By Nathan Prewett, For the Tribune
LEEDS – The Leeds City Council voted unanimously during a brief meeting at City Hall to approve an appropriation of $500,000 to the Leeds school district for its upcoming project to upgrade the athletic facilities at the middle school.
The vote comes several months after the council rejected a proposal from Superintendent John Moore for a $2 million allocation. Leeds Mayor David Miller and others cited concerns about future expenses due to city employee pay and inflation, as well as the desire to see that amount go to a civic center.
But recently the district received $1,000,500 from the Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth’s capital grant program, with an additional $500,000 from the Jefferson County Commission, which Moore accepted during a meeting on Dec. 11.
As explained before, the Leeds Board of Education intends a makeover of the concession stand, the field house and the restrooms. The board will address a drainage issue on campus and will make improvements to the existing Jerry Oxford Gym among others.
“Most of you weren’t born when I graduated from the city’s high school,” Miller said to amused laugher. “But there’s been an awful lot of good things happening. We’ve got essentially three new schools and one completely renovated school. And this is a worthy project in my estimation.”
Additionally, the council passed a resolution to allow the Alabama Department of Transportation or ALDOT to perform surface treatment improvements on Alabama Highway 25/U.S. 411. Miller said that the project would not come at a cost to the city.
“This is not something we have to pay for but by law we do have to approve that,” Miller said.
The time frame for the surfacing is the first quarter of February 2024. Other details and maps can be found on the agenda section of the city’s website.
During reports from department heads, Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin said that some “substantial” arrests were made recently, particularly with the arrest of a suspect illegally possessing a fully automatic gun, as well as fentanyl.
Fire Chief Chuck Parsons said that Santa will make the rounds on a ladder truck throughout neighborhoods this week. Updates may be seen on the department’s Facebook page.
Senior Center Director Audrey Bryan said that Leeds Primary School music teacher Jeff Kirbow was at the center last week with 64 first grade students to perform Christmas music for the seniors.
In other business, the council:
- Adopted and ratified the November city expenditures and payables.
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.