Jan 30, 2018
City Council Meeting Recap 1.30.18
Here’s the video from today’s meeting:
And here’s a recap of the items the City Council passed today:
Item 5
An Ordinance “TO FURTHER AMEND THE GRANTS FUND BUDGET” for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, by appropriating $25,000.00 to Mayor’s Office, Community Garden at Tuxedo Court per grant award received.
The City of Birmingham and its partners such as: the Birmingham Public Housing Authority, Birmingham City Schools, Birmingham and Jefferson County Veterans Court, Alabama Urban Forestry Association, the City of Birmingham Department of Public Works, and the Professional Grounds Society will develop an acre plus community garden and orchard at Tuxedo Terrace to teach participants how to grow Specialty Crops, encourage greater consumption of those healthy foods and create pathways to industry employment. An expansion of a smaller garden at W.C. Patton Park will add more fruit trees and ornamental flower displays. Both will teach students and community members about the economic, nutritional and operational value of Specialty Crops. Emphasis will be placed on production, improving diets and increasing technical skills of participants. Portions of the garden at Tuxedo Terrace will be made available to the participants for their individual use, the remaining harvest will be designated for large crop production for giveaway to deserving families. Large crops of collards, turnips, squash, Irish and sweet potatoes will be grown in a communal area, harvested and distributed. The City will contract with the Green Industry Web Portal (GIWP) staff and partners to conduct ongoing, practical training at each site throughout the grant period. Additionally, four formal, no cost Specialty Crops classes will be taught at the Shields Center or Tuxedo Court. BCGTP will assist the Agriculture Teacher at Jackson-Olin High School to train and place students from his program. This is significant due to the proximity of the school to the garden where students will be an invaluable resource. Elderly and/or disabled participants will be given large containers containing soil and seeds to grow mini-Specialty Crops gardens at their homes. Staff and volunteers will deliver and help install pots at the homes of eligible participants. Finally, GIWP staff will setup and manage the existing Specialty Crops display at two conferences in the city. This effort will promote Specialty Crops classes and encourage production and consumption and will reach 4,000 attendees.
Tuxedo Terrace is in the center of a large food desert, an area of high unemployment, and poor health. The creation of a large community garden, combined with Green Industry career training seeks to remediate many of these issues. Additionally, participants will be offered job placement services in Specialty Crops related careers.
The Grant Program has 6 objectives:
Objective 1: 60 youths and 50 adults will demonstrate a 25% increase in knowledge of Specialty Crops as indicated by a paper survey or test
Objective 2: 60 youths and 80 adults will have helped plan, plant, maintain and harvest Specialty Crops from the project garden(s).
Objective 3: 50 adults will have attended industry related classes and referred to employers. A minimum of 10 will accept full-time employment.
Objective 4: 10 class attendees will have attained the Green Industry Web Portal’s Specialty Crops Certification as determined by practical work and exam.
Objective 5: The garden will have produced the following family meal sized portions of fresh produce: collards/turnips/kale: 200, Irish potatoes: 200, and a combination of smaller volume crops such as okra, beans, peas, squash, etc.: 200.
Objective 6: 75 fruit trees and bushes will be installed and maintained at the site(s).
For more information, please contact the Office of the City Council at 205.254.2294 or visit https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/scbgp
Item 8
An Ordinance approving and authorizing the Mayor to execute a Slope and Grading Easement Agreement and a Drainage Easement Agreement under which the City will grant easements to Grant’s Mill, LLC for slope, grading, and drainage improvements. The City is currently under contract with Grant’s Mill, LLC, to sell property located at 2700 Wenonah Oxmoor Road for $369,000.00. Grant’s Mill LLC intends to develop market rate housing on the property and has requested the easements to facilitate its development.
This item was submitted by the Community Development Department, and recommended by the Economic Development Committee. The City Council approved a (temporary) Slope and Grading Easement and a (permanent) Drainage Easement from the City to Grants Mill, LLC for improvement surrounding the construction of approximately 73 new houses on Wenonah Oxmoor Road. The City is currently under contract to Grants Mill, LLC to sell them the property at 2700 Wenonah Oxmoor Road for the market value of $369,000. Originally, the entire property outlined in the image below was to be sold to the developer, but after further assessment, only the property marked by the red border ended up being needed for the project. The developers have already gotten several layers of approval, including from the Oxmoor Steering Committee and from the Subdivision Committee. The houses will be put on the market for somewhere in the $200Ks.
For more information, please contact the Office of the City Council at 205.254.2294
Item 13
A Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute an Agreement between the City of Birmingham and Innovative Approach, Inc., under which Innovative Approach, Inc. will manage the City of Birmingham’s Project Renew-Driver’s License Recovery Center, the purpose of which is to assist Birmingham Municipal Court defendants that have never had a driver’s license or whose driver’s license has been suspended or revoked. Innovative Approach, Inc. will provide the management services for a term of three (3) years in an amount not to exceed $174,000.00 per year.
