Vestavia officials highlight progress midway through fiscal 2024
The Vestavia Hills City Council and City Manager Jeff Downes on Monday night highlighted progress on a variety of fronts midway through the fiscal year.
“We as the city staff, when we get together, we’re constantly reinforcing how we’re moving forward with the goals that you all set as strategic planning principles and strategic planning priorities,” Downes said. “We look at the budget document that you passed, and I’m all about measuring output or outcomes.”
The city has been able to hire a second code enforcement official and complete the Police Department’s plan to provide a car for each of the department’s 109 officers. Downes also highlighted the popularity of the Vestavia Hills Civic Center, which has outpaced projections for reservations and already eclipsed the facility’s 2023 performance.
“At the midpoint, we have reserved spaces at our Civic Center totaling 448 spaces. The entirety of last year, we had reservations for 333,” Downes said. “That facility is in super high demand.”
Downes also highlighted usage at the Vestavia Hills Library In The Forest, which has increased 16% over the previous 12 months, and highlighted the Building Safety Department, which is on pace for an all-time high number of inspections. Additionally, Downes said revenue from permit receipts is far outpacing projections for fiscal 2024.
“Our budget for that was around $1.6 million, and we’re at the midpoint with $3 million in permit receipts,” he said.
Following Downes’ report, Councilman George Pierce also mentioned other projects underway, including the roundabout under construction at the intersection of Sicard Hollow Road and Blue Lake Drive, work to improve the intersection of U.S. 31 and Columbiana Road, work to expand the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex, and the commercial project on U.S. 31 where the newest location of Big Bad Breakfast and Waldo’s Chicken & Beer will be located.
“It’s exciting to see all of these projects in progress,” Pierce said.
In other actions, the City Council rezoned property at 4533 Pine Tree Circle in the Topfield subdivision just off Blue Lake Drive from an R-1 low-density residential district to an O-1 professional office district.
Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry said the Planning and Zoning Commission had already given unanimous approval to allow the property’s new owner, Kathryn Gentle, to convert the former single-family home into an office for her law firm, Crawford, Gentle Law PC, under several conditions.
“The zoning is limited to professional use only. It’s not complete until the certificate of occupancy is approved by the fire marshal, building inspector and zoning official. And any new building is limited to two stories and constructed in a residential style,” Curry said.
The City Council also approved a resolution allowing Downes to reinvest the city’s emergency funds totaling $20.4 million into PNC Bank at a 12-month yield of a net 5.18%.
Lastly, the City Council approved a resolution to return $119,000 in sales tax to Molecular Designs after mistakenly collecting sales tax for medical equipment sold wholesale instead of retail.