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Photos by Lexi Coon.
Trish Coghlan with the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham talks to City Council on Aug. 27 about the CommuteSmart program.
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Photos by Lexi Coon.
Mayor Stewart Welch declared September 2018 as Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month for the city of Mountain Brook.
In an effort to help minimize carbon emissions and reduce the number of cars on the road, the Mountain Brook City Council approved a partnership with CommuteSmart at the meeting on Aug. 27.
Trish Coghlan of the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham spoke to the council about CommuteSmart.
CommuteSmart is a free, incentive-and-partnership-based program aimed at reducing emissions and the number of cars on the road by encouraging clean commutes, Coghlan said. Clean committees can include methods of travel such as walking, biking, carpooling or taking the bus.
Coghlan said the partnership would essentially allow her to talk to residents and business owners within the city about the incentive portion of CommuteSmart.
Under the incentives, those who complete 20 clean commutes in the first 90 days of registering will receive a dollar for each day to total $20. Coghlan said the compensation will continue up to $70 for 70 days, and after that, the participant is part of the “commuter club” and will receive a $25 gift card every 90 days. Coghlan has already spoken with Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce Suzan Doidge about the gift cards and stated they can be given in the form of Village Gold, too.
“We think it’s a great idea to participate,” Gaston said. Learn more about CommuteSmart and clean commute options at commutesmart.org.
Attorney Steve Stine also presented the first draft of the Property Standards and Nuisance Codes during the pre-meeting.
Stine, along with other city officials, previously met to plan revisions to the code that would determine how the city would approach private properties that are deemed a “nuisance.”
“We tried to come up with something that we think fits Mountain Brook,” Stine said. “What we were talking about here is really conditions largely in the yard that we commonly run into.”
They reviewed situations that come up within city limits and how they felt it would be best to handle them. Stine said the codes apply only to instances in which the offending part of the private property is in public view. An example he gave is grass or weed height, which according to the draft of the code, should not exceed 12 inches in height. It does, however, take into account those areas which may be natural areas.
In the event that a property is deemed a nuisance by the city, Stine said City Manager Sam Gaston will mail a “nice but firm letter” notifying the owner that they may be violating a city code, asking them to correct it. Stine said after this point, “usually we’re able to work out the situation.”
If this first letter does not elicit cooperation, the code details a formal, uniform process for dealing with nuisance properties. Steps can include sending a legal notice to the individual last assessed for taxes of the property and holding a hearing before the City Council. The last step, if no resolution is reached, allows the city to enter the property, fix the problems and notify those at the Jefferson County level. The work could later be billable after reviewed by the City Council, Stine said.
“We don’t think we’ll go there, but we have an arsenal here for the city to use that process,” Stine said. He also noted the new codes would not apply to private subdivisions.
Also during the meeting, council members:
- Proclaimed September 2018 “Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month.”
- Approved the minutes of the Aug. 13, 2018, regular meeting of the Mountain Brook City Council.
- Appointed Rosalie (“Ro”) Gambrill Holman as a member of the Board of Landscape Design of Mountain Brook, to fill the unexpired term of Lindsay Smith Puckett and serve without compensation with the term of office to end Sept. 12, 2019.
- Appointed Gerald Gardner to the Board of Zoning Adjustment as a supernumerary role for an unfulfilled term.
- Approved an ordinance designating new parking spaces at the new Regions Bank in Mountain Brook Village to be 15 minute parking spots.
- Authorized the execution of a construction agreement between the city and Alabama Department of Transportation with respect to sidewalks along Pine Ridge Road from Overbrook Road to Old Leeds Road.
- Authorized the creation of four additional police officer positions to allow for the future deployment of School Resource Officers in the Mountain Brook Schools.
- Authorized the execution of an agreement between the city and SiteMed Fire to perform physical examinations for firefighters.
- Authorized the execution of an amendment to billing services agreement between the city and EMS Management and Consultants Inc. and a Medicare Participating Ambulance Agreement between the city and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama (BCBS) along with such other documents that may be determined necessary for BCBS to remit transportation fee payments directly to the city’s billing contractor.
- Approved an ordinance amending Section 14-1 of the city code regarding Section 109-2(c) building permit fees and Section 109-400(a) plan review fees.
- Approved an ordinance amending Section 14-1 of the city code with respect to ambulance transportation fees.
The next Mountain Brook City Council meeting will be on Sept. 10.
