City Council approves pipe repairs, amends parking ordinance

Mountain Brook City Council held its regular session on Zoom on Monday, April 12th.

The following are some of the issues raised by the Council.

Urgent pipe repair

After a presentation by Ronnie Vaughn, the city’s public works director, members voted to fund some urgent repairs to four large corrugated drainage pipes in various locations around the city.

“These all got their ugly heads upright during the pouring rains a few weeks ago,” Vaughn told members.

Vaughn said spending – just under $ 146,000 – was not a budget item. “There is no way to wait for it, however,” he said.

The work is to be carried out by Video Industrial Services who previously worked for the city. “This is a very, very good company,” said Vaughn.

Members voted for Vaughn to move on and will later approve a final contract.

Since there are actually four separate projects, all under $ 50,000, awarding the work to VDS this way doesn’t violate state bidding laws, prosecutor Steve Stine said.

Revised parking regulations

In May 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the council passed an ordinance providing for additional temporary parking on most blocks in Mountain Brook Village, Crestline Village, and English Village to allow for contactless pickup at restaurants and retailers Roadside ease.

On Monday, on the recommendation of Dana Hazen, the city’s director of planning, construction and sustainability, the council voted to amend this regulation.

The change is based on feedback from vendors in the villages collected by Hazen and the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce.

According to information provided by Hazen in the council’s agenda package, it is reducing the number of parking spaces reserved for roadside pick-up from place to place.

The parking spaces are also referred to as “take away” and may only be used for the delivery of food and other commercial goods directly to vehicles parked at these locations.

According to the dealer feedback summarized in the agenda package, it was overall less likely that retailers as restaurateurs would support the continued use of the special parking areas.

LMB projects

The council also heard three presentations on proposed community projects from Mountain Brook High School students who are members of Mountain Brook Leadership.

One proposal concerns the installation of a disc golf course in the Fair Oaks Adventure Curriculum (FOAC) of the Cherokee Bend Elementary School. The Council agreed to examine this proposal further at a later date.

The council approved a second student proposal to begin the third phase of a project that the LMB had carried out in the past. The second phase was completed in 2014. It’s the Spartan Square brick project where a donor can pay for a brick in honor of someone installed in an area outside Mountain Brook City Hall. LMB group students 2021-2022 will complete phase 3 fundraising and installation.

A group of students also presented the completed project, a new map of Mountain Brook that will be distributed through the Chamber of Commerce and other sources.

Community champions

The council also recognized the owners of Lamb’s Ear, a retail store in Crestline Village, for receiving the Mary Anne Glazner Community Champion Award.

The award honors the late Mary Anne Glazner, who owned Smith’s Variety for approximately 40 years.

The award, which has been presented by the LMB since 2018, recognizes Glazner as an exemplary community servant and aims to honor community leaders every year.

LMB student Avery Robbins was present at the Zoom call to award the plaque to Lamb’s Ear owners Julie Howell and Elizabeth Roberts.

“We’re very, very honored and somewhat undeserved,” Howell said.

The LMB is sponsored by MBHS, the Mountain Brook City and Chamber of Commerce.

Check for updates to this post with more information about the meeting.

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