By Nathan Prewett, For the Tribune
MOODY – On Monday, Feb. 12 the Moody City Council heard a rezoning request for two parcels of land located off of Moody Parkway, with some from the public raising concerns about potential water and traffic issues.
The council heard reports from department heads for the month of January. Police Chief Reece Smith reported 1,063 calls, 72 traffic accidents, 177 citations, 94 reports written, 59 misdemeanor cases, 19 felonies, four juvenile cases, and $8,107.97 was spent on vehicle maintenance.
Fire Chief Larry Horton reported nine fires (three residential, one vehicle, five woods, grass or rubbish), 82 emergency medical calls, nine vehicle wrecks, 13 public services, 18 lift assists, 40 false alarms, and mutual aid was given twice. There were 21 annual inspections, two re-inspections and one fire pump inspection.
Afterwards the council opened the floor to a public hearing and developer Charles Kessler spoke.
The request was for the rezoning of one parcel of land (4.58 acres) from AG-1 to B-3 and another parcel (22.37 acres) from AG-1 to R-2. The area would contain 42 homes that are required to be 30% masonry or brick and, R-1 sized (1,600 feet) and be of a certain architectural style presented in an exhibit.
Kessler presented the council with the exhibit, saying that an engineer drew up plans to control traffic flow.
A resident, Joe LeBlanc, said that he lives three parcels away from the area and that water has backed up from the Cahaba River ever since trucks began traveling the roads there. He believed that the trucks may be causing the overflow.
“If that’s any indication of what we have to come then I would vote ‘no’,” he said. “Don’t go with this right now. Not until we get some drainage situations cleared up. We can’t even get this approved yet before we’ve already got problems.”
Several others voiced similar concerns. Kessler clarified that the trucks were not related to the parcels for the proposed project but rather were for other construction nearby. He was unsure if the trucks caused the issues but said that it would be addressed.
“If it is, I assure you we will fix it,” he said. “And I think that their water problems will be greatly reduced. I’m not saying that it’s going to stop it; you’re still going to have rainfall.”
Another resident, Janet Mann, asked if what she said was already congested traffic would worsen due to construction there. Kessler said that a study is being performed of the traffic and that a right and left hand turn lane would be included in the plans to alleviate any overflow, as well as a traffic light that the city will install.
After some discussion the public hearing was closed and Mayor Joe Lee said that the matter will be considered at the March 11 meeting.
The council then heard from Tanya Sloan, treasurer of the Moody High School Golf Boosters, who asked the council for a donation of $300 for upcoming tournaments and was granted $500 from the discretionary funds.
In other business the council:
- Renewed the police department’s annual contract to Axon for Body Cameras for $24,352,
- Renewed the police department’s annual contract to LEADS online investigation system for $2,714,
- Approved Smith’s request of an annual calibration and general repair of vehicle radar systems for a cost not to exceed $1,200,
- Renewed the public library’s subscription to Atrium for $2,285,
- Approved a request from Public Works Director Steve Mitchell to purchase 30 tons of asphalt for patching roads for $2,900,
- Approved Mitchell’s request to advertise for and replace a Public Works worker,
- Approved Horton’s request to purchase stations supplies for $1,500,
- Approved sending Fire Captain Chris Hall to the FDIC Conference in Indianapolis for a cost not to exceed $1,000,
- Approved Horton’s request to have the annual service done on Truck-4 for $2,450,
- Approved Horton’s request to replace three computers for $3,500,
- Approved Horton’s request to update the reporting capabilities of an apparatus for $19,000,
- Approved Parks and Recreation Director Mike Staggs’ request to continue advertising open front desk and janitorial positions at the Civic Center through March 1 2025,
- Approved Lee’s request to purchase and repair city hall outside building lights for a cost not to exceed $3,000,
- Approved renting a dozer to clear a property belonging to the city for $5077.73 and
- Heard from James McGowan, who is running for St. Clair County Commission, place 3.
Meetings are held on the second and fourth Monday of every month at 6 p.m. at Moody City Hall on 670 Park Ave.
Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com.