City Council votes to fund on-demand transit pilot program
The Birmingham City Council, at its regular meeting for Tuesday, Sept. 24, voted to make use of a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham (CFGB) to fund a new microtransit pilot program in the city.
Members also voted to approve a contract for the Shotspotter program, approve a management contract for the city-owned Carver Theatre downtown and provide additional money to complete the build-out for a restaurant at the Negro Southern League Museum in Parkside.
The Council voted to accept the grant money from the CFGB and also to enter into an agreement with River North Transit LLC, the company that will operate the pilot program, for a term of six months for $752,000. Along with the grant money, the city will provide $250,000 from the city’s 2019-2020 budget.
Transit is no longer just about buses, according to Mayor Randall Woodfin. “We want to add additional tools in the tool box,” he told the Council. Woodfin described the service as being similar to Uber and Lyft but that users would not necessarily need smartphones to access it. For example, seniors could call from their landlines.
About 80 other cities, are using on-demand transit, according to the Mayor. “This does not take away from our MAX system,” he said.
The measure passed 7-2, with councilors Clinton Woods and Steven Hoyt voting no.
The Council also voted to approve an annual subscription services agreement with ShotSpotter Inc. to cover the installation and hosting of the ShotSpotter Gunshot Detection, Location and Forensic Analysis Service in the city for a three-year period. The city is to spend no more than $2,624,505, with costs of about $796,000 for the first year, about $911,000 for the second year and about $918,000 for year three.
The Council approved a funding agreement with the Public Athletic, Cultural and Entertainment (PACE) Facilities Board under which the city will provide an additional sum of about $290,000 to make additional repairs to the Negro Southern League Museum to complete the build-out of a restaurant. The eatery is leasing the space from the PACE Board. The money is to come from money put aside for capital improvements at the museum.
As part of its consent agenda, members approved a management agreement with the Jazz Hall of Fame of Alabama under which the nonprofit will operate the Carver Theatre or a term of three years — until June 30, 2022 — for $175,000 per year. However, this will be subject to an annual appropriation by the city in each corresponding fiscal year budget.
Also on consent, the Council authorized the mayor’s office to accept $300,871 from the U.S. Department of Justice 2019 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant for use by the Birmingham Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. According to the text of the agenda item, the BPD will retain about $240,000 of the money for use for technology upgrades, including mobile data technology. The County will receive $60,000. The city is not required to submit any matching funds for the grant.
Other business
Representatives from Attic Plus Storage of Birmingham asked to be granted an exemption from the city’s current moratorium on self-storage facilities. They wish to add some units at their existing locations at 4748 Cahaba River Road and 2141 Carson Road, and they seek to build a new storage facility at 2115 Richard Arrington Blvd. near Vulcan Park and Museum. The company has already purchased the property on Arrington Blvd., according to co-owner Frank Davis. If they are not allowed to finish the project, “We would be out of pocket by $1 million,” Davis told the Council. After a pair of motions, by Councilor Clinton Woods, members voted to approve the addition of units at the existing locations but delay consideration of the new facility on Arrington for 30 days.