Mayor's view on 2014

It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone. In 2013 our city did very well completing many needed projects and finishing the year again with a surplus. I do not expect any differently for the year 2014! I will address a few projects the council and I are working on and a few issues that seem to creep up over and over again. 

We look forward to DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) opening in Colonial Brookwood Village, and it appears to be on target for its opening date. 

We are currently assisting Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins with issues its has encountered with Jefferson County regarding connecting to an existing sewer. We expect those issues to be resolved and are still very optimistic of its opening at the corner of Green Springs Highway and Oxmoor Road. 

We are also working to make improvements to Lakeshore Parkway and I-65. There is so much congestion in that particular area, and we are currently in the process of doing traffic counts. We have already heard several presentations by different engineering firms that would help alleviate the vast majority of the issues and help traffic move more quickly and efficiently from Green Springs west to Lakeshore Parkway. 

The council also approved my budget to include funding for the West Oxmoor Road project that would include straightening the intersection of Green Springs and West Oxmoor, which will make it easier to navigate. 

Our city continues to work closely with the Regional Planning Commission in our efforts with the West Homewood Revitalization Plan. West Homewood holds so much potential, and we look forward to seeing that area improve greatly. To see detailed information about the plans, please visit westhomewoodplan.com. I want to particularly thank Vance Moody and Fred Hawkins, District 2 councilmen, for their assistance and support of this project. I would also like to thank Kyle D’Agostino, a District 2 resident and senior principal with Giattina Aycock Architectural Studio, for his knowledge and help with this ongoing project. 

We are currently working on a grant to help improve Spring Park in a historic section of Rosedale. We have started replacing fencing in that area already and look forward to many more improvements to such an important part of Homewood.

We will also continue to be vigilant on speeding. This year we increased the number of vehicles stopped by 26 percent and saw an increase of 85 percent compared to September through November 2012. Please slow down in Homewood and be very watchful for children. Even with the new sidewalks, residents continue to choose to walk and jog in the streets, and it makes for very dangerous situations.