Council to discuss possible action in response to drought

For its first regular meeting, the 2016-2020 Vestavia Hills City Council will discuss two items of business.

The council will first vote on the approval of a retail wine and beer sales license for the new Publix supermarket at Patchwork Farms. According to the agenda packet, the application was approved and cleared by the police department.

The second item of business the council will discuss will be whether or not to enact the city's drought management ordinance.

The Birmingham Water Works Board recently declared a Stage-4 Drought Emergency for the Birmingham metropolitan area.

When the area was under a Stage-3 drought warning, the council decided not to enact the ordinance, but encouraged citizens to adhere to the BWWB's water conservation guidelines.

Now that the area is in Stage-4, the council will decide whether or not to begin enforcing watering restrictions, or if they would prefer to wait until a Stage-5 declaration, should the drought continue.

Effective Nov. 7, all counties in the state of Alabama are under a burn-ban, which prohibits all outdoor burning. Since the first of October, nearly 1,600 wildfires or brushfires have ignited and burned throughout the state, including three on Friday, Nov. 11.

While the forecast includes small chances for rain over the next week, the National Weather Service has indicated that the drought could last through the first of the year.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall.