The Jefferson County Commission sent a funding agreement for Morgan Road improvements to the agenda of its Thursday meeting. Commission President Jimmie Stephens said those improvements, which include making the road a five-lane thoroughfare from Interstate 459 to the Jefferson-Shelby counties line at Shades Crest Road, have been 22 years in the making. Read more.
David Denard said overflow from Jefferson County’s wastewater treatment plant will never get down to zero. But the director of the county’s department of environmental services told commissioners at their committee meeting today that his department is trying to get as close to that mark as it can. “We’ve reduced sanitary sewer overflows 60 percent the past six or seven years,” Denard said. The commission also discussed several other issues, including road and bridge work, tax breaks for U.S. Steel and cooperation with the cities. Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission is conducting a town hall-style meeting tonight to discuss the county’s 2011 bankruptcy and its long-term effects, including the schedule of sewer rate increases, the county’s current financial condition and an outlook for the future. The event is 6 p.m. at Regions Field, 1401 First Ave. S., Birmingham. Doors open at 5 p.m. The town hall is open to the public. Read more.
The executive director of Jefferson County’s General Retirement System has softened her stance concerning eligibility of employees of Cooper Green Mercy Clinic to remain in the county pension system. The issue arose when Jefferson County commissioners brought up a proposal to study partnering with UAB to form a health care authority. In a letter last week, Amy Adams wrote that current pension law would not permit Cooper Green employees to participate in the county’s pension if they were “terminated.” A day later, she clarified a point and said it might be possible under certain conditions. Read more.
Jefferson County is picking up the tab for bus service for some unserved areas through the end of the current fiscal year. Commissioners passed a resolution at their meeting on Thursday to provide transit for people living in Adamsville, Forestdale, Brighton, Lipscomb, Fultondale, Gardendale and Fairfield. “This isn’t about MAX (Metro Area Express),” Commission President Jimmie Stephens said. “This is about citizens and being able to serve the citizens. These citizens in these communities have been bypassed and the doors were shut. We’re going to give them the opportunity to receive the benefits from MAX to go to the doctor, to go to and from work, and to go to and from getting their medication. If they utilize this, it will be $100,000 very well spent.” Read more.
A last-ditch effort by Jefferson County commissioners Lashunda Scales and Sheila Tyson to delay a vote on an authority to govern indigent health care in Jefferson County failed today.
Commissioners Jimmie Stephens, Joe Knight and Steve Ammons voted to approve the resolution to enter a due diligence period with UAB Health System to negotiate an agreement to create a University Healthcare Authority.
Scales and Tyson voted no.
“Today was unfortunate for the poor people, the vulnerable folks of Jefferson County as well as the employees of Jefferson County,” Scales said. “Employees are devastated. Employees feel the county has turned its back on them."
Stephens viewed the action differently.
“It’s going to be a great day for our indigent in Jefferson County,” the commission president said. “They will be able to receive state-of-the-art care from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. And from what I’ve heard today, I’m very much encouraged that our employees will be taken care of in this process also. Read more.
Earlier this week:
Scales, Tyson Seek Delay in Vote Over Giving UAB Responsibility for Indigent Health Care
Jefferson County Commission Will Take Up Health Care Authority in Thursday’s Meeting Despite Concerns
A four-hour committee meeting of the Jefferson County Commission ended Tuesday with a 3-2 vote to move the creation of a UAB Healthcare Authority to the agenda of Thursday’s commission meeting. Commissioners Jimmie Stephens, Joe Knight and Steve Ammons voted in favor of taking up the measure Thursday, with Lashunda Scales and Sheila Tyson voting no. Stephens said the health care authority is needed because that was part of the commission’s pledge when in-patient care was closed at Cooper Green Mercy Hospital, “to form the best possible indigent care for our citizens.” But Scales pleaded with her fellow commissioners to delay action, saying the move lacked transparency and had little to do with providing health care to the poor. Read more.
Bingo was the subject of a lengthy discussion this morning as members of the Jefferson County Commission met for their committee meeting. Commissioner Lashunda Scales sought clarity on the county’s stance on bingo in general and electronic bingo machines that are being licensed for operation by a number of Jefferson County municipalities. Read more.
Adamsville on Thursday became the latest municipality to reach a through road agreement with Jefferson County. Countywide, 34 municipalities have agreements for the county to maintain the roads in the agreement. Adamsville Mayor Pam Palmer said “human-high weeds” along Minor Parkway had been a particular concern in her city. Read more.
Bessemer will have to be patient when it comes to the present it’s getting from Amazon. That present – the online retailer’s first Alabama fulfillment center – won’t be delivered as quickly as company leaders projected at the groundbreaking in October. But Jefferson County commissioners, speaking during and after their committee meeting this morning, said they are confident the center will come to fruition. Read more.
