Council - Regular Meeting

0:06 – 0:34•JAJennifer Andress

You run in the area. Okay, thank you, everybody. And welcome to the City Council meeting for September 28 2026. Before we call this meeting to order, we are going to begin with a presentation of a proclamation for GYN Cancer Awareness Month. So I will meet you at the podium.

0:52 – 2:54•JAJennifer Andress

So this is a proclamation for Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month for September 2026. Whereas gynecologic cancers affect thousands of women each year in the United States, and these diseases can have a profound and lasting impact on women, their families, and communities, and whereas the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation and its Estate of Teal initiative work to increase awareness of gynecologic cancers and promote education throughout the state of Alabama. And whereas the health and wellbeing of women in Alabama and the city of Homewood are enhanced through increased awareness of gynecologic can

4:59 – 5:11•JAJennifer Andress

All right. Thank you so much. And I'm going to go ahead and call that meeting to order, call this meeting to order, rather. And we are going to hear from Councilor Armstead with an invocation. And then after that, we will do the Pledge of Allegiance. So, Stan, if you are able.

5:52•JAJennifer Andress

Okay, thank you so much. All right, Mr. Seegers, if you will give us a roll call for attendance, please.

6:03 – 6:16•JAJennifer Andress

Here. All right, we have got a full house. And I will begin tonight without objection to dispense of the reading and approve the minutes from our last council meeting of September 14th. Is there a motion and a second for approval? Second.

6:18 – 6:58•JAJennifer Andress

All right, I have a motion from Councilor Sims with a second from Councilor Simmons. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? And that passes 5-0. All right, we have got an exciting night of board vacancy appointments. So bear with me here. We've got a lot of fun people, wonderful folks who have stepped forward to serve our city. And so I will need a motion and a second, and we will vote on each one of these individually. So I'm going to start with the abatement board supernumerary position, which we have put forward Miranda Dancy. So do I have a motion and a second for Ms. Dancy's approval?

7:03 – 7:21•JAJennifer Andress

All right, I have got a motion from Councilor Armstead with a second from Councilor Sims. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That passes 5-0. Next up for the abatement board at large for Candice Van Wonderham. Do I have a second and a motion and a second?

7:25 – 7:44•JAJennifer Andress

I've got a motion from Councillor Simmons with a second from Councillor Sims. All those in favor? Any opposed? And that passes five to zero. For the abatement board ward one position, I have a familiar name for everyone here and that is Miss Beverly LaBeouf. I heard somebody. Go ahead.

7:50 – 8:29•JAJennifer Andress

okay i'm saying no i mean everybody on this council ready to make that motion okay i got a motion from council armstead with a second from councilor simmons all those in favor aye any opposed and that passes five to zero all right for the homewood historic preservation commission ward one uh the nominee is madeleine kunz Motion to approve. Second. All right. I've got a motion from Councillor Simmons with a second from Councillor Armstead. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right. That passes 5-0. The Homewood Historic Preservation Commission, Ward 2, Gary Johnson.

8:33 – 9:03•JAJennifer Andress

All right. I've got a motion from Councillor Sims, second from Councillor Simmons. All those in favor? Aye. That passes 5-0. Homewood Historic Preservation Commission Ward 3, David Baines. Motion and a second? All right. Motion from Councillor Lane with a second from Councillor Sims. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That passes 5-0. All right, Ward 4, Homewood Historic Preservation Commission, Eddie Griffith, who I believe is the current chair.

9:05 – 9:19•JAJennifer Andress

Okay. Second. Got a motion from Councilor Armstead, a second from Councilor Sims. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That passes 5-0. Getting close. Homewood Historic Preservation Commission at large, Julie Muir.

9:22 – 9:37•JAJennifer Andress

OK. I heard Councilor Armstead. Second. Second. Yep. OK. Councilor Simmons with the second. All those in favor? Aye. Awesome. Getting close. All right. Homewood Historic Preservation Commission. This is a great group. At large, Josh Alford.

9:41 – 9:52•JAJennifer Andress

All right. Got a motion from Councilor Simmons with a second from Councilor Sims. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right. Last one. Homewood Historic Preservation Commission at large, Robert Anderson.

