During the Birmingham City Council Meeting held Tuesday, January 7, 2014 Council:
Approved a Resolution adopting the 2014 City of Birmingham Legislative Agenda; the agenda includes:
Deferred Payment Lending
The City of Birmingham supports further regulation of deferred payment lending (payday lending), title lending and pawn companies and restrictions on the proliferation and predatory practices of these businesses.
Wine and Beer in Single Serve
The City of Birmingham supports legislation that will limit and/or restrict the sale of single serve cans and bottles of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages on ice, drug paraphernalia, and sexually explicit materials near the front entrances of convenience stores, grocery stores and other retailers.
Enhanced Funding for Mass Transit
The City of Birmingham supports legislation to provide alternative dedicated streams of funding for public transit, and also legislation that can amend existing funding streams to increase funds that can enhance the ability of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority to play an even greater role in supporting economic development throughout the metro area.
Water Works
The City of Birmingham does not support legislation to change the existing governance of the Birmingham Water Works Board.
Education Accountability Act
The City of Birmingham supports legislation that amends the Alabama Accountability Act of 2013 so that funds are not reduced for schools identified as failing and greater support is provided for public education. “We have a good working document,” said Council President Johnathan Austin. To review the full legislative agenda log on to www.birminghamalcitycouncil.org. For more information, contact the office of Councilor Johnathan Austin at 254.2678.
Other items approved by the Council at today’s meeting include the following:
1. Placed on consent a Resolution assenting to the vacation of 402.14 square feet of subsurface rights along 1st Avenue South, 141.00 square feet of subsurface rights along 18th Street South, 401.10 square feet of subsurface rights along the 1st Avenue South alley, 140.00 square feet of subsurface rights along 17th Street South, 1632.57 square feet of air rights along 1st Avenue South, 576.00 square feet of air rights along 18th Street South, 1616.40 square feet of air rights along the 1st Avenue South alley and 560.00 square feet of air rights along 17th Street South- all situated around Block 124 (between 17th Street South and 18th Street South and also between 1st Avenue South and 2nd Avenue South), on behalf of Parkside Residences, LLC., City of Birmingham, a municipal corporation, HRT of Alabama, Inc., KPC Realty, LLC, Railroad Square, LLC., The Children’s Hospital of Birmingham, Corporate Furnishings, Inc., owners, so that the developer can construct a new mixed use building (retail and residential) with the proposed balconies encroaching into the air space right-of-way and the footings encroaching into the subsurface right-of-way. For more information, contact the office of Councilor Sheila Tyson at 254.2358.
2. Placed on consent a Resolution approving the agreement with Village Creek Human and Environmental Justice Society, Inc., Birmingham, in an amount not to exceed $150,000.00, renewable annually subject to funds availability, for a term not to exceed five (5) years, to promote the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Birmingham area and authorizing the Mayor to execute the agreement.
3. Approved a Resolution appointing four (4) members to the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority Board of Directors, Joyce E. Brooks, Patricia Bozeman Henderson, Bacarra Mauldin and W. Frank Topping said terms expiring August 10, 2017. For more information, contact the office of Councilor Kimberly Rafferty at 254.2348.
4. Placed on consent a Resolution approving payment to Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California, in the amount of $126,164.00 as exhibition loan fee for the exhibit “Delacroix and the Matter of Finish” to be on display at the Birmingham Museum of Art, for the term February 23, 2014 through May 18, 2014.
Announcements and Reminders:
1. Due to a lack of agenda items, the Special Called Transportation and Communication Committee Meeting on Wednesday, January 8, 2014, has been canceled.
2. A Special Called Public Improvement and Beautification Committee Meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, January 8, 2014, 2:00 p.m., Conference Rooms D & E.
3. The Birmingham City Council will host a second work session with state lawmakers on Thursday, January 9, 2014, 10:30 a.m., at the Birmingham Crossplex.
4. The Budget and Finance Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday, January 13, 2014, 4:00 p.m., Conference Rooms D & E.
5. The Economic Development Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday, January 13, 2014, 4:00 p.m., Conference Rooms D & E.
6. The Planning and Zoning Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, January 14, 2014, 4:00 p.m., 5th Floor Engineering Conference Room.
7. The Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Committee Meeting scheduled on Wednesday, January 15, 2014, is canceled.
Are you unable to attend the Birmingham City Council meetings? Watch Council Meetings on demand. From anywhere in the world you can log on to www.birminghamalcitycouncil.org and click on the tab Watch Council Meetings; or from the comfort of your home, tune to Bright House Cable Channel 244. The Birmingham City Council meetings are free and on demand. The City of Birmingham will make reasonable accommodations to ensure that people with disabilities have equal opportunity to enjoy all city services, programs and activities. If accommodations are required for public meetings, please contact John Long, Senior Public Information Officer, with reasonable advance notice by emailing John.Long@birminghamal.gov, or by calling 205-254-2036.
