Donate today to help Birmingham stay informed.
The Jefferson County Commission is set to continue doing its part to maintain the gateways into the county.
The Birmingham Gateway Project was launched in 2022 in anticipation of visitors coming to the area for The World Games, Commissioner Joe Knight recounted during a meeting Tuesday.
The commission agreed to consider during Thursday’s commission meeting an agenda item allotting more than $1.3 million to extend the agreement for Rotolo Consultants to provide landscaping maintenance, mowing, pruning and trash pick-up in various Alabama Department of Transportation rights-of-way.
“They continued it because it was working and they wanted to extend it. I think there was a three-year agreement and then it gets renewed each year, so we have an option to not renew it,” Knight said, referring to an agreement with the city. “We’ve thought about it but I’m sure we’re here trying to be a good partner.
“But also, at the same time, we want those same groups to help us with City Walk,” Knight said. “We’re trying to put something together.”
City Walk BHAM was created with the reconstruction of the Interstates 20/59 bridge through downtown Birmingham. The eight-block space below the bridge was designed to provide a space to assist in reconnecting Birmingham and create a destination and common area open to all citizens.
ALDOT contributed to the construction of the recreational space and built it. The BJCC manages and operates City Walk, which includes areas such as a skate park, though there are funding challenges to maintain the space.
ALDOT and the BJCC are working together to find a sustainable funding model for its maintenance, which currently costs more than $1.4 million annually. Under that agreement, the BJCC’s expenses were reimbursed by ALDOT, which capped its contribution at an amount that has been reached.
“That City Walk benefits us all,” Knight said, “so we ought to all pitch in.”
The commission also sent a resolution to the agenda that would approve $172,000 for management system enhancements for the JeffCo Way Performance Management System.
“It’s really a big database where we’re going to be storing our standards and processes (and) keep them updated,” County Manager Cal Markert said. “Everything we do, we want to know how to do it, what the standard is and then try to improve on that. It’s hard to improve on something when you don’t have a baseline.”
