Government

New Bham Councilor John Hilliard Says He Can’t Do It Alone, Residents Must Share Responsibility for the District

This is the fourth in a series of interviews BirminghamWatch conducted with newly elected city officials. John Hilliard might become the Birmingham city councilor for District 9 when he is sworn into office Tuesday, but he wants his constituents to understand that they share responsibility for improving their district. He speaks of himself as a facilitator — someone who will bring together various groups in his community to plot out solutions to the issues of crime, economic stagnation and blight facing their neighborhoods. On the Wednesday morning just six days before his inauguration, Hilliard found himself swarmed by phone calls and scheduled meetings — the result, he said, of a “firestorm” of a transition process. Speaking with BirminghamWatch, he described his plans after he takes office, his goals for economic revitalization, and the importance of millennial involvement in urban communities. Read the Q&A.

by Sam Prickett

Old Arguments Plague Birmingham City Council Members to the End

Oct. 17, 2017 -- Three outgoing councilors bid their farewells during Tuesday’s meeting of the Birmingham City Council, the last before the new council’s Oct. 24 swearing-in. But the impending infusion of new blood did little to keep the council from engaging in one perennial debate — about funding for the Magic City Classic — or to keep it from appointing a handful of new parks and transit board members, despite protestations from one councilor. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Zoning Committee Gives Thumbs Down to Gas Station Near the Cahaba

Oct. 17, 2017 — The city of Birmingham’s Zoning Advisory Committee voted Tuesday night not to recommend rezoning a Grants Mill Road property for development of a gas station and convenience store. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

After Delays, Concord Storm Shelter Needs to Be Finished, Commissioner Says

Oct. 17, 2017 – Jefferson County Commissioner Jimmie Stephens said he’s tired of giving excuses to residents of Concord concerning the storm shelter for which they’ve been waiting. “They’ve been waiting for six years for that storm shelter,” he said at Tuesday’s committee meeting. “It’s time we took action and completed that storm shelter for the citizens of Concord. They have experienced numerous, large tornadoes. They need this shelter and protection for their community.” The contractor who was to build the shelter went bankrupt. And while the building is up, commissioners said, the roof is not tied in. “It’s important that we correct his mistakes,” Stephens said, “so we can move forward and get that done as quickly as possible.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

2 Lawyers, Drummond Exec Plead Not Guilty in Corruption Probe

Two partners in a Birmingham law firm and a vice president of one of the world’s largest coal companies have pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud and money laundering. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Newly Elected Birmingham City Councilor Hunter Williams Calls for Broad Coordination to Move the City Forward

This is the third in a series of interviews BirminghamWatch will be conducting with newly elected city officials. New District 2 Birmingham City Councilor Hunter Williams is all about coordination — with neighborhoods, with the mayor’s office, with local businesses and utilities — and making sure those perspectives are represented when considering solutions to Birmingham’s issues. Williams defeated his incumbent opponent, Kim Abbott, née Rafferty, with the largest margin of victory in any of the Oct. 3 runoffs – 71.43 percent to 28.57 percent. Williams attributes his victory to voters’ frustration with a lack of growth in District 2. “It became apparent that the district was becoming somewhat stagnant in terms of growth,” he said. “And I mean not only economically. Our infrastructure was not being taken care of specifically in our district. It was very hard to see any sort of progression.” During his term as councilor, Williams hopes to restart that growth. His plan involves placing focus on existing District 2 features such as Ruffner Mountain and Banks High School, and making sure that infrastructure repairs and community policing both take into account the specific needs of their communities. Read the Q&A.

by Sam Prickett

First? Look at the Books: A Q&A With Birmingham’s Next Mayor

This is the second in a series of interviews BirminghamWatch will be conducting with newly elected city officials. Birmingham Mayor-elect Randall Woodfin said he is “concerned” with the way his predecessor has run City Hall, and his first order of business when he takes office Nov. 28 will be to assess city finances and staffing to see whether there has been any wrongdoing. Woodfin defeated incumbent William Bell, who had served as mayor since 2010, by a significant margin in Oct. 3’s runoff election. Throughout his campaign, Woodfin, who takes office Nov. 28, promised, among other things, to conduct a forensic audit on city finances, to provide more support for the city’s neglected neighborhoods and to restore transparency and accountability to City Hall. In an interview with BirminghamWatch conducted just after the announcement of his administration’s transition team, Woodfin discussed his expectations for the beginning of his mayorship, his plan to reshape the mayor’s office staff, and his approach to both neighborhood and economic revitalization. Read the Q&A

by Sam Prickett

Former BSC President Krulak and Alabama Power VP Knight Will Lead Woodfin’s Transition Team

Oct. 10, 2017 — Mayor-elect Randall Woodfin announced Tuesday that he had selected Charles Krulak and Bobbie Knight to co-chair his transition team. In a press conference held at Vulcan Park and Museum, Woodfin described Krulak and Knight as “true public servants” who would provide counsel to his nascent administration in the months leading up to his Nov. 28 inauguration. Krulak was president of Birmingham-Southern College from 2011 to 2015. He previously served as the 31st Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and he worked in a variety of high-level positions for bank holding company MBNA between 1999 and 2005. Until her retirement in 2016, Knight had served as a vice president for Alabama Power, and she previously was chair of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute board of directors. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

For Newly Elected Birmingham City Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, the Neighborhood is Still the Thing

This is the first in a series of interviews BirminghamWatch will be conducting with newly elected city officials. Accessibility and accountability are the main priorities for newly elected Birmingham City Councilor Darrell O’Quinn. In a close runoff election, O’Quinn unseated current District 5 Councilor Johnathan Austin. After taking office Oct. 24, O’Quinn plans to immediately start working on ways to engage and educate communities on the resources municipal government can provide, he said. O’Quinn is part of a wave of new leadership headed to City Hall after the Oct. 3 runoff election. Despite his neophyte status in city government, O’Quinn has been heavily involved in Birmingham on the community level since moving to the city in 2001. He currently serves as president of the Citizens Advisory Board and the Crestwood North Neighborhood Association. That experience has allowed him to see where communities and neighborhoods have been underserved by Birmingham’s city government, he said. “I’m sorry to say that the bar has been so low that for me to step in and make a significant difference is pretty damn easy,” O’Quinn said. Recently, O’Quinn spoke to BirminghamWatch about his early priorities as councilor, his plans to address Birmingham’s economic stagnation and his expectations from the new power dynamic at City Hall. Read the Q&A.

by Sam Prickett

JeffCo Rejects Zoning Request Related to Landfill

Oct. 6, 2017 – Bethel Baptist Church of Dora’s church picnic was ruined by flies that frequent the area because of a waste transport business, the Rev. John Foles told the Jefferson County Commission on Thursday. “I want you to imagine a roadkill that has flies all on top of it, and them being very aggressive,” he said to a packed commission chamber. “That’s what we had to endure for over an hour. We threw food away. It’s not just the flies, it’s the aggressiveness of hundreds and hundreds of flies.” The flies – and the smell – with which residents of West Jefferson and the like have dealt prompted the overflow crowd to applaud when commissioners denied a request by Sumiton Timber Company and Sky Environmental to change the zoning on a 4-acre property on Snowville Brent Road in Dora. Sky Environmental has been transferring waste from trains to trucks and then transporting that waste to a landfill in Adamsville. The property is zoned for a pulpwood yard only, and the company sought to change that zoning to permit the legal continuation of its business there. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.