Embedded Files
PLAN HIGHLIGHTS
PLAN HIGHLIGHTS
Lead the City through the remainder of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Engage with the Alabama Department of Public Health and Helen Keller Hospital to keep Sheffield citizens informed about the status of the pandemic locally and current guidelines for staying safe.
Ensure City services continue while protecting the health of employees and the public.
Secure any funding available from State and Federal appropriations to recover costs related to the pandemic.
Support local businesses by staying informed about all programs available for small businesses to weather the pandemic.
Support Sheffield City Schools by providing services and resources as needed.
Form a new Municipal Government, provide transparency and improve community engagement.
Ensure a smooth transition from the current administration.
Provide orientation and establish operating procedures for an entirely new City Council.
Arrange for training of new Council Members by the Alabama League of Municipalities.
Provide transparency and improve communication with the citizens of Sheffield by replacing the City website and utilizing social media.
Promote participation on City Boards and work with Board members to maximize their effectiveness.
Inspiration Landing - Manage the City's responsibilities for the development and work with Inspiration Landing Development LLC (ILD) and other stakeholders to ensure the project's success.
Complete any remaining work required to finish the Phase I road and utilities infrastructure construction.
Payoff the Phase I construction loan and close the USDA Community Facilities loans for the roads and water/wastewater infrastructure construction.
Negotiate with ILD, USDA Rural Development and Corporate partners to secure funding to build a new Fire Station, buy a Fire Truck and staff it with Firefighters to serve Inspiration Landing, Village I and Rivermont.
Manage the Phase II infrastructure design, permitting and construction including a new bridge, roads and utilities infrastructure across Spring Creek. Negotiate funding with USDA Rural Development and seek grants to fund engineering design and construction. Assist ILD with permitting for a marina.
Coordinate with the Inspiration Landing Capital Improvement Cooperative District Board of Directors to ensure all taxes and fees generated by the development are collected to pay back the USDA loans.
Complete the Tuscumbia Landing National Park Service Trail of Tears Interpretive Site Plan.
Utilize the current National Park Service Grant to produce Phase I construction plans for trails, an overlook and interpretive panels at Tuscumbia Landing and Park West.
Apply for a Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) grant to construct the Phase I trails, overlook and interpretive panels.
Seek additional grant funding to renovate Park West pavilions, parking lots, restrooms and other features to reopen this premier park.
Seek additional grant funding to develop engineering plans and to construct the remaining interpretive features in the National Park Service plan for Tuscumbia Landing, making it the premier site on the National Trail of Tears.
Create an attractive environment to increase prosperity.
Work with the City Council, Department Heads and City employees to clean up and maintain the appearance of City buildings; streets and sidewalks; parks and recreations facilities, and City owned lots.
Complete the multi-year project I started to replace all rusted, faded and missing traffic and street signs with new signs that comply with current Federal Highway Administration safety standards.
Use available funds to pave, repair and stripe City streets.
Work with property owners, the Sheffield Beautification and Tree Board, the Historic Sheffield Commission, Keep the Shoals Beautiful, Master Gardeners and others to improve the appearance of the City.
Continue to support the Sheffield Housing Authority in its efforts to improve all of the housing stock in the City.
Enforce existing ordinances and laws as necessary to clean up the City.
Work with the Municipal Court to implement the Assign A Highway or other alternative sentencing program to reduce costs for housing inmates in the jail and remove litter from our streets.
Acquire state tax sale properties and transfer ownership to adjacent property owners to reduce overgrown lots and maintenance costs.
Recruit businesses and Jobs to Sheffield - Work with the Sheffield Redevelopment Authority, Sheffield Central, Commercial property owners, the Shoals Chamber of Commerce, Colbert County Tourism, SEDA, NACOLG, TVA and others to demonstrate the great potential in Sheffield.
Highlight the revitalization of downtown Sheffield to recruit new businesses.
Leverage Inspiration Landing to bring new businesses to other areas of the City.
Work with tourism, Muscle Shoals Music Foundation, ILD and others to highlight the great tourism and recreation opportunities in Sheffield.
