Huntsville updates

[stewdog1]

Originally Posted by Jugernagt

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) —

Three popular Bridge Street Town Centre establishments are closed and collectively owe more than ten thousand dollars in taxes, according to county records obtained by WHNT News 19.

Madison County Tax Collector Lynda Hall says Watercress Restaurant, The Heritage Club, and Pinz, all located in the Bridgestreet Town Centre, are closed and owed business personal property taxes in excess of ten thousand dollars.

Full story here:
http://whnt.com/2013/04/29/tax-collector-comes-knocking-at-several-bridgestreet-businesses/

.

Those were popular?

[HSVTiger]

Really, poor marketing, poor location and stupid high rent.
The time is right for Madison Square to strike with a grandiose plan.
Heritage Club needs to move back downtown, the Watercress spot needs to be something like Drakes, fun exciting, inviting to take advantage of the Monaco theater and The Westin. The bowling alley could be a nice club if you can find the entrance

[thunder89]

The open grass area by the Hospital is coming along really nicely. They were out there placing sod grass today, and with the trees already placed, it'll be a really nice, inviting area for visitors to the Hospital to go to get away from things.

[HSVTiger]

Now is the time plan for more lodging. When the downturn is over the demand will return. There are several hotels under construction in the metro area.

The Huntsville City Council heard a rare request at its Thursday work session: A group asking to be taxed more.

Representatives from the Huntsville-Madison County Lodging Association want the council to raise the local lodging tax from 12 percent to 13 percent.

Lodging association President Danny Hiatt said the higher room tax would generate about $825,000 a year that officials from the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Von Braun Center and Huntsville Sports Commission could use to go after more and bigger conventions. That extra convention business is needed, said Hiatt, to help offset a troubling decline in hotel stays.

Hiatt, who is general manager of The Westin at Bridge Street Town Centre, said sequestration is partly to blame for hotel occupancy rates in Huntsville slipping from 59 percent in 2010 to 55.3 percent today. Revenue per available hotel room is also down over that same period, from $44.93 to $43.17.

"We're trending down due to governmental cutbacks," Hiatt told the council. "This is obviously a concern for the hotel industry."

The additional 1 percent lodging tax - which would add 95 cents to the cost of a $95 hotel room - would be used to create a "sponsorship" fund to pursue hotel-filling conventions such as the Gold Wing Road Riders Association, Bassmaster Classic, Shriners and the National Baptist Convention. Bassmaster requires host cities to pay a $250,000-$500,000 "bid fee" but fills hotels, restaurants and other attractions to the tune of $18 million, said Hiatt.

We're trending down due to governmental cutbacks.
He said the Rocket City would still have a lower lodging tax than most cities in its peer group at 13 percent. The lodging tax is 17.5 percent in Birmingham, 17.25 percent in Chattanooga, 15.25 percent in Nashville, 15 percent in Louisville and 14 percent in Mobile.

"I don't think 13 percent is going to make (convention planners) blink, to be honest," said Yvonne Boyington, the Convention & Visitors Bureau's vice president of conventions.
But Hiatt said the hotel business is already struggling due to a combination of less government travel and an oversupply of rooms. Huntsville has about 6,700 hotel rooms now, he said, and another 400 under construction.

[HSVTiger]

It has been painful but amazing at the turn around
The Huntsville school district will end the fiscal year with a near-complete financial recovery from the massive debt it found itself in less than three years ago.

Jason Taylor, the school system's chief financial officer, told board members Thursday night that the district is on track to end the fiscal year on Sept. 30 with $14 million in its reserves. That is about 85 percent of the month's operating expenses - approximately $16.5 million - that the district is required to have according to state law.

The district ended the 2010 fiscal year nearly $20 million in debt. At that time, there was about $500,000 in its operating fund - less than 3 percent of a month's expenses - and the district had to take out a $9 million loan from its own construction fund to make payroll.

