Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, team Winsow, Nick, Paul. I know we got got carried away. We got carried away. Oh, it's at the very beginning and I will call her name out and then you can if you want to make you Okay, ready? Nick. Okay. What's up? No, you don't have to do that. Yeah, I don't Yeah, you have to do that. You don't have to do that. All right, everybody. We ready? Okay, Brian. Okay, everybody. Thank you and welcome to tonight's council meeting uh April 13th at six o'clock. I will call this meeting to order and we are going to begin with an invitation from Robbie Patel. Uh, and then we will um have the pledge of allegiance and then we're going to have a presentation from Ravi and his friends. So, y'all will come on up.

So, this is uh Agna Patel and John Patel. They're uh college students at UAB. One is a biomedical student, one is a nursing student. They will be doing the invocation and the presentation. Thank you so much. Good evening and namaste everyone. My name is Jankei and this is Agna. Thank you all for allowing us to pray in the invocation today on behalf of BPSG Sharma Hindu Temple and my gurus Maraj and Mahansami Maraj. Today we'll be reciting an ancient Hindu prayer for peace and prosperity. Agna will begin by saying the prayer in Sanskrit and I will then say the prayer in English after. Let us bow our heads and recite a sacred prayer for peace. Shanti Shanti Shanti Shanti Shanti Shanti. May the heavens, space, and sky be peaceful. May the earth and waters be peaceful. May the herbs, plants, and trees be peaceful. May the forces of nature be peaceful. May God bring us peace. May everybody be at peace. We pray for peace and only peace. May we realize that peace. Finally, we pray to God that we continue to inspire and lead the organizers, speakers, attendees, and volunteers gathered at this assembly today in guiding the world not just to exist, but to coexist, leading us to progress, not just at the cost of others, but sacrifice a part of ourselves for the good of others. We

pray that we realize that in the joy of others lies our own. Thank you. the flag to the flag of the stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty andice for all.

Good evening, council members. On behalf of our community, thank you for the opportunity to be with you tonight. Slide. BAPS. The basani is a global Hindu socio spiritual organization is dedicated to promoting faith, service and harmony in communities around the world. For thousands of years, Hindu thought has carried one enduring truth that we are all connected and that is our greatest joy. And our greatest joy is found in serving others. As the ancient texts say, may all be happy, may all be healthy, may there be no suffering. BAPS brings together people through three key pillars. First is culture which is seen through festivities, dance and education. Second is architecture through beautiful mandr or temples that preserve tradition and service through selfless volunteerism and outreach. These pillars help by build stronger more connected communities. BAPS was founded in 1907 in Buljasan, India by Sasi Gi Maharaj based on the teachings of Bhagwan Sarn. In 1974, it expanded to North America under the guidance of Brahma Swami Mahajaj. In 2023, the Robinsville opened becoming the largest Hindu temple outside of India. And now in 2026, we look forward to opening a new temple right here in the greater Birmingham area. Slide please. BAPS has had a meaningful presence in Birmingham for decades. In 1997, Bramuka visited Alabama and was honored by receiving the key to the city. In 2000, BAPS established its first center in the southeast here in Birmingham. In 2020, the city of Hoover approved RIDevelopment for our future Mandr site. This journey reflects a growing partnership with our local community. Our new Mandarin Hoover represents more

than just a building. It will serve as a place of worship, learning, service, and community connection for generations to come. Slide, please. Over the next five over the past five years, more than 32,000 volunteer hours have gone into this project. From demolition to construction to cleaning, every effort has been driven by dedication, faith, unity, and a spirit of service. Along the way, BAPS has continually brought people together through events like Ram Swami Manage's centennial celebration in 2022, Hindu de Milan, which is a vibrant musical performance in 2024, and our annual Diwali festivals. These events foster connection, culture, and shared experiences. Service extends into health and wellness initiatives as well, including annual health fairs, blood drives, disaster relief efforts, and health awareness conferences. These programs aim to uplift and support the broader community. BPS proudly partners with local and national organizations such as Susan G. Kman, the United Cable Policy of East Alabama, and Ronald McDonald House. Through collaborative partnerships and dedicated public service, we strive to work together to build a more resilient and supportive community. At the heart of everything we do is one guiding principle. In the joy of others lies our own. This belief inspires all acts of service within BAPS. We know that you as city council understand this spirit of service because you practice it every day. Like you, we did not do this alone. We are deeply grateful to our state and local officials, utility providers, contractors, and every neighbor who offered advice, encouragement, and a helping hand. And so with great joy and deep gratitude, we warmly welcome you, our neighbors, to be a part of this journey into the opening of our new Mon from May

