In This Issue
- Open House with WRT Set for June 13th
- Economic Consultant Hired to Guide Park Planning
- Alabama House Bill 707 Signed into Law—Hooray!
- Park Project in the News
Open House with Wallace, Roberts & Todd on 6/13 at Vulcan Park
Join the Freshwater Land Trust, the Red Mountain Park Steering Committee and the Friends of Red Mountain Park in welcoming representatives from Wallace, Roberts & Todd—the landscape design firm tasked with creating the park's master plan—to Birmingham on Tuesday, June 13th, from 5:30 - 7:00pm at Vulcan Park. This will be a non-formatted meeting to introduce WRT to the larger community.
WRT will be in town all week doing preliminary research and the Open House will be a great opportunity for both sides to meet. We look forward to hearing specifics as to how they will solicit input from user groups and individuals eager to have a say in the design process. Anyone who is interested is welcome to attend.
Economic Consultant Hired to Guide Park Planning
From a recent press release...
The Freshwater Land Trust has just announced the hiring of Tom Martin, of ConsultEcon (www.consultecon.com) in Cambridge, MA, to serve as economic consultant during the design phase of Red Mountain Park. As such, Mr. Martin will work side by side with the design team of Wallace, Roberts and Todd (WRT) to conduct an economic analysis and business plan for the park. Mr. Martin has served in a similar capacity for the Railroad Reservation Park project in Birmingham and has extensive expertise in evaluating sites for tourism planning, historic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse.
Specifically, Mr. Martin will work with WRT, providing valuable advice on costs associated with proposed park features allowing us to incorporate economics into our decision making. This will allow the Master Plan document to be accompanied by accurate cost estimates for construction, operations, expected income, and local economic impact. This kind of financial information will be key to our future fundraising efforts.
Funding for Mr. Martin's engagement is the result of a very generous gift from the Alabama Power Foundation (ALPCO). Alabama Power has been a early and eager supporter of the park project and we owe them a great deal of thanks for their continued involvement.
Alabama House Bill 707 Signed into Law
 Rep. Paul DeMarco, Gov. Bob Riley, Wendy Jackson (Freshwater Land Trust) & Jim Bennett (Commissioner, Alabama Dept. of Labor) |
Alabama House Bill 707 was signed into law by Governor Riley on April 26th. The bill establishes the Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area Commission, a board appointed by various entities that will own and manage the Red Mountain Park property. Creating this state commission gives give Red Mountain Park the regional significance it deserves and access to funding sources available only to state agencies. The bill's passage was due in part to the tremendous support shown by Friends and others who petitioned state lawmakers with emails, calls and letters. Thanks to all of you who helped in this cause. Special thanks to Representatives Paul DeMarco, Merika Coleman, Rodger Smitherman and J. T. "Jabo" Waggoner as well as Jim Bennett and Wendy Jackson for all their support in this great effort. |
Park Project in the News
Three recent articles have mentioned or featured Red Mountain Park:
Katherine Bouma of The Birmingham News wrote a cover story which appeared on Sunday May, 14th. She speaks about the 3 concurrent park projects underway in the city (Ruffner Mountain Nature Center's expansion, the Railroad Reservation Park and Red Mountain Park) and what a statement this represents for a city not previously known for a commitment to public greenspace. Katherine continues to be a great champion of our project, and we certainly appreciate her attention. Read the story »
Phillip Jordan wrote a cover story for the May 18th issue of Birmingham Weekly. Phillip's piece focused on the Park's potential to unite the diverse neighborhoods between which Red Mountain has long stood as a physical divide. It's a well researched article and one which gets to the heart of what many of us see as the Park's main promise. This is the second piece Phillip has written on the Park and has generated alot of favorable notice. Read the story »
An editorial in the Birmingham News which ran May 22nd picks up where Katherine Bouma's article leaves off, and calls out to governmental and civic leaders to support the same 3 ongoing city park projects. I believe this piece is the work of Representative Paul DeMarco, who was one of the primary sponsors of HB 707 and continues to be a valuable ally for us both locally and in Montgomery. Read the editorial »
Thanks for your support,
John Cobbs
Friends of Red Mountain Park