Council moves forward with MBE restroom

The pre-council agenda for Mountain Brook City Council only saw two items for the June 11 meeting: a proposal for a Mountain Brook Elementary restroom and a revised storm water management ordinance.

Shanda Williams, parks and recreation superintendent, spoke first about the MBE restroom. Originally proposed in 2017, the plans were recently denied because it would have been built on top of a storm sewer, which Williams said could not be done, and because the estimate was too high.

Under the updated plan, the restroom would be constructed on the school’s field near the corner of Heathermoor Road and Cahaba Road and be a prefabricated design. Because that area is in a flood plain, the restroom will be on a mound that is about 5.5 feet and include an ADA compliant ramp leading to the facility.

There would a men’s and woman’s restroom, as the original plan had laid out, but would also include a small porch area that extends in front of the restroom doors.

The pricing for the restroom estimated $130,000 for the project, which included four sides of a rock finish that would be placed on the building. After discussing the project and fundraising options with two local residents, however, the council opted to incorporate board and batten siding instead, which would lower the price of the project to approximately $120,000.

Council members agreed to move forward with the project, and Williams hopes to have it completed by October.

Building Official Glen Merchant then spoke about the storm water management ordinance. 

Mountain Brook has two “point sources” receiving water — Cahaba River and Shades Creek — and Merchant said this ordinance and revision will help protect it through holding the city, community and residents accountable for what goes into storm drains and into local free-flowing water.

The city already has an existing ordinance and this revision ensures it complies to the Alabama Department of Environment Management’s standards, which are required. Merchant said the structure and wording of the ordinance was put together by viewing what other cities have in place as well as talking with Chad Scroggins, chief development officer for Shelby County. Shelby County went through the same process in 2010, Merchant said.

“Mountain Brook, we’re very, very fortunate. This won’t be a big deal for us,” compared to other nearby cities that have more development occurring, Merchant said. 

This updated ordinance applies to post-construction sites that are one acre in size and above, such as a development or a subdivision. It requires that the permit-holder for the project give an annual report regarding any detention ponds or other water runoff control systems.

The ordinance states that the owner or permit-holder of a permit for construction must develop “[best management practices] to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the amount of post-construction discharge from [the site] does not exceed the amount of pre-construction discharge from the same site,” among other requirements. 

Merchant also worked with Cahaba River Society in trying to go above and beyond the state and federal requirements. While not all of their requests were met, Merchant explained, “We said, ‘We agree with you, we can do better, we feel like we shouldn’t do the bare minimum.’”

The ordinance addresses both water quantity and quality, but, “most of it’s quantity. But the quality is probably equally as important,” Merchant said. “Just because you’re containing [water] and dumping it doesn’t mean you’re doing it properly.”

Also during the council meeting on June 11, members:

• Approved the minutes of the May 29 meeting.
• Authorized the budgeted payment from the general fund of $300,000 into the city of Mountain Brook Section 115 (retiree medical insurance) Trust for investment in accordance with the city’s investment policy.
• Authorized the execution of a contractor agreement between the city and Lower Brothers Company Inc. with respect to the resurfacing of six tennis courts at Mountain Brook High School.
• Adopted the updated social media policy for the city, as discussed at the May 29 meeting.
• Open and closed a public hearing to repeal Ordinance 1408, Highway 280 Overlay and Map, which Director of Planning, Zoning and Sustainability Dana Hazen said is "overbearing." By repealing the ordinance — which promotes uniform access to U.S. 280 in different forms — the city gains creativity and flexibility along U.S. 280 while maintaining the same standards.

The next regular city council meeting will be on June 25.