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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Wald Park Pool
Construction continues at Wald Park as crews work on a new swimming pool at the park Dec. 5.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Wald Park Pool
Construction continues at Wald Park as crews workon a new swimming pool at the park Dec. 5.
UPDATE: As of Jan. 10, the ball fields will be delayed until early May, after the discovery of unsecured power lines at the park. Baseball leagues will be split among other city parks, as well as Hoover East.
While the Community Spaces Plan was always going to be a multiyear effort by the city of Vestavia Hills, residents can expect to see two notable, tangible results of the improvement efforts this spring.
The pools at the newly renovated Wald Park, which is currently under construction, should be complete by May 2020, said Vestavia City Manager Jeff Downes, and the new baseball fields should be complete in March, just in time for baseball season. The city’s new Miracle League Field, which gives players with physical disabilities a place to practice and play, is also expected to be complete in May, Downes said.
The new pools will include a competition pool and a family-style pool. The old pool experienced constant mechanical breakdown, and the old bath house was in “very poor” condition, Downes said. The city’s Parks and Recreation Board is still discussing what the pool fee structure will look like.
The baseball fields being constructed will, unlike the old fields, have adequate drainage and a functional press box, and the Miracle League field will ensure those with disabilities can enjoy the game, Downes said.
The rest of the currently contracted work at Wald Park is expected to be finished by the end of 2020, Downes said. The contracted work includes parks next to the pool area and baseball fields, as well as general site work.
The secondary phase of work, which will have to go through the bid process, most likely in the first quarter of 2020, includes building tennis courts, a new playground, dog parks and a new maintenance building, Downes said.
The city’s maintenance staff is currently housed at the old Gold’s Gym, which will itself be turned into a new community building as part of the Community Spaces Plan. The bid process for that work is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2020, with an estimated construction completion date 18 months after the contract is awarded, meaning the building will be finished sometime in 2021.
The new building will include additional gym space, the Vestavia Hills Sports Hall of Fame, a workout area and 90,000 to 100,000 additional square feet for city programming. Downes said it’s possible school events could be held at the building, and with good audio-visual opportunities and what is expected to be an aesthetically pleasing view, Downes said he’s hopeful the building will be used in a variety of ways, such as wedding receptions and other community events.
The workout area will not be in competition with private gyms, but will allow for some exercise equipment, Downes said. The additional programming space will be used as the city seeks to ramp up its efforts to create more activities for all residents, especially senior adults.
Sandi Wilson has been hired to be the city’s new Parks and Recreation superintendent and is tasked with expanding outreach and programming for senior adults. Wilson comes to Vestavia after about 20 years working in a similar role with Trussville.
The city is also expected to fill two more new positions: a recreational superintendent focusing on the community building and a recreational program leader who will focus on aquatics and special events.
Other areas of the Community Spaces Plan include the new ball fields at Cahaba Heights Park (formerly known as the Cahaba Heights Athletic Complex), which are expected to be complete in the summer of 2020, and a new New Merkel Senior Center. The city plans to seek bids for the senior center, along with the widening, sidewalk and improvement work slated for Crosshaven Drive, in the first quarter of 2020.
OTHER CITY PRIORITIES
While the City Council expects to discuss this year’s priorities in more detail at a strategic planning session in January, Downes said he expects topics to include sanitation services, traffic and transportation improvement, sidewalks and economic development.
The city’s contract for sanitation services with Republic expires Sept. 30, but the city will need to have another contract approved beforehand to avoid a lapse in services being provided. Downes said his goal is to seek bids in February or March, with the city re-examining how it handles recycling and how frequently trash pickup and recycling is provided.
“Because sanitation touches people in the community more than any other … there is a greater opportunity for challenges and for kudos,” Downes said.
The council will also have to consider how to spend about $700,000 budgeted for traffic and transportation improvements. Using a state APPLE grant, the city has identified some problematic roadways in the area, but the council will have to determine how to prioritize funding for those improvements.
About $2.5 million has been allocated for sidewalk construction in 2020, but it’s still too early to determine which projects will come first, Downes said.
Economic development should see an uptick in Liberty Park this year, with Publix, a convenience store/gas station combination, an office building and other retail stores set to open. Cahaba Station, a retail development, is set to open in the summer.
“We all knew that the next great phase of development in Vestavia Hills would include Liberty Park,” Downes said.
Work is ongoing to build the new Milo’s and Chick-fil-A in Cahaba Heights, as well. Chick-fil-A has agreed to coordinate its construction with the widening project on Crosshaven Drive. The restaurant will not open until the portion of Crosshaven adjacent to the restaurant is widened.
Downes also expects development to occur in the Blue Lake Drive area, including a possible groundbreaking on a hotel. Downes also said he expects that the old Motor Lodge property on U.S. 31 near the south end of the city will be turned over to the city, and Serra Automotive should reopen after raising its property out of the flood plain.