Sydney Cromwell
Streetlights
Homewood is considering a contract with Alabama Power to switch all city streetlights to LEDs and transfer maintenance responsibility to Alabama Power.
The Homewood City Council is considering a contract with Alabama Power that would transfer maintenance and replacement responsibilities of city lights to the power company and would convert them to LED fixtures.
Public Services Director Berkley Squires told the council's finance committee on May 6 this would apply to 443 city-owned lights and 1,602 Alabama Power-owned lights within Homewood city limits, including streetlights and decorative acorn-shaped lights.
The city would pay $29,900 to Alabama Power under this new arrangement, up from $26,600 it currently pays. However, the city would gain energy-efficient and longer-lasting LED bulbs throughout the city, plus the power company would be responsible for all maintenance costs, estimated at about $5,000 per year, Squires said.
Ward 1 Councilor Andy Gwaltney asked if transferring any of these responsibilities to Alabama Power would affect Homewood's ability to move light poles during the street beautification project planned on 18th Street South. The finance committee also had concerns about Alabama Power's timeliness in replacing broken or burned out bulbs.
The committee carried over the issue so they could have time to review the contract before making a decision.
The finance committee also dropped a $250,000 incentive request from Samford University for improvements to its football stadium. Ward 4 Councilor Alex Wyatt said the university withdrew its request and planned to seek private donations instead.
Also in the finance committee, a contract with Volkert Engineering for a citywide traffic study was sent to the council for approval. The study costs $100,000, with 20% of the cost paid by the city. That will go before the council on Monday, May 13.
The special issues committee heard from Homewood Environmental Commission member Amy Milam about plans for a tree survey, as well. The city council had approved a tree survey of the city in March after a presentation from the Alabama Cooperative Extension Program, but Milam asked for more specifics on the council's desires.
With i-Tree software, Milam said the HEC could either do a random sampling of 200 plots of land throughout Homewood or a more intensive study of every tree within a small subset of city land, such as the parks or certain streets.
The random sample would provide broader information on the city's tree canopy, while the intensive study would provide specifics on at-risk or unhealthy trees, but no general trends. Milam said either survey will require the help of either trained volunteers or paid interns, and the city could choose to budget for ongoing surveys over several years to achieve both.
The special issues committee chose to start with the random sample of the city and decide from there how to proceed. Milam said that work could be completed over the summer. The data, she said, should be an important part of the city's decision-making on tree plantings and maintenance.
“It needs to be used in policy and management for the city’s urban forest,” Milam said.
After the tree survey, the HEC plans to plant a number of new trees in November. Milam also updated the finance committee on new locations chosen for plantings after talking with the city and looking at right-of-way, utility lines, soil quality and other factors.
Homewood City Schools has agreed to pay for planting of eight trees at Shades Cahaba Elementary. Milam said the HEC had originally planned 40, but the construction at the school would make that hard to achieve.
Aside from Shades Cahaba, the following locations are on the planting list:
- Oxmoor Road and Palisades Drive — four trees and a Tree City USA sign
- Homewood High outdoor classroom — five trees
- Central Avenue traffic islands — four trees
- Overton Park — four trees
- Lucerne Boulevard and Parkway Drive road triangle —three trees
- Sims Garden — nine trees
- Hollywood Traffic Triangle — two trees
- Central Park — 12 trees
- Saulter Road (near the new sidewalks) — nine trees
Milam said they are also considering planting near the Broadway Street and Carr Avenue intersection.
Planting sites under consideration for the 2020 budget year include the medians of Rosedale Drive and 18th Street, Columbiana Road, Spring Park and Oxmoor Road at Northmoor Lane West.
The city council will vote on these and other issues from the committee meetings on May 13.
