By Nathan Prewett
For the Tribune
CENTER POINT – A considerable amount of Thursday’s meeting of the Center Point City Council was spent hearing from speakers who made proposals for the council to consider for its next meeting.
The council passed a resolution to authorize the acquisition of property for the Polly Reed project for ,300. The Polly Reed project is part of an ongoing effort to improve the roads in that area of the city. The vote was unanimous.
During public comments, Center Point resident Billy Hagood asked about the senior center budget regarding a new bathroom that was added to meet federal regulations. Council President Roger Barlow said a new budget on the project included increased cost of about 0,000.
Center Point resident Joyce Ashley asked how to add a road to a list of roads to be paved. Barlow said that such requests can be taken to Mayor Tom Henderson.
The council heard from two other speakers. The first was from Hal Cain of Business Alabama, who asked the council to consider advertising in the publication’s October issue. He said that such ad ad could draw business to the area because Jefferson County will be spotlighted in the issue.
Recently, the council has been making efforts to draw more businesses to the city. During the meeting, Barlow said that he has heard from Retail Coach, which reported that a list has been drawn up with potential businesses to which the council may appeal. He said three “upscale casual restaurants” have been added to the list.
The next speaker was Wytangi Peak-Finney a planning manager from Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority who said she had met with Henderson about the possibility of adding Saturday services for bus transportation in the city.
She mentioned that the transit authority has been using Automatic Direction Finder systems that can track buses and their routes. She said that the system can tell if a bus is stopped for too long. Barlow and Councilor Linda Kennemur noted two incidents where they found buses parked without drivers on the roads. The cost of adding Saturday hours to the current service hours would be ,990.
The council will consider the proposals of both speakers.
Henderson reported on crime statistics for the week of Aug. 12 to 18 in Center Point and the surrounding area during his comments. There were two residential burglaries, neither of which were in Center Point. There was one business break in not in Center Point. Two car break ins were reported, one being in Center Point. Six vehicle thefts occurred, one in Center Point. Two robberies were reported in Center Point.
A public hearing will be held at the next meeting for a zoning request of 117 21st Ave NE. The hearing has been set for 6:30 p.m.
The next Center Point City Council meeting will be Sept. 14. Following the public hearing, the pre-council will be held at 6:45 p.m. with regular meeting at 7 p.m.