Hoover council approves $500,000 to begin power-restoration at Hoover East Park

The Hoover City Council on a unanimous voice vote (with one abstention noted) approved a $500,000 budget amendment and a separate agreement not to exceed $65,000 for project management to begin restoring electrical service at Hoover East Park after testing found failed medium-voltage cables and evidence of past arcing.

City staff and outside engineers told the council the park's primary-meter electrical distribution is deteriorated and that current is leaking through the ground and onto fencing and other infrastructure, creating a safety hazard.

Mindy Wyatt, a city staff member presenting the plan, said, "We are asking tonight for a budget movement for $500,000 to get us started on this first phase so that we can go ahead and get these products on order." Wyatt said the $500,000 request is an initial allocation that would be spent across engineering design, utility transformers, internal crew work and project management while the city develops a procurement and design plan for replacing the field lighting.

Alfred Miola, an electrical engineer with Dewberry Engineering who analyzed testing performed earlier in the summer, told the council that continuity tests of medium-voltage cables showed a majority of the park's cables failing and that visual inspection found signs of arcing. "Because of those damaged cables, current's coming through the ground and it's going over the fence, which is creating a hazard," Miola said.

City staff described a two-stage approach: phase 1 would buy transformer hubs from Alabama Power and restore power to concessions, restrooms and maintenance buildings; phase 2 would replace sports-field lighting with a low-voltage solution and complete the rebuild of the park distribution system.

Wyatt provided a preliminary breakdown of the $500,000 request: $85,000 for electrical engineering design, $250,000 to purchase hub transformers from the power company, $100,000 for city crews to run power to concessions/restrooms/maintenance buildings, and $65,000 for overall project management. Wyatt and staff emphasized these are allowances based on initial inquiries and that they would return to council with more precise costs for the field-lighting replacement.

When asked about total cost and schedule, staff said only high-level estimates were available: field-lighting replacement could cost roughly $3.5 million to $5 million, with a rough timeline for full field-lighting replacement of about 11 months; work on the initial phase could occur in about 22 weeks, and staff will try to compress schedules where possible.

Daniel Riggs, president of the Hoover Athletic Association, said the association and Parks & Recreation have scheduled fall activities at alternate facilities and urged the city to move quickly but noted that some hubs will be needed again for spring sports. He and staff said the city plans to prioritize hubs in sequence so portions of the park can be brought back online sooner.

Councilor Driver announced an abstention from the vote on the budget amendment. The related resolution to engage Lemoyne for project management (not to exceed $65,000) passed with Christie recorded as abstaining on that item; the council approved the procurement and the initial budget allocation and directed staff to proceed with ordering long-lead items from the utility and to return with a detailed plan for field lighting and procurement.

The council heard from city and outside experts about safety risks and next steps rather than taking any immediate construction contract awards for the lighting portion; staff said further design work and a procurement strategy will follow.

Proponents said restoring power quickly is needed to protect public safety and to get concessions and restrooms operational again; staff said some work can be performed in-house while transformers must be obtained from Alabama Power and require longer lead times.

The council voted to approve the two related actions and to have staff return with a more detailed plan and firm cost estimates for phase two before awarding any major construction contracts.