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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Councilman Gerald Garner discusses amendment to an ordinance regarding the use of city parks.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Resident Matt Rich sought answers concerning how different traffic control discussions were handled.
The Mountain Brook City Council amended Chapter 30 of the City Code regarding the use of public parks at Monday night's meeting.
“We really wanted something to be able to say that if there was some type of activity occurring after closing hours, that would give our authorities the ability to then say, 'Hey, parks are closed. It's time to move on,'” Gerald Garner said, adding the council’s aim to deter unauthorized overnight camping in city parks. “You don't want this urban camping problem to arise.”
The amendment to the ordinance addresses a possible public safety risk.
“You just don't want anybody to become victims unnecessarily,” Garner said. “After talking with [Police Chief Jaye Loggins], I think we'll find that this will give them the ability to make sure that the policing part of it is all in line.”
The amendment to the ordinance also considers possible overnight activities by area Scout troops.
“As long as it is a city pre-approved event or activity, then the park can stay open beyond those hours,” Garner said. “But it has to be something that's pre-approved.”
Closing time for city parks is 30 minutes after sunset. Improvements to Jemison Park have brought a “dramatic” increase in the number of people using that public space.
“When you have that increased traffic, you have the potential increase for not-good things, for bad stuff to happen,” Garner said. “That's why we said, ‘Okay, let's clean it up.’ A lot of other cities around don't have these things. Now we know that we've got it [the ordinance] there for the safety.
“Nothing good happens in a park after dark,” the councilman said. “We're just trying to make sure that we have the tools available in the event something does [happen]. We can say, 'Hey. Listen, this is not where you need to be right now.'”
In other action, the council:
- Approved a change order for the North Woodridge Road sidewalk project.
- Reappointed David Murdock and Kitty Rogers Brown to the Editorial Board.
- Approved drainage and pipe replacement on River View Circle.
- Authorized the payment to the City of Mountain Brook Section 115 (retiree medical insurance) Trust from the general fund.
- Executed an intergovernmental agreement with Jefferson County for the electronic collection event at the Birmingham Zoo.
- Ratified Change Order No. 1 and Change Orders Nos. 2-5 for the Mountain Brook Fire Station No. 2 project.
- Approved execution of a license agreement with Birmingham Levite Jewish Community Center for the city’s use of the outdoor recreation field and gymnasium. That action was subject to minor changes.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, resident Matt Rich told council members that he thought that traffic concerns on Winthrop Avenue were handled differently than what’s being done on Halbrook Lane. The council assured him that no permanent action has been taken. Various alternatives to deter cut-through traffic – including the installation of speed humps and chicanes – will be tried and assessed before permanent action is taken.
“I was pleased to hear Councilmember [Billy] Pritchard say this is not a closed issue. They are going to be reopening it,” Rich said. “I was pleased to hear that closing the road does not mean vacating; that's the other one. And I was pleased to hear from all of the council members that this is still a temporary issue, and that the speed humps, chicanes, and no-through traffic [signage] could possibly be taken up down the road.”
Rich said he was still not fully pleased that, in his opinion, a true public hearing was never held for the Halbrook cut-through issue.
“I think council could do themselves well to reopen this to give that hearing once again,” he said.
A public hearing concerning a request to rezone a parcel of land from local business district to Planned Unit Development is set for 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 6. The regularly scheduled meeting of the Mountain Brook City Council is at 7 p.m. on Aug. 12.
