Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Williams
Alabama Symphony Orchestra
Carlos Izcaray leads the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in a rehearsal.
The Hoover City Council on Monday is scheduled to vote on diverting some of the money set aside for a performing arts center to pay for needed improvements to the city’s sewer system that serves the Riverchase, Inverness and Southlake communities.
The council in March 2023 voted to borrow $93 million by issuing warrants and indicated then that $17 million of that was expected to go toward a performing arts center, while $61 million would go toward the new Interstate 459 interchange south of South Shades Crest Road and $15 would go toward improvements at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
However, the Internal Revenue Service requires that the $93 million be spent within three years or the warrants no longer remain tax-free, Hoover Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Cornett said. And not enough progress has been made on a performing arts center to expect that money to be spent by March 2026, Cornett said.
She is recommending the City Council allocate that $17 million that was designated for the performing arts center to other long-term projects that either already have been completed in the last two years or are in progress now and qualify as valid expenditures from warrant proceeds.
Those projects include the installation of artificial turf on city-owned ballfields, a $3 million repair of a dam and road in the Riverchase community, sidewalk construction, road paving projects, the pickleball courts at Veterans Park and other long-term building and improvement projects.
Because all of those projects already have been funded, the $17 million initially set aside for those projects now would be available for a performing arts center or other capital needs.
Cornett and the city’s “leadership team” is recommending that $6.1 million be pulled out of the performing arts center money and spent on critical needs of the sewer system. That would leave $10.9 million to go toward a performing arts center, she said.
Jason Welch, the city’s engineering manager for the sewer system, said the $6.1 million is needed to replace a hub pump station in Riverchase, relocate a sewer line away from the Cahaba River and replace other sewer equipment in the Riverchase and Inverness systems.
Welch said these projects are becoming increasingly urgent due to the 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 the public health and the environment,” Welch said. “Despite our best effort and our vigorous maintenance program, the wear and tear of the systems are taking a toll. Our team has done everything in their powers to keep the system functioning to prevent any major environmental concerns. However, the reality is that much of the equipment has now reached its end of useful life span. Spare parts are becoming hard to find. … The items I am bringing forth are essential components for maintaining the city’s sanitary sewer system. These investments are essential for assuring the continued protection to the public health, safeguarding the environment and fostering the long-term sustainability of our infrastructure.”
Doing these upgrades now will help avoid more serious and costly disruptions down the line, Welch said.
Tracy Dismukes, a member of the Hoover Arts Council, said she understands the time constraints and the need to shift funds to meet the IRS requirements, but she doesn’t agree with pulling money out of the $17 million for the performing arts center for other uses.
“We fought really hard for a long time to get money set aside for the PAC, so I’m extremely disappointed, as are quite a few people in our community,” Dismukes said. “It leaves us only $10 million-plus dollars to start with. I feel like we’re starting over. We really need somebody to champion this in the city. We’ve got an election coming up, so we’ll see who takes that side of supporting the performing arts center here in the city.”
Also, the interest that has been earned off the warrant proceeds that have not been spent yet was substantial enough to pay for the new Fire Station No. 1 in the Green Valley community instead of that money going toward the performing arts center, Dismukes said.
“The mayor was very proud of that,” she said. “We could have added those funds to that $17 million.”
The performing arts center likely will be a $45 million to $50 million project, Dismukes said. That much will be needed to accommodate a center with 1,200 to 1,500 seats, she said.
Councilman Derrick Murphy said he’s committed to building a performing arts center, “but sometimes things take a little bit of time.” The biggest challenge now is finding the best location for it, he said. The Riverchase Galleria area would be a prime location with its proximity to Interstate 459, hotels and restaurants, but unfortunately developed areas like the Galleria campus are the most challenging to modify, Murphy said.
Dismukes said if money is diverted from the performing arts center to the sewer system on Monday night, it would be a step backward for the arts center.
Monday's City Council meeting is at 6 p.m. at Hoover City Hall at 100 Municipal Lane.
