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(05-21-2014 10:21 AM)blazers9911 Wrote:  I'd imagine that's the case, because a lot of those houses don't look like they'd pass any inspection at this point. But, I wrote they look like crap. Like people can't/won't take care of them.

And that last sentence is pretty much the case. The houses are not well taken care by the people who live in them or the people who are responsible for the upkeep (i.e. rental/property owners etc....).

In any case, that area isn't conducive to making the Downtown/Uptown area a lively place for visitors.

(05-21-2014 10:21 AM)blazers9911 Wrote:  I'd imagine that's the case, because a lot of those houses don't look like they'd pass any inspection at this point. But, I wrote they look like crap. Like people can't/won't take care of them.

Very few people live in those homes which are a part of The Fountain Heights neighborhood. The majority of those homes and apartments are not up to code and only house drug users, and dealers. Those homes should have been gone once the FBI building and social security buildings were built downtown.

(05-21-2014 06:25 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  Birmingham already essentially has wards, they're called neighborhoods, and they are official districts with borders and associations and presidents.

"Essentially" having Wards is legally very similar to "not having Wards at all." Birmingham could call their neighborhoods "Wards" and it wouldn't make a difference...it's not the name, it's legally structuring them a specific way that is typical of Wards and not "neighborhoods" (which are suspiciously typical of the separate municipalities that infect and hinder Greater Birmingham daily...but everyone wants to be "President/Mayor/King/Regent/Honcho" of a "neighborhood/town/city/district").

To clarify my point, 3rd Ward in Charlotte has 7 museums, the NFL stadium, the AAA baseball stadium, 2 green spaces plus one nearly the size of the Railroad Park, and 2 hi-rise apartments. It was the "cultural" Ward and was planned, promoted, and referred to as such. Which Birmingham "neighborhood" gets that designation? You have to convince it to be fine with no schools, "standard" or low-income housing, clubs/bars, etc. Are the other neighborhoods going to stand for that? Neighborhoods/districts do not equal Wards.

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The city of B'ham is divided into the 9 council seat areas while the "Neighborhood Associations" are actually only informal designations and may exist in more than one council seat's area. They are an attempt to bring the city's government closer to the people by giving local people a local someone to go to with a complaint who knows who to call to ask the city to look into it. That way everything does not have to be brought up in a council meeting for whole council action. It is sort of a local type of "Home Rule" which would be good for the state government to copy.

Great. Where's the big picture planning for the city as to what gets built and where without pissing matches between these districts where, ultimately, every district gets a little bit (read: every councilperson gets their cut and brings home their bacon...to the extent their district cares) and the city winds up with bits and pieces of little things?

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(05-21-2014 09:29 PM)blazr Wrote:  Great. Where's the big picture planning for the city as to what gets built and where without pissing matches between these districts where, ultimately, every district gets a little bit (read: every councilperson gets their cut and brings home their bacon...to the extent their district cares) and the city winds up with bits and pieces of little things?

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The "Big Picture" is what the City Council is for. The neighborhood associations are an effort to keep the smaller concerns (like a clogged street drain or a pot hole or such) from clogging up time before the whole council. As the people of B'ham are getting more accustomed with running a city that was largely dumped upon them, things are getting better with more and more things going well and getting positive press - locally and nationally.

I think there's hope for a lot of these neighborhoods in the city. More people want to live in the city and not everyone wants to live in a loft or apartment downtown. The city has many great houses in several of the neighborhoods and while a lot of have been neglected many are still salvageable. Look at what Crestwood has become over the last 25 years. Look at what is currently happening in Avondale. Now we are starting to see that same momentum spread to neighborhoods like South Woodlawn and South Eastlake. The neighborhoods to the north and west will require a lot more work and commitment from neighborhood residents but it can be done. Of course the biggest hindrance to the future growth of the city is the school system. For people to move into the city and stay in the city the schools most continue to be improved. Witherspoon seems to be doing a good job but ultimately it will take parents getting involved in their child's education. I know that Avondale elementary has improved greatly over the last few years as the community has become more engaged and supportive of the school.

(05-21-2014 09:17 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  The city of B'ham is divided into the 9 council seat areas while the "Neighborhood Associations" are actually only informal designations and may exist in more than one council seat's area. They are an attempt to bring the city's government closer to the people by giving local people a local someone to go to with a complaint who knows who to call to ask the city to look into it. That way everything does not have to be brought up in a council meeting for whole council action. It is sort of a local type of "Home Rule" which would be good for the state government to copy.

