
A proposed plan to sell one of two lots of the old Motor Lodge property and restrict the other lot to only be used by brick-and-mortar stores was seemingly agreed to by both the property owner and the city of Vestavia Hills at Monday night’s work session.
The property, owned by Larry Maddox of Maddox Enterprises, is split into two lots and has not hosted a brick-and-mortar store since the lodge was torn down in 2014. One lot, which hosted the lodge itself, is under contract to be sold to a restaurant, to be named later.
The other lot, lot 2A, is currently the home of two Mexican food trucks, and, this past weekend, hosted a pop-up tent sale featuring clothing items. Vestavia Hills City Manager Jeff Downes said while the city is not opposed to food trucks, and the tent sale coordinators had been properly licensed and permitted, the temporary businesses hurt existing brick-and-mortar businesses he said have invested in the city for the long haul.
In exchange for allowing the city to enact restrictions on lot 2A that states it may only be used in the future for brick-and-mortar business, Downes said the city is willing to waive half of a $75,000 lien that had been placed on lot 1A due to the cost of razing the Motor Lodge. The $37,500 is meant to incentivize Maddox to prepare the other lot for future sale, Downes said.
Maddox originally expressed concern over not allowing temporary businesses, such as the food trucks, tent sales and, in the past, fruit vendors. While he said he’d love to have a brick-and-mortar business on the property, it, like some other businesses on lower 31, is hard to sell due to it being at an increased risk for flooding, with portions of the lot in the flood zone.
“The conversation tonight is not about whether they were properly entitled or licensed, but what we want as a council,” Downes said.
Maddox, after listening to Downes and members of the council, agreed verbally to the proposed deal, which must be formally approved at a city council meeting. Downes said the deal could come up at the Nov. 25 meeting, along with a vote on whether to make changes to the city’s food truck ordinance. What those changes would be is not yet known.
Maddox requested that a deal he made with a Christmas tree salesman to sell on the lot and leave by Dec. 15 be honored, and Downes said it should not be a problem as the deal would likely not yet be in effect by then.
If the sale of lot 1A falls through, the deal is dead, Downes said.
Human Trafficking
The city is seeking to become the first in Alabama to be declared a human-trafficking free zone, which would come with increased training for city personnel and a declaration passed by the city. At the work session, Curry spoke about the need for the declaration and the council heard from those involved in the work to end the international crisis.
Mayor Ashley Curry said it is a problem in the area, seen as recently as this summer when the city’s police department, along with other law enforcement agencies and the FBI, arrested 49 people in a human trafficking sting. Seventeen of those arrests were made in Vestavia.
Police Chief Dan Rary said his department works to monitor hotels and other places where human trafficking occurs, and that his officers are trained to recognize warning signs.
Barbara Fowler, one of the members of the Child Trafficking Solutions Project, spoke to the council and praised them for their efforts. Jordan Giddens, also with CTSP, told the council in addition to passing a proclamation and training city staff and first responders to watch for human trafficking, the goal is for cities to also pass a policy that states anyone who is found purchasing sex while at work will be fired. Downes assured the council any Vestavia employee caught doing that would be fired already.
The project brings together those who are fighting human trafficking and is seeking to have Vestavia and other cities be declared human-trafficking free zones, with city personnel trained to combat it by looking for warning signs. The city of Birmingham is set to host a town hall sometime in January, and that might be a possibility in Vestavia as well. The town hall would offer training to residents in the city, Giddens said.
The increased push for awareness and action against human trafficking comes as Birmingham prepares to host the World Games in 2021, Giddens said. Traffickers typically target large events like the Super Bowl, the Olympics and the World Games, Giddens said, as the large crowds provide cover for their illegal actions. Thankfully, as law enforcement has become aware of the problem, large events like that have also become the site of massive law enforcement operations to rescue those being trafficked and arrest those who are trafficking them, Giddens said.
The council also discussed how to best collect leaves throughout the city. While vacuum trucks were discussed as a possible option, there were also concerns raised about how effective they might be. No action was taken at the meeting.