Category Archives: On the agenda

On the agenda: Speechless?

You could say that people in Birmingham, AL would be that way yesterday after learning that while Trinity Medical Center prepares to move to property along U.S. 280 with an assist from the City of Birmingham (Item 30), Carraway Medical Center (yes, we’re still calling it Carraway) was going to close as a result of bankruptcy (and not without the city trying their best to save it as well) while word spread about plans for the an item on today’s agenda (Item 35) that calls for the next sitting council to receive a $20,000 raise in addition to another $10,000 added to their expense allowances (Item 36).

We were actually quiet due to some traveling from yours truly, though I found some time to write my thoughts on a couple of those issues over on my Birmingham this morning.

On the agenda: City Stages

Today’s actually an extremely light agenda for the Birmingham City Council. The most interesting item of note, besides the one that cleans up the hurdles left in the implementation of the city’s new curfew laws going into effect today (#6), is #12, currently listed as being on consent.

If approved, it will provide the Birmingham Cultural and Heritage Foundation (the group behind City Stages) with up to $300,000 to assist in producing next June’s 21st edition of the music festival “to maximize family participation from all walks of life.” We’ll see if it’s pulled off from consent for discussion if not in person, online starting at 9:30 a.m.

On the agenda: It’s about getting around today

A quick glance at today’s Birmingham City Council agenda gives you the impression that it’s all about getting and moving things around. There are ordinances securing our transit authority’s operating contract (Item 10)  providing additional funds for the system (Item 6); allowing for Alagasco to get around town (Item 7); securing an incentive for the relocation of Intermark’s 110 employees to the former Rogers Trading Company building; allowing for Jim Burke Automotive to consolidate more of their dealerships downtown (Item 5). There’s even one approving plans to move forward on making it a more attractive drive down one of our streets (14th Street North – Item 15).

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Contracts is the word of the week

Larry Langford with childrenIf you haven’t been digging deep recently in a couple of our local print publications, you may have just missed something that’s quite interesting surrounding no-contract bids and Birmingham mayor Larry Langford.

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On the agenda: a lot actually

This morning’s City Council meeting is going to be interesting. Two new establishments that we’ve recently written about, Bonedaddy’s (soon to be Sweet Bones Alabama) and Black Market Bar, are on the consent agenda currently for receipt of their restaurant retail liquor licenses. For those that haven’t figured out where The Black Market will be, the address is 3411 Colonnade Parkway, Suite 800.

Several city agencies that have contracts with the city including Urban Impact, Main Street Birmingham and the BIrmingham Business Resource Center are poised to have them renewed. The biggest news that will come out of this morning’s meeting will probably not be what’s on the agenda, but what is not. Mayor Langford is prepared to ask the council to support a proposal for electronic bingo – an item that is currently legal in 6 of the counties in the state. In addition, he is asking the council via an addendum item to support a grant application to implement a Civil Rights Trail in the city.

We’ll see what happens.

On the agenda: It’s still going… sort of

Yes, it’s 4:42 p.m. and the council meeting is still going.

Looks like a compromise has been reached with regarding the tougher curfew laws – and it is definitely tougher. The council will be voting voted to approve the compromise, which includes moving up the time children need to be home from where it had originally been proposed in the item earlier today.

Students will have to be home by 9 p.m. during the week and by 11 p.m. during the weekends if it is approved on Thursday, which is when the council will vote to approve today, which it was. The meeting has been adjourned until then, beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday; there will be a public safety committee tomorrow at 2 p.m. in City Council chambers.

On the agenda: Progress is coming

Today’s council agenda is 44 pages long and includes good news for those in town that were wondering about the status of development in Railroad Reservation Park. It also contains good news for those wanting to see a shorter meaning as a vast majority of the items currently listed are on consent.

Once you finally get past all 31 pages of item one, the first item that will possibly lead to an interesting public hearing is the one that calls for changes to the city’s curfew law, including the raising of fines charged (item 5). Items 14, 15 & 16 are currently on the consent agenda, meaning that there will most likely be no discussion of the contracts Bhate Geosciences Corporation (assessing the retaining wall for the park) and Building and Earth Sciences (providing various monitoring services for the park).

We’re figuring you’ve still got time to tune in to the meeting if you haven’t already…