City discusses completion of Community Spaces, other projects at planning session

The bulk of the Community Spaces Plan should be completed by the end of 2021, including the tennis facility at the newly renovated Wald Park.

At its annual strategic planning session on Feb. 11 and 12, the Vestavia Hills City Council verbally agreed to stick with the original plans for the tennis facility, rather than make changes and expand the scope of the project as was previously discussed.

That plan came in large part due to the results of a citizen survey, which asked for the priorities for those who would partake of the facility, and very few people asked the city to prioritize a pro shop and conditioned indoor space, as discussed in the expanded plan.

The base bid for the planned facility is about $440,000, while the expanded bid was about $910,00. The project is expected to go to bid in late April, and be completed no later than Thanksgiving, said Ken Upchurch with TCU Consulting, the project managers.

In other Community Spaces Plan news, Upchurch said interior work and some landscaping is being at the new New Merkel House, with an opening planned sometime in March. At Wald Park, a dog park and the tennis facility are the next items slated to be completed, with a playground also currently under construction, Upchurch said. The work at the amphitheater is nearly done, and previously completed projects include the aquatic complex and ball fields, he said.

Work on the future community building has begun, with foundational work being done in mid-February, church said. The building should be completed by the fall, TCU said.

The other remaining Community Spaces project is Crosshaven Drive, with roadway improvements being completed now. Upchurch said his team is aware of the “mess” the project is at the moment, and said at some point, portions of the road will have to be completely shut down to finish improving the road and installing sidewalks.

Other City Projects

Director of Public Services Brian Davis gave an update on a future dog park at the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex, which should be deliverable by the fall, he said.

City Engineer Christopher Brady gave an update on three traffic improvement projects: Columbiana Road and U.S. 31, Rocky Ridge Road and Dolly Ridge Road, and Blue Lake Drive and Sicard Hollow Road. At the first intersection, Brady said Jefferson County crews are willing to help in constructing improvements, and the work, which will mostly consist of striping and signage, is estimated at costing about $370,000.

The construction of a turn lane from Rocky Ridge Road onto Dolly Ridge is estimated to cost between $185,000 and $220,000, with that cost not including the cost of obtaining right of way or relocating utilities.

At Blue Lake and Sicard Hollow, the city is examining the possibility of constructing a roundabout, though it comes with a high price tag of about $2.2 million, with the county offering to pay half of that. The council expressed some concern about the possibility of spending that much money, though city engineers said a roundabout presents the safest option due to reduced sight lines and speeding problems at the intersection.

Sidewalk work is largely complete on East Street, as well as Poe Drive, and will soon begin on Mountain View Drive, Brady said. Sidewalks are on pause on Rocky Ridge Road, as the city is coordinating the construction of sidewalks with the improvement project at Dolly Ridge Road. Preliminary design work for Cahaba Heights Road sidewalks is underway.

In addition to improving drainage on Oakview Lane, Kyle Lane, and Southwood Road at Sunset Drive, Brady said the city is working to complete ALDOT-funded projects, as well.

The bid opening for the long-awaited pedestrian bridge project, which would see a pedestrian walkway constructed over U.S. 31 connecting the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest and Wald Park, was set for Feb. 26, and the city will pay about $500,000 of the project, plus a potential addition of roughly $170,000 in utility relocation costs, Brady said.

The city is working to acquire right of way on Massey Road, but no bid date has been set by ALDOT, Brady said. There are 21 different property owners the city is trying to work with to ensure it has the property it needs to rebuild the retaining wall, widen the road on both sides, make improvements and build sidewalks.

The Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex tunnel project is delayed due to utility issues, but Brady said work should be done by summer 2021.

Brady also reminded the council of the city’s efforts to pave about seven miles of roadway this year as part of the city’s three-year road resurfacing plan, which started in 2019.

Police and Fire

Twenty new police vehicles were recently purchased by the Vestavia Hills Police Department, a major part of the city’s fiscal year 2021 budget, and one car a week should be coming in as they get upfitted for service, said Capt. Shane Ware. The cars include an array of technological advancements that make it easier for officers to do their job, officers said during a presentation during the strategic planning session.

Vestavia continues to see a decrease in crime, said Lt. Joe Dease, who reported that only two categories of crime had an increase from 2019 to 2020: robbery (three in 2019 and four in 2020) and theft of vehicle (27 in 2019 and 29 in 2020). All other categories saw a decrease or, in the case of murder and kidnapping, remained at zero. For the second year in a row, the city saw its lowest number ever for burglaries, Dease said.

In addressing the council, Dease said the department is planning on splitting up coverage of Liberty Park into two beats, in order to have better coverage, and cited concerns over longer response times due to the size of Liberty Park, which is roughly the same size as the city of Homewood, as well as safety concerns with officers often having to file reports in their cars.

Chief Dan Rary said due to money saved by more senior officers recently retiring, there should be enough money in the budget to hire four additional officers, on top of the two additional officers whose positions were budgeted for this year, and he asked the council to go ahead and approve that move.

