Photo by Jon Anderson
Massey Road sidewalk 1
Vestavia Hills officials are planning to build a sidewalk on the south side of Massey Road, at left, stretching between Columbiana Road and U.S. 31. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in July.
Following City Council approval April 11, the city of Vestavia Hills will enter into consultation with several property owners along Massey Road in further efforts to acquire rights of way needed for the long-awaited improvement project.
City Manager Jeff Downes said there are about six or seven property owners that had concerns about right of way. The city has entered into a roughly $61,000 agreement with Tillman Consulting, which works with the Alabama Department of Transportation, to enter into consulting with those property owners.
The Massey Road project, which has been in the works for years, will bring the installation of sidewalks, road shoulder stabilization, drainage improvements and resurfacing.
The council also approved a memorandum of understanding with the city of Childersburg to begin creating a shared land use plan for a shooting and training range to be used by the Police Departments of both cities. Any further expenditures would have to come back to the council. The need for such a facility was discussed during the city’s annual strategic planning session in late February.
Also approved at the meeting was the 90-day annexation of 2245 and 2249 Blue Ridge Blvd., where developer Taylor Burton is building 25 townhomes. The original plan called for 38 townhomes, which drew concerns from the Vestavia Hills City Schools system. Council member George Pierce said he would alert the system of those changes. City Engineer Christopher Brady said previous concerns about the property’s drainage system have been resolved as the development will have a full drainage system on the site.
Burton said the homes will likely be in the low $400,000 range and similar townhomes have mostly been sold to young professionals, not families.
The city is partnering with Shelby County on work to improve Altadena Valley Park and, following approval from the council, will spend $55,600 of city funds to prepare a master plan, perform grading for an access road and construct a new restroom facility and pavilion.
In an update to the council, Raynor Boles with TCU Consulting said “the end is in sight” for the Crosshaven Drive project. The project will take a couple more “tough” months to complete, Boles said, but a good bit of the work is already done.
At the new Civic Center, painting is 90% complete as of mid-April, tile and plumbing are making good progress, the gym flooring is being installed and the bridge connecting the Civic Center to City Hall has been erected.
Wald Park Phase Two is complete, including the installation of shade structures at the ballparks and most of the drainage and utility infrastructure, which is 95% complete. The council previously approved $3.5 million to finish phase three, and following some delays, delivery and schedule evaluations are underway and modifications have been made to the plans for tennis courts to make it more ADA-accessible. Boles told the council they needed to consider using a lower level of lighting at the courts with them being so close to a residential area.
In other business, the council:
Approved the placement of support structures for small-cell towers at the following properties: 2345 Columbiana Road; 1624 Belvedere Drive; 2645 Manchester Court; 3256 Wisteria Drive and 3309 Shallowford Road
Approved the 2020-21 audit for the city
Adopted supplement IV to the city’s code of ordinances
Named two applicants for the city’s spot on the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, Frank C. Leyden III and Paige Coker
Named 14 applicants for the Vestavia Hills Board of Education. That list can be found here.
