Here are a few of the legislative highlights from Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting, in case you missed it.
ITEM 3
Continuing the efforts to position the Magic City as a sports tourism destination, the Birmingham City Council unanimously passed an agreement for Protective Stadium to host the 16th Annual TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl.
Since 2006, the bowl game has brought an economic impact of roughly $161 million to the Magic City and is attended by people from all over the country. Bowl selections will be made next month to determine which teams will be playing. Last year, Auburn faced off against the University of Houston, a game that brought thousands of people to the Magic City.
“Birmingham consistently ranks in the top tier of college football TV ratings,” Councilor Hunter Williams said. “We are excited to host the two teams this year and make this year’s Birmingham Bowl the best one yet. We want to do everything we can to ensure this game stays here for a very long time.”
Here is the item as it appeared on Tuesday’s agenda:
A Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute, for and as the act of said City, an Event Sponsorship Agreement with ESPN Productions Inc., (“ESPN”), under which ESPN shall plan, implement, and host the NCAA TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl (“Birmingham Bowl”) Football Game in Birmingham, Alabama on December 27, 2022, at Protective Stadium. The TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl is expected to bring college athletics, numerous fans, visitors, and officials from outside the City and will create and foster community pride while providing recreation and entertainment opportunities for attendees, bring jobs and have a positive economic impact for the City. For ESPN hosting the Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham, the City will provide sponsorship incentives to ESPN not to exceed $200,000.00
ITEM 6
In an effort to mitigate issues surrounding street flooding, the Birmingham City Council passed an item that will allow for hands-on support from the federal government (FEMA) for planning, engineering and grant assistance. This is at no cost to the city.
According to officials, the City will work with federal representatives to identify key flooding areas that need to be addressed. Birmingham is one of 20 cities that were selected to be a part of this program. Once the targeted areas are identified, the city will be able to apply for federal grant funding to help resolve the issues.
“Flooding is something that we’ve seen more and more recently and is an issue that puts our residents in harm’s way whenever we see heavy rainfall,” Councilor Crystal Smitherman said. “I’m very excited to see this item move forward so we can begin to upgrade our sewer systems in a way that prevents dangerous flooding in our communities.”
Here is the item as it appeared on Tuesday’s agenda:
ITEM 6
A Resolution authorizing the Mayor to apply for, submit, execute, expend, accept and take any and all actions as are appropriate and necessary in accordance with the terms of the Grant submission requirements and Grant Agreement with the US Department of Homeland Security’s FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Direct Technical Assistance Grant to receive climate resilience planning and project solution design through process-oriented, hands-on support from FEMA specifically related to grants management assistance and project scoping activities to support the City’s drainage systems. The maximum expected project duration is up to three (3) years at no cost to the City.