Public works committee reconsiders ruling on trees

Trees that line Dixon Avenue at Broadway Street appear set to get a new lease on life when the Homewood City Council meets Monday. 

The public works committee on April 17 reconsidered its ruling from its meeting two weeks prior, recommending an indemnification agreement be signed for city work done in the right-of-way. That agreement comes with a covenant that the property owner is responsible for the trees. 

The covenant would be tied to the property. The committee had previously declined to sign an indemnification agreement but the matter was sent back to committee for further discussion. 

Keilah Smith and her husband planted trees in the right-of-way before being told that they should have gotten permission to do so. Matt Smith told the committee Monday that the couple was not trying to bypass the authority of the city. 

“I'm a former attorney (and) I like the covenant idea,” he said. “I wouldn't have a problem signing it. Whatever y'all came up with on that because we planted the trees and feel responsible for that. But as far as how we got to this point, trust me. We did not try to circumvent the system.” 

Smith said he and his wife asked neighbors on Dixon and Broadway and no one said anything about seeking city permission. Checking back, a neighbor recalled having to sign an agreement when a dead tree was replaced. 

“He felt terrible about it because he had given us advice,” the homeowner said. “We were not trying to circumvent you.” 

Councilman Andy Gwaltney said he didn’t want to penalize the homeowner. 

“I get it. It's after the fact,” he said, “but I would not want to further punish someone by having to go to the expense to remove those trees. I think that's unreasonable.” 

Councilwoman Melanie Geer said tree policies can be expensive. She added that there needs to be a long-term plan to take care of the city’s infrastructure. 

“Where the city is not on the hook all the time,” Nick Sims added. 

Andrew Wolverton said the covenant is a “halfway meeting point.”  

Special Issues Committee 

The committee sent to the full council a request from Cornhole BHM, a social cornhole league, to use the City Hall Plaza for summer and fall tournaments. Twins Sam and Will Pietrantoni, Auburn University students from Homewood, own the company; their mother appeared before the committee. 

A request from Peak Athletics to use the plaza on July 8 also is going to the full council. The company wants to hold a pole-vaulting competition there.  

The committee recommended setting June 12 as the date for a public hearing on a request to vacate a portion of unnamed right-of-way adjacent to 328 Redfern Street. It also abolished the city cable commission, whose only function was to receive complaints with no real authority to act on those complaints. 

Walter Jones was the last member of the commission. His term expired May 2022.  

“We're no longer a board that does anything,” Jones said. “We didn't have any power to tell AT&T or Charter what they needed to do. All we would do was just pass along comments that people had who were frustrated with their cable not being done correctly. We would just pass along things but we really had no power, unfortunately.” 

Finance Committee 

The committee saw a familiar face, one that spoke on behalf of a familiar entity. 

Jeff Underwood, a former member of the council, spoke to the committee about the city financially supporting a recreational rehab camp at Lakeshore Foundation for Ukrainians who were disabled while fighting for their country.  The former Lakeshore Foundation CEO said the camp was “Beta tested” with a pair of Ukrainians, Misha Varvarych and Andrii Nasada.

The proposed camp will have six, perhaps as many as 10 participants. The one-time request for $5,000 was sent to the full council; it will include verbiage that the event benefits the city, which is required for the use of municipal funds.

The committee also approved $7,500 for a pair of Litter Gitters, small stream tactical litter collectors. These are for Griffin Creek and Shades Creek, the latter covered currently by a Freshwater Land Trust grant that’s expiring at the end of June.