Continue to promote retail development along Cox Boulevard. Once the road is improved, the existing 200+ apartment units and service businesses make it a prime location for new retail businesses.
Promote retail development along Second Street from Cox Boulevard to the Muscle Shoals city limits. This Sheffield gateway area is attracting new businesses. An existing property and business owner envisions a restaurant cluster across from Champy's. Another business has additional property to expand to.
S. Montgomery Avenue and S. Jackson Highway is underdeveloped to take advantage of the hundreds of employees and visitors to Helen Keller Hospital.
Nathan Boulevard and Hatch Boulevard along US 43 and US 73 are still among the highest traffic count road in the Shoals.
Work with Muscle Shoals Holdings, LLC, SEDA, TVA and others to recruit businesses to the 313 acres of Muscle Shoals Reservation property in Sheffield's City Limits.
Work with NWSCC, AIDT, Sheffield City Schools, Sheffield Housing Authority, NACOLG, SEDA, and others to identify the Sheffield workforce and develop a plan to improve it to fit local needs and put Sheffield people to work.
Utilize the Capital Projects List I produced with input from City Departments to develop a formal Capital Budget that includes all needed projects and funding outside of the normal operating budget.
Match requirements for existing grants (Cox Boulevard)
Streets and sidewalk maintenance short term and long term needs.
Buildings maintenance needs.
Parks and Recreations facilities needs.
Street and Sanitation Department and Cemetery equipment needs.
Police Department vehicles and equipment needs.
Fire and Rescue Department vehicles and equipment needs.
Sheffield Public Library equipment needs.
Work on the Shoals Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Committee to justify funding for Sheffield functionally classified road projects.
Leverage the Inspiration Landing Corridor study to fund improvements to primary access corridors.
Apply for a BUILD Grant to construct a Railroad overpass at the preferred location in Sheffield.
Prepare for potential Federal infrastructure stimulus funds related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Develop engineering plans for functionally classified roads including W. Montgomery, Blackwell Road, Georgia Avenue, W. 20th Avenue and others. Previous Federal stimulus programs required shovel ready projects.
Work with Department Heads and the Civil Service Board to update Job Descriptions and evaluate resource needs to optimize City services and human resource management.
Work with the Planning Commission and NACOLG to develop a new Comprehensive Master Plan for the City of Sheffield.
A Comprehensive Master Plan is the basis and justification of zoning regulations. Sheffield's latest is from 1979.
Use the Comprehensive Master Plan to demonstrate the opportunity for business and residential development in Sheffield
Promote and expand the wonderful assets of Sheffield: its natural beauty; exceptional parks and recreation facilities; outstanding schools; beautiful and unique residential areas; and significant historic sites.
Expand access to River views by extending and expanding our Bike and Pedestrian Trails on existing City property.
Work with Tuscumbia to provide canoe and kayak access from Spring Park to Tuscumbia Landing and Inspiration Landing at the mouth of Spring Creek.
Participate with the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area in the Tennessee Riverline 652 project to highlight Sheffield's great river and cultural resources.
CURRENT CONDITIONS
CURRENT CONDITIONS
Any plan for change and progress should start with an understanding of the problems and obstacles that need to be overcome. I've studied our history and evaluated our demographics extensively. Historically, the main contributing factor to our current circumstances was the decision in 1952 to relocate US 43 and US 72 from the downtowns of Sheffield and Tuscumbia to the east. Changing the traffic flow gradually caused a shift in commerce and residential development. By 1968, the shift resulted in Southgate Mall being built in Muscle Shoals. Town Plaza Shopping Center was built at the same time. Soon, most of the businesses in downtown Sheffield closed and we had many vacant buildings. Sheffield began to experience population decline beginning in the late 1960s. It was gradual at first but accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s until beginning to slow beginning in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. The 2019 census estimate shows a decline since 2010 of only 1.52%. It's much improved but still going the wrong way. The following table shows the population trends in Sheffield from the 1890 census through the 2019 census estimate. As you can see, we have experienced a population decline of over 34% since our peak in 1960.
