Birmingham City Council Highlights 4.4.23
Here are a few of the legislative highlights from Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting, in case you missed it.
ITEM 10
The Birmingham City Council will be holding the regularly scheduled meetings at the Boutwell Auditorium from May 2nd, 2023 through August 1st, 2023 while the Council Chamber undergoes renovations to improve the experience for the public.
The Council unanimously passed an ordinance to change the regularly scheduled meeting location to the second floor of the Boutwell Auditorium, 1930 Reverend Abraham Woods, Jr. Boulevard. The meeting time will remain 9:30 a.m. on every Tuesday.
Included in the renovation is upgraded seating with more handicap accessible accommodations, rewiring the electrical to improve lighting, sound and video quality for the audience members, new flooring and updated broadcasting equipment for residents following along remotely.
The meetings will still be livestreamed to the Birmingham City Council’s Facebook page during the temporary move.
PROJECT BUDGET
- $15,732.50 (Design)
- $234,149 (Lighting/Electrical)
- $18,215.72 (Flooring)
- $28,296.00 (Seating)
Here is the amended item as it appeared on Tuesday’s agenda:
An Ordinance to change the regularly scheduled meeting location of the Birmingham City Council from the City Council Chamber 3rd Floor City Hall to the Boutwell Auditorium, 1930 Reverend Abraham Woods, Jr. Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Birmingham commencing for the regular meeting to be held May 2, 2023 through August 1, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.. [First Reading] (Submitted and Recommended by the City Council President Alexander, Chair, Administration Committee) **
ITEM 12
In order to reconnect young people to healthy food options and help repair our local food systems, the Birmingham City Council unanimously approved an agreement for Jones Valley Teaching Farm to implement their Good School Food education and apprenticeship programs.
This funding will allow for Jones Valley to provide outreach programs to Birmingham City School students at their Center For Food Education, not only for field trips but also spring break camps and paid internship programs, which will now be expanding to all Birmingham High Schools. It will also allow for an expansion of the full-time apprenticeship program for young people to have a salary and benefits while learning about agriculture and food cultivation.
“Unfortunately our healthy food system is broken here in Birmingham despite our best efforts to incentivize more grocery stores to open in our communities,” Councilor Darrell O’Quinn said. “We need innovating and progressive ideas like this to figure out how we can end our dependency on industrialized food production. It’s very important and this is something that is a very worthwhile investment that will pay dividends for generations to come.”
Jones Valley operates seven teaching farms across the city, with six of those being on the campus of Birmingham City Schools. In addition to running a fresh produce stand at their central location, Jones Valley also partners with community food pantries to help stock them with their locally grown vegetables.
“I just want to thank you all for the opportunity to invest in this program, because it touches on so many levels,” Councilor Carol Clarke said. “Not only does it help with food insecurity but it empowers people to grow their own food. We are what we eat and putting people in control of that can have such an impact in our communities. This is a real opportunity for improving both the bodily and mental health for residents across our city.”
Districts 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8 all contributed American Rescue Plan discretionary dollars to fund this initiative.
Here is the item as it appeared on Tuesday’s agenda:
A Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute and deliver an Agreement between the City of Birmingham and Jones Valley Urban Farm dba Jones Valley Teaching Farm (“Jones Valley”) in an amount not to exceed $805,000.00, under which Jones Valley will implement its Good School Food education and apprenticeship program (“Good School Food”) in Birmingham City Schools, which will provide daily access to affordable produce; increased employment opportunities in agriculture, education and the culinary arts; pre-k-12 standards based educational delivery; and school and community health and nutritional programming to participating Birmingham City School students experiencing academic learning and job training loss due to COVID restrictions. [Funding Sources: ARPA-Healthy Food: $500,000.00, ARPA Dist. #2: $30,000.00, ARPA Dist. #4: $25,000.00, ARPA Dist. #5: $80,000.00, ARPA Dist. #6: $50,000.00, ARPA Dist. #8: $80,000.00]
