Tuscaloosa City Council Meeting: March 24, 2026
Tuscaloosa City Council Meeting Summary - March 24, 2026
The Tuscaloosa City Council met on March 24, 2026, to consider 13 agenda items and an economic development agreement. All agenda items were approved unanimously, while the economic agreement was tabled pending resubmission due to substantial changes from the original proposal.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jeremy Wyatt (owner, Redman Bruce downtown) expressed concerns about the Fourth Street and 23rd Avenue one-way project, arguing it could bottleneck traffic, reduce parking (by about 29%), and create spillover issues, especially on game days. He urged adding parking elsewhere before proceeding.
- Olaf (owner, Ronald's German Restaurant) echoed concerns about bottlenecking and parking shortages, especially in the evenings. He proposed exploring alternatives such as a pedestrian zone on 22nd Street or a parking deck, and asked for more dynamic, short-term solutions rather than a single rigid plan.
- Michael Laney (Landing Property Group) presented six key points of disagreement with the city's proposed economic agreement for the Springbrook development, including the number of new-to-market tenants required (three vs. six), the definition of new-to-market, the 25-year payment period trigger, labor and material sourcing requirements, and employee guarantees. He noted the project is performance-based and the developer bears significant risk.
Discussion Items
- Buddy Powell Pavilion Change Order (Price Construction) – Approved a $104,000 change order for additional paving and restriping, funded from tourism capital budget ($30,000 underrun + $15,000 budget + request). Motion passed.
- Paint Services Across City Campus (Red Oak Paint Company) – Approved a minor public work contract to paint exposed steel columns and handrails at multiple buildings, funded by the CFG five-year facility plan. Motion passed.
- Tennis Center Camera Infrastructure (Taylor Electric) – Approved a contract for underground raceway and wiring to support streaming cameras for tennis matches, an NCAA tournament requirement. Cameras already purchased. Motion passed.
- Linton Barbershop Project Balancing Change Order (Snow Blaking) – Approved a $12,000 change order for additional sodding and sidewalk replacement along Hackberry Lane. Project originally bid at $647,000, now $660,000 total. Motion passed.
- Ceiling Replacements (RWC Construction) – Approved a contract to repair ceilings at Ed Low building and city drive-up parking lot, funded by facility renewal and water/sewer renewal. Motion passed.
- Greensboro Avenue Streetscape Project (GFC Construction) – Awarded construction contract for $3,852,862.89 for streetscape improvements between University Boulevard and 7th Street, including wider sidewalks, landscaping, and dedicated delivery zones. Five bids received; construction expected May through September 2026. Motion passed.
- Julia Tutweiler/Campus Drive Engineering Amendment (Duncan Coker) – Approved an amendment to transition the design to ATRIP (state route) standards, including right-of-way services and construction oversight. Project involves a new off-ramp from McFarland Boulevard. Motion passed.
- Rice Mine Road Slope Repair Design (TTL) – Approved a professional services agreement for $78,142 to design repairs for a slope failure north of the river between Indian Hills Drive and Overlook Road. Study completed; recommendation is riprap stabilization. Motion passed.
- Fourth Street & 23rd Avenue One-Way Project Design (Duncan Coker) – Approved a $142,796 contract to design conversion of the corridor to one-way traffic with angled parking, bollards, and pedestrian safety improvements, focusing on the intersection and Timerson Square block. Council members acknowledged public concerns but stressed the need for pedestrian safety after recent incidents. Motion passed.
- Skyland Boulevard Fiber Permitting (Porter & Higginsbotham) – Approved a $28,005 survey and permitting contract for IT fiber installation along south Skyland Boulevard from near the BMW dealership to Firehouse No. 9. Motion passed.
- 2026 Citywide Resurfacing Project (ST Boss Construction) – Awarded contract at $9.8 million, over budget due to fuel price uncertainty. Additional funding will come from this year's Alabama gas tax funds. Two bids received. Motion passed.
- Academy Drive Drainage Project Design (Show Engineering) – Approved a $292,612.50 design contract for flooding mitigation in the Academy Drive subdivision (Stone River Road area), addressing undersized culverts and pipes. Motion passed.
- Interim Flight Procedures for Airport Runway Extension (Hughes Airspace) – Approved a 495-day contract for $140,000 (with option for full-length procedure) to implement temporary flight procedures during the runway displacement project, avoiding disruption to fall athletic charters. Funded from construction savings. Motion passed.
Economic Development Agreement – Springbrook Project
- Michael Laney (Landing Property Group) presented concerns about the city's proposed agreement, which required six new-to-market tenants for full incentives. The developer proposed a structure with three new-to-market tenants as the trigger, with no incentives for non-new-to-market tenants on the remaining three parcels. Other sticking points included labor/material sourcing and employee guarantees. Staff noted that the revised terms differed materially from the original 772 notice, requiring a full resubmission. Council members expressed interest in moving forward quickly to bring development to District 7. No vote was taken; the item remains tabled indefinitely and will need to be withdrawn and resubmitted.
Key Outcomes
- All 13 agenda items (resolutions) were approved unanimously.
- The Springbrook economic development agreement will be withdrawn from the table and resubmitted with revised terms, requiring a new 772 hearing and staff analysis.
Meeting Transcript
Number one with price construction company for approval of Buddy Power Pavilion. Tim. Yes, sir. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. So this is to balance the project with the Northridge pickleball price construction. What we're asking to do is add additional funding into this contract so that we can do some additional paving at Buddy Powell Pavilion and re-stripe that parking lot. You want to fresh a refresh us the amounts, Tim. We went over them last week. So the change order amount from price construction is 150,000. We have $30,000 of underrun within the contract currently, and we still have $15,000 within the original budget. So we're looking for right at $104,000 to execute this change order. On the screen, you'll see the design. We've got the existing asphalt on the right hand side of the screen is to have a new seal coat and restriping. And then on the left hand side you'll see the new asphalt around the perimeter with also with new striping. There's signage included and a few bollards included as well. All right. And that uh the differentials coming out of the tourism capital budget, Check. Correct. And Miss Standage, how much does that leave in there? Um it will leave ballpark 400,000. I'm good. Most second. All in favor. Hi. Motion passed. Thanks, Tim. Agenda item number two, approval minor public work contract with Red Oak Paint Company for paint service across city campus. Yes, sir. So this is to paint all the exterior exposed steel columns between this building and annex three. Uh what holds up the sky bridges between uh Annex one and three, also going towards the parking deck. It'll also paint all the exposed columns and steel at government plaza, the pavilion clock tower out there as well as the handrails. And it's coming out of building that this is CFG's five-year facility plan. Second, all in favor. Aye, motion passed. Agenda item number three, approval of minor publishing work contract, but Taylor Electrical Contractors for installational cabling and uh camera system. I tell those tennis. Yes, sir. So this is for the infrastructure for the camera system that is for streaming tennis matches at the tennis center. Um this includes all the underground raceway that has to be installed, raceway that will go to each individual court, both existing and new courts at the tennis center. So this is the just the infrastructure, not the actual cameras. Correct. Uh has purchased the yeah, cameras have already been purchased. Yeah, and I've got something of a lesson on this during the week. Okay. To feel better. Why was it mispositioned for the game with to be completely frank, Mr. Busby? We had no knowledge of this desire during design uh or where these cameras would be placed. We in design put raceway all over the property for future camera installations.
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