The population decline created a number of problems beyond vacant commercial buildings. Less population created excess housing stock. Surplus housing supply drives down property values. Low cost real estate attracts investors looking for rental property bargains who often don't invest enough to maintain the property. Unsold vacant housing tends to deteriorate over time, too. The combination created unsightly, blighted conditions that contributed to additional deterioration in a viscous cycle. Many vacant commercial buildings suffered the same fate. Low cost rental property also results in an increase of low income residents resulting in higher poverty levels. I have nothing but sympathy for people with income insecurity and don't begrudge anyone a place to live. I hope as Mayor I will be able to improve the circumstances of all our citizens. Nevertheless, high poverty rates have consequences to a City's ability to attract national retailers who look for customers with disposable income.
Another obstacle to commerce is the railroad tracks that bisect the City. They were rerouted from Tuscumbia through Sheffield not long after the City's founding to support the local Iron industry and connect it to Birmingham and its iron industry resources. During my first term on the City Council, I revived a project that the Shoals Chamber of Commerce pursued with Steve Nesbitt's leadership to relocated the tracks out of the City limits of Tuscumbia, Sheffield and Muscle Shoals. It would have eliminated nine at grade crossings and solved the problem of blocked crossings in all three cities. The engineer's cost estimate for the original project in the late 1990s was in the $20 million to $30 million range. With help from NACOLG, I got an updated cost estimate from the same engineering consultants that did the first estimate. By 2008, it had risen to the $80 million to $90 million range. Congress passed a stimulus program that included Tiger Grants that could be has much as $100 million. The Shoals MPS authorized a Tiger Grant application to fund the Railroad Relocation Project. I worked on the application with NACOLG and submitted it. The grants were competitive and Norfolk Southern submitted an application to build intermodal terminals in Memphis, Birmingham and Knoxville. Norfolk Southern was awarded the grant for our region because it had a broader effect. We've been stuck with the tracks ever since. A recent study of possible locations for an overpass offer some hope for limited relief. I will stay engaged with that effort to insure the location selected is of the most benefit to Sheffield.
Because of these circumstances, Sheffield has a stable but modest tax base. It's stable because people buy staples and necessities from Foodland, the Dollar Stores and other Sheffield businesses. It's modest because much of the discretionary spending leaks to Muscle Shoals and Florence where buying opportunities are more extensive and diverse. A fairly recent development that Sheffield has benefited from is the collection by the State of taxes on Internet sales. As I write this, we have seen a slight increase in tax revenues and general fund balance despite and probably because of the Covid-19 pandemic. More people are buying things on-line instead of risking a visit to a big box store. That new revenue is threatened by requests that more of it be diverted to education. Our modest tax base makes paying City employees competitive wages a formidable challenge. As a result, many employees work second jobs to make ends meet. The turnover rate, especially among Public Safety employees, is excessive and expensive. I've worked hard to identify budget adjustments to make elsewhere to successfully justify raises but not enough to catch up to Florence and Muscle Shoals. We need more revenue and creative thinking to solve this problem.
CREATE AN ATTRACTIVE ENVIRONMENT TO IMPROVE PROSPERITY
CREATE AN ATTRACTIVE ENVIRONMENT TO IMPROVE PROSPERITY
When I first got involved with the Sheffield Redevelopment Authority in 2005, I immediately recognized that we needed more businesses and tax revenue. I joined the International Council of Shopping Centers, which in the largest organization of Retailers in the country. I enrolled the Sheffield Redevelopment Authority in an economic development program TVA offered called the Consumer Connection that was designed to help Cities like Sheffield attract retail businesses. Mayor Anderson and the City Council commissioned the Buxton company to do a study to recommend which retailers would be the best fit for Sheffield. We completed the TVA training. I studied the Buxton reports and contacted the companies they recommended. I developed a brochure promoting Sheffield and available sites for national retailers to locate including City owned parcels in high traffic areas. I attended ICSC events and talked to many national retailers about coming to Sheffield. I finally learned that national retailers develop formulas they use to determine where they can expand and be successful. They look for growing populations, moderate and higher incomes and other criteria that Sheffield didn't meet. I realized that our best bet for attracting businesses was local entrepreneurs and developers that understand the Shoals area and can recognize opportunities our demographics don't reveal.
