Here are a few of the legislative highlights from Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting, in case you missed it.
ITEM 28
On Tuesday, the Birmingham City Council approved $165,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to sponsor the HBCU SpringComing event from March 17-18.
This will be the second year that the event will be held in Birmingham. Last year, the multiday festival brought in roughly $3.7 million in gross economic impact for the City.
Events will include, tennis tournament, innovation lab events, social gatherings, and up to $25,000 in scholarship opportunities for students. For the past nine years, HBCU SpirngComing has assembled some of the largest off-campus gatherings of HBCU graduates and attendees across the country; providing over $100,000+ for high-school students who have made the important decision to attend an HBCU of their choice.
“This is real exciting for our city. It hits on so many levels and I think will be a great opportunity for our young people a place to connect and meet other young people,” Councilor Carol Clarke said. “This is really huge, especially the opportunities for corporations to recruit young, diverse talent – I can see a lot of opportunities for corporate sponsorship as well.”
Here is the item as it appeared on Tuesday’s agenda:
A Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute and deliver a Funding Agreement with HBCU SpringComing, LLC, under which the City will provide funding to HBCU SpringComing in an amount not to exceed $165,000.00 from monies received by the City under the American Rescue Plan Act pursuant to Amendment 772 to assist, as a Sponsor, in the two day event that celebrates the HBCU experience through events, panels and service activities to be held in Birmingham, Alabama on March 17 - 18, 2023. [Funding Source: 039_000.534-040 G&A Marketing and Promotion] (Submitted by the City Attorney) (Recommended by the Mayor and the Director of the Department of Innovative and Economic Opportunity)
ITEM 30
The Council unanimously approved a grant application to the US Department of Transportation Nation Infrastructure Investments for a proposed Civil Rights Crossroads Urban Trail.
The proposed project will reduce Graymont Avenue by one lane and establish a separated cycle track connecting users to improved transit opportunities and downtown Birmingham. A mobility hub, located at Legion Field, will provide access to micromobility options and provide opportunities to “activate” the hub with amenities like food trucks and mobile markets.
Here are some of the project details that were presented to the Council:
This project reconnects, restores, and celebrates a community and landscape pivotal in America’s Civil Rights Movement— where original foot soldiers who marched and stood in protest still walk today. The 2.64-mile proposed urban trail, Complete Street, and improved transit corridor traverses through what was once one of our nation’s most prominent Black commercial centers.
The trail’s corridor took center stage in America’s Civil Rights Movement and today is 100% within either a Historically-Disadvantaged Community or an Area of Persistent Poverty, as defined by the Biden administration. This corridor will celebrate, honor, and revitalize Smithfield, the west side of Birmingham, and the Civil Rights District.
It will be the spine of a growing multimodal transportation network, providing safe and equitable options via an urban trail and Complete Streets, creating a more walkable, bikable, safe, connected, and livable community. This project will stitch together inclusivity, equity, mobility, opportunity, and safety, addressing the wrongs of redlining and interstate development that still devastate Black communities today. Birmingham Civil Rights Crossroads: Reconnecting Historic Neighborhoods Through Active Mobility is a priority project that has been identified as a key corridor in the Red Rock Trail System plan and the City Center Master Plan.
Here is the item as it was presented on Tuesday’s Agenda: A Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute any and all documents required for the City to complete and submit a grant application for U.S. Department of Transportation National Infrastructure Investments (i.e., the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program) under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”), Amendment No. 2 for up to $30,000,000.00 in funding to support an urban trail, Complete Street, and improved transit corridor with commitment of $4,000,000.00 in matching funds from the City. (Submitted by the City Attorney) (Recommended by the Mayor, the Budget and Finance Committee and the Finance Department-Grants Division)