VINEMONT, Ala. – Unity and cooperation seemed to be the new focus as the South Vinemont Town Council met Tuesday night. Although the new council had encountered a few tense moments over the past several months, working together to make improvements to Henry & Roe Wood Park has created a new spark of optimism, excitement and teamwork.
Council member Sonya Copeland addressed the other council members, saying, “I appreciate everybody coming together for the school. That means a lot to me. Just the council as a whole doing something together. This is why I joined the council, and this makes me super excited.” The next planned community event will be the Free Community Movie Night scheduled for Aug. 21. The movie, “Toy Story 4,” will begin at 7:45 p.m. at the Vinemont Community Center.
The council brainstormed ideas for future community events and improvement projects they could work on together. Sonya Adams suggested organizing a fall festival that would bring together the business and residential community. Fellow council members were in favor and eager to start planning.
Chris Thompson invited Eric Whitehead to speak at the work session about exciting plans for the new disc golf course in South Vinemont. Whitehead and other disc golf enthusiasts have established the Vinemont Disc Golf Club. He said, “We have started a league (on) Wednesday nights. We’ve got a lot of excited people coming from Huntsville, Arab and Gardendale.”
He asked the council for help making improvements to the course in an effort to host tournaments. The first need would be tournament-quality baskets. “We know permanent baskets do cost money. We are willing to do anything we can to help reimburse–sponsorships, tournament funds. We are willing to go the mile if you are willing to help us.”
In addition to the basket improvements, club members pledged to do the work to assist in beautification of the course that would benefit all visitors to the park. “It’s a diamond in the rough, but we are wanting to make it special,” Whitehead said.
Mayor Radginal Dodson and the council were supportive of Whitehead and the Vinemont Disc Golf Club. Dodson did remind Whitehead that any changes to the park would need to have prior approval from the council.
Zach Copeland spoke during the public comment portion of the regular business meeting. He presented the council with some ideas about adding a sidewalk network in the town and information on grants available to fund sidewalk projects. “Let’s try to get people off the road that aren’t in a motorized vehicle. Highway 31 just needs to be safer, and I think sidewalks would be a great start,” Copeland added.
The council unanimously approved the 2021-2022 Transportation Plan which is required for the Rebuild Alabama Act (gas tax). After an assessment of the conditions of the roads in the town, Mayor Dodson and Public Works Director Mike Graves agreed that Goodwin Road needed to be repaved. Dodson explained, “Unless we do something to Goodwin, it’s going to deteriorate past where it will need to be ground up and redone completely. It will be more expensive then unless we can take care of it a little bit at a time now or in the near future.”
Graves added, “Understand that this project will not begin until next summer.” The town will have to wait until the money from the gas tax is available before the project can begin.
The Tillery Street paving project has been completed and work has begun on Woods Street. The new culvert has been put in place and is awaiting paving. Graves said, “We need some time for it to settle.”
The council tabled making a decision about teaming with the North Alabama Cyber Institute’s PISCES program. The program teams with local colleges and municipalities to give students an opportunity to gain experience in cybersecurity. The council felt that more time was needed to research the program. They also wanted to hear from their current IT provider before making a commitment.
The South Vinemont Council meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. with a work session at 5:30 p.m. The council meets at South Vinemont Town Hall.
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