Nathan Prewett, For the Tribune
LEEDS – At a regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 21, the Leeds City Council adopted a transportation plan pursuant to the Rebuild Alabama Act, which allowed them to allocate funds to be used for a project on Highway 78.
The meeting began with an announcement from Mayor David Miller on the recent paving projects in downtown Leeds.
“It’s very fortunate that we had a very good paving company and they did an excellent job,” he complimented. “There’s still some little things to touch up, but major improvements in several of our areas that have been neglected for quite a number of years.”
He said that the city spends approximately $1 million per year on paving projects and this year’s estimated cost came to $1.6 million. He invited the public to let the city know of any road issues that need to be addressed.
“If you’ve got a pothole let us know,” he said. “We don’t see everything every day, so if you see something that we haven’t seen yet, let us know and we’ll try to get it fixed.”
Later in the meeting, the council voted unanimously to adopt the transportation plan. The resolution allows the city to access $158,000 from the Rebuild Alabama Act before a deadline of Aug. 31, to be used for infrastructure and transportation projects.
The money will be used for a widening project at Highway 78, Miller said.
“This will be an ongoing program,” he said. “And we expect the amounts that will be available to probably increase as years go by.”
The project is currently in its design phase and will be followed by the start of construction in 2024. It is expected to be completed in 2025.
Additionally, the council switched banks during the meeting. The city had previously used Cadence Bank until their Leeds location recently closed, prompting the council to relocate the city funds to ServisFirst Bank.
In other business, the council:
- Declared a property at Cahaba Crossing to be a public nuisance,
- Declared a property at Whitmire Street to be unsafe, and
- Allowed a 30-day extension for owners of a property on Kent Avenue to continue improvements.
Meetings are held on the first and third Mondays of every month at City Hall on 1400 9th Street Northeast. Agenda packets can be seen online at the City of Leeds website.
Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com.