Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
A veteran attends a Salute to Veterans program at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church in November 2019.
The Vestavia Hills City Council on Monday took a first step toward creating a veterans memorial, authorizing $17,500 to hire a landscape architecture firm to design a memorial at Altadena Valley Park.
The council hired Renta Land Design, based on Caldwell Mill Road, for the job.
Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry said it’s long overdue for the city of Vestavia Hills to create a memorial honoring American veterans.
“I think we're the only over-the-mountain city that doesn't have a veterans memorial. I think that it will fit in very nicely with Altadena Valley Park,” Curry said. “There's more to come out there as we move into other phases of development at Altadena Valley Park.”
Curry added that since a portion of the park is located in Shelby County, the Shelby County Commission is working with Vestavia Hills on the project and that he hopes to have some plans to present to the City Council soon.
The City Council also on Monday approved the sale of a surplus piece of property near Wald Park after a recent survey discovered a slight and unintentional encroachment by the owners of a nearby residence.
City Manager Jeff Downes said residents Rusty and Judith Fuller built a swimming pool on their property at 1119 Winchester Cove and that a 1,387-square-foot portion of the pool area encroached on city property near Wald Park. Surveyors recently made the discovery more than 20 years after the Fullers constructed their pool.
Downes said the city agreed to sell the small portion of the property to the Fullers for $6,103 — $4.40 per square foot — and said the issue was solved in good faith and without controversy.
“That encroachment did not impact in any fashion our development of Wald Park," Downes said. "Mr. Fuller does desire to solve that encroachment to his benefit.”
In additional news, the City Council:
- Appointed Amber Terakedis as a new member of the Vestavia Hills Board of Education. Terakedis has lived in the city for seven years and is a certified financial planner and partner at Plante Moran and was previously a paraplanner at Ameriprise Financial.
- Approved an on-premise special events liquor license for Slice Pizza & Brew. The license will allow Slice to sell beer only at the 2024 Vestavia Hills Wing Ding event on the front lawn of Vestavia Hills City Hall on Saturday, April 27, from 4 to 7 p.m. Advance Tickets cost $12; same-day tickets cost $15 or $10 with a donation of a canned good for Leadership Vestavia Hills’ Hunger Project.
- Honored City Clerk Rebecca Leavings in recognition of the 55th annual Professional Municipal Clerks Week
The next Vestavia Hills City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 13, at 6 p.m., at Vestavia Hills City Hall.