22nd to May 24th. Together, we can continue to build a stronger, more compassionate community. Thank you. And we have next to you, we have a little gift bag and in there is a print out of our invitation card and we have some traditional Indian sweets. It's like a tradition for us to share sweets with each other. Um, so hopefully you guys can enjoy. Thank you guys so much. Thank youall so much. Thank you so much. Great job. Really, really great job. So great to have you here. All right. All right. Well, moving on into the meeting. Uh, Mr. Seagris, if you will do a roll call. Yes, ma'am. Please. Councelor Simmons here. Councelor Sims here. Councelor Lane

here. Councelor Armstead here. Mayor Anderson here. We have a full house and first time in three weeks that we've all been together. Um, okay. Let's see. I will begin. Let's take care of dispensing of the reading of the minutes and approving them from our March 23 uh meeting if anyone wants to make a motion for that. Motion to approve. Second. I have a motion from councelor Armstead with a second from councelor Simmons. All those in favor? I. Any opposed?

And that passes five to zero. All right, y'all. um board vacancies. Um we have an open ward 2 arts council uh that is open until May the 18th. So please send your um resume or cover letter to and cover letter to Mr. Seagris if you're interested in that and you live in W 2. Um right now we will be meeting again um on Wednesday and Thursday for interviews for the board of education. Those have been scheduled so looking forward to those. Um, we have a ward 2 HC position that closed tonight. I need to reopen that until May the 18th. Um, we did not receive any applicants for that. So, if you will send your cover letter and resume to Mr. Seagris if you are interested in that. Um, we do have an appointment that we will make for the beautifification board from Ward 4 and that is going to be Leah Williams Hooker. Um and so uh would someone like to make a motion to appoint Leah um Williams Hooker to the um beautifification board?

Motion to approve. Leah second. All right. I have a motion from councelor Lane with a second from councelor Sims. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? All right. And that passes five to zero. So Leah, we look forward to having you join one of our city boards. Um, we have one addition from our pre-consil agenda, and that is going to be 100426, a request for consideration for the Hollywood Garden Club Block Party event on April the 18th, brought to us from Mr. Seagris. Um, with that addition, uh, I would entertain an appro, uh, a motion to approve the amended agenda for tonight. Motion to approve amended agenda.

Second. I have a motion from councelor Armstead with a second from councelor Simmons. All those in favor? I.

Any opposed? And that amended agenda passes with a vote of 5 to zero. All right. So we will uh open up with our old business agenda. Um we'll start with 080326. Public hearing set for April 27th at 6 for declaring property at 2011 Dale Avenue nuisance due to a dead tree brought just from Mr. Cook. Uh we are going to carry that over until our next meeting which is April the 27th. Next item on the old business agenda is 120326 a request for consideration to permit a landscaping bed to extend into the city rideway adjacent to 3200 Whiteall Road brought to us from Mr. Pew. And any further discussion on that item and if not I'll entertain a motion to approve.

To approve a motion from councelor Lane. Is there a second? I'll second that. All right. With a second from councelor Armstead. All those in favor.

I. Any opposed? All right, that passes five to zero. And that becomes resolution 2634. All right, next item. I mean, this feels like it was just like two months ago. So, I'm like, this we have not been together in so long. All right, next item. 140326. Request to declare miscellaneous vehicles and items surplus brought to us from our fleet maintenance and Blake Graves, our department head there. We have already had the first reading at our last meeting and so with that I would entertain a motion for approval. No, we did not.

We did not. Thank you. Sorry. I told you it's been so long I can't remember that. Okay, never mind. Um, can we have a first reading, please, Mr. Jackson? Yes, ma'am. Sorry.

It's an ordinance to declare certain property a surplus. Section one. It is hereby established and declared that the following described personal property of the city of Homewood, Alabama is no longer needed for the public or municipal purposes and is therefore declared surplus property to wit miscellaneous items defi identified in exhibit A. I'm not reading lots of lots of parts. Okay. All right. So, we will carry this over again until our meeting on the 27th to complete that. So, thank you, Mr. Jackson. Okay.

