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Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
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Irondale to welcome visitors with new ‘Gateway' art celebrating city's identity
IRONDALE, Ala. (Trussville Tribune) — The City of Irondale is getting to work on a new project that will see the construction of three new design features that will greet residents and visitors as they enter the community. On Wednesday, Mayor James D. Stewart, Jr. unveiled the preliminary renderings for the city's Gateway Project, which aims to highlight the city's identity. Magnolia Soap & Bath Co. brings fresh scents to Trussville 'As Irondale continues to grow and evolve, it's important that the first impression we make reflects the pride we have in our community,' Mayor Stewart said. 'These new gateway designs will serve as bold, welcoming landmarks that celebrate our city's unique identity and signal to everyone—residents, visitors, and future investors—that Irondale is the place to be.' The gateway designs feature the city's new branding, beautiful landscaping, and artistic elements. The designs will be located at 16th Street & Crestwood Boulevard, the roundabout at Cahaba Crossing, and the Grants Mill Road exit off I-459. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
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Trussville moves closer to implementing garbage fees, council discusses ways to alleviate costs
The following story is from Chris Basinger with our media partners at The Trussville Tribune TRUSSVILLE, Ala. (Trussville Tribune) — The Trussville City Council voted to accept the terms of an amendment to the city's waste collection agreement that would open the door to directly billing residents for service during a special meeting Tuesday evening. The vote was 4-1 with Councilor Perry Cook opposed. Though the council voted to allow the mayor to agree to the new terms, the agreement is non-binding and will still have to come before the council one final time on June 10 for final approval before it is enacted. Ahead of that meeting, the council will hold a workshop on June 5 where members will discuss how the new fees will be implemented and ways the city could alleviate costs for customers. Under the terms of the amendment, residents would be charged $29.90 a month for garbage and debris collection services, which will be the same service they currently receive. Customers would be billed by Amwaste on a quarterly basis. Family mourning loss of Regina Smith after body recovered from Noccalula Falls That rate would be subject to an annual price adjustment, which could increase the cost to residents after the first year, based on the consumer price index and fuel costs. Though participation in municipal garbage collection services would be mandatory for all residents, the state requires an exemption process for citizens whose sole source of income is derived from Social Security or those who have special permits granted by the State Health Department to dispose their own garbage. In addition to the mandatory exemptions, the council is considering ways to lessen the burden on residents such as expanding who could be eligible for an exemption, covering part of the cost to customers, or attaching a sunset clause to the amendment. If the council decides to widen exemptions or cover part of the $29.90 monthly cost to customers, the city would have to pay the difference. The current solid waste agreement with the Cahaba Solid Waste Disposal Authority and Amwaste as well as the new amendment can be viewed below. During Tuesday's meeting, Mayor Buddy Choat and the council again explained the main drivers behind the change in front of a packed house. Last year, the city was hit with a significant decline in sales tax revenue, which makes up about two-thirds of its general fund budget. In FY24, the city budgeted for sales tax revenues of $33.6 million but only took in $30.9 million. This fiscal year, the city budgeted sales tax revenues of $32.4 million, representing a 3% drop. Choat said the drop was not something the city had anticipated as sales tax revenues had steadily risen over the last five years. He attributed last year's drop to the post-pandemic economy, inflation, and the rise of online shopping. The city receives a smaller portion of sales tax revenues from online sales, and he added that if all the online purchases in 2024 had been made at a Trussville business instead, the city would have around $4 million more in revenue. '[Online shopping] is here, it's gonna stay here, so we're trying to find a way to rebuild our bottom line to where if online shopping continues, which it will, then we have to find a way to subsidize some of the things that the city's gonna need,' Choat said With the decline in revenue, the city passed its latest budget with a deficit spend of almost $1 million, believing that the deficit can be made up and they can end the year with a balanced budget by taking actions such as shifting the cost of garbage services. 'To be quite honest with you, that's not something we were proud of, but there was no way around it,' Choat said while speaking on the budget. 