By Keith McCoy
City City Hall 3
The Mountain Brook City Council — at its regular meeting Jan. 10 — took steps to improve the parks, keep Phase 2 renovations moving at the Athletic Complex, renew the city’s stormwater plan, approve a contract for a recycling event in April and make it possible for a local doctor to expand her practice.
Plans for parks
The council approved a proposal from Brasher Design Studio to develop conceptual master plans for Canterbury Park and the Crestline Tot Lot and a plan for new signage for the city’s parks. Brasher’s fee is $13,800, the proposal states.
Parks and Recreation Superintendent Shanda Williams told the council Jan. 5 the new signs will replace existing wooden signs at the parks. The Park Board has created a sign committee, she said.
Canterbury Park needs a drinking foundation and improved landscaping, and local garden clubs will be involved in the project, Williams said.
The Tot Lot project will help the city figure out “much-needed improvements on accessibility and inclusion,” Williams said. Local residents and volunteers from the Lakeshore Foundation will take part.
Celebrating Earth Month
The council approved an agreement between the city and United Ability Inc. to hold a community document destruction and electronic waste recycling event at Mountain Brook High School on April 23.
Gone For Good — United Ability’s document destruction and electronic waste recycling business — will provide services for the event at no cost to the city, the contract states.
“We had great attendance last year,” City Manager Sam Gaston said, referring to the inaugural 2021 event.
Electronic waste is a growing problem, Tyler Slaten, a planner with the city, told Village Living in 2021.
Even worse, “electronics recycling is not typically a part of normal recycling services,” Slaten said.
“This event allows us to address some of that electronic waste in our own community,” he said.
The recycling day will feature an on-site secure paper document destruction and the opportunity for residents to dispose of most electronics, with some exceptions.
For a list of electronics that Gone for Good accepts, call 205-943-5252 or go to uagoneforgood.com/e-waste-recycling.
Other items approved
- A change order request from Goodwin Mills Cawood as part of ongoing Phase 2 renovations at the Athletic Complex, which are expected to be complete in about 2 months. The change, costing about $107,000, is to fix additional problems with stormwater pipe elevations discovered during construction.
- A resolution amending the city’s Storm Water Management Program Plan. Passage of the item was necessary in order for Mountain Brook, a member of the Storm Water Management Authority, to remain in compliance with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. “This is just an annual renewal,” said Glen Merchant, the city’s building official. The city reviews the paperwork with the people who do the city’s monitoring and testing and make sure there’s nothing that ADEM needs to see, Merchant said. “We are current,” he said.
- A conditional use application for a professional office at 2731 Culver Road in Lane Parke for Dr. Holly Gunn ot Gunn Dermatology. This will be Gunn’s second location and measures 4,000 square feet, she said. Gunn opened her practice in Crestline Village in August 2020. That location has been successful, and Gunn is in “drastic need for more space,” she said in a letter to the council. The new facility will feature a large stock of retail skin care products.
- An agreement between the city and Applied Business Services Inc. in North Carolina for debt recovery and collection services.
The next meeting of the Mountain Brook City Council is set for Mon., Jan. 24, at 7 p.m.
