By Nathan Prewett, For the Tribune
PINSON – The Pinson City Council approved an agreement with Ruffner Mountain at a meeting on Thursday, March 16, to retain the site manager for Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, taking over for Birmingham Southern.
Ruffner Mountain Executive Director Carlee Sanford and Turkey Creek Nature Preserve manager Charles Yeager speak to the Pinson City Council on Thursday, March 16. (Photo by Nathan Prewett)
Mayor Pro-tem Robbie Roberts stood in for Mayor Joe Cochran as he was reportedly feeling unwell.
Turkey Creek Manager Charles Yeager was present with Ruffner Mountain Executive Director Carlee Sandford.
“It’s certainly bittersweet,” Yeager said. “Birmingham Southern has put in many, many years of hard work to make this work. And we would definitely not be where we are without all of the contributions that Birmingham Southern’s made. They’ve been incredibly supportive in this transition throughout and it’s kind of sad to have to leave Birmingham Southern at this point but it’s going to be very good for Turkey Creek.”
The agreement has the city contributing $20,000 per year to the preserve, just as they did when Birmingham Southern College was involved. The college is currently facing financial troubles and risks closure, which has prompted the switch in management.
“This actually is something that we started working on about two years ago,” Sanford said. “This is a piece of bigger picture. And myself, the role from Birmingham Southern and the director at Red Mountain have been working on a solution because currently in Jefferson County, the county does not provide any funding to any of the regional green spaces. And those are the three largest green spaces.
“So, we have moved along. We’ve gotten a long way since then. They have committed money that will be released when we finish fundraising the full amount, and all these funds are going to go to help support operations, improve staffing, security, facility maintenance.”
During council reports, Councilwoman Glenda Kirkland announced that City Fest is slated for April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Bicentennial Park. She asked anyone with a food truck or knows of someone with a food truck to contact City Hall if they are interested in participating.
She also announced that this year, Veterans Day will be celebrated at the Rock School on Nov. 10, from 11 to 1 p.m., and the Christmas Parade is set for Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. If there is rain that day, it will be held on Dec. 7.
It was also announced that the Shred-A-Thon event will be held on March 25, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., for anyone looking to get rid of old documents and other kinds of paper.
During public comments, Shunte Jordan, who is a fitness teacher who teaches Pilates at Rock School, spoke and asked about the future of fitness programs at the school. She proposed a senior class and, after discussion, the council agreed to take this up at a future meeting.
In other business, the council:
- Renewed the contract with Avenu Insights for business license discovery/renewal,
- Approved and agreement with BridgePay to facilitate credit card payments and
- Approved giving $250 to Pinson Elementary School for Math and Science Night on March 23.
Pinson City Council meets on the first and third Thursdays of every month at City Hall on 4410 Main Street. Live-streamed meetings can be seen on the city’s Facebook page.
Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com.