[HSVTiger]

working for a solution downtown on music being too loud for nearby residences.
What do other cities have?
Huntsville resident Chuck Harwood started the "Keep Downtown Loud!" petition on the change.org website just over a week ago. Live music played at a licensed restaurant or permitted event should be capped at 100 decibels at the sound source - say a speaker or amplifier -- and 70 decibels when measured from a distance of 60 feet, the petition says.

For live music in a public place - musicians in the park, for example - the petition suggests an 85-decibel maximum at the sound source and 65 decibels measured from 60 feet away.

Huntsville's current 62-decibel sound threshold for businesses has been in place since 1986. The ordinance allows readings to be taken as close as 25 feet from the source, but Natural Resources Director Danny Shea said it seldom happens that way. Most times, he said, measurements are taken at the property line of the person making the noise complaint.

[HSVTiger]

New downtown connector road set for hopefull October construction..this will provide quick access to Governors Drive and immediate access to Twickenham Square and Big Spring Park from the south.

The new four-lane divided boulevard will begin on the north side of Governors Drive at the Harvard Road traffic signal. It will cross St. Clair Avenue and skirt the western edge of the new Twickenham Square development before meeting up with Lowe Avenue near Big Spring International Park.
Planning and Zoning Administration Manager Marie Bostick said Tuesday
the project includes a new bridge over Fagan Creek, heavy landscaping, wide sidewalks, street lights and a "cycle track" lane for bicyclists. Plans also call for extending Davis Circle to the traffic roundabout on Monroe Street near the downtown library.

[HSVTiger]

It may soon be legal to walk around parts of downtown Huntsville with a beer or mixed drink.

On Thursday, the Huntsville City Council will get its first look at two proposed downtown arts and entertainment districts with relaxed open-container laws.

The larger district - nicknamed The Quigley after an early map of Huntsville - covers 96 acres in the heart of the city, including the Courthouse Square, Von Braun Center, Big Spring International Park, Alabama Constitution Village, Huntsville Museum of Art, Embassy Suites and the downtown Holiday Inn.

Parts of several major downtown streets - Clinton, Holmes, Eustis, Washington, Jefferson, Gates, Greene, Williams and Monroe -- would fall inside the district.

The proposed Meridian District encompasses about 10 acres around the Meridian Street-Cleveland Avenue intersection, including Bud Cramer Park, A.M. Booth's Lumberyard, Furniture Factory Bar & Grill and Lone Goose Saloon.

[HSVTiger]

ALDONT determined to shut Huntsville down.
This is totally unacceptable and the lame excuse is laughable. It's just a big game for joke of a state highway department. At this point why not just cancel the projects. All of the money will be spent Birmingham south anyway. Lets see what projects in the rest of the state are delayed.

The Alabama Department of Transportation has postponed the start of 13 major Huntsville road projects, including long-planned Memorial Parkway overpasses at Lily Flagg and Byrd Spring roads.

Huntsville Director of Urban Development Shane Davis said DOT Director John Cooper delivered the bad news in person to Mayor Tommy Battle last Friday. Cooper blamed the delay on a decline in state gasoline tax revenues, said Davis.

"It's a bit frustrating when you think you have your road plan in place, and all of a sudden it's changed," Battle said Friday. "We've asked our legislators to step forward and help us through this process."

Battle said the city plans to impress upon Cooper and Gov. Robert Bentley that better roads -- particularly the Parkway overpasses and extending the limited-access portion of Interstate 565 -- are "necessities for us."

"Some of these other major road projects may have to slip, but those two are real priorities."

DOT's decision affects more than $200 million in planned traffic improvements in the Rocket City, including:

• Elevating Memorial Parkway from north of Martin Road to south of Lily Flagg Road, including new service lanes and underpasses at Martin, Lily Flagg and Byrd Spring Road. Estimated cost: $56 million. Construction of the service roads was pushed back from 2015-2019; raising that stretch of the Parkway slipped from 2016-2020.

