Projects and citizen survey results discussed at City Council
Most people in Mountain Brook uses the village sidewalks at some point, and after presenting his Eagle Scout project to City Council on April 10, Ben Belden is aiming to help pedestrians track their mileage.
Together with the Public Works department and Sloss Furnaces, Belden will be creating medallion-like markers with the city’s mill logo to indicate each mile along the sidewalks between the villages. The markers will be made at Sloss Furnaces as a way for Belden to earn the metal working badge and will use a slogan such as “Yet another mile,” in lieu of mile numbers, since pedestrians may be starting from different locations.
The markers would be placed as follows: at Crestline Clocktower; near the intersection of Ridge Drive and Salisbury Road; near the Civitas sculpture in English Village; in the Mountain Brook Village circle near Harrison’s; and at the light at Montevallo Road and Fairway Drive. Councilwoman Virginia Smith suggested that Belden work with the Public Works department to ensure the markers are flush with the sidewalk’s surface, to which Belden agreed.
The presentations for the night continued with Jason Morado from ETC Institute, the company that recently completed the resident satisfaction surveys. After looking at the results, Morado said, “Once again, these are some of the very best ratings in the entire country.”
Over 950 residents completed the survey, which is an increase of about 100 from the last survey three years ago, and Mountain Brook rated above the regional and national average in all areas that the survey compared. While there was still some dissatisfaction regarding the traffic flow and congestion management, it was clear that Mountain Brook residents were overall happy with the quality of their city on all other fronts, Morado said.
“It’s because we’ve got terrific department heads who are doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” said Smith.
The final presentations were from students of Leadership Mountain Brook. As part of the program, they are to create a city improvement project, and two were presented on April 10: a community mural and an event to kick-off a celebration of Mountain Brook’s 75th anniversary.
Presented by Jennings Briley, Isabella Degaris and Virginia Winn, the aim of the mural is to bring uniqueness to the community and to help local shops profit.
After meeting with Village Design Review, team members helped develop an art committee and are now working to create possible designs to present to said committee. Once a design is established, they will work towards creating a budget, choosing an artist and coordinating with city department heads to have the mural painted.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm behind this idea,” said councilwoman Alice Womack.
Fellow Leadership Mountain Brook members Kendall Alby, Will Bundy, Matthew Bullock and Mary Louise Howland then presented their plan for kicking off 75th anniversary celebrations for the city in May.
Currently, they are working on the “opening day” for the month-long celebration, which is scheduled for May 7 from 3-5 p.m. in Crestline. The event will include family-friendly activities such as a kids zone with a bounce house, birthday cake, Mayfield’s ice cream and Maggie the Cow, who will be returning from her adventure at the Kentucky Derby, and live local music acts. The team has also proposed a dunk tank, although city officials could not reach an agreement on who should be dunked.
A rain date is scheduled for the birthday event on May 21 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Additional events are being planned by the Chamber of Commerce and the Emmet O'Neal Library, to take place throughout the month of May.
Also during the council meeting, members:
- Followed the Pledge of Allegiance as led by the Scouts of The Exceptional Foundation.
- Approved an addition to the board appointment policy, limiting appointees to serving on one committee, commission or board at a time with an exception granted to city council members and for ad hoc and subcommittees.
- Discussed a right-of-way encroachment at 600 Euclid Ave. and determined more information needed to be gathered.
- Established a “No Parking” zone during school hours along the west side of Wilderness Road between Fair Oaks Drive and Kennesaw Drive.
- Approved the minutes of the meeting on March 27.
- Recognized Fred Murray for his work while on the city’s Planning Commission.
- Stated a motion expressing support of House Bill 283, which deals with transportation network companies.
The next City Council meeting will be on April 24 in the morning to allow for the Student Showcase in Crestline that evening. The exact time of the meeting will be posted online.