For local investors and developers to find opportunity in Sheffield, something needed to be done to make it more attractive. In 2006, I worked with Mayor Billy Don Anderson and Mary Settle Cooney of the Tennessee Valley Art Association to get the first streetscape improvement grant in downtown Sheffield to renovate Third Street and the façade of the Ritz Theater. After initially being denied a CDBG grant, we met with the Director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) to make our case for why we needed the grant and we got it. That project and the subsequent streetscape improvements along Montgomery Avenue created and environment that gave Danny Hardeman confidence he could buy commercial buildings, renovate them and get a fair return on his investment. Danny's success inspired others and downtown Sheffield has experienced a remarkable revitalization, accomplished exclusively by local developers and entrepreneurs.
The Sheffield Redevelopment Authority has contributed to the efforts to attract and retain businesses by providing relatively modest incentives and support to small business startups. Most of the incentives are in the form of capital improvements that make a building suitable for a business or furnishings that the SRA owns and can be reused if the business fails. The incentives have succeeded in some cases and other businesses have failed but the overall commercial inventory has improved in either case.
I believe that to continue the revitalization downtown and in other areas of the City we need to continue working to create an environment that demonstrates that businesses can be successful and that families can thrive in Sheffield. We must work with property owners and residents throughout the City to encourage them to maintain their property and improve the appearance of the City. Boards and organizations like the Sheffield Beautification and Tree Board, the Historic Sheffield Commission and Keep the Shoals Beautiful can contribute to this effort if we encourage and support them effectively. When necessary, we need to enforce the existing ordinances and codes we have to protect the property values of our responsible property owners and ensure residents have clean, safe neighborhoods to live and play.
The City needs to set the example by keeping our part of the City clean, well maintained and looking good. I was able to most of our street signs replaced during my time on the City Council. Many traffic signs were brought up to current specifications but many more need attention. Some of our buildings, including City Hall need painting and cleaning up. We have about $500,000 in paving funds that needs to be put to work. This will be a focus of mine as Mayor.
The following link shows my compilation of the ordinances and laws we can use to improve the appearance, health and safety of the City:
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:31267f9a-60a4-4f09-b3c2-506ee2314c63
INSPIRATION LANDING
INSPIRATION LANDING
The Inspiration Landing Development is a remarkable public-private partnership that will transform Sheffield's economy and quality of life when it is completed. A copy of the conceptual master plan is shown at the top of this page and below.
This improbable project has developed and evolved over a long time with a lot of effort by many people. From one perspective, it started in the early 2000s when Mayor Ian Sanford contacted John Elkington because of his success with Beale Street in Memphis. Mayor Sanford asked Mr. Elkington to develop a plan for Downtown Sheffield to become a Music and Entertainment District to take advantage of the City's music heritage. Mr. Elkington's plan was incorporated into the Sheffield Redevelopment and Revitalization Plan that was in developed 2005 and 2006. The City was unable to implement the plan but the relationship that was established was lasting.
In 2007, Bill Campbell, a Sheffield native and professional Engineer approached me as Chair of the Sheffield Redevelopment Authority about a plan he had to develop a golf resort in Sheffield. It was called the River City Development and would extend from Furnace Hill across Spring Creek onto 155 acres of privately owned property. Mr. Campbell needed the Sheffield Redevelopment to acquire property adjacent to the City owned municipal dump site to make room for the golf course. While the SRA worked to acquire the property, Mr. Campbell engaged Nicklaus Design to design a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course around a Resort Village and hotel at Furnace Hill with a Marina and residential property on the west side of the project. Mr. Campbell secured a letter of intent for financing and the golf course design was taking shape. In my role as Chair of the Planning Commission, I updated our Zoning Ordinance to include a Resort Mixed Use Planned Unit Development to accommodate the development. Then the Great Recession hit. Capital dried up and the project died or so we thought.
River City Golf Resort Development Master Plan and Detail from 2007.