Mayor, you can. Um, historically, this council's been passing these by unanimous consent on the night introduced, but that is up to you guys. Okay. Would anyone like to make a motion for unanimous consent? I'll motion for unanimous consent. Okay. Second. All right. I have a motion for unanimous consent from councelor Armstead with a second from councelor Simmons. Can we have a roll call vote, please? Mr. Seagris. Yes, ma'am. Councelor Simmons? Yes. Councelor Sims? Yes. Councelor Lane? Yes. Councelor Armstead? Yes. Mayor Anderson? Yes. And with that, is there a motion for approval uh to declare these items in surplus? A motion to approve. I'll second. All right. I have that. A motion from councelor Armstead with a second from councelor Simmons. Roll call vote, please. Mr. Yes, ma'am. Councelor Simmons,

yes. Councelor Sims, yes. Councelor Lane, yes. Councelor Armstead, yes. Mayor Anders, yes. So, that passes 5 to zero and that becomes ordinance number 2975. See, that's what happens when I don't like read through every point with y'all in the premeating because we just busted through. We had so much on the pre-consil agenda that was on me. I apologize. I just wanted to make your agenda in two weeks a little bit light.

Thank you. Okay. Okay. So, Okay. So, um the next item is 120426 and we had a staff member that was out of on vacation and so um uh she sent the vouchers but the vouchers did not make it to the council until this afternoon. Um, we do have some emergency items that are going to need to be paid. And so, um, JJ, thank you so much for handling that. He's spoken with Kelly. She's gonna have a list of those items for us to access with Kelly in the morning. Is that right? And so, we can make a someone can offer a motion tonight to approve pending our if there are any questions. Do I have that right?

Okay. Just the emergency list. And so apparently we've done this before. Okay. Uh first, we apologize for not getting them to you before 3 o'clock this afternoon. That's totally on us. Secondly, it's probably going to be a list of about 5 to 10 payments that have to happen. Um since the last time council met was three weeks ago, we have some payments that are nearing overdue and can't wait for two more weeks. U so that would be things like Amazon etc institute some of our construction projects a catering company so what what Kelly will do we'll send that list tomorrow and if there's no objection then we'll pay those items only and then the others will be carried over

okay is that fair when do you emailing. She will. So, we will approve tonight pending. I'm looking at my attorneys now. We will we will um if if this resolution passes tonight, it will be pending it that that there are no questions that there are no objections after after looking at the emergency list of expenditures. Do I have that right? You do have that right. If you have objections, you will need to convene a special meeting.

Okay. From that aspect, um since we are going to all be together for school board interviews um possibly the scheduling of that on Thursday, councilor Armstead will not be here Wednesday. So it would need to be Thursday because in addition to you know the full consideration and review I don't This item is for through April 13th. And the transactions I've seen so far are only through April 6th. So I think we need that additional week of transactions as well. Are you comfortable with that? Plenty of time for notice. What what I would submit tonight is pass a resolution approving them subject to review.

If there's not approval, we'll deal with it with a special meeting. Okay. So So then yes, go. So don't schedule a special meeting for Thursday. Not yet. Okay. Not yet. Unless we unless unless we have objection. So So again, we're back to the emergency items, right? Correct. So we're back to the emergency items. So if there's no objection, the the resolution should state or the motion should state if there's no objection, these will be paid. If there are objections, we'll reconvene and meet. You can do it with emergency or all of them. That is up to the council. I'd say the emergency. I'd say let's do the emergency. So does that make sense? I'm not sure because she'll have a list of what has to be what has to be paid and what exactly? Yeah.

So if there's an objection just just to clarify if there's an objection just for one of the items can the rest go ahead be passed or no make that motion. That is a very good question counselor. I would I would uh I would I would I would lean to no and and have the meeting. You only need to give 24 hours notice. There will be a lot of delay. make it easy. But I think your vote tonight is to pass all of to approve all of them. All of them. So if there's one that falls out, then the resolution's nullified. Okay. Do I have a motion for that? What he just said? So moved a motion to um approve all um pending no concerns.

Second.