• Extending the limited-access portion of Interstate 565 past Moores Mill and Shields roads, with overpasses at both intersections. Estimated cost: $91 million. Right-of-way acquisition, originally slated for this year, has been postponed until 2023. Work on the service roads would begin in 2024; the overpasses won't get under way until 2026.seriously this is beyond stupid

• Six-laning I-565 between Interstate 65 and Greenbrier Road. Estimated cost: $21.5 million. Delayed from 2014-2020.

• Six-laning I-565 between Greenbrier Road and County Line Road. Estimated cost: $25 million. Delayed from 2015-2019.

• Six-laning I-565 between County Line Road and Wall-Triana Highway. Estimated cost: 23.4 million. Delayed from 2015-2025.

• Widening South Memorial Parkway between Hobbs Island Road and the Tennessee River bridge. Estimated cost: $5.7 million. Delayed from 2016-2024.

• Four-laning Alabama 53 from Harvest Road north to Old Railroad Bed road. Estimated cost: $15 million. Delayed from 2017-2024.

• Four-laning Alabama 53 from Old Railroad Bed Road north to Pinedale Road in Limestone County. Estimated cost: $42 million. Delayed from 2020-2027.

• Four-laning Alabama 53 from Pinedale Road through the town of Ardmore to Interstate 65. Estimated cost: $56 million. Delayed from 2017-2025.

• Widening Hobbs Island Road from Memorial Parkway to Parsons Drive. Estimated cost $4 million. Delayed from 2018-26.

• Resurfacing U.S. 72 East from Moores Mill Road to east of Dug Hill Road. Estimated cost: $12.4 million. Delayed from 2017-24.

• Blake Bottom Road overpass on Research Park Boulevard. Estimated cost: $7 million. Delayed from 2013-2018.


If DOT holds to the revised schedule, Davis said children in kindergarten today will be in college before many of the upgrades are finished. He said improved traffic flow is key to Huntsville's continued prosperity.

"We've got almost two dozen economic development projects we're working on, from 10 or 15 jobs to thousands of jobs," Davis said Thursday evening. "Moving people in and out of those jobs is critical not only for the city but for the state. "

At Thursday's City Council meeting, Councilman Bill Kling said state transportation officials are "killing the goose that laid the golden egg" by holding up Huntsville road projects. "Don't they realize we're the fastest-growing metropolitan area?"

Davis said Cooper told the mayor that state gasoline tax collections are falling as a result of more fuel-efficient vehicles and people driving less because of high prices at the pump. Can't they even come up with a better lie

Battle said waiting until 2020 to start the Lily Flagg and Byrd Spring overpasses, combined with previous road work, means that stretch of South Parkway will have been under construction for about 15 years. "It means your retail corridors are going to suffer that much longer," he said.

The updated DOT plan does not even mention North Parkway overpasses at Mastin Lake and Winchester roads that have been on the drawing board for years, said Battle
HSV Times article

[SpawnOfVulcan]

To be honest, as someone raised in the Tennessee Valley, I usually try to be patient with ALDOT, but this is ridiculous.

If the funds aren't there, why aren't they petitioning the legislature? Sure, it's a no go, but at least it would publicize the issue.

For such an economically minded state, we sure do underfund the department which likely has the largest economic impact upon our state.

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

ALDONT determined to shut Huntsville down.

Really? I would think it would take more than that to hold a city back...

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

All of the money will be spent Birmingham south anyway. Lets see what projects in the rest of the state are delayed.

I guess we are lucky to be in the driver's seat here in Montgomery; so many road projects progressing at once!

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by OCA REP

Really? I would think it would take more than that to hold a city back...



I guess we are lucky to be in the driver's seat here in Montgomery; so many road projects progressing at once!

has a delay list been released for the rest of the state? And yes if your already 25 year behind infrastructure is now going to be 50 years behind then growth and progress is severely hindered. I would like to see the real reason for this surprise announcement. How and why would a department delay 13 major projects, especially several that were supposedly close to getting underway (already delayed years). Did everyone stop driving? Why are traffic counts way up if so, coupled with high gas prices should equal tax revenue.