No, the 99 neighborhood of Birmingham are official "districts" and have defined borders and the Neighborhood Associations have certain powers. They're not informal or just there to make you feel good. They're often cited as something that's wrong with Birmingham because they get city money, and the members of the associations often go to conferences on the city dime. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nei...m,_Alabama

(05-21-2014 09:29 PM)blazr Wrote:  Great. Where's the big picture planning for the city as to what gets built and where without pissing matches between these districts where, ultimately, every district gets a little bit (read: every councilperson gets their cut and brings home their bacon...to the extent their district cares) and the city winds up with bits and pieces of little things?

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I agree with you, but adding yet another layer of districting or division on top of the city isn't going to fix it. There's a deep seeded cultural issue of "we want ours" that permeates both the city itself and the surrounding municipalities and then oh yeah throw Jefferson County and Shelby County themselves into the mix. No neighborhood, ward, district, parish, prefecture, oblast, county, or provincial designation is going to fix it. Birmingham needs LESS division. And yes, there need to be districts so you can do things like plan where your downtown will be or where the rich white folks will live or where the walmarts will be allowed, but we already have that. All the things you're talking about are happening within the Central City, Five Points South, and Southside neighborhoods. Those two areas have obviously been targeted as where a lot of this investment is going. Now is it as organized and overt as what Charlotte did? No, but Birmingham isn't Charlotte, and it's going to take Birmingham a while to get there.

I actually think we're on the same page on having LESS division, mixed. I'm saying scrap neighborhoods/districts and replace them with Wards. But that should go along with the unified metro gov.

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In 1961, Crestwood got a new school when Comer ES was built on 50th St. As the demographics "aged" and there were fewer children, the school was closed and the property then sold to Altamont School to be their athletic field. The school then leased the buildings back to the city for $1/yr as a community school and voting place. Today there is no school on either side of Crestwood Blvd. since Minnie Holman MS was sold as well.

The more centralized the city might become, the more it might be like the state legislature which not only must deal with state business but must (under the Constitution of 1901) also make all the local decisions about how county / municipal officials are hired and paid, what taxes and their uses may be collected and other such local concerns. Since all local concerns must be voted on statewide as amendments, we have the world's longest constitution with over 1,000 amendments. I think B'ham's "locally run home neighborhood rule" is better. It leaves the City Council freer to deal with citywide issues to handle.

The neighborhood system only exists in the contiguous area that is that the City of Birmingham. The only meaningful move for cooperation between the area's people would be a unified metro government. But that's the world's biggest pipe dream. (Hint: and it ain't because people want to have their own "fiefdoms" as some have said.)

Some of it is racism. Some of it at this point is sheer inertia. And yes, some of it is empire building. Every mayor, police chief, city attorney, and every other bureaucratic job holder will be hanging on for dear life and screaming like a raped ape over the idea of consolidating. Hell, they can't even work together and *keep* the various little city governments, sure as hell won't sit still for consolidation.

Not even just racism, all the factors you've mentioned as well as "class-ism" or economic discrimination. Quite a few outside communities would balk at resting under the same blanket as others in the city.

Homewood, Mountain Brook, and Vestavia couldn't even agree on consolidating their city jails. If those three cities can't work together on that one item, then the rest is hopeless.

I'm pretty sure the city of Birmingham and the other municipalities would also think twice about taking on and being liable for the problems of Jefferson County government including the massive sewer debt...

(05-22-2014 04:02 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  Some of it is racism. Some of it at this point is sheer inertia. And yes, some of it is empire building. Every mayor, police chief, city attorney, and every other bureaucratic job holder will be hanging on for dear life and screaming like a raped ape over the idea of consolidating. Hell, they can't even work together and *keep* the various little city governments, sure as hell won't sit still for consolidation.

(05-22-2014 04:40 PM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  I'm pretty sure the city of Birmingham and the other municipalities would also think twice about taking on and being liable for the problems of Jefferson County government including the massive sewer debt...

The incompetence of JeffCo and Bham governance shouldn't be barriers to forming a unified government but motivating factors. But dead horse is dead.

(05-22-2014 06:51 PM)blazr Wrote:  

(05-22-2014 04:40 PM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  I'm pretty sure the city of Birmingham and the other municipalities would also think twice about taking on and being liable for the problems of Jefferson County government including the massive sewer debt...

The incompetence of JeffCo and Bham governance shouldn't be barriers to forming a unified government but motivating factors. But dead horse is dead.

In a defense of Jeffco, I would expect that if the state legislature took away 1/4 of the tax revenue of ANY city or other county (as it did to Jeffco since 1999), it would make it look "incompetent".

What would any of us look like if we lost 1/4 of our family's total income and were blocked from restoring it?

Happened to me in 2010.

In short, it sucks, but you manage.