Neal Embry
Vestavia City Schools Superintendent Todd Freeman speaks with the Vestavia Hills City Council and City Manager Jeff Downes at a Nov. 19 work session.
A developer has proposed a public-private partnership to install sidewalks on Poe Drive, which city leaders said could save the city money.
Charles Kessler is building homes in the area of Poe Drive, and has proposed building 1,000 feet of sidewalks along the road.
At a Nov. 19 work session, City Engineer Christopher Brady said the project would cost between $130,000 and $140,000, which would include widening, curb and gutter work, drainage work and sidewalk installation. City Manager Jeff Downes said the proposed cost to the city is $49,999.
The move would increase connectivity in the Cahaba Heights area, as the city has planned sidewalk installation along both Crosshaven Drive and Green Valley Road. Poe Drive is also on schedule to receive resurfacing work.
The city would pay Kessler upon the installation of the sidewalks, Downes told the council.
Downes also gave the council an update on the possibility of 5G coming to the city. Downes said AT&T has told him they have two sites in city limits on which they want to install 5G technology, which is small technology placed on utility poles, usually.
Downes said a consultant is reviewing Mountain Brook’s ordinance regarding fees owed by communications companies for installing the technology within the city and other regulating factors, and he expects an ordinance to have a first reading at a December council meeting, possibly being passed in January.
In other business, the council heard a presentation from Tom Traylor with Lamar Advertising, which owns billboards and other signage across the country. Lamar is proposing eliminating six structures, which means 12 billboard faces, in city limits in exchange for one digital billboard at Royal Automotive at the corner of Interstate 65 and U.S. 31.
The move would leave the city with four other structures, along with the digital billboard, Traylor said, and the billboard could also be used for emergency messaging, such as Amber Alerts and FEMA announcements in the event of a natural disaster.
The council also talked with Vestavia City School Superintendent Todd Freeman about athletic fields at both the Gresham campus and the Berry campus, both of which will join the school system for the 2019-20 school year. A shared-use agreement is in the works for those athletic fields, allowing both entities to use them, Freeman said.