9:56 – 10:38•JAJennifer Andress

Second. Got a motion from Councillor Lane with a second from Councillor Sims. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? And that passes five to zero. Congratulations to all and thank you all for stepping up to serve the city. This is a great group of people and how exciting to have you all on board. All right. We have got one addition to the agenda, and that is going to be 17-09-26, a request for permission to make a budget amendment for OpenGov financial software brought to us from Mr. Smith, our city manager. And so with that, I would consider a motion. That was already on there?

11:03 – 13:05•JAJennifer Andress

OK, perfect. All right, so I've got a motion from Councillor Sims to approve the amended agenda with a second from Councillor Armstead. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed 5-0? That passes 5-0. I'm sorry. I did not pause when I said that. Any opposed? That passes 5-0. Sorry about that. OK. All right. Moving on, everybody. Thank you so much for hanging in there. Well, we had a lot of business to do at the beginning. And now we are getting into our public hearing portion of our agenda. And so I'm going to begin with item number 130626. This public hearing was held on September 14. 2026 at

14:34 – 14:45•JAJennifer Andress

All right. Thank you so much. I'm going to go ahead and call this public hearing to order. And so now, let's see. Mr. Pew, do you have anything to add to that? Or Mr. Garrison, anything you want to add to that?

15:06 – 15:36•JAJennifer Andress

Thank you so much. All right. So now anyone here from the public who is here to speak in favor of this item, please come forward. Followed by anyone who wants to speak in opposition. Please state your name and address before you speak. And if you will please speak directly to the council and not anyone else. All right. Seeing none. Anyone here to speak against? Okay. Seeing none. I will close this public hearing. Any questions from the council of Mr. Garrison? I feel like we've been talking about this for quite a while.

15:46•JAJennifer Andress

OK. We're going to vote on this item on the 12th of October.

15:58 – 16:28•JAJennifer Andress

Well, you got two more weeks. Anyone wants to reach out? We're going to vote on this. You should have seen that face. That was hilarious. Okay. Thank you so much. All right. Let's see. Next item is 040826. This is a public hearing for consideration of an unsafe structure located at 1556 29th Court South brought to us from Mr. Pugh. And I will go ahead and call this public hearing to order. And Mr. Pugh.

19:19 – 19:43•JAJennifer Andress

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Pugh. Is there anyone here who wants to speak in favor of finding this a public nuisance or an unsafe structure or against that? Anyone here to speak in favor or against? All right. Seeing none, I will close that public hearing and I will open this up now to the council for questions from Mr. Pugh or a motion and a second.

22:02•JAJennifer Andress

I would consider a motion and a second for approval.

22:07 – 22:41•JAJennifer Andress

All right. I have a motion from Councilor Sims and a second from Councilor Armstead. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right. That passes 5-0. And that is resolution 26-108. All right, next item, don't go anywhere, Mr. Pugh, 050826, a public hearing set for September 28, 2026 at 6 PM for consideration of an unsafe structure located at 1552 29th Court South, brought just from Mr. Pugh. I will go ahead and call this public hearing to order. And if you will also let us know about this.

25:13 – 25:30•JAJennifer Andress

I will then ask if there's anyone here to speak in favor of declaring this a public nuisance or anyone against, please come and address the council. Seeing none, we'll close this public hearing and open it up for council questions or a consideration for a motion in a second.

28:23•JAJennifer Andress

They're individually addressed. But you've already done one. So that one's already done. Yeah.

28:55 – 31:17•JAJennifer Andress

That's a motion. All right. I got a motion from Councilor Lane and a second from Councilor Simmons. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? And that is Resolution 26109. Thank you, Mr. Pugh. All right. I got a few I'm going to read out here, so bear with me. Item 080826, a public hearing set for October 12th at 6 PM for approval of a final development plan for The Woods, a proposed golf-oriented outdoor entertainment venue in West Homewood. Brought to us by Mr. Pugh. Without objection, we will carry that item over to our next council meeting for a public hearing on October the 12th at 6 PM. 0908

31:33•JAJennifer Andress

Thank you. And before we discuss, I would consider a motion and a second for approval. And then we will have any discussion.

