Photo courtesy of Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.
A touring production of “The HIp Hop Nutcracker” that came to the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2019. This is an example of the type of performances some would like to see take place in Hoover.
The Hoover City Council in April redirected $6.1 million originally allocated for a performing arts center to fund urgent repairs to the city’s sewer system, casting doubt on how the long-delayed project will move forward.
The council had voted in March 2023 to borrow $93 million and spend $17 million of that on a performing arts center.
At the time, the city was negotiating with the owner of the Patton Creek shopping center about putting the center in renovated space there, but that deal fell apart. A subsequent proposal to place the center in the second phase of Stadium Trace Village also failed when negotiations between the developer and the city broke down over the size of an incentive package.
In April, the city’s chief financial officer, Jennifer Cornett, informed the council that, under Internal Revenue Service rules, the city had only one year left to spend the borrowed funds or the warrants sold to raise the money would no longer be tax-free.
Cornett presented a plan to reallocate the $17 million previously set aside for the performing arts center to other long-term capital projects — either already completed in the past two years or nearing launch.
Those projects had already been funded, so the shift would leave $17 million from other city funds still available for the performing arts center.
However, Mayor Frank Brocato on April 7 recommended the council divert $6.1 million of that remaining money to cover critical and urgent needs in the city’s sewer system, which serves Riverchase, Inverness and Southlake.
Hoover officials have known for several years that about $25 million in sewer system improvements are needed, but the situation has become more urgent, Brocato said.
Jason Welch, the city’s engineering manager for the sewer system, said the work is becoming increasingly pressing due to aging infrastructure.
“Our system that was constructed many decades ago is slowly deteriorating. This deterioration has led to a rise in blockages, leaks, breaks and repair issues that pose a significant risk to public health and the environment,” Welch said. “These investments are essential for assuring continued protection of public health, safeguarding the environment and fostering the long-term sustainability of our infrastructure.”
Supporters of the performing arts center expressed frustration that money was being pulled from their project, but several council members who voted in favor of the diversion on April 7 said they would move quickly to reallocate other funds and restore the full $17 million for the performing arts center.
Several council members said they favored using money from the city’s reserves, even if doing so required amending a self-imposed policy that mandates keeping six months’ worth of expenses in reserve.
As this story went to press, Cornett was preparing a policy change for the council to consider at its April 21 meeting.
Councilwoman Khristi Driver said restoring the $17 million isn’t enough. City officials now estimate that building a performing arts center could cost at least $45 million, and the city needs to develop a strategy to actually make that happen, she said.
