Leadership Mountain Brook class to present project proposals to City Council
Stewart Harrington cautiously drives around the curves on Old Leeds Road on his way to Mountain Brook High School. As he approaches his daily turn onto Cherokee Road, he watches other drivers hesitate before darting between the rock walls.
And, when he gets his opportunity, he hesitates as well.
His classmates agree – it’s a scary turn. So, when Harrington and four Leadership Mountain Brook teammates were charged to come up with a project to help their city, they decided to tackle safety at the intersection. Their plan entailed adding a signal to warn drivers if another car is approaching the intersection.
“There aren’t many wrecks there, but everyone seems skeptical when they turn,” Harrington said. “This is a way for us to be proactive.”
Once the group started looking into the project, they estimated that approximately half of the MBHS student population travels through that intersection each day. They also estimate that the Alabama Department of Transportation’s proposed changes to U.S. 280 intersections could route more traffic to the area in question.
Through the Leadership Mountain Brook program, Harrington and his teammates are hoping to bring the city on board to install the warning signal plan.
This semester, Harrington’s group, as well as three others, have been working on improvement projects as part of their class at the high school, which is a partnership between the Mayor’s office, MBHS and the Chamber of Commerce. Students spent their first semester learning from officials about how the City of Mountain Brook works, and this semester they applied what they learned.
“It’s interesting to watch them learn about the city and think of a project that will be here after they come back from college,” said Hannon Davidson of the Chamber, who co-leads the class with MBHS teacher Amber Benson. “The class connects them to the city in way that no other residents are connected.”
Three of the four groups will present project proposals to the Mountain Brook City Council at the Council’s first meeting in the new Municipal Complex on May 13. The fourth group already presented a proposal to the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce for a mobile website that was then approved by the Chamber Board of Directors.
“We are all excited it got approved and that we helped create something for the community,” said Anne Holman Smith, who worked on the mobile website proposal.
Through the project proposal preparation process, each group worked with city officials and businesses to create their plans and faced real life challenges like working within a budget (and for most, finding a funding plan) and waiting on people to return phone calls.
“You learn how much detail goes into community projects,” said student Brooks Glover, whose group planned to place new community boards for posters and other items in the villages.
Fellow group member Anna Smith built on his thought: “Now whenever I see things in the city I realize someone had to work to get things done.”
The students also honed their presentation skills in trial runs for their City Council presentations. The Leadership Mountain Brook groups presented in front of the City Council in the fall semester about what they had learned about the city, but the May 13 meeting will be different, they say.
“We care about this and want it to pass,” Harrington said.
The excitement of executing a project is driving the students as they go into the meeting. Sarah Sims Parker’s group found a relatively simple way to put recycling receptacles in the villages by converting existing trashcans.
“We are excited because it’s a lot easier to implement this project than we originally thought,” she said. “I think we will get strong support [from the council] since it’s easy to implement. If it passes, you will be able to see the results quickly.”
2013 Leadership Mountain Brook Projects
Recycle Receptacles
Project details: Trash cans in the villages will be converted into mixed recycling and trash receptacles for pedestrian use.
Project status: The group is working on grant from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and is working with Village Design Review to finalize locations for the receptacles.
Group members: Katherine Francis, Mary Shelton Hornsby, Maggie Mandt, Catherine Masingill and Sarah Sims Parker
Public Notice Boards
Project details: Information boards for posting maps, public notices, information on businesses and event information will be placed around villages.
Project status: They are working with the company that designed existing map signs in the villages and with Design Review to finalize their plans.
Group members: Alana Bartoletti, Drew Dickson, Brooks Glover, Anna Smith and Reid Parrott
Chamber Mobile Site
Project: Zeekee Interactive will create a mobile website for the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce.
Project status: The Chamber Board approved the project, and Zeekee is now working on a design for the site. The group is developing a campaign to promote it.
Group members: Mitchell Bain, Catherine Luke, Anne Holman Smith, Reynolds Thompson and Charlotte Weaver
Cherokee Warning Signal
Project details: An advanced warning signal for cars entering Old Leeds Road from Cherokee Road will be installed.
Project status: The group is working to apply for a grant from State Farm Insurance through agent Amy Smith for funding and working with Public Works Director Ronnie Vaughn to determine who owns the land where the signal would be installed.
Group members: Reilly Blair, Stewart Harrington, Tyler Jaffe, Mary Nix Roberson and Mary Grace Tracy