31:40 – 32:28•JAJennifer Andress

I have a motion from Councilor Simmons with a second from Councilor Armstead. Any further discussion on this item before we vote? And a reminder, this is the actual procedure and evaluation. This is not the actual evaluation. So this is what we got probably about six weeks ago to look over. All right. Without any discussion, all those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right. And that passes 5 to 0. And that is resolution 26.1.10. All right. Next item, 020926, a request to approve the commemorative mural rendering done by Fitz Signs and Murals, brought to us from Mr. Smith. Mr. Segrist.

32:35 – 32:57•JAJennifer Andress

And I will add that we did talk with Derek Walchek today and also with the tenant who's in the building, the wall that will be painted. Oh, there it is. There it is. So you can see the 100 where it says wood, and that is Bugsy's eyes, of course. Shades Creek running through there.

33:01•JAJennifer Andress

I'm so sorry. I know. I know. I understand that.

33:07•JAJennifer Andress

It's so cute, though. He's a great job. He really does. That's a great job. Motion is second for approval.

33:16 – 34:07•JAJennifer Andress

All right. A motion from Councillor Simmons with a second from Councillor Armstead. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? And that passes five to zero. And that's resolution 26111. How exciting. And that's actually going to be later in November. We were looking to do that in mid-September. um and then there were some scheduling issues i think with sean i can't remember is that the exact reason but it'll actually be in november during the week of thanksgiving and so kids can come by and it's a paint by like you can he'll he's going to assign you an area to paint so it's interactive and it's jus

34:17•JAJennifer Andress

All right. Is there a motion and a second for approval?

34:22•JAJennifer Andress

All right. I have a motion from Councilor Simmons with a second from Councilor Lane. Any further discussion on this item?

34:40 – 35:23•JAJennifer Andress

interaction with people outside and i think it's going to be good oh i think it's great really really great and that was mr smith's great idea so i appreciate that him bringing that to us um all those in favor any opposed that passes five to zero and that is resolution 26 112. Next item is 2509.26, a request for consideration of approval of vouchers for a period of September 15, 2026 through September 28, 2026, brought to us from Mr. Bischoff, Kelly Lee, and Aspen Collins. Mr. Segrist, well, you don't really have to give us any details on that. That's the vouchers. Is there a motion and a seco

35:26•JAJennifer Andress

I have a motion from Councillor Simmons. I'm sorry, a motion from Councillor Sims with a second from Councillor Simmons. Any further discussion on this item?

36:14 – 36:29•JAJennifer Andress

I will mention that anytime I don't recognize a vendor, it's usually tied to the library. I've learned that. So I've learned all the uniforms and all the car repair fleet and all that. But anytime I don't recognize the vendor name is usually tied to the library. So they have some fun names.

36:41•JAJennifer Andress

I think that it's a separate ordinance that we would need to adapt.

36:47•JAJennifer Andress

So we would need to take that up and put it. We would need to start in pre-council. We would discuss it there and then move it up to council vote on it. So until then.

36:58 – 37:26•JAJennifer Andress

All right. Motion from Councillor Sims, second from Councillor Simmons. All those in favor? Aye. And one abstention. OK. So that is a 4-0-1 vote. And that passes and becomes resolution 26-1-1-3. Did you get that, Mr. Segrist? OK. Next item, 15-09-26, a request to consider a new spend platform brought to us from Chief Broadhead. Mr. Segrist.

37:44•JAJennifer Andress

And so before we discuss, I would need a motion and a second for approval.

37:50 – 38:57•JAJennifer Andress

I have a motion from Councillor Simmons with a second from Councillor Lane. Any discussion on this item? I will add that I had a good conversation with Chief Broadhead and also with Aspen, and I want to thank them for their clarification. We are not increasing the number of credit cards that we have. In fact, we're decreasing the number of credit cards. That this is actually more, this is allows, this is stricter as far as adherence goes. The AI picks up on what is and is not compliant more than a human might not know. For example, an address may be taking someone to a nightclub versus an AI c

39:57 – 40:11•JAJennifer Andress

With that, I consider a motion. Oh, I don't have a motion yet in a second. I was looking at the wrong item. Simmons and Lane. That's right. I'm sorry. Okay. Any further discussion on this item? No. All right. All those in favor?

