Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.
The Birmingham City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. The agenda scheduled the meeting for 9:30 a.m.; Council President Wardine Alexander called the meeting to order at approximately 9:37 a.m. All nine council members were present. The invocation was delivered by Mrs. Thelma Brown of the Susan G. Komen Scholar National Cancer Institute Breast Cancer Steering Committee, who marked Breast Cancer Awareness Month and noted that Black women have a 40% higher mortality rate than white women when diagnosed at the same stage of breast cancer. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilor Hunter Williams. Minutes for the meetings of August 4, 2026, through October 20, 2026, were not ready and were not approved.
Mayor Randall L. Woodfin (referred to by several phonetic variants in the transcript) promoted Magic City Classic Week, including the 85th Magic City Classic presented by Coca-Cola, with the downtown parade Saturday at 8 a.m., tailgating at Legion Field at 10 a.m., and the game at 2:30 p.m. He also announced a Magic City Classic Legacy exhibit at City Hall running through December; Awakened 2026: Passing the Torch on Friday, October 30, at 10 a.m. at the Carver Theater, honoring Birmingham's 1963 Civil Rights Foot Soldiers; and the 2026 State of Homelessness Summit on Friday, November 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Boutwell Auditorium, citing the city's $3 million investment in housing and homelessness services.
The council unanimously adopted a proclamation recognizing the Omicron Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., on its 102nd Charter Day. Council President Alexander, a 44-year member, noted that the chapter was chartered on October 24, 1924, becoming the first Black Greek letter organization chartered in Alabama; that membership has grown to more than 345 professional women; that the chapter has raised over $87,000 for the March of Dimes; and that its Cultural and Education Advancement Foundation has awarded more than $80,000 annually in scholarships over the past two years. Chapter President Stephanie Ayers Milsap, the 43rd chapter president, accepted the proclamation and highlighted the sorority's Empower 08 voter education, registration, and mobilization initiative.
The council approved unanimously, by one motion, the consent agenda announced by item number (Items 1, 2, 4–6, and 10–63). No council member or citizen requested removal of an item for separate discussion. The clerk announced that Items 7, 8, and 9 had been withdrawn; the printed agenda's end-of-document withdrawal notice listed only certain weed-abatement properties, so the written agenda and the clerk's oral announcement differ on which items were withdrawn. Key consent items included:
Item 3 (Ordinance, permanent operation, first reading): Authorized the Mayor to execute an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with the City of Adamsville for a term not to exceed two years, ending June 30, 2028, under which Birmingham will provide one surplus 2010 Freightliner M2 106 truck in exchange for Adamsville providing urban horticulture and urban forestry personnel and services upon request. Approved unanimously.
Item 64 (Resolution, first reading): Set a public hearing for November 24, 2026, to consider an ordinance amending the zoning district map (Case No. ZAC2026-08005) to change the district at approximately 800 Montclair Road from QMU-H (Qualified Mixed-Use High District) to QC-2 (Qualified General Commercial District) to allow for a new church campus, filed by C. Randall Minor on behalf of property owner Redeemer Community Church. Approved unanimously.
Council members announced neighborhood meetings, events, and deadlines, including: a public safety meeting today at 1 p.m. in the council chambers (Pro Tem Tate); the Planning and Zoning Committee meeting scheduled for today was canceled, with the next meeting on November 10 at 3 p.m. (O'Quinn); a special-called Committee of the Whole and Administration and Government Affairs Committee meeting on November 4 at 3:30 p.m. (President Alexander); the Community Development Committee on November 2 at 3:30 p.m. (Gunn); the Economic Development and Tourism Committee on November 3 (Williams); District 4 mobile office hours today from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Northeast YMCA (Gunn); District 8 Capital Improvement Grant applications open through November 9 (Smith); and the Birmingham Zoo's Hoots and Howls Halloween event on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Vasa). Councilor Smithman reported that the Safe Summer Magic City Classic kickoff concert drew an estimated more than 40,000 people with no incidents of violence. Council President Alexander reminded the public that MAX Transit is offering free rides to the polls on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3.
Nathan Thompson (6779 Old Springville Road): Asked the council to reconsider the condemnation of 3012 Dowell Avenue Southwest. He said he had spent additional time and money cleaning the property, that an iron worker had verified the structure is structurally sound, and that he proposes converting the sanctuary into an open farmers market with a community garden. He cited Alabama Code §§ 11-40-31 and 11-40-32 in support of his request.
