Village Living Volume 6 | Issue 9 | December 2015
neighborly news & entertainment for Mountain Brook
Here comes Santa
Meet the man who will be wearing the red suit and white beard in this year’s Christmas parade.
Features page A20
Champions again
Global learning Suzan Brandt, Mountain Brook Junior High’s technology coordinator, has been invited to the international TEDGlobal conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo by Frank Couch.
Mountain Brook’s Brandt invited to TEDGlobal By ANA GOOD
The Spartan volleyball team hoists its second state championship trophy.
Sports page B16
INSIDE Sponsors...............A4 City.........................A6 Business................A8 Community..........A13
Faith......................B21 School House.......B9 Sports...................B15 Calendar..............B22
Suzan Brandt was driving when she received an email from TEDGlobal. The Mountain Brook Junior High technology coordinator knew the email would determine whether she was among a handful of individuals accepted to attend the TEDGlobal>Geneva Conference.
“I had to pull over and read the email as soon as I got a glimpse of it,” Brandt said. It was an acceptance email, which means Brandt will be traveling to Geneva, Switzerland, this month. TED — Technology, Entertainment, and Design — is a nonprofit “devoted to spreading ideas,” usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or
less), according to its website. The talks cover almost all topics, from science to business to global issues, in more than 100 languages. Attending a TEDGlobal conference requires a lengthy admission process. “It was the most intimidating application I
See BRANDT | page A28
Price tag too high for parks ‘dream plan’
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Jemison Park is one of Mountain Brook’s parks and is a popular spot for runners and walkers. A recent study by Lose and Associates, however, said that the city needs more park and recreation space to meet resident need. Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
By JESSE CHAMBERS AND ERICA TECHO A recent master plan for Mountain Brook’s parks and recreation included everything from new playing fields and adult classes to a community center. The $42 million price tag attached, however, “is beyond what [the city] will spend,” City Council President and Park Board liaison Virginia Smith said. However, there are aspects of the preliminary plan created by consultants at Lose & Associates the city will consider carrying out, according to Smith and City Manager Sam Gaston – including the purchase of land to create more parks and playing fields. “There are several [components] the city can budget for over the next several
years,” Smith said. A draft of the plan, presented by Lose representatives at an Oct. 27 public meeting, calls for $13 million in renovation and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, $10 million for a community center, $19 million for new parks and greenways and $140,000 for design studies and development for standards of the parks. The mayor, city council and park board are pleased with the work done by Lose, but they think some of the recommendations “may not be feasible,” Gaston said in a telephone interview on Nov. 5. “This is the dream plan,” he said. “That will be discussed, and some
See PARKS | page A29