As the city of Birmingham continues to lose population— both black and white—at an alarming rate, the Birmingham City Council remains unfazed. The Council instead focuses on doling out tax dollars to city-affiliated non-profit organizations that don’t appear worried in the least that businesses are fleeing the city for municipalities that actually know how to manage commerce.

One such non-profit organization is the Entrepreneurial Center, a business incubator in downtown Birmingham. Among the items on the August 15 Council agenda was the center’s annual $116,725 commitment from the city. As earlier reported in Black & White, the Council has already pledged $200,000 yearly from 2003 to 2008 to aid in the $14 million renovation of the entreprenurial center’s new location, the former Sears Building. One year ago the projected renovation cost was reported at $12 million by the Entrepreneurial Center’s Executive Director Susan Matlock. In addition, the Council last year voted to fork over $1.5 million to purchase the blighted $3 million Sears property, with the local business community contributing the remaining $1.5 million, according to Matlock.

Serious questions remain about certain businesses supported by the Center taking advantage of the city’s generosity before moving out of Birmingham. However, some members of the Council appear mainly concerned with the percentage of minorities using the Entrepreneurial Center. Councilor Steven Hoyt was the first to inquire about minority participation. In response, Matlock ticked off the percentages. “We’re at 50 percent in minority participation right now in the Entrepreneurial Center. Of course, that’s all minorities. But I also checked African-American males. That’s 35 percent [participation].” Hoyt said he was satisfied with Matlock’s response, but Councilors William Bell and Miriam Witherspoon pressed the issue further.

“Ms. Matlock, what percentage of disadvantaged businesses, minority businesses are actually doing the contract work on the building itself?” asked Bell. Matlock responded that “we got it as high as 18 [percent] and then we ended up having to cut back some money on our roof [construction], and we lost two percent when we did that.” Matlock promised Bell that the Center was trying to increase the rate. (Council President Carole Smitherman later added that she was also “disappointed” with the minority participation on renovation of the former Sears Building).

Bell then asked Matlock what the annual $116,725 pays for. “We work with entrepreneurs who come to us for counseling to help them with strategic planning, to help them with business planning, to help them raise money,” she explained. “We do a lot of connecting with potential investors. But it also is the screening mechanism to identify companies who are looking to come into the business incubation center.”

Councilor Miriam Witherspoon was curious about the Center’s business recruitment efforts. “Fifty percent [being] minority-owned small businesses in your center may be impressive to you, but it’s not to me. Do you do recruitment or do they have to seek you out?” Witherspoon asked. “Oh, we do [recruitment[ all the time,” Matlock said. “We’ve been around for a while [since 1986], and we’re pretty well-known in the community. But we do a lot of going out and speaking to groups.” When Witherspoon asked what groups Matlock addresses, Matlock responded, “Anybody who invites us,” adding that she has spoken to neighborhood associations. When pressed for other groups, Matlock said, “All kinds of small business groups. It is a constant speaking opportunity, typically.” Matlock reassured the Council that she enjoys addressing organizations and promised Witherspoon that she would go to the western part of Birmingham “if I’m invited.”

Matlock could not answer Councilor Joel Montgomery’s query, which he has been asking for four years, about what the city receives in taxes from those businesses that have passed through Matlock’s program. “I do not track that. I do not get their specific information like that,” she explained. “What I do ask them for every year is what their gross sales are, what their gross investment dollars are, and what their employment is. And those are the numbers that we track. And from that we are able to look at economic impact.” She said that the economic impact on the community over the last five years is approximately half-a-billion dollars.

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After naming two “success stories” affiliated with the Entrepreneurial Center, Councilor Roderick Royal admitted that his main problem with the business incubator was that many graduates of the program flee the city for greener pastures. “We can’t tell businesses where to locate, but certainly if they take advantage of city opportunities, we will want to encourage them to stay in the city,” said Royal. The councilor suggested that the Metropolitan Development Board and Operation New Birmingham might partner with the Entrepreneurial Center to help find space for businesses that outgrow the incubator as he praised the Center as a “good program.”

