Hoover council approves $288,000 for Bluff Park sidewalk extension
The Hoover City Council on Monday night awarded a $288,222 contract to Gillespie Construction to build a quarter-mile sidewalk in Bluff Park.
The sidewalk will be an extension of an existing sidewalk on Maiden Lane, continuing the sidewalk from Savoy Street 1,300 feet to the south to Cloudland Drive, Assistant City Engineer Blake Miller said.
It will take a little time to get the contract details finalized, but the project likely will start in July, and Gillespie Construction will have 120 days to complete it once work begins, City Engineer Chris Reeves said.
The job is costing about $75,000 more than was budgeted for the project, but city staff members have been able to reallocate money from other approved projects instead of pulling more money from the general fund, Chief Financial Officer Tina Bolt told the City Council.
The Bulls Construction Group was the other bidder for the project and was asking for $395,460 to get the job done, city records show.
The Maiden Lane sidewalk extension is one of numerous sidewalk projects in the city in recent years, including several other sidewalk projects in Bluff Park.
In other business Monday night, the Hoover City Council:
- Authorized the mayor to enter into an agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation to extend a left-turn lane from that moves traffic from John Hawkins Parkway onto Medford Drive, which leads to the UAB Medical West stand-alone emergency department and The Crossings of Hoover shopping center. The turn lane is to be extended about 350 feet down the hill toward Interstate 459 and should mostly require some restriping, city officials said. The job is being paid for by developers who plan to build a new apartment complex, retirement community, hotel and office building to the west of the Medical West emergency department.
- Approved a new city ordinance prohibiting people from blocking city sidewalks by parking vehicles in the part of driveways that intersect with the sidewalks.
- Hired Schoel Engineering to help the city manage its floodplain management program, facilitate better compliance with city and federal floodplain regulations, and set up a program to help private parties seek federal grant money for hazard mitigation efforts. The city plans to pay Schoel $44,000 between now and Sept. 30 as part of this agreement, City Administrator Allan Rice said.
- Appointed Curtis Jackson, Jack Marshall and Rohen Por as new members of the city’s Board of Zoning Adjustment and reappointed Dan Mikos and Lawren Pratt to the board.
- Set a public hearing for June 20 to consider whether to allow Lake Crest Presbyterian Church to relocate into Suite 320 of the Chase Commerce Park office building at 3829 Lorna Road, with the condition that no more than 99 people be allowed in the church space and that no more than 12 people be allowed to meet there during business hours.
- Set a public hearing for June 20 to consider whether to allow the Hoover Board of Education to build a 10-classroom addition at Bluff Park Elementary School at 569 Park Ave.
- Set a public hearing for June 20 to consider whether to allow the Pizza Hut at 2312 John Hawkins Parkway to add a pickup window on the southeast side of the building, with the condition that no outdoor speaker or microphone system be allowed.