District 8 Town Hall Outlines Neighborhood Investments, Addresses Resident Concerns

By Mia Watkins | For the Birmingham Times

On Tuesday, around 90 District 8 residents sat in the pews of Sardis Baptist Church to hear what’s next for the area from Birmingham City Councilwoman Sonja Q. Smith and Alabama Representative Travis Hendrix, including a new $100,000 capital improvement project.

“I’m really excited about that,” Smith said. “It’s new. It allows for every resident, regardless of whether you’re a part of the neighborhood association, to have an opportunity to have a say in what’s happening in our district. That’s important to me.”

Residents can apply for an up-to-$25,000 match for projects that improve their neighborhood in the district. Applications will launch in the fall, and awards will be announced in Spring 2027.

District 8 is comprised of the Belview Heights, Bush Hills, Central Park, College Hills, Ensley, Ensley Highlands, Fairview, Graymont, Thomas, Rising West-Princeton, Tuxedo and Tuxedo Heights neighborhoods.

Smith reviewed what has been spent in 2026 to improve the district, including $14,250 given to the neighborhood associations and $43,600 committed to youth partnerships.

She told the crowd about future commitments — $10,000 in microgrants, $20,000 for area small businesses, $20,000 devoted to youth causes and $25,000 dedicated to the Block in Bloom festival collaboration with Flourish Alabama.

Not only were future district plans discussed, but Hendrix stressed the importance of voting in the upcoming Nov. 3 general election, challenging residents to bring five people with them to the polls.

The meeting was a first for the district. Around 25 residents submitted questions during the meeting about issues they see in the neighborhoods.

Representatives from the Department of Public Works, the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits and Birmingham Police Department’s West Precinct fielded questions about patchy repavement issues, speeding around area elementary schools and police presence.

“I think it’s important for people to know how their money has been spent, how I intend to spend their money and, again, for them to talk to people who can do something about their concerns,” Smith said. “I’m saying all the time, ‘Hey, this stuff is happening.’ It’s easy to brush it off hearing from us. I think it’s important for departments and administration to hear from people who live there and to see their passion and concern.”

Smith said that she sees herself as a conduit getting residents heard.

Some residents were disappointed that all questions weren’t answered during the hour-long session. But Smith, Hendrix and city representatives stayed behind to talk individually about the issues facing the area.

Ensley Neighborhood Association President George McCall was satisfied with the meeting but wanted more information from Hendrix about what’s happening at the state level.

“We all know we need to vote,” he said. “He didn’t give us any details about what he has done. I understand he’s one person who has to work together with the rest of them, but what have they done together?”

Hendrix talked about the lack of representation of majority-Black communities in the State House during the town hall.

“It’s been tough,” he said. “For those who don’t know, they have a supermajority. Out of the 105 members in the House, guess how many represent us? Twenty nine. They’re trying to do everything in their power to strip away everything we believe in.”

After the meeting, Hendrix said he wanted to remind people how important all voting is, especially local elections. That’s something that he also had to learn.

“Honestly, for a while, I didn’t realize how important voting was until I got in this particular space,” he said. “Now, being a public official and also getting ready for the race in November, I see how important voting is.”

Other attendees said the town hall is a start to more open lines of communication between the city council and residents.

April Myers Williams, who Smith unseated in last year’s council race, attended and asked during the meeting if all questions and answers would be available to residents later.

“An hour just wasn’t sufficient to give the level of engagement and level of information beyond what [Smith and Hendrix] wanted to share and for us to get answers,” she said. “Other than that, I like it in the community, and I’m here because I’m involved and concerned about the community I live in, and I think everyone else is, too.”

Izette McNealy said she thinks that the conversation should have started with residents’ concerns, but she appreciated having access to city staff.

“What did make me feel good was having the staff from the city here that I can ask questions to that directly relate to our state of living,” she said. “That was wonderful. I never had that opportunity before.”