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Council staff pitches $825,000 capital package for City Hall, parks work, HVAC and a public-safety training building
Summary
City staff presented an $825,000 capital package to the Tuscaloosa City Council finance committee covering City Hall security and landscaping, a $100,000 Annex 2 renovation, Queen City Park vegetation removal across roughly 17 acres, an extra $250,000 for HVAC replacements, and a proposed on-site public-safety drill building.
City staff presented an $825,000 capital package to the Tuscaloosa City Council finance committee that would fund a suite of City Hall and parks improvements, HVAC replacements and a proposed on-site public-safety drill building.
"As part of the 825,000 that I'm asking for for the capital budget, moving forward, there's several broken down," Eric Thompson told the committee, outlining the proposed projects. The package listed several discrete items: repairs and security upgrades at DuPont Plaza and City Hall (including a damaged fence, lighting upgrades and improved access), a $100,000 renovation for Annex 2 (municipal court first floor offices and customer-facing payment windows), removal of non-native plant species at Queen City Park across roughly 17 acres to improve sight lines and maintenance, and City Hall landscaping tied to infrastructure work in the plaza.
Thompson also said staff is seeking an additional $250,000 specifically to address aging HVAC units citywide. "Last year, I was awarded 250,000. The HVAC replacement at the river market came in at 268,000. And so right now, we've got some units that run on R 22, which is a refrigerant that is not manufactured anymore," he said, explaining the need to prioritize replacements as units fail.
On parks work, Thompson described plans to remove brush and non-native species behind the pool house and library and to clear trails to create safer sight lines for walkers and joggers. "It's about 17 acres that we're gonna...he wants to come in in December and just go through take out all the non native species," he said, describing contractor timing and the intent to preserve historic park features while improving safety.
Staff also briefed the committee on a proposed multiuse drill building at the Public Safety Logistics site. The modular/conex-container facility would allow fire personnel to conduct structural and technical-rescue training inside city limits; staff said TPD would also be able to use the building for close-quarters training and forcible-entry practice. A staff presenter noted that the city currently relies on off-site training at the fire college, which can cause long response times and scheduling conflicts.
The committee postponed a separate larger vehicle request from PPD (a spring/fall budget item) because the presenter was unavailable this week. Staff said the remaining capital items will proceed through further committee review, with a possible vote at the next meeting if materials are available.
Details and timing: staff said some projects would begin as soon as trenching and utility work around Annex sites and DuPont Plaza are complete; the non-native-plant removal contractor would likely work in cooler months (December noted). Geo-technical and environmental testing for a related site study were described as near completion, with additional testing expected to return in approximately July, staff said.
