LEEDS — From new ball fields to a new fire station, drainage repairs to the grand opening of one of the state’s premiere shopping destinations, the City of Leeds will be seeing a lot of changes over the winter months and into the spring of 2011.

Among those changes will include the physical location of city hall itself. By the end of September, all city offices will be moved from the current location on First Avenue.

The city court has already moved to a building on Ninth Street, the same building that used to house city hall and after that the police department.

The city hall will soon be sharing the current police department building, which was at one time a Jefferson County Health Department facility. Since the city bought the building, it has gone through mold remediation and can be fully utilized, meaning trailers used as temporary offices for the police department can also be removed.

“Essentially, we will be dividing the building with the police department utililizing about 60 percent and the city using 40 percent,” said Leeds Mayor Eric Patterson.

The mayor added that combining the offices will save the city money.

“We are looking at saving about $25,000 to $30,000 by cutting the rent on the trailers at the police department and by saving on utilities,” Patterson said.

Drainage and Paving

The city is also moving forward with a number of drainage and paving projects in the city. The council will consider adding almost $1 million to another bond already approved for youth athletic field improvements of $1.4 million.

A list of roads from throughout the city are being considered for repaving, including Zeigler Road, which has seen an increase of traffic due to the closure of the Lake Purdy bridge.

Patterson said he is excited about the Zeigler Road project as that road could help improve access to Rex Lake Road and the development in that area.

“I’m hoping that by improving that road we will have a nice commercial corridor from Highway 119 over to Rex Lake and Grand River,” he said.

All drainage and road work is pending council approval.

Another road project currently underway is at Exit 144 where a new road is being constructed that runs behind local businesses already there. Patterson said that project is currently on hold due to a problem sewer services, but that the city is able to work through that and move the project forward once again.

Railroad Crossing

Patterson said one project in its infancy right now has to do with the railroad crossing in Leeds. He said he expects train traffic to increase with a new train-to-truck cargo station opening in McCalla. He said he will be discussing with railroad, state and other officials about the possibility of an underpass or overpass to ease the traffic in downtown.

“I think we have a shot at doing something like that in Leeds,” he said.

Parks and Recreation

There will be some big changes coming for the Park and Recreations Department. In addition to new baseball fields to be constructed at Leeds Memorial Park, the city is also gearing up to hire a director for the department.

The ballfields could be done as early as April 2011, according to Patterson. He said the city will let the bids out over the next few weeks.

The city council has already approved obtaining a bond of $1.4 million for the project.

Patterson said work to improve park facilities is well underway.

“We’ve removed the armory, have paved the unpaved areas at he civic center complex, we’ve renovated the tennis courts,removed two blighted buildings, and we have community service workers busy with painting and cleaning,” he said.

In addition, new fencing is being erected at the current baseball fields and plants and other work has been done at the youth football field.

“We are currently working on trying to make the restrooms (at the football field) handicap accessible. We are getting prices and plans together for that,” the mayor said.

City leaders are trying to entice corporations and businesses to help by donating to the project.

He added that the city is also looking at the civic center, specifically the heating and air system, the upstairs area and upgrading the weight room.

The city has also discussed the possible addition of a splash pad for local youth. The city opted not to open the local swimming pool this year due to the expenses involved and a large leak in the pool’s surface.

“We are talking to some people about the splash pad,” he said. “Right now, we are looking at what it will cost and what might be involved.”

Patterson said the pad would likely be located where at current swimming pool site.

A lot of cities are going to the splash pad because it is cheaper in labor and maintenance.

Fire Station

One need identified for the City of Leeds is a fire station for residents along Highway 119 and the valley. The city is working to acquire land from Genesis Church on what used to be the Terry Walker Country Club. Patterson said if all goes well, the new fire station could be in place by next summer, pending soil testing and other details.

Shops of Grand River

Patterson said the Shops of Grand River project has gone very well and is looking forward to celebrating its opening in October.

“I truly believe that Grand River is going well enough that  we will see (the developers) move forward,” he said. “I believe it has exceeded the expectations of everybody involved.”

The Shops of Grand River are scheduled to open on October 28.

Publicity

Patterson said the city is looking to capitalize on the opening of Grand River, along with other events, such as the Downtown Folk Festival, to get the word out about what Leeds has to offer.

Throughout the month of September, Leeds will be featured on the ABC affiliate television station through advertising, incluing ads to be run during college football games. The city council voted to pay $10,000 to be featured by the station in 88 commercials.

“There is a lot of interest and positive news about Leeds right now and we are making a push to capitalize on that. We don’t want to miss this window of opportunity,” he said.

City’s Finances

The mayor acknowledges that the city’s coffers are  low right now, but said the council has been able to find ways to fund certain projects.

“There is no doubt that money is tight. We had a lot of contracts constraining us from doing a lot. But, we have done the best we can to work out from under them and make some improvements,” he said.

Patterson is also pleased that the city has not had to make any cuts. He said the only layoffs for the city came due to Jefferson County Personnel rules, not due to financial constraints.

“We keep making an effort to clean up our city and to improve public services,” Patterson said. “These projects – paving, drainage, parks – they are all coming.”

The mayor will be addressing some of these issues, along with others, when he presents a State of the City address at the Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon in September. The luncheon will be held on September 16, 11:45 a.m., at the Leeds First United Methodist Church’s Family Life Center.