Category Archives: On the agenda

OK, it got delayed, but…

Posted on March 11, 2009 | 2 comments

Yesterday the Birmingham City Council delayed a vote on council agenda Item #17, which at first glance would look like a direct correlation with the title of yesterday’s On the Agenda post. If approved, it would move forward plans to complete phase II of the city’s intermodal transit facility on Morris Avenue.

That is, until you let Birmingham Weekly‘s Kyle Whitmire and The Birmingham News‘ Joseph Bryant fill in the details about the concerns regarding the potential involvement of Larry Langford‘s mayoral campaign manager and CEO of Matrix, LLC, Jeff Pitts.

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On the agenda: delay, delay, delay…

Posted on March 10, 2009 | 1 comment

Based on this post on The Birmingham News’ breaking news blog, I’d have to say that today should be an interesting one in Birmingham City Council chambers. The councilors will no doubt have a response to Mayor Langford’s latest campaign. Another thing to watch will be the reaction from councilors to the request being made by residents of the Glen Iris neighborhood that we posted about yesterday. 

Item 8 is one that could be important to watch as it will be a proposal by the mayor to change the boundaries of the city’s urban enterprise zones. These zones do include large sections on the city’s west side, most notably near the old Ensley Works plant and, interestingly enough, nearby Fair Park. Item 17 asks for approval of a contract with Goodwyn Mills and Cawood, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $2,819,300.00 for work to finally begin on the city’s long promised Intermodal Transit Facility. The money is available from federal sources, though it may lead to a what comes first question, among others.

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On the agenda: Construction abound

Posted on February 24, 2009 | Leave a comment

A quick look over this morning’s Birmingham City Council agenda would not necessarily make you think of construction. However, it signals a great deal of construction and growth for the city, once you get down to the introduction and first readings section of today’s agenda.

A great deal of the items focus on the Ensley neighborhood. Item 19 provides $900,000 to move forward with plans to renovate and stabilize the Ramsay-McCormack Building in the Ensley neighborhood. Item 20 provides for $2 million to be used from the city’s Capital Improvement Fund to assist in completing the HOPE VI Tuxedo Court development in Ensley. Item 32 suggests that the scope of work associated with the project will now include a public park and developing a portion of the Ensley Trail.

Item 24 lets Mayor Langford provide $25,000 towards the $1 million commitment to Sloss Furnaces‘ new visitors center, with Item 28 allowing him to execute the project development contract.

There’s more, after the jump:

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Langford to suggest support for zoo expansion

Posted on February 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

Trails of Africa logoThis morning during Mayor Langford‘s  comments to the Birmingham City Council, he announced plans to present a proposed redevelopment agreement to councilors next week that would allow the Birmingham Zoo to begin work on its long planned expansion called Trails of Africa.

The mayor reported that the zoo, which is currently the state of Alabama’s #1 tourist attraction, has already raised more than $6 million for the 14-acre expansion but needs additional financial support to make it a reality. A report in The Birmingham News from September 2007 had zoo officials estimating the overall cost of the project at $15 million.

The City of Birmingham owns the zoo, but the property is operated by an independent 501©3 organization.

Image: Courtesy of Birmingham Zoo website

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Johnathan Austin appointed to City Council

Posted on December 23, 2008 | Leave a comment

The newest face among Birmingham City leadership is now its youngest. A majority of City Councilors voted to appoint 29-year-old Johnathan F. Austin to fill the vacant District 5 seat of William Bell.

Vickii Howell of Birmingham View describes it as “an Obama-like moment when the community organizer and relative political newcomer was chosen from among four other better-known candidates, sworn in and seated within an hour of Tuesday’s vote by Councilors Valerie Abbott, Carol Duncan, Joel Montgomery and President Carole Smitherman.”

She reported that Steven Hoyt and Miriam Witherspoon voted no and Roderick Royal abstained.

You can read more of Vickii’s account of this morning’s events on Birmingham’s View’s News Portal as well as the Birmingham News’ breaking news blog.

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On the agenda: Paratransit gets attention

Posted on December 16, 2008 | Leave a comment

This week’s Birmingham City Council agenda is light – 15 pages – but it contains a major first reading today.

Items 6 & 7 (on page 3) provide the framework for our local transit authority to continue to provide paratransit service to patients in the region. The $1.77 million being pulled from the money already allocated to the transit authority earlier in the city’s budget will provide new buses for the BJCTA’s aging paratransit fleet. There is additional service provided by ClasTran, but they’ve been feeling the effects of the economic downturn.

This morning’s Birmingham News makes it sound like there’s going to be a delay on the vote due to the fact that it’s a reorganization of where funds are going instead of additional funding for the agency.

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On the agenda: Honoring and supporting

Posted on November 18, 2008 | 2 comments

The easiest items to pass on today’s City Council agenda involve the honoring of two local leaders by renaming portions of streets. Item 4 will rename 8th Avenue North from Center Street to 34th Street North for Rev. Abraham Woods, while Item 5 will rename the portion of 20th Street in front of City Hall for former city councilwoman Nina Miglionico.

There will also be a chance to create what’s essentially an expanded effort to preserve the city’s Civil Rights history (Item 7), though this morning’s interesting item #8, which says that the council supports the lawsuit filed on behalf of the city by Johnson and Walker, LLC “pursuing claims arising out of unfair, deceptive and discriminatory lending activities that resulted in foreclosures and other hardships” for residents.

Five councilors already support it, so it may not necessarily be that much of a deal, but you never know…

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