'We had some things that were already happening that we were responsible for that were coming in this year that we had to paid for that were [purchased ordered] out the year before or even the year before that, but when we saw that we started looking at different ways of producing some other revenues for the city.' Some of those measures the city has taken include doubling the city's lodging tax from 6% to 12% as well as instituting a hiring freeze and limiting overtime for city employees in an effort to balance the budget. Councilor Ben Short noted that about 80% of the city's spending is on salaries while about 6.8% is on residential waste collection. The city has paid for residential garbage services since 2002 under an agreement made by Mayor Gene Melton's administration after the city raised its sales tax by 1 cent to help create Trussville City Schools. Since then, Trussville has grown significantly, rising from 12,000 people in 2002 to about 27,000 now. With that, the city has gone from budgeting around $500,000 annually for resident garbage collection to $2.6 million. Choat also addressed funding for Trussville City Schools following last year's failed vote to increase property taxes, which would have gone toward funding three major TCS expansion projects. Without the additional tax revenue to support bonding at a cost of $90 million, the district has prioritized the construction of the C-Wing at Hewitt-Trussville High School, which is currently at 104% capacity. 'Going into the budget year we knew we had a shortfall, we had discussions, and there's a lot of misconceptions out there that this is punishment for the property tax vote not passing–it is not,' Choat said. 'This is not a school funding issue, this is about a general fund issue.' Multiple residents spoke at the meeting, posing questions about how the garbage fees would be implemented and the possibility of costs rising as well as criticizing the council for purchasing the properties at Glendale Farms and along Service Road. The city spent around $4 million on Glendale Farms to use as the site of new elementary school and $5 million for property on Service Road to prevent the construction of a proposed 500 unit apartment complex. The city has since agreed to sell the Service Road property to a developer who plans to build about 190 homes, but was only able to make up $3 million on the sale with the mayor saying that city had to match the price the apartment developer was willing to pay but that selling it for the same amount would be too expensive for a housing developer. Choat defended the Service Road purchase, saying the city felt an obligation to buy the property in order to keep the apartments out and combat overcrowding in the area. Though Glendale Farms was initially intended to be used as the site of Trussville's next elementary school, the failure of the recent property tax vote has put those plans on hold and the city is now accepting offers to sell the property. During the council's discussion on the amendment, Councilor Alan Taylor discussed the rapid development and growth of the city as well as the cost of it. 'We'll get through this, and we're determined to get through it and I certainly love having the downtown, the Edgar's, and the places have versus Sticks N Stuff and a thrift store and all of those things which we could've had which also would've affected our school system,' Taylor said. Councilor Lisa Bright added that according to the Alabama League of Municipalities that between 2000 and 2020 the City of Trussville grew 83%, saying that the city is now playing catch up with its schools and infrastructure because of how fast the city has grown. 'Yes, we don't want a deficit, and we are gonna get through it, but we can't just stop what we're doing because if we stop we're gonna go backwards, and if we go backwards we're gonna lose families, and if we lose families we're gonna lose our school system,' Bright said. Councilor Jaime Anderson personally apologized to the public for the city coming in under its projected revenue. 'I would like to personally say, you know, that I'm sorry about that. We really do want to do what's best for Trussville,' Anderson said. 'What I won't apologize for is the decisions that we made to keep apartments out of Trussville and to try our very best to provide for the school that we thought we we're gonna have.' She added that she would like to see a sunset clause in the waste collection amendment and believes the city is taking every step to end the year with a balanced budget without losing services. Councilor Perry Cook and Councilor Short also spoke in support of a sunset clause with Short adding that he would like to see some way the city could subsidize payments. If the amended garbage services agreement is approved by the council at the June 10 meeting, direct billing would likely begin in July or August. The council will next meet for a workshop on Thursday, June 5 at 5 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Irondale recognizes Citizen Engagement Institute graduates
