City Council approves some traffic safety items
The Mountain Brook City Council, at its regular meeting for June 14, passed two items related to traffic safety, made a board appointment, approved a liquor license for a new eatery in Crestline and agreed to make the city’s annual deposit to the trust fund that provides for health insurance for retirees.
The council approved the following items:
- Installing a flashing pedestrian crossing sign on Montevallo Road at Glencoe Drive. Stone & Sons Electrical Contractors will do the work for about $16,400, according to Richard Caudle of Skipper Consulting. Caudle said his original cost estimate for the project was about $9,000, but he was unable to find a bid lower than that submitted by Stone & Sons. Some council members expressed concern about the cost but said the project was needed for safety reasons.
- An agreement between the city and Skipper Consulting to conduct a traffic study of the new English Village Entertainment District. Several neighborhood residents raised concerns recently that the new district could have a negative impact on traffic. Skipper will look at comparable entertainment districts in Vestavia Hills; gather data, including information about accidents in the village the last five years; analyze the data, including estimates of any increases in vehicular and pedestrian activity; and submit a final report.
- A resolution authorizing the city to take $300,000 from its general fund and invest the money in the city’s Section 115 Trust for retiree medical insurance. The deposit will be made in three installments between June 15 and September 15. The city typically makes this deposit annually but reduced the trust deposit for 2020 and did not include a deposit in his 2021 budget due to the uncertainty of the city’s finances during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, based on general fund results through May 2021, it seems certain the city will surpass its budget surplus and can safely resume the $300,000 deposit, according to the council’s agenda packet.
- Appointed William Galloway, communications director for the Mountain Brook School Board, to the city’s Editorial Board. The members of the Editorial Board publish “The Reporter,” the city’s quarterly newsletter. Galloway replaces Sam Chandler, who was also Galloway’s predecessor as MBS communications director. A Mountain Brook native, Galloway graduated from Mountain Brook High School in 2017, earned a degree in sports media in April at The University of Alabama and assumed his duties at MBS in May.
- A resolution recommending to the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board that it issue a restaurant retail liquor license to Slims Pizza and Bar LLC, which is doing business as Slims Pizzeria and is located in Crestwood Village. In December, the council voted to approved a conditional use allowing the operators, including Miller Mobley, to lunchtime food service at the eatery, located at 65 Church Street.
BACK IN PERSON
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the council’s meetings have been streamed on Zoom.
However, as they have since April 26, the council members gathered at City Hall in person for the June 14 meeting.They were joined in the council chambers by several Mountain Brook residents.
The next scheduled meeting of the council will be Monday, June 28, at 7 p.m.