At the Andra D. Sparks, Presiding Judge of the Birmingham Municipal Court gave a presentation about the program to the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee on Monday, January 23rd. Here’s the video from that meeting. Judge Sparks’ presentation begins at the 29-minute mark:
The Scope of Services for this program includes:
Assessment: In this stage an examination will be made of the current status of the citizen with respect to licensing. Basic information will be obtained by utilizing official documentation such as birth certificates, social security cards, list of court dates, list of warrants, driving history, and tickets holding.
Innovative Approach will primarily target habitual traffic offenders with multiple offenses and exuberant amounts in fines and fees. Individuals are referred by a judge or court officials and identified people who are appropriate for the programs Innovative Approach will provide. In addition, Innovative Approach will work with surrounding courts to include other states to clear driving holds so that the people in the program can obtain driver’s licenses.
Case Management: Innovative Approach will provide case management for individuals needing tutorial testing assistance with their license recovery plan. Case management with tutorial assistance consists of two levels of driver’s license classes. Level one is designed for those participants needing modest assistance in a classroom environment; ie those who may have taken the DL test over 20 years ago. Level two is for those identified as having a learning disability and will be instructed to take the test orally. Innovate Approach has professional retired teachers providing the instructions through a partnership with the Birmingham Police Department and the Literacy Council.
Financial Literacy
This aspect of the program is a partnership with Regions Bank. All participants will attend financial literacy training with the objective of better money management for the purpose of saving to pay tickets and/or reinstatement fees. It is intended that participants will not use a payday loan or title loan to satisfy their debt. However, many feel as though this is a way out and end up in further debt. Therefore, to assist those who already have payday loans, Innovative Approach has partnered with Alabama Central Credit Union for very low interest loans and are recommended only to who are able to obtain a driver’s license. In addition to the financial literacy training, all participants will have the opportunity to open checking/savings accounts after completion of required hours. Thereafter, participants are monitored for progress to ensure they have not received additional tickets and other concerns.
For more information, please contact the Office of the City Council at 205.254.2294
Item 21
A Resolution appointing three (3) members to the Birmingham Library Board, two (2) terms expiring December 31, 2021 and one (1) term expiring December 31, 2022.
The Birmingham City Council voted unanimously to reappoint James Sullivan (term ending December 31st 2021) and Kimberly Richardson (term ending December 31st 2022) to the Birmingham Public Library Board, and to appoint Fatima Carter (replacing Patty Pilkerton) to a term ending December 31st 2021.
The Education Committee will meet again on February 27th at 2:00pm and conduct interviews to fill the other 3 available spots on the Library Board.
The Birmingham Public Library Board was established in 1913 to oversee the assets and operations of the Birmingham Public Library system. It was a successor to the Birmingham Public Library Association, organized in 1908.
Under current city ordinance, the Birmingham City Council appoints ten members to the board for 5-year terms. In addition, the president of the Friends of the Birmingham Public Library sits on the board as an advisory (non-voting) member. Members are not compensated for their service, but can be reimbursed for approved travel relating to board business.
For more information, please contact the Office of the City Council at 205.254.2294
Legislative Session Meeting
On Monday, Feb. 5, the Birmingham City Council and Mayor Randall Woodfin will be meeting with members of the Jefferson County Legislative Delegation to discuss goals for the current session. Here is an article about some of the bills that could impact Birmingham:
Upcoming Meetings
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
3:30 p.m. — Special Called Committee of the Whole Meeting — Conference Rooms “D & E”
Friday, February 2, 2018
3:00 p.m. — Joint Governmental Affairs and Public Information Committee and Special Called Committee of the Whole Meeting — Conference Rooms “D & E”
Monday, February 5, 2018
4:00 p.m. — Joint Transportation Committee and Special Called Committee of the Whole Meeting — Conference Room “A”
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
9:00 a.m. — Pre-Council Meeting — City Council Chambers; 9:30 a.m. — Council Meeting — City Council Chambers
3:30 p.m. — Joint Public Safety Committee and Special Called Committee of the Whole Meeting — Conference Rooms “D & E”
Birmingham Transportation Plan Public Input Meetings
The City of Birmingham is developing a Citywide Transportation Plan that is intended to support the City’s Comprehensive Plan by addressing connections between land use and transportation, support access and connectivity to multiple transportation modes citywide, design infrastructure where walking and bicycling are safe and affordable options, link transportation strategies to jobs, schools, and other desired destinations, and identify funding and other resources to realize priorities. Transportation projects and other programs identified in the plan should improve accessibility and mobility within the City, expand mixed-uses, support transit, support Active Transportation initiatives, and encourage sustainable economic development. If you have any questions about this information, please contact Tim Gambrel at (205) 254–2524 or Timothy.Gambrel@birminghamal.gov
YOU HAVE A CHOICE OF THREE MEETING DATES AND LOCATIONS
The information presented at each meeting will be the same. Please attend the one that’s convenient for you so you can give your feedback about transportation and mobility in the City.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Downtown Birmingham Public Library
Linn-Henley Building — 4th Floor Auditorium
2100 Park Place
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Birmingham Crossplex
2331 Bessemer Road
Monday, February 12, 2018
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church
980 Huffman Road
Here’s the Facebook event page for this evening’s meeting:
