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Record of Proceedings

Tuscaloosa City Council Finance Committee Meeting - August 5, 2025

City Council MeetingsTuesday, August 5, 2025
BodyTuscaloosa, Alabama
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateTuesday, August 5, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

I second the motion.

0:00

We've got a motion to second any discussion.

0:02

All in favor say aye.

0:05

Minutes for approved.

0:07

Item number one is authorization for the mayor to negotiate protective buyouts of selective properties on Academy Drive.

0:15

Mr.

0:16

Mayor and Mike.

0:17

Yes, sir.

0:18

Thank you, Mr.

0:18

Crow.

0:19

As you and I have discussed and have been on site to see for ourselves.

0:25

And as you saw last week in our presentation of both on neighborhood drainage and Noah's Ark.

0:30

The Academy Drive area of Tuscaloosa has experienced some serious flooding.

0:37

And in particular, there are areas within the Academy Drive neighborhood, even with the improvements that would be made from a recommended project as part of Nose Arc that would still likely or could likely experience flooding.

0:52

We're recommending the protective buyout and voluntary purchases mind of three particular properties.

1:07

And the goldsmith property is 641 Stone River.

1:10

And a second, Mr.

1:11

Gardner is going to show you on a Google map where they are located and the proximity to the creek that runs through there will probably give a better illustration of why we're making this recommendation.

1:30

Again, any sort of buyout would have to be voluntary.

1:33

The funding for this would come from the budget amendments that will be placed on finance committee following this meeting, and with the remainder coming out of the neighborhood drainage fund.

1:44

Mr.

1:44

Gardner, would you show the locations to the city council and talk about why we believe these are homes that we feel protected purchase would benefit not only the home the homeowner but also the city as a whole?

1:57

I'm gonna start to uh addresses on Stone River Row.

2:02

We have 641 on the south side, and that's actually the limb on the gold smidge on the north at 636.

2:11

If you'll remember from the presentation, we had some images with the road.

2:17

You know, the the stream was over top in the road.

2:20

So that that's the issue at this location.

2:23

When it's over top in the road, these homes are receiving water, they're getting flooded.

2:29

Uh the third address is on Antietam, and this is the uh Kirby property here.

2:38

Um also reminding you what we discussed in the Noah's Ark portion of Academy Drive that we had some uh some flooding issues, it starts kind of on Manack Avenue, which is in this location right here, the storm network that runs between these two halls worked its way through the backyard between these two residents, and we have the flooding MNT at this location.

3:08

Uh, and that's really what kind of perpetuates the uh the flooding of the curbed property there.

3:16

The the homes if purchased would be slope that would help with the drainage in the areas.

3:23

Um I had a cursory conversation, I think you did too with the HOA president yesterday as well, and it would probably be something that uh we would work with the HOA and letting them be able to create pocket parks or something within the neighborhood so they could still be put to good use within the neighborhood.

3:40

Again, I want to say that even with the three point um seven million, I think estimated for the Academy Drive drainage project.

3:49

We can't guarantee that these homes still would not experience some sort of flooding.

3:54

That's why we think it's just in the best interest, we go ahead and make these protective purposes.

3:59

Um I suspect we will be doing this in many other districts of the city as well if we move forward with the NOAA's Ark um plan as presented last week.

4:11

Mr.

4:11

Gardner and I will be happy to answer any question.

4:13

Mr.

4:14

Crow, I want to thank you for your leadership out there in being.

4:17

I know you were out there that the moment it happened, and since that time, and appreciate your leadership in getting us to this point.

4:25

To your uh thank you, Mr.

4:26

Mayor, to your comments.

4:28

So this is a short-term solution to this problem, but the longer term will have to be covered in Nose Arc, and I and Michael, we had our engineering meeting today.

4:41

We were talking about this.

4:43

That we got the the presentation from the mayor and the discussion that we had work session last week.

4:52

And and we need to, I guess, through the the committee.

5:00

I would like to see that come to the committee, what we talked about next week, where we can take a vote to move because there's there's the short-term issue, that's the four million dollars, and then the other is the longer term issue about nose arc, and my thoughts were we would move that through projects next week and see what conversation colleagues have, what other concerns are there to try to move that through next week to start that process, Mr.

