City Council moves forward with sidewalk study

Mountain Brook is known for high volumes of vehicular traffic visiting its city and after a city council meeting on Oct. 10 the municipal government will be planning to address the growing volume of pedestrian traffic as well.

Through the Advance Planning Programming and Local Engineering sidewalk study, or APPLE program, Mountain Brook will be analyzing different areas within the city limits to assess the feasibility of constructing proposed sidewalks, as identified in the city’s Walkway Master Plan. 

Council President Virginia Smith noted any areas looked at should be the most logical and the most feasible for this study. City Manger Sam Gaston also noted that for this project, the city is not obligated to pay more than $12,000.

Out of four proposals that were given to the city for review, Gaston selected Sain Associates for the study. Sain Associates will be providing professional engineering and transportation planning services for the project.

The council accepted their statement of interest for the project.

“I think that’s a good decision based on what I saw,” said Smith, mentioning that the city has worked with Sain Associates in the past. 

The project will begin this fall and proceed over the course of approximately six months by being broken down into two plans. The first, which is slated to take three months, will focus on analyzing the existing conditions within Mountain Brook. The second project, which will overlap with the first, is projected to take four months and focus more on creating a concept plan and evaluating its possible effects. 

Once this project has been completed, there will be approximately 42 miles of sidewalks within Mountain Brook. 

Also at the Oct. 10 meeting, the council:

• Heard from Judge Shera Grant, who is up for re-election to District Court, Civil Division, Place 5.
• Heard from Lee Cleveland, who is running for District Court, Civil Division, Place 5. 
• Approved the minutes of the Sept. 26 regular meeting.
• Approved the resolution ratifying and adopting the fiscal 2017 budget of the Mountain Brook Emergency Communications District, as previously adopted by the city council on Sept 26. 
• Approved the resolution ratifying the transfer of $291,553 from the Emergency Communications District operating fund to the City of Mountain Brook General Fund to reimburse the City of E911 dispatch labor costs and related supervision for the year Oct. 1, 2015 through Sept. 20, 2016.
• Approved a resolution expressing gratitude to Bill Warren for his service on the Tree Commission. 
• Approved a resolution appointing Stephanie Maxwell to the Editorial Board, to serve without compensation through Oct. 10, 2020, replacing Dale Wisely. 
• Approved a resolution declaring a 1987 International school bus as surplus and authorizing its sale at public internet auction.
• Carried the resolution authorizing the execution of an agreement for the city’s preparation in a white-collar crime law enforcement task force overseen by the U.S. Secret Service and Jefferson County District attorney. 
• Approved the resolution authorizing the execution of service agreements with:

• Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce
• Alabama Symphonic Association
• McWane Science Center
• Jefferson/Blount/St. Clair Mental Health Authority
• Exceptional Foundation
• Birmingham Museum of Art
• Birmingham Botanical Society
• Alabama Ballet, while altering the amount of their agreement to $2,500
• Birmingham Children’s Theatre
• Prescott House
• Birmingham Zoo
• Alabama Veterans’ Memorial Foundation
• Jefferson County Historical Commission
• All In Mountain Brook

• Approved the resolution granting a Special Events Retail License to Event Concession, Inc. for the Lane Parke Grand Opening Event to be held on Oct. 20. 

The next city council meeting will take place on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.

This article was edited to reflect that Sain Associates presented a statement of interest for the APPLE program, not a bid.