The Birmingham City Council approved a four-year agreement under which the city will provide $1 million for a nonprofit’s new service center for unhoused residents.

According to city leaders, the Jimmie Hale Mission plans to develop an additional facility with 100 beds, family rooms, storage areas, kennels for pets and wrap-around services for people experiencing homelessness. The mission already serves roughly 175,000 meals each year and is open as a warming station 30 to 35 nights per season.

“This will be a year-round center and will be able to provide those services and shelter for these residents,” Council President Wardine Alexander was quoted in a release as saying. “This money is going to help jump-start their capital campaign, so this isn’t funding for the entire center, but it will help substantially as they continue raising money to build the center. They’re an incredible partner and have been doing this important, life-saving work for decades, and I’m honored to support this new development.”

Tuesday’s vote comes a week after the council extended the nonprofit Urban Alchemy’s $1.7 million contract to lead the Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team program, called Heart. At the same time, the city came under criticism for a crackdown on illegal encampments in city parks.

Mayor Randall Woodfin in a Facebook post Tuesday said the new Jimmie Hale center would be a “door you can walk through when you have nowhere else to go.”

“This project is one piece of a larger strategy that includes outreach, housing, mental health support, and long-term stability,” he wrote.

Woodfin said homelessness is a growing problem nationwide.

“We’ve been living through a moment where homelessness is becoming more visible not because people have failed, but because our systems have,” he wrote. “Housing costs keep rising. Wages are stretched thin. Mental health care is still too hard to access. When rent goes up faster than paychecks and support systems are underfunded, more people fall through the cracks.”

The council also approved a pair of agreements with the Greater Birmingham Habitat for Humanity for the construction of new homes as well as repairs on existing occupied homes.

According to city staff, the two agreements would provide $350,000 to build eight new single-family affordable homes and provide roof repair/fortification and critical home repair for up to 20 qualified low and moderate-income residents in the Rising West Princeton neighborhood. The agreement also includes $450,000 to provide grants of up to $10,000 for roof replacements for 60 qualified low and moderate-income households.

Councilor Sonja Smith, who represents Rising West Princeton, said the measure is an important investment for residents looking to become homeowners.

“This is an opportunity for growth and progress for this community,” Smith was quoted in a release as saying. “This will be a chance for more individuals to become homeowners, potentially for the first time, and for existing homeowners to get much-needed repairs done. As a councilor for this area, it’s critical that we continue to make these kinds of investments in neighborhoods that stand to benefit from them the most.”

Employee Bonuses OK’d

The council also approved $1,000 bonus payments to each of the city’s 3,637 employees.

“I think that this shows the 10 of us collectively thanking all the work that our employees do,” Councilor Hunter Williams said before the vote, which was unanimous. “You know, at the end of the day, I think that what the citizens want from us are those basic city services … and the employees are the heartbeat of the city, and without them, we couldn’t provide any of the services that the taxpayers want.”

Woodfin, who recommended the bonuses along with the council’s Budget and Finance Committee, in another social media post, also said the payments were a thank you. “We recognize it has been a tough year economically for so many around our country. As an employer, we want to do our part and continue to support and invest in our employees,” he said.

In other business, the council also:

• Accepted the transfer of three properties on Shiloh Drive and one on Stone River Road from the Vulcan Trail Foundation. According to city officials, the real estate will be used in connection with the Shades Creek Greenway Project, which will connect Mountain Brook’s Irondale Furnace Trail to Birmingham’s Flora Johnston Nature Preserve and establish a new trail running along Shades Creek on the city’s right-of-way.
• Set a public hearing for 9:30 a.m. Jan. 11 on the third floor of City Hall to discuss a potential moratorium on new data centers opening in the city of Birmingham. “We want to be sure we’re looking at everything, considering the impact these data centers have on our resources and weighing all our options. It’s crucial that we hear from the people who live here as we continue this process,” Council President Alexander was quoted in a release as saying. “Some of the major hurdles these types of developments face are infrastructure needs, water usage, power usage, and the economic impact they have on areas. These are all things we’re going to be looking at as we move forward.”