Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Rain water rushes down toward the sewer in downtown Homewood. With an aging storm water system and an increase in large home construction resulting in smaller yards, the city of Homewood has been experiencing flash flooding.
With a couple of weeks to go before a vote on the fiscal 2023 budget, the Homewood City Council in a budget hearing Sept. 13 recommended not dedicating money for specific stormwater improvement projects, but instead to allocate an overall amount of dollars for that effort and allow City Engineer Cale Smith and his team to make professional recommendations.
Having funds dedicated for stormwater improvement in general is how the city has operated during the current fiscal year, but the proposed budget for the next fiscal year had dedicated funds for individual projects, including replacing the culvert on Huntington Road and making various improvements on College Avenue. Smith recommended not replacing the culvert on Huntington Road, saying the $1 million the city would have to spend could be better spent elsewhere. He did recommend paying for improvements to College Avenue, which total about $780,000.
With about $1.4 million left in federal COVID-19 relief funds for city use, about $1.3 million is proposed for stormwater improvements throughout the city. The city is awaiting results of a professional study that will provide recommendations on what the city can do to improve stormwater management in Homewood.
The future of ambulance services was also discussed. The city currently works with RPS for transport care, but discussions have taken place about whether the city wants to have their own service or go through a third-party. Mayor Patrick McClusky said the city could have their own transport care, or they could use another company that would allow the city more control than is possible under RPS.
Fire Chief Nick Hill said the city will staff one ambulance full-time. If the city chooses to have their own transport service, it would just be a question of funding and hiring personnel and a question of whether that is the most effective option, councilors said. It would also increase the city’s liability and worker’s compensation insurance costs.
While the city won’t pay for them right now, the fiscal 2023 budget proposes ordering a new fire engine, as it will take several years to acquire, Hill said.
The committee also discussed planned sidewalk projects, which had a less-than-stellar bid day on Sept. 12. The sole bid for Delcris Drive came in almost $160,000 over budget, while no bids came in for Mecca Avenue sidewalks. Since only one bid came in for Delcris, the city can negotiate with that bidder.
While sidewalks are important, Councilor John Hardin said stormwater improvements are more important, with Finance Committee Chairman Walter Jones saying with the rising cost in prices for sidewalk projects, the city doesn’t have enough federal funds to pursue them all.
The city has spent about $688,000 on 18th Street improvements this fiscal year, with $2.55 million budgeted for the project. Those funds will roll over to the new fiscal year, Jones said.
The council debated whether to fund city vehicles for administrative heads like the city clerk. Councilor Andy Gwaltney proposed tracking mileage and usage in order to allow the city to make “data-driven decisions” about whether to keep the cars. Other councilors said City Attorney Mike Kendrick has said before that no personal vehicles should be driven to conduct city business.
