Cahaba Height redevelopment plan, spring in Vestavia Hills.

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It is once again springtime in our beautiful Vestavia Hills. I hope the beginning of this season finds you out with your family and friends, enjoying the many amenities our community has to offer. 

In City Council news, our March 9 meeting resulted in approval for the initial phase of the Cahaba Heights redevelopment plan. This involves a mix of commercial, retail and also road improvements along Dolly Ridge Road. We are working closely with the school system to make sure carpool lines are minimally impacted. Regarding plans for this area overall, we are still in the early phases – City Manager Jeff Downes has four or five additional projects he’s working on in cooperation with property owners. We envision this all coming to fruition over the next three to five years, and that the result will create a village atmosphere within Cahaba Heights.

In the Highway 31 corridor, I know residents are following closely the development progress of our new City Hall, as well as the activity taking place on the respective future sites of Sprouts and America’s First Federal Credit Union.

The reality is that the weather has played havoc with our schedules, but we are still forging ahead. I’m pleased to report that City Hall construction is still slated for completion in September 2015.

In other news, the City of Vestavia Hills has begun working with the Jefferson County EMA in putting together Everbridge, an emergency notification system. Individual citizens can sign up for Everbridge to receive notifications of weather conditions, including flooding and other natural disasters, road closures and related EMA type information. We encourage everyone to go to the Everbridge site and register your information to be a part of this notification system. This will be on a secure site and will not be shared with anyone.

In conclusion, no April in our City would be complete without the annual tradition of our Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast. It is an event I very much look forward to each year, and I hope you will all make plans to attend. This year is our 25th annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast and will be held Tuesday, Apr. 28 at 7:30 a.m. at Vestavia Country Club. Our speaker will be Bob Lujano who is a quadruple amputee and a Quad Rugby Paralympics athlete. Tickets are $20 each and may be purchased by calling the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce at 823-5011 or by visiting vestaviahills.org. 

Your Mayor,

Alberto “Butch” C. Zaragoza