Birmingham City Council Highlights 9.19.23
Uniform Trash Bins Update
The final phase of the new citywide uniform trash bin delivery will be taking place in the coming weeks, according to an update given during the Birmingham City Council meeting.
Houses that have not received their new 96-gallon bin should have one within the next six weeks. When homes receive the new bins, there will be instructions and information packets attached.
However, the new bins should not be used until the households receive a letter in the mail indicating their new route and schedule has been adjusted.
By deploying large uniform bins to every household, trash collection services will be changed to once a week throughout the city.
The bins will be collected using new automated side loader trucks. No trash or boxes should be placed on or beside the new bins. There must also be 3-feet of clearance on either side of the bin so the trucks can load them.
Each bin will have an RFID tag, which will ensure bins are at the correct household and to prevent theft.
Council President Pro Tem Smitherman also noted that code enforcement needs to be a big part of this, and is something that many residents would like to see bolstered. “I’m, very excited about this, it’s something we’ve been working on for a while. This will be great for our city because a lot of people might not be able to afford trash bins of this size so it’s going to go a long way towards helping to keep our neighborhoods clean once they are all deployed.”
ITEM 11
The Council unanimously approved an agreement with ClasTran (Birmingham Regional Paratransit Consortium) to provide public transportation for elderly and disabled residents. The agreement is for two years in a sum not exceed $250,000.
This agreement comes amid sustained efforts from the City to strengthen and extend the reach of public transportation opportunities within the City. “One of the reasons that ClasTran came about was to help fill the gap for residents who may not live within a short distance to a fixed bus route, or who may have some other limiting factors that don’t allow them to access the public transportation options in the city,” Councilor Darrell O’Quinn said.
Councilor Hunter Williams, who voted in support of the agreement, said, “I still want to push for a metropolitan-wide Birmingham On-Demand. I don’t think that our transit is too big to fix and we all know it needs to be fixed. No one knows that more than the ridership and I hope that we can continue to push for and extended footprint of Birmingham On-Demand. And maybe, as we move forward with that, we can look into more ways for increased handicap accommodations.”
Here is the item as it appeared on Tuesday’s Agenda:
A Resolution authorizing Mayor to execute on behalf of the City of Birmingham an agreement with Birmingham Regional Paratransit Consortium (ClasTran), under which ClasTran shall provide public transportation for the elderly and disabled citizens residing in Birmingham, for a sum not to exceed $250,000.00, for a term of two (2) years subject to an appropriation in the City corresponding fiscal year’s budget.
In The News
Councilor JT Moore, District 4: “I’m a firm believer that having access to information is a sacred human right, especially in the world we are living in now. Knowledge helps us grow. Knowledge helps us improve our circumstances and our surroundings. Without it, we’re stuck in the mud.
I think a lot of times it’s easy for us to take for granted that we have access to WiFi, but there are certain people in the City — roughly 35,000 households — who don’t have access at all. This is one of the main reasons why it was crucial to utilize a portion of my office’s American Rescue Plan Act dollars to increase Internet access for approximately 1,000 homes in Collegeville. This is made possible through an ongoing partnership with Open Broadband, Woodlawn United, and Microsoft Airband. We’re starting in Collegeville but we’re not going to stop there.”
Read Councilor JT Moore’s Full Article Here.
A LOOK AHEAD:
Councilor Carol Clarke will be hosting a free Blues in the Ballpark concert series at historic Rickwood Field on Saturday, October 7th.
This is a great opportunity for residents and families to step back in time to the soulful rhythms of the past as the legendary baseball stadium is transformed into a good old-fashioned Blues joint. There will be performances by Ms. Johnnie and the Jammers, Charles “Sugar Harp” Burroughs, Jose Ramirez, “Hurricane Elaine” Hudson, and many more.
The concert is free and open to the public, however, no outside food and beverages will be allowed inside the stadium. Food trucks and vendors will be on hand and attendees will be able to bring chars and blankets to watch the shows (the covered stands will also be available for seating). The music and festivities start at 1 p.m. and go until 6:30 p.m.
“There is nothing that’s uniquely American as Blues and Baseball and we wanted to take this opportunity to marry those two things together with this event,” Councilor Carol Clarke said. “I think that Blues, which is one of our greatest contributions to the world, has been under represented here and I’m looking forward to everyone coming together and enjoying it in a very unique venue.
“We owe a great deal of credit and gratitude to the Friends of Rickwood Field who have acted as stewards for this incredible, historic facility and who have partnered with us for this event. I’d also like to thank the Magic City Blues Society for all their hard work to help make this possible.”
Following the concert on Saturday, October 7th, Rickwood Field will be undergoing a series of renovations leading up to next year’s MLB game on June 20th.
Don’t miss this chance to be a part of history as we bring the Blues back to the 113-year-old stadium that’s hosted players like Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige.
Stay tuned for more exciting announcements and sneak peeks as we count down to the Blues event of the year!