[Rail Claimore]

Half those projects aren't that necessary, but I agree that the delay of the Lilly Flagg and Byrd Spring overpasses is absolutely ridiculous, especially since utilities are now being relocated. Those two projects are an absolute must. And adding a 3rd lane in each direction on US 72 west of Providence Main all the way to County Line Road along with implementing access management would do much more to alleviating traffic in west Huntsville and Madison than anything else, yet it's not even been mentioned anywhere.

The real reason for these cuts is that (and it isn't really ALDOT's fault) the powers that be in this state see roadbuilding as more of an economic development activity than a necessary duty of the state. It also helps that most people who move to Huntsville are from larger cities with much greater traffic congestion: they probably think our rush hours are a walk in the park, so there's less complaining.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Rail Claimore

Half those projects aren't that necessary, but I agree that the delay of the Lilly Flagg and Byrd Spring overpasses is absolutely ridiculous, especially since utilities are now being relocated. Those two projects are an absolute must. And adding a 3rd lane in each direction on US 72 west of Providence Main all the way to County Line Road along with implementing access management would do much more to alleviating traffic in west Huntsville and Madison than anything else, yet it's not even been mentioned anywhere.

The real reason for these cuts is that (and it isn't really ALDOT's fault) the powers that be in this state see roadbuilding as more of an economic development activity than a necessary duty of the state. It also helps that most people who move to Huntsville are from larger cities with much greater traffic congestion: they probably think our rush hours are a walk in the park, so there's less complaining.

Aren't necessary? It's that myopic thinking that has put Huntsville in dire straits in regard to roads. Many thought I-565 wasn't necessary.
Yes Aldot is also responsible for only reacting to problems that can't be solved . They should be out front proposing solutions instead of sitting back in their comfortable holes waiting for cities to beg for anything. When you see projects on a 25 year timeline something is terribly wrong.
It's purely politics and personal agendas,

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by Rail Claimore

The real reason for these cuts is that (and it isn't really ALDOT's fault) the powers that be in this state see roadbuilding as more of an economic development activity than a necessary duty of the state.

Bingo!

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

It's purely politics and personal agendas,

Sounds like the Huntsville area needs to elect some stronger, more vocal representatives to send down here to Montgomery!

[neilson]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Aren't necessary? It's that myopic thinking that has put Huntsville in dire straits in regard to roads. Many thought I-565 wasn't necessary.
Yes Aldot is also responsible for only reacting to problems that can't be solved . They should be out front proposing solutions instead of sitting back in their comfortable holes waiting for cities to beg for anything. When you see projects on a 25 year timeline something is terribly wrong.
It's purely politics and personal agendas,

Can Huntsville and surrounding counties propose a Regional Transportation Authority with Taxing Powers? Make it a 1 cent sales tax that is dedicated strictly to transportation in Madison, Limestone, and Morgan Counties? Perhaps this can be an Amendment that folks in the Tennessee Valley would be willing to pass.

[Rail Claimore]

Originally Posted by neilson

Can Huntsville and surrounding counties propose a Regional Transportation Authority with Taxing Powers? Make it a 1 cent sales tax that is dedicated strictly to transportation in Madison, Limestone, and Morgan Counties? Perhaps this can be an Amendment that folks in the Tennessee Valley would be willing to pass.

It would most likely have to be approved by the state legislature and voters if it includes Morgan and Limestone Counties because they lack home rule. Madison County could do it without issue though.

[benjo33]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Aren't necessary? It's that myopic thinking that has put Huntsville in dire straits in regard to roads. Many thought I-565 wasn't necessary.
Yes Aldot is also responsible for only reacting to problems that can't be solved . They should be out front proposing solutions instead of sitting back in their comfortable holes waiting for cities to beg for anything. When you see projects on a 25 year timeline something is terribly wrong.
It's purely politics and personal agendas,

The 565 work is the only thing on that list that I consider "necessary". I'd give up the rest of the list so people can stop having wrecks on that outdated section almost daily.

