Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority tops Finance Committee agenda

The city of Homewood’s Finance Committee approved budgeted appropriations for the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority and discussed sponsoring a smaller Vulcan statue in honor of The World Games 2022 at its March 7 meeting.

The committee approved the budgeted $374,400 to BJCTA, though the organization’s CFO said they had asked for $409,000 to cover the cost of implementing microtransit in the city. That contract can always be amended, he said. Ridership is slowly increasing after the COVID-19 pandemic, a BJCTA spokesperson told the committee.

The committee also heard about sponsoring a Vulcan. For $5,000, the city could choose an artist to design and paint a smaller Vulcan statue to support the Junior Board of Vulcan Park, which is promoting the project in advance of The World Games 2022. The city would have one statue’s cost covered, while the committee voted to continue deliberating on a second.

The committee sent a request for an APPLE study along U.S. 31 to the Public Works Committee, declared several items as surplus and carried over an April 4 bid opening to replace the Trane chiller at City Hall.