city council agenda
The Mountain Brook City Council will consider a package of agreements tied to Alabama Veterans Memorial Park, including a new mile-long walking trail and a joint policing arrangement with Birmingham.
The council's pre-meeting discussion begins at 6:15 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, followed by the regular formal meeting at 7 p.m. Both will be held in the Virginia C. Smith Pre-Council Chamber at Mountain Brook City Hall.
The Friends of Jemison Park has raised private donations to build an approximately one-mile loop trail around the perimeter of the 22-acre park, which sits off Overton Road. The trail would be about 7 feet wide, made of crushed stone, with drainage pipes and erosion control added along the way. The city would owe Friends no compensation, as the group is funding the project entirely through donations. Work is set to begin Sept. 15 and run for up to 180 days.
Separately, the council will consider an interlocal cooperation agreement with the city of Birmingham allowing both cities to jointly patrol and enforce laws at the park. Mountain Brook owns and operates Veterans Park, but the property lies wholly or partially within Birmingham's city limits, meaning Mountain Brook's police ordinances don't automatically apply there. The agreement would give both cities overlapping authority to patrol the park and enforce their respective ordinances, with either side able to end the arrangement on 10 days' notice.
The council will also review a $10,505.94 change order for the park's ongoing security camera and trail improvement project. The bulk of that cost, about $8,062, covers extending the park's brick entrance walkway to the parking lot, a change the Friends of Jemison have agreed to cover through a separate donation.
In other business, the council will consider new parking restrictions on Corinth Drive near its intersection with Kennesaw Drive, where parents parking during dismissal at Cherokee Bend Elementary School have narrowed the road to a single lane. A traffic study by Skipper Consulting recommends continuing to allow parking on the outside of the curve, while restricting it on the inside of the curve on weekdays from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m. The study also flagged illegal against-traffic parking for police enforcement and recommended a future sidewalk and updated ADA crossing at the intersection.
The council will vote on renewing a three-year fire protection and EMS services agreement for a commercial building at 813 Shades Creek Parkway, located outside the city limits but within Mountain Brook's police jurisdiction. The city has provided service to the building for years under similar contracts; the new agreement runs from 2027 through 2029, with annual fees rising roughly 3% each year to a total of $9,300 in the final year.
Also on the agenda is a lease agreement with Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus for a reserve fire engine. The city's own reserve units are currently in active service, and delivery delays on a new engine prompted manufacturer Rosenbauer to arrange the loaner. Rosenbauer is covering the full cost of the lease, meaning Mountain Brook will incur no rental expense.
The council will also consider declaring surplus police equipment, including two dozen rifles, related accessories and two shotguns, for trade-in credit toward new gear.
Mayor Graham Smith is set to present proclamations recognizing Down Syndrome Advocacy Month, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and Constitution Week.
The full agenda for Monday's meeting can be viewed at this link. Village Living will have coverage of the meeting online later this week.
