256.734.2114
sjaonl@sjaonline.com
Good Hope Municipal Park expansion underway
Tyler Hanes • Sep 25, 2019
St. John & Associates engineer David Haynes points to the plans for trails in Good Hope’s recently-purchased park land.
GOOD HOPE
— Plans for Good Hope’s expansion of its Municipal Park are underway, and the Good Hope City Council got an early look at how some of the park’s trails could look during Monday night’s meeting.
The city approved the purchase of a 33-acre plot of land adjoining Municipal Park in June, with the purpose of providing additional trail space for city residents and a possible venue for high school cross country events.
David Haynes, an engineer with St. John & Associates, presented a preliminary plan for the park to show members some of the possibilities for trail layouts and facilities that could be built on the land.
The plan presented to the council included a 3.2-mile long trail loop and a .69-mile short trail loop that would be open for the public, along with a disc golf course, a centrally-located bathroom facility, a facility for local scouts and four pavilions spread out along the perimeter of the park.
There is also a space that could be used for a splash pad and an area for a playground if the council wanted to install either one of those, Haynes said.
The land already has some development on it that can be used for parking, but it also has a small creek running through it that will require work to navigate, he said.
“You’ve got a couple of obstacles that you’ve got to work around,” Haynes said.
Good Hope Mayor Jerry Bartlett said the city is looking to apply for grants to help pay for the work, and he has reached out to the city’s schools to ask them to support Good Hope’s efforts in bringing them a new cross country venue.
“We’re going to get letters from them for our grant that say how much they need it,” he said.
While Monday’s plan is just a concept for the park, City Planner Corey Harbison told the council they can take a look at some of the things they liked or things that they would like to be different in future discussions.
“This is all just concepts that we’ve all talked about over the past couple years,” he said. “It just kinda gives us an idea of what we can do where.”
GARDEN CITY, AL —The Town of Garden City’s long-awaited plan to upgrade and extend its water system into Blount County is closer to fruition with the town securing more than $1 million in federal grant money to fund the project. Mayor Tim Eskew said the town has been working toward extending the water system across the Mulberry River for several years. On Monday, April 15, the town entered into a contract with St. John and Associates to design and engineer the project. The Garden City Volunteer Fire Department already provides service to a small portion of Blount County, but the lack of an adequate water supply on the other side of the county line made that task more difficult. “Right now, they don’t have any fire hydrants over there and this will give us at least two,” he said. St. John and Associates engineer David Haynes said current plans for the project would upgrade the existing water system and extend the service nearly a half-mile across the river and is estimated to cost roughly $1.2 million. The town had previously received notice from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management that it had been awarded $657,860 in unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds available for eligible programs which improve drinking water and sewer infrastructure throughout the state. Congressman Robert Aderholt’s (R-Alabama) office informed the town in January it would be receiving the additional funds in the form of a $520,000 State and Tribal Assistance Grant, administered through the Environmental Protection Agency. The grant was included in the FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act which Aderholt voted against. An estimated start date was not available, but all ARPA funds are required to be expended no later than December 31, 2026. A public hearing to allow residents to weigh in on the project is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., May 20, at Garden City Town Hall.
CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman City Council on Monday evening approved supplemental engineering services for the city’s new Sports and Civic Complex, to be performed by St. John and Associates. The contract modifications are for both the complex itself and a new parking lot to accompany the complex. According to Councilman Johnny Cook, the complex, originally slated for the old Marvin’s on Main Avenue between Heritage Park and the Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center, will be relocated to an undeveloped site between the Aquatic Center and the Donald Green Active Adult Center. The new parking lot addressed in Monday’s resolution will be for the complex and will open onto Field of Miracles Drive. The council also passed a resolution to authorize Mayor Woody Jacobs to apply for Consolidated Rail Infrastructure (CRISI) grant funds for improvements to the railroad crossings at 9th Street Southeast, 8th Street Northwest and Arnold Street rail crossings, all crossings in downtown Cullman without viaducts. The city seeks funds in the amount of $546,676.20 to construct “improvements to the 9th Street SE, 8th Street NW, and Arnold Street Rail Crossings which will provide supplemental safety measures and improvements in the form of additional gates for access control, electrical upgrades and warn time upgrades.” The city will provide a local match of $234,289.80 of the total project cost in support of this project.
CULLMAN — The Cullman City Council on Monday evening received a good report from Cullman City School Superintendent Dr. Kyle Kalhoff and responded with some good news of its own for the system’s chief educator. Kalhoff reported that: The system will bid out projects at Cullman City Primary School and Cullman Middle School in December and open bids in January and February. A new gym floor has been installed at Cullman High School, and the gym’s bleacher project should be completed before the start of the season in November. The high school softball field should be re-turfed before the team’s first game in February. The central office is receiving security upgrades. Kalhoff reported that the system recently partnered with Wallace State Community College to offer a career exploration event for students and parents. The superintendent said that he hopes to ensure that: The system’s career tech program align with area workforce needs. The middle school offers an exploratory program corresponding to each of the high school’s career tech programs. Students in each high school career tech program have an opportunity for dual enrollment at Wallace State. Kalhoff also shared the results of Cullman’s performance in the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program, which assesses language, arts and math in grades 2-8 and science in grades 4, 6 and 8. The system scored: In the top 15 in all categories Third in 6th grade English Language Arts Sixth in 8th grade English Language Arts Fifth in 8th grade Science Kalhoff reported, “Our administrators, instructional coaches and teachers are working relentlessly to move forward in all categories to achieve our goal of being in the top five in everything we do.” Following the superintendent’s report, Mayor Woody Jacobs and the council presented Kalhoff a check for $600,000, the first payment in a 10-year, $6,000,000 city commitment to the system. The money will help fund numerous construction and improvement projects among the city schools. Other council business The council approved an agreement with MXI Environmental Services LLC for the disposal of household hazardous waste materials. The city will hold a hazardous waste disposal event for the public from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Nov. 13, 2021 at Heritage Park. The council also approved the following resolutions: No. 2022-04 to enter into contract with St. John & Associates for design and engineering services for Streetscape Improvements on Second Avenue NE from Arnold Street to Clark Street. No. 2022-05 to enter into a contract with St. John & Associates for engineering services for the sewer collection improvements program for screen refurbishment at the South Pump Station. No. 2022-06 to amend the professional services contract with Cohen, Carnaggio & Reynolds Inc. due to an increased scope of work for the Civic Center Complex project. The civic center design was expanded from 101,000 square feet to 125,000 square feet. No. 2022-07 to award a bid for a crew cab flatbed truck to Eckenrod Ford in the amount of $43,503.00. No. 2022-08 to award a bid for black and gray pipe to Bear Concrete Products, the lowest responsible bidder. No. 2022-09 to amend the Cullman Fire and Rescue Fair Labor Standards Act Work Cycle Policy. The council voted to rezone property owned by Shelby Hankey located at 101 Main Ave. from R-4 Residential District to CBD Central Business District, to annex property owned by Sherry Rutherford located at 1240 County Road 1422 as a residential district and to annex properties owned by G.A.P. Properties LLC., located on County Road 770 as a residential district. The council also suspended its regular rules of procedure to pass on its first reading an ordinance to adopt Emily’s Law regarding dangerous or vicious animals, updating its existing policy to current standards. Special events ahead The council approved special event permits for: Keith Varden of the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce for Christmas Open House in the Warehouse District on Nov. 12-14, 2021. Andy Palys of the Cullman County Wranglers Club for a trunk or treat in Depot Park on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. The Cullman City Council meets at 7:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of each month in the City Hall auditorium. The public is invited to attend.
