City council OKs zoo sidewalk connector
The Mountain Brook City Council on Tuesday gave the Alabama Department of Transportation a green light to proceed on a major sidewalk project that will connect Mountain Brook and Homewood.
The Zoo Sidewalk Connector will stretch along 20th Place South from Cahaba Road to Poinciana Drive. Mountain Brook City Manager Sam Gaston said the city of Birmingham is overseeing the ALDOT-funded project because the sidewalk falls within its city limits.
"We're excited about it,” Gaston said during Tuesday’s pre-council meeting. “It's finally come to fruition."
The City Council has granted ALDOT full access to existing streets for construction of the sidewalk and has approved the installation of traffic control and/or street lighting.
Gaston said the project will not be bid out until Aug. 30, meaning late fall is the earliest that construction would begin.
Nearby, Mountain Brook and Homewood are also working on a project to construct a pedestrian bridge between the two cities at Hollywood Drive, crossing over U.S. 280. Homewood City Councilor Jennifer Andress, who has helped spearhead the project, said recently that it is in the planning stages but is moving forward.
Also on Tuesday, the City Council appointed Jeffrey Brewer to the Mountain Brook Board of Education to fill the unexpired term of Richard Murray IV through May 21, 2023.
According to a recommendation letter from board member Elizabeth Dunn, Brewer is a licensed architect and the CEO of Goodwyn Mills Cawood. He has lived in Mountain Brook since 1998 and has three children in the school system.
"Mr. Brewer's background in design and architecture would serve the board well with multiple facility projects on the school system's horizon," Dunn wrote in the letter.
Brewer is the second new addition to the Mountain Brook school board. At its May 13 meeting, the City Council appointed Jenifer Kimbrough as the replacement for Dunn, who has served on the board for the past 10 years.
In other business, the Council:
- Approved a contract between the city and Gray's Tree Service for the removal of trees between Fields 2 and 3 at the Athletic Complex. The work will cost $7,500 and is contingent upon Board of Education approval.
- Approved a contract between the city and Morris-Shea Bridge Company for grading and drainage work by Fields 3, 4 and 7 at the Athletic Complex. Morris-Shea is donating its work, which also is contingent upon Board of Education approval.
- Reappointed Alice Williams to serve on the Planning Commission without compensation through May 15, 2025.
Special Meeting held May 24
Mountain Brook City Council held a special meeting on Friday, May 24. It addressed two main items of business.
First, the Council repealed an ordinance that it passed at its May 13 meeting. The ordinance, which amended Chapter 30 of the city code, outlined the penalties for those who fail to appear in municipal court and fail to comply with orders of the court.
City Clerk Steve Boone said the ordinance contained contradictory language that didn't reflect its true intent.
"The bottom line is May 13 we made a mistake," Boone said. "We passed an ordinance that we shouldn't have passed, so that's why we had to repeal it."
Boone and City Prosecutor Jeff Bramer said that the ordinance will be reworded before coming back to the City Council. There is no timeline for when that will happen, Bramer said.
Also at the special meeting, the council approved an off-site parking agreement/lease for the exclusive use of employees of the upstairs restaurant at 2721 Cahaba Road. The space was formerly occupied by Avo and Dram Whiskey Bar before they closed at the beginning of 2019.
A new tenant is expected to be announced soon.
The City Council will hold its next regularly scheduled meeting on June 10 at 7 p.m.