40:13 – 40:46•JAJennifer Andress

Any opposed? All right. That passes 5-0, and that is Resolution 26114. Sorry about that. I was looking at the wrong item number. Okay, jumping ahead to ordinances now. We are going to begin with ordinance number, I'm sorry, item number 100926, a request to install speed cushions on Hamba Avenue between Columbiana Road and Dixon Avenue, and on Dixon Avenue between Broadway Street and Hamba Avenue, brought to us from our city engineer, Amy Zeri. Can I have a reading of that ordinance, Mr. Jackson?

41:47•JAJennifer Andress

Thank you so much. And we will vote on this item on October 12.

43:05 – 43:48•JAJennifer Andress

Brian, is that something that you can add to our social media schedule? for sure thank you before the october 12th uh meeting where we'll vote on this Thank you. Any other discussion on this item? I will add, I know Dixon is very excited about this. So I've heard it from them during last summer's campaign, for sure, a lot. OK. Without objection, we will move on to the next item, which is 170926, a request for permission to make a budget amendment for OpenGov financial software. Brought to us from Mr. Smith. Mr. Segrist. Mr. Jackson. Thank you. Yes, ma'am.

44:56 – 45:08•JAJennifer Andress

OK, thank you so much. All right. I would consider a motion. We are voting on this tonight. I think I told you all in pre-council. So I consider a motion and a second for approval before any discussion on this item.

45:11 – 45:40•JAJennifer Andress

I have a motion from Councillor Simmons with a second from Councillor Sims. Any further discussion on this item? OK, as a reminder, we don't need a motion for unanimous consent, because this is not a ongoing permanent ordinance. This is just for the year, correct? OK. And so with that, no further discussion. Roll call vote, please, Mr. Segrist.

45:49 – 46:20•JAJennifer Andress

Yes. All right. That passes 5-0. And I'm going to go back to tell you that that is going to be ordinance number 2995. Yes, ma'am. Is that right? 2995. That's right. All right. Excellent. Thank you so much. All right. So let's see. OK. Now the biggie. Ready? Ready to put this one to bed? 2609-26, a request for consideration of the city manager's budget presentation for fiscal year 26-27 brought to us from Mr. Smith. Mr. Jackson.

47:23•JAJennifer Andress

Okay, thank you so much. And so before any further discussion, is there a motion and a second for approval?

47:31 – 47:49•JAJennifer Andress

All right. I have a motion from Councilor Simmons with a second from Councilor Armstead. Any further discussion on this item? And remember, again, we're not voting on unanimous consent because it's not permanent. So we don't need to take that measure on this. But any further discussion on this item?

49:10 – 49:53•JAJennifer Andress

agree I agree agree thank you Mr. Smith for all the work that you did thank you all of our department heads for all the communication that they gave us thank you council for all the due diligence that you all did it's a lot of work it was a long time a lot of schlepping that binder around lots of encode sheets thank you all thank you all to our constituents and community and residents and friends and neighbors uh for reaching out sharing their thoughts on um how much the city means to them and the different you know relationships they have with different departments um and i just feel like we'

49:58 – 50:19•JAJennifer Andress

Councilor Armstead. Yes. Mayor Andrews. Yes, and that passes 5-0, and that is ordinance number 2996. Yes. All right. And now we have come to the end of our agenda, and so I'm going to hand it first over to Mr. Smith with announcements, and then we'll go around the dais from all the different wards.

51:24•JAJennifer Andress

Awesome. Thank you so much. All right. Heading over to Ward 1 with Councilor Simmons.

54:41•JAJennifer Andress

Thank you so much. Thank you All right counselor sims. What's going on award two?

55:53•JAJennifer Andress

All right. Councilor Lange, let's go on to Ward 3.

1:00:07 – 1:01:45•JAJennifer Andress

I'm going to go positive. I'm going to say congratulations again to the boys cross-country team for winning the Scottsboro Invitational. And Kelly McNair is their coach and also the coach of the girls who came in second. So it was a really big meet in Scottsboro. I want to give a big shout out to those folks. Listen, tune in to Birmingham Mountain Radio on Thursday where former counselor Barry Smith and I, she's also the centennial chair, co-chair, We'll be on with Reg and with Will Lockamy to talk about our upcoming centennial month and all the fun things that we have planned. This weekend, C