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Neal Embry Starnes Media
Work is ongoing in the new Vestavia Hills Civic Center, which is slated to open sometime this summer after months of delay.
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Neal Embry Starnes Media
Work is ongoing in the new Vestavia Hills Civic Center, which is slated to open sometime this summer after months of delay.
3 of 4
Neal Embry Starnes Media
Work is ongoing in the new Vestavia Hills Civic Center, which is slated to open sometime this summer after months of delay.
4 of 4
Neal Embry Starnes Media
Work is ongoing in the new Vestavia Hills Civic Center, which is slated to open sometime this summer after months of delay.
Delays in the construction of the new Civic Center, anticipated needs for the Fire and Police Departments, a possible layout of Phase Three of Wald Park renovations and more was discussed during a two-day strategic planning session for the Vestavia Hills City Council on Feb. 21 and 22.
Civic Center and other Community Spaces projects
The construction of the new Civic Center has once again been delayed due to problems with on-site leadership, said Ken Upchurch with TCU, the consultant for the project.
Upchurch said while TCU cannot perform the work themselves, they are “driving” the schedule for Amason & Associates, the contractor for the project. There have been four project managers and two superintendents for the project, which was originally scheduled to be completed in late 2021. A target date for sometime this summer is more likely, Upchurch said.
In addition to what Upchurch said was poor on-site leadership, there have been issues with subcontractors and material deliveries, he said.
“It’s regrettable it’s taken this long. Some of it you could blame on COVID, but 90%, I blame leadership in the organization,” Upchurch said. “We’re doing what we can do to push them forward without getting into the means and methods that would be detrimental to y’all and to us.”
At Wald Park, the council reached a consensus for a scheme that would see six tennis courts and six pickleball courts constructed, along with a little more than 100 parking spots split between two lots. A dog park, bathrooms and a walking trail would also be built. The original budget for the project was $1.7 million, though that cost increased with the original bids. The cost for the scheme that council members supported was $3.8 million. City Manager Jeff Downes said the city will have an anticipated surplus of $1.8 million at the end of fiscal 2022 in its dedicated Community Spaces fund, in addition to the $1.7 million previously budgeted for the project. Combining those amounts, the city would have $3.5 million available for the work, and should be able to afford the rest without having to finance anything else, Downes said.
The city is also set to receive about $2.8 million in reimbursement funds from Jefferson County for work the city did on their behalf at the intersection of Crosshaven Drive and Green Valley Road, Downes said.
The scheme would do away with previously-discussed plans to utilize existing field space at the old Vestavia Hills Elementary Central campus, Downes said. Should an opportunity arise in the future to use that space, the city can react accordingly, he said.
Following some discussion of whether both ends of the proposed courts were ADA-accessible, TCU’s Raynor Boles said he would look at ways to improve accessibility at both ends.
At Crosshaven Drive, the majority of the work still to be done is from the Green Valley Road intersection to Cahaba Heights Drive, Boles said. With that being a residential area, Boles said there will be “new hurdles” in terms of work hours and road access. The county’s work to improve the intersection at Green Valley Road is going “really well,” Boles said.
Police and Fire needs
Lieutenant Joseph Dease with the Police Department said for the third year in a row, the city saw its lowest number of burglaries in its history, with crime as a whole either down or about the same in most areas.
While there was a statistical increase in the number of drug and weapon offenses, Dease said those are the result not of more crime being committed, but of officers making more arrests.
The one crime that does seem to be on the rise is fraud, said Captain Johnny Evans.
Officers recently arrested suspects who are accused of stealing almost 50 checks, Evans said, altering them and taking the money. Other fraud-related crimes are card skimmers at ATMs, gas pumps, telephone scams and unemployment fraud, Evans said.
New officers in Liberty Park have reduced response time from a little more than 10 minutes in 2019 to just more than seven minutes in 2021.
The Police Department also wants to build a new training facility behind the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex, called the Pine Ridge Project, which will allow them to train themselves and also other agencies. The city is currently examining possible grant opportunities for the project. The grant would come, if awarded, through the Mine Reclamation Project.
Another proposal the department brought to the council is creating a shooting range at the Childersburg Industrial Park, which is an old military base encompassing several thousand acres. The land is mostly unused, and the department is working with the city of Childersburg to obtain 50 acres for a shooting range. If the shooting range comes to fruition, 2022 would see ground preparation and an ability to host classes, with more parking and a shoot-house available next year. No place suitable for a shooting range has been found in Jefferson County, according to VHPD.
The Police Department is also working on implementing a “Master Police Officer” program, which would allow officers to undergo further training for both supervisory and non-supervisory roles.
In the Fire Department, Chief Marvin Green said with the number of calls on the rise in the Patchwork Farms area, a station in that area is needed. The response time in that area is about eight and a half minutes, he said, with 42% of the calls going to the Cahaba Heights station, the closest station to Patchwork Farms, coming from that area.
Green said adding another truck to Liberty Park has helped improve response times and service to that area. In more good news, the department recently obtained a Class 1 ISO rating, the best possible rating, which impacts insurance rates in the area based on the ability and preparedness of fire departments.
Public Works
In a wide-ranging report, Public Services Director Brian Davis and City Engineer Christopher Brady gave an update on several projects.
In the area of traffic improvement, Brady said the city has received verbal approval from the Alabama Department of Transportation on the design for improvements to the intersection of Columbiana Road and U.S. 31. The city continues to study and design possible improvements to the intersection of Rocky Ridge Road and Dolly Ridge Road, as well as the intersection of Sicard Hollow Road and Blue Lake Drive, Brady said.