Okay. So I have a motion from councelor Sims with a second from councelor Simmons. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? All right. That passes five to zero and that becomes resolution 2635. Okay, thanks for working through that with us you guys. Okay, um our last item. Wow, that was complicated and now that we're at the end. Okay, 100426, a request for consideration for the Hollywood Garden Club Block Party event on April the 18th of 2026 brought to us from Mr. Seagris. We heard from EA Montgomery, president of the Hollywood Garden Club. um earlier at our pre-consil meeting and we need to go ahead and pass this tonight uh or make a motion or take action on this tonight pending their party on the 18th which is Saturday.

See a motion to approve, right? Yep. Second. Motion to approve. All right. Have a motion from councelor Armstead and a second from councelor Lane. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? All right. That passes five to zero and that becomes resolution 2636. All right, we are that was that was kind of like strange pacing. This is like we haven't met for three weeks and then then we had a very complicated and now we're over. Okay, so with that, we start over there in ward one. What's going on, Councelor Simmons?

I don't have much. I I I just enjoyed the uh my break uh spring break with my family. we went out to Asheville, North Carolina and had an opportunity to just take it easy. Um, as far as things happening in Ward One, um, I still want to, um, I can't call it a shout out, but just know that, you know, the city of Homewood is still thinking about Kyrie Hicks, the young man that passed away um, a while back. Um I got a card from his mom um just thanking the city for uh their their love and support u during that time frame. We have to always remember, you know, although you've got individuals that have lost loved ones, you know, the grieving happens later. Um and that's when those individuals need you the most. So, you know, just a reminder if you see Miss Hicks out, just tell her that you love her and that you care for her and that we're there for um and I appreciate what the city has done for them and and it's it's been amazing. Um, but that's all I've got. Um, I do want to shout out the West Homewood Neighborhood Association. Um, I think this was their 10th year to do a cleanup, a spring cleanup uh deal where they'll they'll figure out a place to go and and and pick up trash and all those things. That's very vital and important. I wasn't able to do it. Um, but I appreciate those individuals that did go out and um and do some service work. Always remember that we're better at serving others than we are ourselves. Thank you.

Thank you. All right, Mr. Sims.

Uh, yes. I'd like to I'm sure there there's been a lot of events going on, so I just want to focus my comments on a couple of them. One of which is the Edgewood Spring Festival, which was this past Saturday. um is a fantastic event with you know great weather and a lot of funds raised for our students. So appreciate the you know the entire school administration faculty who participated. Um I had the opportunity to volunteer at the dunk tank and watch a lot of students um get to you know dunk their their teachers and their administration down into the water. So at least it wasn't a cold day because there was a lot of dunking going on. Um, but thanks to all the sponsors and the families who participated in that event. It was really great. And then also just want to remind everyone that in two weeks the library foundation block part is happening on April 25th. Um, so please go out. It's always a fantastic event with like all-in pricing. You uh go, you get your wristband and then you know tons of activities for the kids and also food and drink for the entire family. It's really fun event. So, if you haven't been before, highly recommend going this year. Thanks.

All right, councelor Lane. Yes, I'd like to um thank everybody for the uh yacht rock concert was a very successful Saturday here in Homewood. And if anybody missed it, shame on y'all. Y'all missed a good time. The music was great. Jack Symphony group, little group, that was part of their group right there. They were fabulous. Fantastic. Fabulous. And I I want to thank uh also reach out to Dimmitri's Barbecue for fix fixing a parking situation we had here and that they've come and so worked out a nice little deal for the future where we can use our parking until Sunday morning.

Nice. That is nice.

Uh also want to thank City of Homewood hard work they've done on 18th Street. They are doing an amazing job. Thank you. That was It'll be done in about two days. I think I talked to Randy and he said it's going to be about two days and the stripes will be done. 18 Street's going to be really jam up doing a great job. They've also reached out Kale has done a marvelous job as far as communicating with the city is uh trees for instance that are down on the sidewalks there in front of Oh, Henry's where there was holes. I mean, we they they had a issue. They fixed it within I mean, less than 24 hours. They did a great great job on that and other things they were doing. And if anybody knows if you need it, if you have an issue, anything, you reach out. This guy over here.

Well, there there's a portal for that. Yeah, exactly. Have you put Did you tell them to put it in the portal? How many times a day do I hear that? I always send them to Kale. Shame on me, I guess. But anyway, no. Uh, and look forward to the centennial May 2nd and it's right around the corner. So, thank y'all. All right, Councelor Armstead.