Councilor Hoyt concurred with Royal regarding businesses leaving Birmingham. Hoyt suggested that the contract be amended to require a report on the annual amount of taxes paid to the city by incubator participants. Royal refused to go along, instead urging the Council to simply allow Matlock to “agree” to provide the information on taxes. Matlock said she would be happy to provide the information but added that she was just following the procedure of other incubation programs around the country.

Adding that she is currently “mentoring an entrepreneur,” Councilor Carol Reynolds said, “Entrepreneurs are a different breed of people.” Reynolds urged area residents to drive by the Sears Building to check out the renovations at what has long been one of the city’s ugliest blights. “It is starting to be a new, vibrant, exciting, renovated facility that could spark economic development the rest of the way down First Avenue North into the western part of town.” She failed to add there is an abandoned field across the street from the former Sears property where vagrants congregate daily. A few months ago, a pair of vagrants was accused of burning down a warehouse two blocks from the Sears Building.

Councilor Valerie Abbott noted that Birmingham is recognized “nationwide” for its business incubator, which is “one of Birmingham’s big success stories.” That’s a far cry from her comments in last year’s Black & White article on the Entrepreneurial Center, when she said, “Once we’ve put as much heavy funding into something as we have the Entrepreneurial Center, they’re going to have to show they can come up with their end of the money. All taxpayers benefit from economic development but at some point these organizations need to fund themselves.” The City Council approved the Center’s funding, with Councilors Hoyt and Montgomery voting against.

Later in the meeting, the Council approved $527,456 to the Metropolitan Development Board “to provide services on behalf of the City of Birmingham which includes increasing and improving the economy of Birmingham through the attention of jobs and industry,” according to the wording of the resolution on the Council meeting agenda. The Council also voted $350,000 to Operation New Birmingham “to pursue racial harmony through racial justice and to coordinate planning and development of the City Center.” &

April 20, 2006

On April 11, the Birmingham City Council pulled one of its more jaw-dropping acts of tax-dollar appropriation (and there have been many) when it voted to give $5,000 to local filmmaker David Tucker to complete production of his movie Magic City. Tucker appeared before the Council to show a 90-second clip of the film. The previous Council had voted to verbally commit to Tucker’s initial request approximately one year ago. (Then-Council President Lee Loder recused himself from the vote at the time because his chicken-wing restaurant is featured in the film.) Councilors Valerie Abbott, Carol Reynolds, and Joel Montgomery opposed the first request for funding.

“How does this promote and showcase the city of Birmingham?” Councilor Valerie Abbott inquired. “In addition to the movie being titled Magic City, it implements how Birmingham came to be called the Magic City,” answered Tucker. “It was completely shot here in Birmingham, and all through the dialogue we’re talking about Birmingham. It places us in the ring as a contender to the film industry to let them see that we are doing movies in our city,” he said. Tucker added that Birmingham would be easily recognized since he filmed in the streets of downtown Birmingham, in the loft district, and around various local churches.

When pressed to further explain how Birmingham is showcased, Tucker elaborated, “The theme of the movie is a young lady who hypnotizes a young man to fall in love with her. But within that theme, we still talk about Birmingham and the Magic City, which is where they live. So it’s a play on words, with ‘magic’ and ‘our city’ being the Magic City. She hypnotizes him. It’s a very thought-provoking movie.”

Councilor Carol Reynolds informed Tucker that many Sidewalk Moving Film Festival participants also film in Birmingham, and they don’t come before the Council asking for funding to make their movies. “I just think it’s a little inappropriate,” surmised Reynolds.

In fiscal year 2004, the previous Council funded $30,000 to the county’s film commission. Abbott warned that other filmmakers might barrage the Council with requests for financial backing. “Since we have a [county] film commission, should filmmakers not be going to the film commission instead of the elected body of the city of Birmingham?” she asked. Councilor Roderick Royal said that since the previous Council had approved the funding, the current Council should fulfill that commitment. “I’m certainly interested in helping entrepreneurs,” said Royal. “If you mention the city as much as you say you do, I think we get a bang out of that, even if it’s just in a small way . . . I’m interested in promoting your career and promoting our city at the same time.” Royal added, “[The film clip] looks good, you’ve done a good job with your images, and the actors seem to be good actors.”

