In-house firefighter training, new grant application approved at council meeting
Mountain Brook City Council met on Jan. 22 for a brief meeting where they covered a comparatively short list of topics.
First, members voted to present an Employee Suggestion Award of $500 to fireman Justin Baker for his suggestion to the city to hold their own training classes for recent fire school graduates. By doing so, the city would not only be training the first responders to their standard, but would also be conserving money by not paying for the firefighters to attend another city’s school.
Hosting the training in-house would save the city between $2,900 and $3,800 per year.
“I love this suggestion,” said Councilor Alice Womack. “I think this is a great idea.”
The council also approved a new grant application to Road to Zero, which is a grant program that was initiated in October 2016 by the National Safety Council, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Under the grant, the city would be applying for approximately $100,000 to supply crosswalks with countdown timers at 14 different locations, Police Chief Ted Cook said. The list of locations would be brought back to council to approve before installation.
Gaston said that in the first year, the program had 62 applications and only approved seven, but noted that if the city’s project is accepted, 100 percent of the funding would be provided for.
Finally, council also approved the conditional use application for the restaurant called dinner. at 73 Church St. to add one booth and a countertop to seat ten individuals in their storefront.
GIS manager Hunter Simmons said the owners are planning to start serving breakfast and while they do not need conditional approval for those hours, the seating will be available for lunch. They wanted to request new seating after noticing some patrons taking their orders to go and then eating in their cars.
Simmons said he does not see the addition of interior seating being a parking problem in the vicinity of the restaurant.
Also during the meeting on Jan. 22, council members:
- Approved the minutes of Jan. 9.
- Approved a contract amendment with Gresham Smith Partners for the Caldwell Mill Road and Old Brook Trail bridges. The amendment is for contract provisions and does not have any impact on the budgeting of the project.
- Appointed Carey Hollingsworth to the Planning Commission to fill the seat of the outgoing member of Cay Alby.
- Approved the reappointment of K.C. Hairston as a municipal judge.
- Authorized the sale of the totaled evidence van to the at-fault driver’s insurance company in consideration of $10,804.
- Approved an ordinance authorizing the placement of a stop sign at the intersection of Greenway Road and Country Club Boulevard.
- Approved a yield sign at Westbury Place and Spring Valley Court.
- Approved an ordinance amending Chapter 129 of the city code with respect to accessory buildings and dwellings on residential lots and with respect to community shopping district permitted uses. Under these amendments, structures can be no closer than 10 feet to detached accessory buildings or five feet to dwellings and the definition of a shopping center now allows retail, food uses, business offices, professional offices and services by right in the community shopping district when defined as such. This only applies to the Mountain Brook portion of Brookwood Village and the Mountain Brook Plaza and council would not need to provide oversight for tenants.
The next meeting will be on Feb. 12.
This article was updated on Jan. 23 at 8:28 a.m. to correct the spelling of K.C. Hairston's name.