Mark Cummings (Lakeview business owner): Stated that six of eight lights under the overpasses near his business have been out for 930 days (since April 2024), that unhoused individuals living underneath make customers afraid to park, and that he has been unable to get ALDOT to fix the lights, saying his representatives have failed. He also criticized the new bike-lane striping on 7th Avenue South for removing a turning lane and increasing congestion in Lakeview, and requested lit stop signs at the Magnolia Avenue intersections with Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard and 22nd Street.
Willie Jenkins: Offered community announcements, including the 27th anniversary of the Men of Praise at a Norwood church on the second Sunday, with Reverend Lonnie Ward as guest speaker; the Carver High School picnic; and a request for prayers for two ailing classmates from the Carver High School Class of 1973.
Lori Gainesmith (District 6): Expressed concern about 18-wheelers and gas trucks continually traveling down a street in her district (the street name is garbled in the transcript); reported that Mayor Woodfin had reached out to the appropriate departments; and congratulated the Alpha Kappa Alpha members, noting her mother was initiated into Omicron Omega in 1996.
Mr. Wilson (Green Springs resident): Described decades of cut-through traffic on Green Springs Avenue, estimating approximately 25,000 cars and trucks daily use the street as a shortcut to I-65. He recounted that his father raised the issue at council meetings before his death in 2016, suggested the city consider closing the street or a nearby ramp, and linked housing values to population decline, noting the city has fallen from about 350,000 residents in 1966 to about 190,000 today.
Good morning, everyone. Our TV monitors aren't working, and so we won't have our intro video this morning. But good morning, Birmingham. Today is Tuesday, October 27th, 2026. The time is 9:37 a.m. I call to order the regular meeting of the Birmingham City Council. Today's invocation will be led by Mrs. Thelma Brown of the Susan G. Cohen Scholar National Cancer Institute, Breast Cancer Steering Committee in Birmingham, Alabama. Our Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Councillor Hunter Williams. And at this time, if you're all willing and able, please stand to join us. Good morning. If I may have a minute before the prayer, I just want to take a minute to thank the citizens of Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, and our mayor for your unwavering support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As a two-time survivor and as a research advocate, this is deeply personal for me. But I want to add a note of caution. We will soon see these pink ribbons come down and the all the pink fade. But we need support. Black women have a 40% higher mortality rate than white women when diagnosed at the same stage. So our access to treatment, our care, and our support is needed throughout the year. And I just ask that you all continue it. Thank you very much. Let us pray. Gracious and loving God, we come before you with our hearts filled with gratitude for the gift of this day for the strength of our community and for the great city of Birmingham, a city with a rich legacy of courage, compassion, and faith. We thank you for our city leaders gathered here for their service, their dedication, and their commitment to the people that they represent. Lord, grant them wisdom, patience, and unity as they make the decisions that shape the lives of all who call the city of Birmingham home. Make every action they take reflect justice, kindness, and love. As we observe breast cancer awareness month, let us pause to honor those lives touched by this disease. Lord, you know each person by name and their burdens that they carry. Bring relief to those in pain, reassurance to those awaiting answers, and strength to those who are still enduring treatments. Also surround those facing an uncertain future with compassionate care. When words are difficult to find, Lord, hear the prayers that are silently held in their hearts. Bless the health care professionals, researchers, advocates, all those working to relieve the suffering and improve lives of those affected by breast cancer. Guide their efforts toward better treatments and cures. Help us remove barriers that keep people from receiving timely care so that neither income nor neighborhood determines a person's opportunity for health and healing. Let us remember our children, our elders, those facing hunger or homelessness, and all those feel that feel overlooked. Teach us to treat every neighbor with a dignity across differences in background, beliefs, and circumstances. Make the people of Birmingham find in our leadership and in our and in one another, a dependable source of compassion, love, and hope. And may Birmingham continue to be the city that shines as a beacon of healing, unity for all of us. In your holy name, we pray. Amen. And to the Republic, both with the stains. One nation under God. Indivisible. Thank you very much, Mrs. Brown, for sharing that very motivational prayer as well as sharing the information about breast cancer awareness. So thank you so much.