In 2015 Bill Campbell returned to the City with a new proposal and a new partner. In the interval since the River City Resort project he convinced John Elkington to participate in the project to help Sheffield's economy. Mr. Elkington agreed but wasn't interested in a golf course. Instead, he proposed an entertainment resort development and they labeled it Inspiration Landing. As with the River City Development, Inspiration Landing requires a collaborative public-private partnership between the developer, the City and the Sheffield Redevelopment Authority. The City and SRA provides the land on the east side of the project in development ready condition and puts in the utilities and road infrastructure to the development. Inspiration Landing Development LLC will build the development, enlist tenant businesses and operate the entertainment venues. An Economic Impact Study was done by Younger Associates who has done work for TVA to confirm financial feasibility. The City, SRA and ILD entered into a Land Transfer and Development Agreement to seal the partnership. The conceptual Master Plan for Inspiration Landing is at the top of this page.
A major obstacle to the development among several was the contamination from the old Municipal dump and Shooting Range at Furnace Hill. Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments were done using funds from the City's first EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant. The Phase II assessment included a cleanup plan that EPA and ADEM approved. Because the City was the responsible party for contaminating the property it was not eligible for an EPA Cleanup Grant. I recognized and confirmed with EPA and ADEM the opportunity for the City to transfer ownership of the property to the Sheffield Redevelopment Authority which would be eligible for the grant. That was done and the SRA was successful with its application receiving a $200,000 EPA Cleanup Grant. Estimates of the cost of the cleanup exceeded $200,000 so Parker Mount of ILD and I met with the Director of the Brownfields unit at ADEM to make a case for a loan from ADEM's Revolving Loan Fund. After hearing about Sheffield's circumstances and the transformative benefit from the Inspiration Landing development, we received a loan of up to $300,000 at zero interest for ten years to cover the cost above the $200,000 grant amount. With the funding in place, the site was cleaned up and we received a Letter of Conditional Concurrence from ADEM certifying it could be used as needed for the development.
The EPA Cleanup Grant came with a categorical exclusion from requirements to comply with National Environmental Protection Act and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act provisions. However, simultaneous with the cleanup, the City applied for USDA Rural Development loans to pay for the roads and utilities infrastructure. Using those Federal funds invoked the requirement to comply with NEPA and NHPA Section 106. I arranged to have the required Protected Species and Wetlands environmental surveys and Archaeological/Cultural Resources survey done. The environmental surveys identified habitat for two endangered bat species and presence of wetlands on the site. The Northern Longeared and Indian Grey bat roost in trees between March and October and hibernate in caves in the winter. The Protected Species Act prohibited trees being cut until the bats were safely hibernating which would delay the project for months. Bill Campbell engaged a Conservation Consultant that did a more in depth study that confirm there were no endangered bat species present at the site and we were allowed to proceed.
The Archaeological survey and the clean up excavation revealed remnants of the iron blast furnaces that were built at the site in the late 1800s when Sheffield was founded. The presence of remnants of the furnaces were essentially the result of a sloppy demolition job and probably the reason why the municipal dump was located on the site. Now, the remnants are considered historic artifacts. Each one had to be inventoried, photographed, and documented for posterity. Rather than treat this as an obstacle, ILD decided to utilize some of the artifacts and integrate them into the design of the Furnace Hill Town Center and Entertainment District. The blast furnaces were built by two Industrialists. Enoch Ensley came from Memphis and built two furnaces called the Lady Ensley furnace after his wife and the Hattie Ensley furnace after his daughter. Ensley played a major role in founding Birmingham and its Iron industry. Ensley Alabama is named for him. Edmund Cole came from Nashville and built three blast furnaces at Furnace Hill. He became a founder of Vanderbilt University and a major Nashville bank. One of the artifacts that will be featured at Furnace Hill is a beehive kiln that was part of the Lady Ensley Furnace. The foundation of one of the Cole furnaces was uncovered during construction of the road into Furnace Hill and will be retained as part of the development as will other historic artifacts.
Because of the profound and varied layers of history in Sheffield, John Elkington decided to include a Historical and Cultural Center at Furnace Hill to interpret it. Without compromising his negotiations, he is working with a native of Sheffield and national organizations to get the Center funded, designed and built. Sheffield's story and its profound impact on regional and national history and culture will be celebrated.
