2 million contract to begin a project that will include the return of its restored fountain from damage sustained during Hurricane Sally, as well as additional landscaping at the historic downtown park.

“I just hope we reconvene in a very quick time frame and conduct the business on here,” he said. “We have a $3 million investment going into Bienville Square and we want to get the ball rolling on that. I suspect this will all work itself out, but unfortunately, I don’t have the answers.”

Bill Boswell, a representative of the Government Street Collaborative, was scheduled to speak to the council on Wednesday as well about a number of issues including concerns over a rezoning application and the fate of two historic homes on Conti Street.

“I’m told there is another issue not relevant to what we are doing that came up,” said Boswell. “They could come back this week and have another meeting or wait until next week.”

He added, “I’m on hold. They are on hold. Everyone is on hold.”

Mobile City Clerk Lisa Lambert said the council can call a meeting as long as it gives a 24-hour notice.

The council is addressing a few touchy subjects, but none of them were on Wednesday’s agenda.

Their actions do put on hold an agreement with the Mobile County School Board for a 99-year lease of city-owned park property so that Williamson High School can have an on-campus football stadium.

Also looming is what might arise from a July 18 special election on annexing unincorporated properties west of Mobile’s city limits. The annexation proposal could, at most, bring in more than 25,000 new residents and boost Mobile’s overall population from fourth to the second largest in Alabama trailing only Huntsville.

The issue is a touchy subject that could alter the city’s racial demographics and thrust the city into renewed talks about redistricting. Those talks concluded last year with a vote in support of a new council district map that includes, for the first time in Mobile’s history, a majority of Black districts. The council’s current racial makeup is four white members, three Black.

The last time there was a split vote along racial lines on the Mobile City Council was in 2019, when a previous annexation plan was shot down by a 4-3 vote. The council’s three Black members voted against the plan at that time and prevented a special election on it from happening.

The current council, however, voted in early May to support of having the July 18 special election on the current annexation plan after a study released by the PFM Group illustrated the revenue growth that could happen if it goes through.