Photo by Sarah Finnegan
A recycling truck weighs in at the Birmingham Recycling and Recovery plant in Avondale in 2018.
The Finance Committee of the Homewood City Council this week OK’d a buyout agreement with the company that had picked up recyclables in the city, sending the matter to the full council with a recommendation for approval.
Director of Public Services Berkley Squires told the committee that the city’s contract with Republic Services runs through the end of the calendar year. He said a deal was negotiated to pay Republic $81,575, which is about half of what Homewood would have paid for the period still left on the contract.
Homewood joined the Cahaba Solid Waste Disposal Authority last month, ending its practice of having city employees collecting garbage and trash. Amwaste, which has a contract with the authority, starting handling garbage and recycling in Homewood on Aug. 1.
The Finance Committee also this week received the low bid of $583,060 from JJ Morley Enterprises for repair and restoration of the City Hall parking deck. Those funds will be paid from the fiscal 2024 city budget.
The committee also authorized the mayor to sign a contract and amend the fiscal 2023 budget to make repairs and upgrades to East Glenwood Drive. That work will cost $94,500.
“This has been an ongoing issue,” Councilwoman Barry Smith said. “We repaved East Glenwood; it probably hasn’t been two years. It is completely destroyed now. Basically, that natural spring is just flowing underneath the road, and it’s just rotting out the subbase over and over again when people drive on it.”
The committee delayed any action on a change to some type of city manager form of government. Subcommittees reported on the three models Homewood is considering — in Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook and Hoover.
Smith said the matter will remain on the committee agenda. “There’s a lot of factors that go into a referendum vote,” she said.
The Finance Committee also delayed action on the fiscal 2022 audited financial results.
The council’s Special Issues Committee set a public hearing for 6 p.m. on Aug. 14 concerning a sign variance for Ashley Mac’s at 1831 28th Ave. S., Suite N101. Another public hearing for a sign variance for Advance America at 300 Oxmoor Road, Suite 101, technically is scheduled for the same date and time, but the company isn’t ready to proceed and plans to resubmit the request at a later time.
The council’s Public Safety Committee delayed consideration of two issues — adjustments to criteria for approval of events impacting normal street flow and access and a proposal to reduce the speed limit on Seminole Drive at Trinity United Methodist Church.
