Attorney John Somerville and client Jim Hicks at the March 13 Mountain Brook City Council Meeting. Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
The Mountain Brook City Council Monday accepted a bid from Surf Turf for the Junior High Field Project at its March 13 meeting, but not until after fielding questions about using artificial turf.
Jim Hicks and his attorney, John Somerville, told the council of media articles that suggest a connection between some brands of artificial turf and cancer. The pair, along with Hicks’ neighbor Michael Kelley, have previously expressed concerns that the city is trying to go against terms of a decades-old agreement regarding a buffer at the junior high field.
John Bricken of Goodwyn Mills Cawood, which is contracted to do landscaping for the city, was asked his opinion on the matter. Admitting that he is not a “turf expert,” he said he has heard talk of cancer concerns regarding artificial turf but said he is aware of no proof there is a clear connection.
“There're 1,000 articles out there but ... if it was cancer causing, there are 10,000 fields in the U.S. that they wouldn't play on,” he said. “The NFL wouldn't be playing on it, college wouldn't be playing on it. Nobody would be playing on it. To the best of my recollection, I would say it's safe.”
The council asked Hicks and Somerville to send the articles they cited to City Manager Sam Gaston for review.
Surf Turf bid $3.990 million on the junior high field project. The bid calls for the company to realign the field, install synthetic turf on the field, add new lighting, rebuild four tennis courts, add a 40-space parking lot and a restroom at Mountain Brook Junior High.
Mountain Brook Schools will pay for half the project.
The council also passed a resolution authorizing its obligation with the Mountain Brook Board of Education for the Crestline Elementary School gym project.
“It's 78% from the school system, 22% from the city,” Gaston said. “That's going to roughly be $132,000 for the city each year for the next 10 years.”
In other business, the council:
Reappointed Norman Orr to the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
Passed an ordinance designating the first two parking spaces on Cahaba Road at Brook Manor Drive as being for “small car only.”
Approved a request for additional fees for consulting services for the junior high drainage project.
Authorized the sale or disposal of certain surplus property.
Executed a contract with Video Industrial Services for the 3333 Sandhurst Road Pipe project and the contract with Wright Construction for the Brookwood Baptist drainage project.
Agreed to have United Ability Inc., which does business as Gone for Good Document Destruction and E-Waste Recycling, to hold a document destruction and e-waste recycling event in Mountain Brook on April 22. The event will be 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the main parking lot at Mountain Brook High School.
The next regular meeting of the Mountain Brook City Council will be at 7 p.m. on March 27.