5:23

Mayor.

5:24

Is that kind of what you're saying?

5:25

Y'all think of yes, sir.

5:26

We'll be happy to because then we have to leave it on the finance with German Buzz we'd be right.

5:31

I'm sure you'd be fine with that, but the next week or so.

5:34

But I know that we've got budget coming on the 19th, two weeks.

5:40

So we just need to kind of get this rolling because I know there's several projects that are in the four million dollars, and I know a couple of one of them, some have already funded in my district, but they're ready to go that we need to kind of get started on.

5:54

There's one um at Northampton.

5:57

Yeah, there's one at Northampton and one at Waterfall that's not a real expensive project, but I know we can't we can't do that till we get that approved by council.

6:06

So I hope we can do that shortly, Mr.

6:08

Bob if we could do that next week.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████████████25%
Public Works██████████████████18%
Procedural████████████████16%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%
Public Safety████████8%
Signage██████6%
Facility Management██████6%
Parks and Recreation██████6%
Environmental Protection████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Tuscaloosa City Council Finance Committee Meeting - August 5, 2025

The Finance Committee of the Tuscaloosa City Council met on August 5, 2025, at 7:31 PM to consider 14 agenda items and hold additional discussion on lake regulations. All agenda items were approved unanimously.

Discussion Items

  • Item 1 – Protective Buyouts on Academy Drive: Mr. Crow and Mr. Gardner recommended voluntary protective buyouts for three properties (641 Stone River, 636 Stone River, and a property on Antietam) due to repeated flooding even after planned drainage improvements. Funding would come from budget amendments and the neighborhood drainage fund. The council discussed coordinating with the HOA to create pocket parks. Approved.
  • Item 2 – Trunk Sewer Repair: Mr. Curry presented a $163,148 contract to Suncoast Infrastructure for a 24-inch clay trunk line repair near Third Avenue North, funded from the water sewer special project rehab account (balance $1.2M). Approved.
  • Item 3 – Raw Meter Replacement: A $43,500 contract to Price Civil Services to replace a 12-inch raw water meter at Southern Ionics, funded from meter capital repairs ($100,000). Approved.
  • Item 4 – Sewer Rehab Change Order: A $121,348.39 change order for reactive sewer repairs, based on average monthly costs of $37,000, to cover the remainder of the fiscal year. Approved.
  • Item 5 – Electronics Recycling Contract: A two-year $2,400/year contract with DAC Dynamics for recycling electronics; the city is paid. Approved.
  • Item 6 – Resurfacing Deductive Change Order: A $302,002.80 deductive change order for the 2024 citywide resurfacing project; savings will be used for future resurfacing contingencies. Approved.
  • Item 7 – Northern River Walk Phase Two Engineering Amendment: A $65,375 amendment to McGibbert & Associates for property acquisition support and route adjustments, bringing the total to $813,215. The amendment does not include construction-phase services; a future amendment is expected. Approved.
  • Item 8 – TPD Air Compressor Replacement: A $4,660 contract to All Metal Mechanical to remove and reinstall an air compressor at police headquarters, funded by TPD outside services. Approved.
  • Item 9 – HVAC Unit in Annex 1: A $7,156.13 contract to Control Climate for an HVAC unit to protect access control equipment, funded by the CFG five-year plan. Approved.
  • Item 10 – Drive-Through Renovation at Annex 3: A $23,008.15 contract to Data Plus Security to replace the pneumatic tube system in the water business drive-through, funded by water sewer facility renewal. Approved.
  • Item 11 – Monument Signs Design: A $15,751 contract to Overcash Design Studio for architectural and engineering design of two welcome signs (on McFarland Boulevard and in Alberta), including construction-phase services. Council discussed potential for additional signs. Approved.
  • Item 12 – Office Upgrades: A $5,800 contract for touch-up paint, interior window modifications, and casework at XP quartering, funded by city hall facility improvements. Approved.
  • Item 13 – Fire Sprinkler Contract Amendment: An $8,200 increase (to $16,750) for additional fire extinguisher inspections and replacements. Fire Chief Mark answered questions about costs. Approved.
  • Item 14 – Environmental Assessment Services: A professional services agreement with PTL for NEPA environmental assessments for the Office of Community and Neighborhood Services, funded by CDBG. Approved.

