City Ward Updates
Ward 1
We hope everyone’s 2014 is off to a great start. The holidays were a special time for Ward 1. The Lighting of the Star and the Christmas Parade were bigger than ever before. I also want to thank Wayne Harris for erecting the Christmas tree in downtown Edgewood.
There is a lot happening in Ward 1. The Mecca Avenue sidewalk project will be moving forward. By narrowing the road to make room for the new sidewalk, we hope to curb traffic issues, as well as provide a safe path to Homewood Middle School.
The redevelopment of the school property on Valley Avenue has begun with the School Board Headquarters construction and the new sidewalk on Valley. The Rec Center is on schedule and will be open by Memorial Day.
You might have noticed city Wi-Fi coming online around town. Here in Ward 1, Central Park is up and running, as well as SOHO.
Finally, we have many events coming up this spring: The Exceptional Foundation Chili Cook-off, Easter Egg Hunt in Central Park and We Love Homewood Day.
Please continue to contact me with any questions or requests. I am here to help with any issue, big or small.
Ward 2
The biggest news in our ward is that a scout is constructing a WWII memorial at Patriot Park/Senior Center for his Eagle Scout project.
We have completed the current Ward 2 sidewalk project and are looking forward to seeing lots of walkers as the weather warms up. We appointed Marjorie Davis-Trimm to the Ward 2 Park Board position in January.
Ward 3
With the New Year upon us, we are especially thankful to our residents in Ward 3 and we wish them a prosperous 2014. Ward 3 was very blessed last year, as we welcomed new businesses into our area, as well as the addition of more sidewalks, and outstanding community involvement! We feel like 2014 will be an even better year. We are currently working with the city to bring Covenant Classical School to the area. This is a highly recognized and award winning organization that offers preschool and daycare for local children and their families. This institution will be located in the vacant area next to the Publix shopping center off Old Columbiana Road and Carr Avenue. We look forward to working with them to establish their new location, and to bring yet another accredited school to our area.
We will be working hard to have more communication with our neighbors in 2014, noting that we are planning a Ward meeting sometime in early February.
We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and we look forward to working with you in 2014!
Ward 4
2014 has started off to be a great year for Ward 4. As this is written in mid-January, sidewalk construction has just begun on Roseland. This important sidewalk on one of Homewood’s most traveled neighborhood streets will provide safe passage to the library, parks and schools for many Ward 4 residents.
Look out for a new Community Art Gallery from the Arts Council. More details about this exciting addition to Homewood, to be housed in City Hall, will be coming in the spring. Also, the library continues to support Homewood’s rich arts culture and sees numerous new titles added to its shelves every month.
Ward 5
We’re pretty quiet in Ward 5 right now. We did have a main water line that burst in January and caused minor, temporary flooding through the Hollywood neighborhood and down onto Lakeshore Parkway. It resembled Old Faithful from Yellowstone National Park for a while there. The water line has since been fully repaired. It is believed the freezing weather caused the notoriously old water main to burst.
Also, plans are still moving forward for a pedestrian bridge at Hollywood Boulevard and U.S. 280. There have been some unexpected delays with respect to the mapping out of connecting sidewalks, particularly along the Homewood side where the Union Hill cemetery sits. Engineers are looking at ways to possibly narrow that roadway to permit a sidewalk over existing pavement so as to try to prevent any encroachment over the cemetery property.
We hope you’re as excited about 2014 as we are.