Photo by Karim Shamsi-Basha.
The Days Inn sits on U.S. 31 in Vestavia Hills.
The Vestavia Hills City Council accepted the low bid to demolish the former Days Inn property at the March 13 council meeting.
The bid, submitted by Complete Demolition Services, LLC, is for $590,000, which will be paid out of existing American Rescue Plan Act funds. The company has four months to complete environmental remediation, including asbestos abatement, along with utility relocation and the demolition of the property.
The city met in mid-March with business leaders and the public to discuss the future of the property.
The council also approved two items benefiting the Vestavia Hills Fire Department. The department now has an automatic aid agreement with the Mountain Brook Fire Department, meaning dispatch will automatically send both VHFD and MBFD to structure fires in either city to cut down on response time, Fire Chief Marvin Green said.
The council also authorized the use of 3870 Veona Daniels Road for a future training facility. The department, along with the Rocky Ridge Fire District, will still use 3794 Veona Daniels Road for some rescue training and classes, but the new site will provide much more space and further training opportunities, Green previously said. For more on the new training site, see the related story in the forthcoming April edition of the Vestavia Voice.
The council also approved the leasing of 15 police administration vehicles at a cost of $100,000 during fiscal 2023. The cars will replace existing vehicles that are set to be cycled out as part of the city’s normal budgetary process, City Manager Jeff Downes said. Half of that cost will be paid for with confiscated funds the Police Department has obtained, with the rest coming from the city’s capital fund. Downes said the move will leave “just a handful” of non-administrative vehicles that have to be replaced next fiscal year.
Residents interested in a spot on the Vestavia Hills Board of Education must apply by April 10 at 5 p.m. An application can be found at https://vhal.org/vacancy-on-vestavia-hills-board-of-education/. Jennifer Weaver’s term ends this summer, with a new board member set to be announced at the April 24 City Council meeting.
In other business, the council:
- Approved a 3-year renewal contract with Avenu Insights and Analytics for $230,000. Avenu collects most of the city’s revenues.
- Approved a resolution supporting an Alabama Department of Transportation project to repave Interstate 65 from U.S. 31 to downtown Birmingham
- Declared certain items surplus.
