Meeting Minutes for August 2020
/Crestwood South Neighborhood Association August 2020 Meeting
August 24, 2020
President: Kayla MacNeil
Vice President: Elizabeth Murray
Secretary: Steven MacNeil
Meeting Minutes - February 2020
Motion to approve by Elizabeth Murray, seconded by Vincent Solfronk
Approved by unanimous consent
Meeting Minutes - June 2020
Motion to postpone approval of June minutes until special meeting September 8 made by Elizabeth Murray, seconded by Camille Worthington
Approved by unanimous consent
Presentations
Leonette W. Slay - League of Women Voters of Greater Birmingham
Provided information on absentee voting in anticipation of the upcoming November 3, 2020 general election
Hunter Garrison & Thomas Yuill - Southern Area Framework Plan
Plan provides a profile of current demographic, market, land use and development trends
Plan will inventory of community facilities, parks and transportation infrastructure
Data is collected through various public outreach methods including: public meetings, stakeholder interviews, surveys, Nextdoor, etc.
Plan then outlines goals and recommends actions for near and long-term implementation
Asking for feedback from the community at https://www.imaginebham.com/
southernarea.htmlCouncilor Valerie Abbott stressed the importance of community participation for the success not only the plan but by extension, the city itself
Reports
Officer Elections: Postponed until 2021
Requirements
Be a resident of the City of Birmingham who is at least eighteen (18) years of
ageHas resided in the neighborhood for at least one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the Declaration of Candidacy deadline
Has attended at least four (4) of that neighborhood’s meetings during the previous twelve (12) months prior to the Declaration of Candidacy deadline
Harold Houston clarified that an exception was made to include all 12
meetings since October 2019's CSNA meeting
Candidate declarations due September 14, 2020
Fire/Police
Jessica Burton from the BPD East Precinct reported that property and violent crimes have decreased in the East Precinct over the previous week, however there has been an uptick in firearms being stolen from vehicles
Birmingham Library - Vincent Solfronk
Reported that Mayor Woodfin's proposed budget will furlough the entire city library staff and asked for community support for the libraries
In addition to furloughing employees for an indeterminate amount of time, the Eastwood branch is likely to be closed
The budget cuts will also cease digital services for library patrons such as ebook and other digital rentals
Amy Ware made a motion to send a letter in support of the Eastwood library and the city library staff to Mayor Woodfin's office, seconded by Rose Cook.
Approved by unanimous consent
In response to a question about the line item in the Mayor's proposed budget, Hunter Williams clarified that the library's budget was cut from $12.8M to $11.5M and that the specifics of the budget allocation are at discretion of the Library's
Board.
CRR - Harold Houston
Provided the trash and brush schedule for the remainder of the year as well as the balance of the neighborhood's account
Projected balance of $27,781.00 going into Fiscal Year 2021
Hunter Williams, Councilor, District 2
Fielded questions about the proposed budget:
Underlined the concerns about students not having access to a traditional learning environments due to the COVID pandemic
Noted that there has been some misinformation in regard to an increase in the BPD budget, clarifying that the additional funding is the salaries of existing city security guards that have been previously funded by their respective institutions
Terri Michal, School Board, District 2
Detailed efforts by the school board to provide computers, cellular Wi-Fi hotspots and other equipment to students to facilitate remote learning
City schools will begin the first nine weeks of the school year remotely before re-evaluating the status of the pandemic
Programs have been put in place to educate students and parents on how to use provided equipment and software for remote learning
Voiced concerns about possible negative impact of the pandemic on enrollment
Middle school sports have been cancelled but high school sports are not, however in-person attendance has been limited to mitigate spread of COVID
Announcements
Bulk trash & brush pickup: September 2 & 23
Recycling pickup: September 2
Special called meeting: September 8
Next monthly meeting: September 28 @ 6:30