In the Fire Department, Chief Marvin Green also expressed concern about the future coverage of Liberty Park, which continues to grow, and said future development needs for the department include reducing the arrival time of the second and third engine and offsetting additional requirements to maintain a low ISO rating, among other goals. Green also gave an update on the training facility, which is being leased from the county along with the Rocky Ridge Fire District. The facility is mobile, has moveable walls and ventilation props and allows the department to have its own place to train and improve, Green said. The total cost of the project, including the remodeling of the facility, is just under $600,000.

Finances

City finances are in great shape, Downes said, with increases in both sales tax and ad valorem tax, allowing the city to remain stable despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Downes told the council they may want to consider splitting the city’s roughly $2.8 million surplus between the general fund and capital fund reserves. The surplus currently goes solely to the general fund’s unassigned reserves. Splitting it would raise the capital fund reserves from about $4.3 million to $5.7 million, while the general fund unassigned reserves would decrease from about $5 million to $3.6 million. The move was made last year by the council.

Downes also recommended enacting a 1% cost of living adjustment for city employees this year, something that wasn’t done last year.

Lastly, as the Community Spaces Plan comes to a close in the next 12 months, Downes told the council that they may want to consider how they are using the 1 cent additional sales tax revenues that go, right now, to the plan. With sales tax revenues on the rise, Downes said the question of what to do with that money once Community Spaces is finished will continue to come up.

In the finance department, City Finance Director Melvin Turner announced that Assistant Finance Director George Sawaya is planning on retiring at the end of 2022, and the department is working on a succession plan and hopes to have someone in place in time to work with Sawaya for a year before he leaves.

Sanitation Services

After Amwaste took over the city’s sanitation contract in October, the city has been very pleased with their service, said City Manager Jeff Downes.

Rick Sweeney with Amwaste said only 80 pickups were missed in January, with 27,000 services each week.

Downes said there is always room for improvement, and the city is evaluating whether to alter routes to be more efficient.

Parks and Recreation

The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is getting ready for the new community building and the completion of other Community Spaces projects, improving their software and exploring partnerships to maximize the city’s new resources.

With new software, patrons can now check availability of rooms, request facility reservations and sign up for memberships and classes, and the city can track those numbers.

Tonia Whatley with the Convention of Visitors Bureau talked about the possibility of a partnership with the organization to help market the building, which will be one of the largest event spaces in the area at 10,000 square feet. She said the city should be able to reach its goal of having the space rented 45 days a year.

In conjunction with Cinnamon McCulley, the city’s communications director, the department is also looking to rebrand in 2021, creating new logos and a new website, helping people take advantage of the new amenities that have come and are coming soon to the city.

McCulley said she’d also like to create a seasonal activity guide that will highlight city amenities and activity options, as well as a book that would highlight the city as a whole.

The city is also considering changing Christmas lights around the city. While the council decides whether to spend the money for the lights, the city is working to fix the streetlights that don’t work and improve that infrastructure. For 150 new light fixtures, it would cost $75,000, and the new lights would be brighter and more updated than the current options.

One option might be to partner with the city of Hoover, which will soon purchase Christmas lights. Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato spoke to the council about possible partnerships in the areas of sanitation and small-cell technology, though nothing specific was agreed upon.

Other City Departments

The Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest is working on a strategic plan, said Director Taneisha Tucker. In preparing a new plan, Tucker and her staff are researching various libraries around the country that are innovative in their approach to serving their communities, she said.

Tucker said she hopes the plan renews excitement and increases the library’s patronage. The plan is due to the state by the end of the year.

In the municipal court, Court Director Umang Patel said the department has started using a new credit card processing company, as well as a new kiosk that improves efficiency and limits physical interactions during the pandemic. However, with the courts closed for a while last year, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases handled per week, from 400 this time last year to 700 now, Patel said. Cases have already been assigned out to September 2021, he said.

Patel said he’s hopeful with employees set to receive the vaccine March 5 that things will improve and asked the council to consider improving the court’s software to help improve service.

Legislative Issues

The council briefly discussed issues that may come up during this year’s legislative session, including the possibility of a bill to extend sanitation contracts from three years to five years, which would help cities retire capital contracts over a period of five years, decreasing yearly payments.

The city also plans to keep an eye on how the state handles the Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT), which allows online retailers to opt in to paying a flat 8% sales tax on all online transactions, which is then distributed across the state. There have been calls from some leaders to change the way the money is distributed to counties and cities.

Other legislation that may come up includes whether to legalize gambling and fund casinos, whether to extend the terms of currently elected officials so their term does not end during a national election year, as well as bills dealing with small-cell technology and medical marijuana.

City Clerk Rebecca Leavings announced there was a change in voting locations: Voters who previously voted at Horizon Church will now vote at Shades Mountain Baptist Church, and work is ongoing to find a new location for voters at Town Village.