Three Tuscaloosa streets are one step closer to being renamed after Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
Under the proposals, after two more public hearings, the City Council would rename 21st Avenue, Sixth Street and 11th Street after Robert Almon, Gary Fitts and Maxie Thomas, respectively.
Fitts and Almon were active businessmen and philanthropists in Tuscaloosa, while Thomas was a civil rights activist who grew up in Tuscaloosa during the Jim Crow era and later joined the Civil Rights Movement.
The two additional hearings on the renaming will be held Sept. 19 and Oct. 3.
Council members also celebrated the success of the “school supplies for parking tickets” drive. Tuscaloosans donated 460 items of school supplies during the drive, which will be distributed to families in need.
The program allows Tuscaloosa residents to pay off overtime parking tickets of $18 by donating $10 worth of school supplies. According to municipal court administrator Jessica Junkin, the drive forgave 113 parking tickets.
“It makes a very positive impact on our teachers and our students, and we’re just very thankful for it,” Lydia Avant, director of public relations for Tuscaloosa City Schools, said.
Later in the session, councilors voted to award J.T. Harrison Construction Company a contract to construct the new Benjamin Barnes YMCA location. The total cost of the contract is $7.3 million and provides for the building’s construction in its new location at the current McDonald Hughes Community Center.
The council also approved Alcoholic Beverage Control licenses for local businesses and the disbursement of improvement funds to the Tuscaloosa Public Library.
All motions brought forward at the session carried and all councilors were present except Cassius Lanier, councilman for District 7.