The following article is written by Terry Schrimscher for the Trussville Tribune: IRONDALE, Ala. (Trussville Tribune) — Members of the 2025 spring class of the Citizen Engagement Institute attended the Irondale City Council meeting on May 20 to commemorate the conclusion of the course. Only a few of the 20 members were able to attend the meeting. This was the 7th graduating class since the program began in 2021 and more than 155 people have completed the informational series designed to increase voluntarism in the city. 'I got the opportunity to attend the dinner for the graduation ceremony. It was the first one I'd ever been to and that was a ton of fun,' said Council President David Spivey. 'When they go through the graduation, they get to do what they refer to as their 30 second elevator speech. They get to come up there and talk about what they all learned and everybody had something different.' The purpose of the Citizen Engagement Institute is to educate citizens on the functions of the city government. Attendees hear presentations from different departments, learn about budgets, and interact with city leaders with the intention of encouraging citizens to engage in the community through boards, volunteer opportunities or even future candidacy for office. 'It was really cool to see the value this class provides to our citizens. I encourage anybody to get on board with the next class,' Spivey added. Family mourning loss of Regina Smith after body recovered from Noccalula Falls In other business, the council approved three items on the consent agenda. The first item made a change to the city's employee manual. The change repealed the Alcohol-Free Workplace Policy and replaced it with a new substance abuse policy. The second item on the consent agenda approved the allocation of $20,000 from the current fiscal year discretionary fund of Mayor James D. Stewart, Jr. to Studio By The Tracks for services to adults with special needs and to create a community and career path for those individuals. The third item was moved to the regular agenda and was intended to establish a training guide for citizens appointed for service on municipal boards. After much discussion, the item failed and is expected to be revised for a future meeting. The final on the regular agenda was a public hearing on a zoning request. The request to rezone property located at 1799 Grants Mill Road from A-1 Agricultural to C-2 Commercial did not face opposition in the hearing. The property was recently annexed by the city and zoned agricultural but the planned Subaru dealership needs the land rezoned for additional parking. The motion was approved. The next meeting of the Irondale City Council will be held at 6 p.m. on June 3 at Irondale City Hall. An agenda for the meeting can be found on the Irondale website prior to the meeting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Memorial Day is 365 days a year in Trussville
TRUSSVILLE, Ala. (Trussville Tribune) — As grateful Americans pause around the country today to honor those who died in service to our country, Trussville has a 365 day reminder of Memorial Day. The city is home to the Alabama Fallen Warrior Monument which recognizes the 227 Alabama military service members that paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Global War on Terror. As such, the city welcomes scores of Gold Star families throughout the year. Traffic and hearts will be a little bit heavier today. The monument recognizes 115 killed in action and 112 who died in a non-hostile death. Every county in Alabama is represented in the somber tribute. The ages range from 18-54-years-old. Visitors can read the roll call of names and hometowns represented such as Clay, Red Bay, Prattville, and Jasper, just to name a few. 4 finally going home after WWII bomber crash left 11 dead and 'non-recoverable' 'It is said that when a military service member dies, the member dies two deaths,' monument founders said. 'The first is when they take their last breath and the second is when they are forgotten. The mission of the Alabama Fallen Warrior Monument is to ensure the second death does not occur and to ensure that these fallen service members are not forgotten.' The monument is supported locally by the Trussville Veterans Committee who work year-round in their support veterans. It is fitting that City Councilor Jaime Anderson is the City Council liaison to the group. Anderson splits time serving on the City Council in Trussville and serving her country at the Pentagon in Washington. To locate a fallen service member visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
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Trussville Library kicking off reading challenge
TRUSSVILLE, Ala. (Trussville Tribune) — The Trussville Public Library is celebrating the return of its annual Summer Reading Challenge with a kickoff event next Friday, May 30. The event will be hosted in Masonic Park from 5-7 p.m. and will feature free games and activities for all ages. Food trucks will also be on site. Every year, the Trussville Library hosts a Summer Reading Challenge to encourage people of all ages to have fun while reading. This year's theme is 'Color Our World.' Section of Old Springville Road closing until early fall The challenge will run from June 2 to July 20. During the challenge, participants can win prizes by completing weekly reading goals and attending events at the library. Prizes include tickets to activities around Birmingham, Kindles, video games, board games, gift cards, and other prize bundles. The library will also host over 50 summer events for all age groups including Taylor Swift trivia, painting challenges, gaming tournaments, tie dyeing, and much more. Online registration is required for some programs. For more information about the Summer Reading Challenge and other summer events, visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