However, the Parkway snub is particularly galling considering they are out there repaving the section from Mountain Gap Rd to the river right now, even though this was performed less than, what, 5 years ago?

[Colin Giersberg]

The current lifespan of today's asphalt pavement is abysmal compared to what we used years ago. The mixes that we used then had a lifespan of 15 years. Then Federal Government came up with a mix design called "Superpave". This mix uses recycled asphalt in order to produce fresh asphalt pavement. This is not all that bad, but it does decrease the life of the mix. Now we are seeing mixes with old asphalt shingles in the mix. These have been chopped up and added to new asphalt pavement, and as a result, the pavement last no more than 5 years. I worked on a project late last year (2012) that already has a failure in the outside lane of the westbound roadway of Al. 20 in Hillsboro. This failure is about 50 to 100' long. There is nothing that the state can do about making the contractor come back and repair this area simply because the state had already accepted the project for state maintenance before this bad spot became apparent.
I had read earlier this year that the U.S. and Europe adopted the Superpave mixes, but Europe dropped out of the program early on due to problems with the mixes. Now if we could get out of it, maybe asphalt pavement will start lasting longer.
For what it is worth, I have no facts to back up my statements, other than the fact that the asphalt pavements did last longer years ago than now. So I have to assume that it is issues with Superpave and also the addition of shingles to the mix design. I have worked with several paving crews who all say that shingle mix is no good. I don't expect it to get any better in the near future.

[Rail Claimore]

Originally Posted by benjo33

The 565 work is the only thing on that list that I consider "necessary". I'd give up the rest of the list so people can stop having wrecks on that outdated section almost daily.

However, the Parkway snub is particularly galling considering they are out there repaving the section from Mountain Gap Rd to the river right now, even though this was performed less than, what, 5 years ago?

I use those sections of the Parkway practically everyday. The overpass gap between Golf and Whitesburg and 565 widening and interchanges are THE projects that should be kept if the others have to be chopped. And yes, I have no idea why they're repaving the section of the parkway near my house now, yeah it has some cracks in it, but it's relatively free of potholes. Certainly usable for another few years, if you ask me.

Originally Posted by Colin Giersberg

The current lifespan of today's asphalt pavement is abysmal compared to what we used years ago. The mixes that we used then had a lifespan of 15 years. Then Federal Government came up with a mix design called "Superpave". This mix uses recycled asphalt in order to produce fresh asphalt pavement. This is not all that bad, but it does decrease the life of the mix. Now we are seeing mixes with old asphalt shingles in the mix. These have been chopped up and added to new asphalt pavement, and as a result, the pavement last no more than 5 years. I worked on a project late last year (2012) that already has a failure in the outside lane of the westbound roadway of Al. 20 in Hillsboro. This failure is about 50 to 100' long. There is nothing that the state can do about making the contractor come back and repair this area simply because the state had already accepted the project for state maintenance before this bad spot became apparent.
I had read earlier this year that the U.S. and Europe adopted the Superpave mixes, but Europe dropped out of the program early on due to problems with the mixes. Now if we could get out of it, maybe asphalt pavement will start lasting longer.
For what it is worth, I have no facts to back up my statements, other than the fact that the asphalt pavements did last longer years ago than now. So I have to assume that it is issues with Superpave and also the addition of shingles to the mix design. I have worked with several paving crews who all say that shingle mix is no good. I don't expect it to get any better in the near future.

Interesting about asphalt. Do all states recycle it? I've noticed that asphalt seems to last a lot longer in Georgia than it does here. Other states are similar. I know that the concrete they use in a lot of projects today is now designed for 50-60 years as opposed to the previous 20-30 years. A good bit of the Expressways and Tollways around Chicago now have 60-year concrete with their recent rebuilding/widenings. Georgia seems to be doing this as well with their recent work on I-75 north of Atlanta.