Several ALDOT projects are still in the works after, in some cases, decades of discussion. The Massey Road project now relies on six remaining landowners on the road. The city has received approval from 20 of 26 landowners, though six have either not responded or not agreed to give up the land needed to widen the road and make other improvements. Depending on how that goes, Davis said it is possible the project will be bid later this year.
The tunnel connecting the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex and the Liberty Park Athletic Complex is complete, with the city set to finish utility work soon and make sure both ends of the tunnel are connected, as well as connecting it to the dog park, which should happen in April, Davis said.
The city is continuing to create a master plan for improving stormwater drainage on public property. At the Shades Crest basin, which includes 350 acres in its watershed that drain to Vestavia Lake, Schoel Engineering has found numerous instances of smaller pipes, inadequate capacity and more. Other areas being studied include Poe Drive and Fairhaven Drive, as well as Dolly Ridge Road and Oakview Lane.
The city’s current paving contract ends Sept. 30 of this year, and the city is working to incorporate a new plan based on an assessment of every road in the city, Brady said. During the assessment, each city street will receive a grade, he said.
Library and Communications
The city is starting a new social media campaign called #PictureyourselfieVH. It first started last winter at the Vestavia Hills LIbrary in the Forest as part of a photography studio that saw more than 130 families signing up to take photographs in December, said Library Director Taneisha Tucker.
The goal is for residents and businesses to take photographs and add the hashtag to show off the city and its new amenities.
Communications Director Cinnamon McCulley said she is focusing on promoting the upcoming Dogwood Festival, which encompasses several events throughout the city during the months of March and April. The city is pushing the event through social media channels and digital billboards and also relying on business owners to promote the events. McCulley said she also plans to utilize the hashtag for the festival.
The city also has a new Parks and Recreation Department website, vhparksandrec.com.
Legislative Agenda, new Board of Education process
The council also discussed multiple issues that could come up during the state legislature’s session this year.
Green told the council there is a paramedic shortage, with an effort in the state legislature to impose an assessment on medical transport providers in order to provide additional Medicaid enhancement payments for the maintenance and expansion of emergency services.
Councilor Kimberly Cook said wages for paramedics needed to be increased.
The city did not opt in to allowing businesses to open medical marijuana dispensaries, following medical marijuana’s recent legalization in the state. The council discussed possibly passing more ordinances to regulate ancillary businesses. However, Councilor Rusty Weaver said the city needed to be careful not to pass ordinances that are “redundant or unenforceable,” and to also be careful taking too much of a lead from groups that, at times, act as lobbyists, like Help the Hills, which Mayor Ashley Curry said opposed medical marijuana.
Downes told the council there is a bill that would raise the threshold for government purchases that triggers the state’s competitive bid law, which could be helpful for the city.
Following the reporting of corrupt practices within the Brookside Police Department, there is a bill to mandate a statewide database of fines and fees, and while Curry said he does not oppose the idea, the city already volunteers much of the information. Cook cautioned it could be an unfunded mandate.
Cook told the council she had updated the qualifications for Board of Education members to include a statement about the need for people of high character who would represent the city well. Cook also said interviews would not be set by the order in which applications are received, but determined by City Clerk Rebecca Leavings.
Transparency and Finances
Leavings told the council she would be working on a new public records request ordinance, in an effort to combat third-party internet companies that want to get what she called “massive” records and then sell them.
“We continuously have to turn around to Mr. Boone (City Attorney Pat Boone) and ask if we turn them over,” Leavings said.
The new ordinance describes what is and is not releasable under the state’s open records law, in addition to protocols for the city once a request is made.
To further increase transparency, the city is partnering with OpenGov software, which allows builders in the city to submit applications online, request permits, pay fees and more. It also allows the city to respond, theoretically reducing the wait time between the city and those doing business within Vestavia. It also allows residents to look up any public records filed within the system.
The city’s Action Center continues to be utilized, primarily to report trash pickup issues. The city recently added an EXPEDITE category to the action center, allowing residents to request quicker service. Downes said the city will also be instituting monitoring of requests that are still open and have been open five days or long. They will also be regularly reviewing requests to insure there is communication between the city, residents and the service provider, Amwaste.
On the issue of finances, Downes told the council the general fund balance has grown from $10 million in fiscal 2011 to $18.7 million after fiscal 2020. Following a year-end surplus in fiscal 2021, the general fund balance following the latest fiscal year is $21.2 million.
Revenue is up 17% through the first quarter of fiscal 2022 compared to last year’s first quarter collections, with real ad valorem and sales taxes driving that increase, along with the city’s tendency to budget conservatively.
Downes said he will once again ask the council to consider splitting the surplus between the general fund reserves and the capital reserves fund.
Downes also requested the council increase the city’s liability insurance from $5 million to $10 million in general liability and adding an additional $500,000 to the city’s self-insured claim fund for a total of $1 million. This is in response to larger settlements and judgments in lawsuits involving cities in the nation, Downes said.
The city also recently increased the amount paid for an early retiree’s health insurance from $600 to $1,000 per month until they are eligible for Medicaid, Downes said.
Municipal Court and IT
In the municipal court, Director Umang Patel said they have begun collecting bonds online instead of only accepting cash bonds. The court is also continuing to test the idea of online driving school and paperless citations. His goal when he took office, he said, was to be completely paperless.
While Patel would like to switch software providers at some point, he told the council he has not found a software he likes enough to make the switch yet.
In the IT department, director Darrin Estes said the city needs to update its backup servers, remote switchers and virtual servers. He also said the city will soon add two-factor authentication to city email addresses when they are used outside City Hall.
