Neal Embry
The Vestavia Hills City Council sits at the May 13 city council meeting.
After being discussed in several city meetings, a new digital billboard facing U.S. 31 and Interstate 65 will be constructed at Royal Automotive after the Vestavia Hills City Council passed a conditional use permit at the May 13 meeting.
Lamar Advertising’s Tom Traylor told the council the company has agreed to remove eight traditional billboards from the city, 16 total faces, in exchange for the right to build a digital billboard at Royal Automotive, located at 3010 Columbiana Road.
The council approved the permit unanimously.
Also at Monday night’s meeting, the council heard an update from Republic Services on issues relating to trash pickup. A representative said the company has three drivers out on FMLA and had two let go, with most of the turnover affecting the Vestavia area. However, he said with a new supervisor hired and new personnel added, the issues should be resolved.
Resident Dennis Hardy addressed the council about a personnel issue, raising concerns that a friend of his, who was terminated from public works several months ago, was terminated improperly despite what he said were almost six years of employment with no issues. In an interoffice memo provided to Vestavia Voice after the meeting, the city told the employee she was terminated for allegedly cursing and insulting residents of the city, as well as “numerous complaints” made over the years. In another letter, the former employee asked Mayor Ashley Curry, who was not at Monday’s meeting, for the list of complaints and a video showing her cursing Vestavia residents.
Discussions of personnel issues and work performance by the city are typically private under the state’s rules of executive session.
City Attorney Patrick Boone advised the council to not comment on the matter as they do not control personnel matters. Downes, who does oversee personnel issues, had no comment on Hardy’s comments after the meeting.
City Manager Jeff Downes told the council a bill sponsored by Vestavia’s state senator, Jabo Waggoner, which allows cities to opt back into Tier 1 retirement benefits for all employees through the state’s retirement system, has been signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey. The city pushed for the bill’s passage after police and fire department leaders said younger employees receiving Tier II benefits weren’t receiving equal retirement benefits and would be forced to work longer before retirement.
Continuing the Community Spaces plan, the city council authorized Downes to deliver any documents needed to acquire rights-of-way on Crosshaven Drive to widen the road as part of the plan. The rights-of-way do not involve taking a home or large amount of land from any property owner, as the city is only seeking small portions of the land next to Crosshaven Drive, Downes previously said.
The council also authorized Downes to accept proposals for services which would eventually help construct a road from Blue Lake Drive to Timberline Road.
In other news, the council:
- Authorized Downes to take action to replace a 2.5-ton air-conditioning unit at Fire Station Number Five, a $9,000 expense.
- Moved the date of the next council meeting from May 27 to May 20, with a work session preceding.
- Approved changing a polling place in Cahaba Heights from the New Merkel House to Cahaba Heights Baptist Church, mirroring a decision previously made by Jefferson County.
- On first read, introduced resolutions accepting a bid for construction services for a pedestrian bridge tunnel under Sicard Hollow Road and authorizing Downes to deliver an agreement for CEI Services to perform that work.