In a meeting with Federal agencies and stakeholders at TVA, the burden of Federal regulations plus the permitting TVA and the Corps of Engineers require for the new Bridge over Spring Creek and the marina led to a decision to split the Inspiration Landing project in two. Furnace Hill on the east side of Spring Creek will be developed first to avoid the extra complications of bridge and marina permitting. The bridge and west side will follow once the east side is well underway. Phase I does include a new road through Park West that will lead to the bridge when Phase II proceeds. Now, it will end at the parking lot at Tuscumbia Landing which will contribute to the implementation of the National Park Service Trail of Tears plan, there.
Because of the pandemic, plans for the components at Furnace Hill are in flux to some extent. AN amphitheater and event center are definite. Multiple restaurants are confirmed and the Historic and Cultural Center are definite. John Elkington plans to announce tenants and other plans at Furnace Hill, soon. Completion of the road into Furnace Hill is a prerequisite for development construction to begin. Because of record rain and pandemic related delays, the roads should be finished in August or September, now. The following pictures show the conceptual Master Plan for Inspiration Landing, a pre-pandemic design of Furnace Hill, and a picture of the road under construction the week of July 13, 2020.
To repay the USDA loans, the City of Sheffield established a Capital Improvement Cooperative District with a Board of Directors to manage it. The Inspiration Landing Development Cooperative District has authority to collect taxes generated within the boundaries of the Inspiration Landing Development as currently defined by the boundaries of the Master Plan. The Cooperative District Board of Directors can add fees and other assessments within the district to generate additional revenues. All of the existing taxes and any added by the Board go toward repaying the loans. Payments on the USDA loans can be deferred for two years after the construction is completed which gives us time for Furnace Hill components to be built and start generating taxes and fees to make the loan payments.
TUSCUMBIA LANDING
TUSCUMBIA LANDING
Tuscumbia Landing is a remarkable site located on the eastern side of the mouth of Spring Creek. Around 1820, the City of Tuscumbia established a river port at the site. At first, a wagon road was used to transport commodities and people to and from the port. Later, the first railroad west of the Appalachian Mountains was built from downtown Tuscumbia to the Landing. The railroad was extended to Decatur to bypass the Muscle Shoals section of the Tennessee River that was treacherous to navigate. Tuscumbia Landing played a significant role in the removal of Native American from the Southeast to Indian Territory to the west in the 1820s and 1830s. The forced removal of Native Americans in the 1830s is known as the The Trail of Tears. More historical context can be found at the City History tab of this website.
Because of its role in the Trail of Tears, the National Park Service certified Tuscumbia Landing as an official site on the National Trail of Tears. With input from the public and stakeholders, the NPS developed a plan for Tuscumbia Landing to be developed as a premier interpretive site on the National Trail of Tears. The first phase of the plan calls for a walking trail to be constructed from the parking lot at the end of the road in Park West along the original bed of the Tuscumbia Rail Road Company line to the site of a three story terminal building that was destroyed during the Civil War. Another trail will follow the original wagon road from the parking lot to the river shoreline where the docks were located. An overlook platform will be built at the end of the trail at the site of the terminal building. Interpretive panels at various locations along the trails will explain the historical features of the site and explain Tuscumbia Landing's role in the Trail of Tears.
The NPS plan includes plans for areas of Park West to feature life sized silhouettes of steamboats, wagons, the train, people and other items that will depict how Tuscumbia Landing appeared when the Native Americans were forcibly removed. The full plan includes building a frame of the terminal building at the end of the overlook to give an impression of the bustling, busy riverport it was historically. The NPS has provided a $50,000 grant to develop construction plans for the phase I plans. If funding is adequate, we will include construction plans to extend the trail over the railroad bed through Park West and possibly along Blackwell Road all the way to the City Limits. The City owns sufficient right of way and park property to complete a trail this long. Once the construction plans are completed, I plan to apply for a Transportation Alternatives Program grant to build the trail and other features of Phase I.
Tuscumbia Landing Phase I Plan
Tuscumbia Landing and Park West Future Phase
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