Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Andy Gwaltney during the June 5 committee meetings.
Jennifer Andress said Homewood is the home to road races in the metro area.
“We definitely are,” said Andress, a Homewood councilwoman and former president of the Birmingham Track Club, “because the fees have gone up so high in Birmingham. People are coming to Homewood because it's a friendly environment here, the Trak Shak located right here in the middle of town and we have just great success putting races on here.
“I think that the high costs in Birmingham have driven people over the mountain to Homewood.”
The subject of road races came up Monday at the city council’s Public Safety Committee meeting as the committee considered criteria for approving events impacting normal street flow and access. The committee said event organizers will be required to provide signs alerting residents that road traffic will be impacted by their events.
The standards for those signs have not been determined.
“The thought of the committee was that as a part of the notification process for residents on affected streets, signs will be required,” committee chairman Andy Gwaltney said. “But there's still discussion to be had related to that topic.”
A runner himself, Gwaltney said Homewood would relish the distinction of being the home of road races.
“I enjoy participating in the 5Ks and the 10Ks that are out there,” he said. “I think it's a great thing that we've got a lot of races that want to come here. The only component we're trying to add is just one that's resident friendly so when the race occurs, we can be sure and have some notification for the people that are gonna be on that street.
“We don't (want to) have someone that's on-call at the hospital trying to get out and can't get out of the neighborhood or someone's going home from work and can't get in,” Gwaltney continued. “You can plan your day around it.”
In another street matter, the committee agreed to drop future discussion about possible changes to traffic calming installations on Morris Boulevard at Sterrett Avenue. Committee members said residents have voiced approval in the council changing the intersection to its previous alignment.
The Finance Committee heard from City Engineer Cale Smith, who said the 18th Street Revitalization Project “is almost finished.
“They’re having a hard time getting yield signs for the right turn lane from Valley (Avenue) onto 18th Street,” Smith said. “They’re going to borrow some from Hoover and install them this week. When (the ordered signs) come in, they’ll switcheroo. Hopefully, we’ll get that lane open this week.”
The Finance Committee sent to the council a date July 18 at 2 p.m. for bids for the City Hall parking deck repair and restoration project. The committee acknowledged having opened bids on a paving project at 4:45 p.m. on June 5. That matter was carried over for review for a report at the next committee meeting.
The committee considered amending the fiscal 2023 budget. All of the budgeted items in the general fund were simple transfers from one line item in a department to another in that department, and thus was not new money. The capital expense, involving the city’s move to paperless documents, involved the purchase of equipment for scanning documents.
A bid opening date was set for 4:31 p.m. on July 10 for the Saulter Road Pocket Park Project. Berkley Squires of Parks and Recreation said the project has been scaled down; Council President Alex Wyatt said the city can always add to the project if use of the park calls for it.
The Finance Committee sent to the full council a request to authorize the mayor to sign a maintenance agreement with Motorola for the public safety radio system. Fire Chief Nick Hill said the agreement, which provides radios for the police and fire departments, is a three-year contract for $79,952.82 that’s capped at a 3% increase.
The council’s Public Works Committee heard a presentation about a request from Dawson Memorial Baptist Church for permission to work in the city’s right-of-way along Evergreen Avenue and Highland Road. The 18-month construction project involves:
Demolition of existing drop-off area
Construction of new drop-off area
Temporary closure of sidewalks on Highland and Evergreen
Doing utility work on Highland
Adding ADA-compliant access
Demolishing existing parking spots on Highland
The matter was sent to the full council for approval.
The scheduled meeting of the Special Issues Committee did not take place Monday for lack of a quorum. The only agenda item was a public hearing at 6 p.m. on June 12 to consider a sign variance at 2724 18th Street South.
