‘Friends’ donate $1 million to park project

By SOLOMON CRENSHAW JR.

The Friends of Jemison Park presented a $1 million check to the Mountain Brook City Council on June 12.

Shanda Williams, the city’s superintendent of parks and recreation, cradled the check in her hand as though it were a fragile piece of crystal. Friends treasurer Lindsay Puckett said she had never before written a check that large.

“We are glad to have you because this is a great moment for what y'all are bringing forth to the city council tonight,” said council member Billy Pritchard.

The Friends of Jemison Park is a group that has committed itself to supporting the Mountain Brook nature space along Watkins Brook at Cahaba Road and Shades Creek at Mountain Brook Parkway.

The Friends are working with the city on a project to replace concrete pathways with asphalt and widen or reroute some sections of the paths.

Friends President Sally Worthen said C.S. Beatty Construction will begin work on the project in late June. “We hope to have it finished in six to eight months,” she said. “And we are anxious to keep on raising money for it.”

Also during the council meeting, Welch read a Pollinator Week proclamation. He thanked Dana Hazen, director of planning, building and sustainability, for her efforts in earning Mountain Brook the designation from Bee City USA as the first Bee City affiliate in Alabama.

“Dana and Shanda, together, have done a remarkable job of creating Bee City,” Mayor Stewart Welch said. “If you haven't seen the pollinator garden out here, you need to be sure and visit it. We also have a bee hotel, which has a see-through window and we have our pollinator garden. We've seen some bees come.”

The Bee City designation comes with responsibilities, Hazen said, including reducing the city’s use of pesticides and planting more native plants in public parks and around City Hall. Also at the June 12 meeting:

► During the pre-council meeting, the panel discussed placing a “Small Car Only” sign at the two parking spaces on Hollywood Boulevard west of Mountain Brook Village. Council members will consider changing the verbiage to “Compact Car” to remove any ambiguity.

► The council moved a change order for the junior high drainage project to the meeting’s consent agenda. The cost of the change, paid to Schoel Engineering, will be borne entirely

5.35%5.35%5.30%5.35% by the Mountain Brook Board of Education.

► The council awarded the Brookwood Road sidewalk project to Gillespie Construction, with a bid coming in $55,000 under the estimate, City Manager Sam Gaston said. Construction on the project will begin in two weeks.

► The council gave a first reading of the amendments to the stormwater detention ordinance, which relate to some modifications to the city’s existing ordinance. The amendments deal with flood-challenged areas in the city, with some further restrictions on future construction. Pritchard invited those with comments on the matter to send them to the city manager.

► The council also amended Chapter 109 of the city code, in connection with construction permitting and requirements for certain additional permits, particularly to add a reclamation bond on residential construction with anticipated costs of $3 million or more.