Uh, I know that uh EA came and talked to us uh pre-consil. Uh, I did want to uh plug, I guess, uh, real quick, the uh, historic Hollywood tour of homes. Uh, I know we have the block party on 4:18 and then also uh the tour of homes on 419 u between 1 and 4 pm u to get tickets just go to hollywood garden clubbeam.com I know Brian's got on the screen uh now but for historic homes uh be a great event I think everybody's excited about it and uh just wanted to make sure that we continue to talk about it ahead of it this weekend.

Yes. All righty. Um, so so much going on. So much going on. Um, first of all, I do want to go back to Yacht Rock because that you guys for real like I didn't go last year and kind of kind of like you said like oh dang, I really regretted that and we went this year and had a ball. So um, Arts Council did a fabulous job. There were 700 people there. 700 people there. So it was just so well done. And um, I have gotten multiple comments and I did that night too. You probably did too to say I was there. Yeah. to say, um, we got to do this once a month. I was like, okay, that sounds like fun. Let's do it. I mean, I agree. It was super fun. Um, so just again, Arts Council, thank you so much. Y'all did such a great job. Um, so tomorrow morning there is there are many things going on. Coffee with a cop is tomorrow at the Valley Hotel from 8 to 9. Um, you know, definitely our our um Homewood Police Foundation is putting that on. Go support that. I am going to Homewood uh to West Homewood to the tennis courts. Mayor Smith and I are going the girls have their sectionals and um getting ready for state and it's probably going to be Mount Brook and Homewood. It's not going to be Mount Brook. It's probably going to be Mount Brook and Homewood. So, Mayor Smith and I are going to go and cheer the girls on tomorrow morning at 8. So, and then I have a meeting at Bait Al Kuawa at 9. So, I will be there at 9 o'clock. So, I will see you there with my uh pen taking notes. So, I want to thank a couple my friends that came in earlier this evening. Um, so let's see. Okay, so you mentioned the block party. Um, that isn't always an amazing time. City Hall right now is lit up blue for Parkinson's awareness. Uh, and so JJ communicated with uh the gentleman that um is with that organization today and I appreciate that. Um, okay. So, Councelor Sims and I went to the Centennial Committee meeting last week. Y'all, there's so much going on. Like, it starts on We Love Home with Day, but it goes on and on and on and on

and on. I mean, we have so much going on. We have art shows. We have um book fair or the um the author night at West at the library. We have um a film festival. We have a gayla. We have a picnic. We have what else? What am I forgetting? One of the uh what did you say? What did you just say? Garden. Sen's Garden is having a gayla. Yep. Yep. they will be announcing that. Yep.

Yes. I I was just going to add in addition to the um events ongoing throughout the summer that the October time frame is really where there's you know a three-day stretch of events that includes the event at Sims Garden, some events at city hall, and then uh you know like a picnic in the park type event at Central Park. Um so hold the date for those. Brian is currently showing a special page on the city's website that highlights um where some of those key dates as well as where you can go to find updates throughout the year as more is confirmed.

Yeah. And there's the time capsule right there in the corner. We're gonna have a time capsule. I met with Dr. Heer last week and so the schools are going to do some programming directly around. We're going to have a night at the football game. We do get some space on their um scoreboard. Yep. So, it's like, and the great thing about it is that anything anyone comes up with, we're like, "Yep, let's do it." So, we keep adding things and people keep agreeing to it. And so, it's just going to be a big time starting May 2nd. So, looking forward to that. Um, we will reconvene in this space on April the 27th. And so, go ahead. Yep. C, you brought up uh after the concert, my wife and I, we took off and went to the coffee shop over on Greensberry.

We love that coffee shop. so much. I want to say it was fabulous. Great. It is the best. You know, we love it. I mean, she loved it. So, I'm just kudos. My friend put out a video on Tik Tok t eating the fruit fruit pastries and she and her daughter went and so she said, "This is the viral fruit." And they put a big video up and so anyway, we're packed. Yep. I know. 8:30. It was packed. That

was amazing. Nick and I will be there in the morning at 9:00. So, okay. Without that, with no further business, we will Oh, so uh police and fire play softball against each other on Sunday at noon. First pitch is at noon. Don't forget that either. All right. Thank you, my friends.