Additional Discussion – Lake Tuscaloosa Wake Boat Regulations

Councilman raised concerns about property damage from wake boats on Lake Tuscaloosa, noting erosion of retaining walls and docks. Mark (fire chief) and Scott Hollins are working on modified regulations that would designate areas where wake boats are allowed or prohibited. Enforcement was discussed, including plans to add two officers to the lake patrol. The committee scheduled a presentation on this topic for August 26, 2025, after the budget process. Council also mentioned inquiries about docking at the Mama Bell site, referring those to Tom Bobbit.

Key Outcomes

  • All 14 agenda items were approved unanimously by voice vote with no dissenting votes recorded.
  • The committee agreed to schedule a detailed discussion on Lake Tuscaloosa wake boat regulations for August 26, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

I second the motion. We've got a motion to second any discussion. All in favor say aye. Minutes for approved. Item number one is authorization for the mayor to negotiate protective buyouts of selective properties on Academy Drive. Mr. Mayor and Mike. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Crow. As you and I have discussed and have been on site to see for ourselves. And as you saw last week in our presentation of both on neighborhood drainage and Noah's Ark. The Academy Drive area of Tuscaloosa has experienced some serious flooding. And in particular, there are areas within the Academy Drive neighborhood, even with the improvements that would be made from a recommended project as part of Nose Arc that would still likely or could likely experience flooding. We're recommending the protective buyout and voluntary purchases mind of three particular properties. And the goldsmith property is 641 Stone River. And a second, Mr. Gardner is going to show you on a Google map where they are located and the proximity to the creek that runs through there will probably give a better illustration of why we're making this recommendation. Again, any sort of buyout would have to be voluntary. The funding for this would come from the budget amendments that will be placed on finance committee following this meeting, and with the remainder coming out of the neighborhood drainage fund. Mr. Gardner, would you show the locations to the city council and talk about why we believe these are homes that we feel protected purchase would benefit not only the home the homeowner but also the city as a whole? I'm gonna start to uh addresses on Stone River Row. We have 641 on the south side, and that's actually the limb on the gold smidge on the north at 636. If you'll remember from the presentation, we had some images with the road. You know, the the stream was over top in the road. So that that's the issue at this location. When it's over top in the road, these homes are receiving water, they're getting flooded. Uh the third address is on Antietam, and this is the uh Kirby property here. Um also reminding you what we discussed in the Noah's Ark portion of Academy Drive that we had some uh some flooding issues, it starts kind of on Manack Avenue, which is in this location right here, the storm network that runs between these two halls worked its way through the backyard between these two residents, and we have the flooding MNT at this location. Uh, and that's really what kind of perpetuates the uh the flooding of the curbed property there. The the homes if purchased would be slope that would help with the drainage in the areas. Um I had a cursory conversation, I think you did too with the HOA president yesterday as well, and it would probably be something that uh we would work with the HOA and letting them be able to create pocket parks or something within the neighborhood so they could still be put to good use within the neighborhood. Again, I want to say that even with the three point um seven million, I think estimated for the Academy Drive drainage project. We can't guarantee that these homes still would not experience some sort of flooding. That's why we think it's just in the best interest, we go ahead and make these protective purposes. Um I suspect we will be doing this in many other districts of the city as well if we move forward with the NOAA's Ark um plan as presented last week. Mr. Gardner and I will be happy to answer any question. Mr. Crow, I want to thank you for your leadership out there in being. I know you were out there that the moment it happened, and since that time, and appreciate your leadership in getting us to this point. To your uh thank you, Mr. Mayor, to your comments. So this is a short-term solution to this problem, but the longer term will have to be covered in Nose Arc, and I and Michael, we had our engineering meeting today. We were talking about this. That we got the the presentation from the mayor and the discussion that we had work session last week. And and we need to, I guess, through the the committee. I would like to see that come to the committee, what we talked about next week, where we can take a vote to move because there's there's the short-term issue, that's the four million dollars, and then the other is the longer term issue about nose arc, and my thoughts were we would move that through projects next week and see what conversation colleagues have, what other concerns are there to try to move that through next week to start that process, Mr. Mayor.

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