Councilor Stephen Hoyt, chair of the Economic Development Committee, was also impressed. “It clearly speaks to economic development. I think when folks go to the movie, then there are taxes that are taxed to that.” Hoyt then uttered the most ridiculous statement he has made during his short tenure since joining the Council in November 2005: “I think it’s wonderful. [We’re] always talking about young folks leaving Birmingham. Here’s one who stayed and is trying to make a difference. And yet we question him as if he stole some money somewhere. He hasn’t done that. I think he ought to be commended!”

Hoyt’s statement, which suggested that those opposing the funding were insinuating that the filmmaker’s request was tantamount to theft, clearly displeased Councilor Reynolds. She replied, “I believe that this young man is in the private enterprise of making money. Now if he would repay us this money . . . Councilor Hoyt just seemed to be a little threatening and disrespectful, and misrepresented some of the opinions given [by councilors].” Reynolds was the lone “no” vote. Councilors Joel Montgomery and William Bell were absent.

In a telephone interview after the meeting, Councilor Valerie Abbott explained her reason for changing her vote against the funding of the movie a year ago: “[Tucker] had come to us [previous Council] while we were in between the [now defunct] city film commission and going in with the county . . . And so, we committed the money to him already. And I originally voted against it, but I didn’t feel like, after we had made that commitment he had counted on, that it would really be fair for us to pull the rug out from under him . . . We had made a commitment. And I felt like that we should stand behind the commitment.” &

During her ride back to Birmingham after a speaking engagement with sororities at the University of Alabama, she explained her passion for swimming.“You don’t have to think if you had a bad day or a good day. You just go out there and relax . . . I swim about an hour-and-a-half four times a week.” Emily has been addressing audiences for years as part of her effort to raise money for cystic fibrosis. “I get really nervous and my face turns red, but once I get going I do pretty good. The biggest crowd has been about 250 people, except for [being on] the radio.”

Cystic fibrosis is a recessive genetic disorder. Genes are inherited in pairs, with one gene from each parent. A person with CF inherits a defective gene from both parents. Individuals with a single faulty gene don’t usually have any noticeable CF symptoms and may not be aware that they have the defective gene. The most serious symptoms are glandular secretions of the respiratory and digestive tracts, characterized by the production of thick mucus. People with CF are prone to lung infections, often dying at a young age. The disease gets shuffled to the bottom of corporate research priorities due to the small number of the population that is afflicted.

Since her fundraising began, Emily Schreiber has raised well over half a million dollars for cystic fibrosis research.

 

“It’s an orphan disease,” says Emily’s father, Allen Schreiber. Schreiber started the board for the Alabama chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in 2003. “CF affects your pulmonary system. We’ve been fortunate that [Emily’s] lungs are still really good. Every kid is affected differently,” he explains. “I think swimming has obviously helped her have good lung- functioning. My sons are 17 and 15, and they can’t swim 100 laps,” he adds, laughing. “If you looked at me, you’d know [I can’t] swim a hundred laps . . . It’s a challenge for her. I’m proud of the fact that she’s not so worried about how fast she is, she’s just going to get it done. CF is one of those things which is up and down. You do well, then you have bacterial infections and you have to go into the hospital for several weeks or get on strong antibiotics at home. You do well for a while. The thing about cystic fibrosis is that it is a genetic disease. Every day it gets worse. In 1990, children lived to only eight years old. Now the median age is 34, I think. It’s still the number one genetic killer of children.”

Emily, presently a Mountain Brook Junior High seventh grader, began swimming with the Birmingham Swim League at age eight. She was inspired to raise money for CF by reading the book Karen’s New Bike, a story about a little girl who rides her bicycle to raise money for a library. Emily and her father started “Laps for CF” in 2005 but she swam her first “swim-a-thon” in 2003 with an initial goal of $3,000. She did 65 laps at Wald Pool in Vestavia and raised $60,000. The next year she swam 85 laps and increased pledges to $85,000. Auburn swim coach Dave Marsh took notice, and, in 2005, Emily took her show on the road to Auburn’s Martin Aquatics Center, the home of the top collegiate swimming program in the nation. With help from the Auburn swim team, Emily raised $212,000 that year. On April 8, 2006 she surpassed a $250,000 goal by $2,000 at Auburn. Emily swam 100 laps [66 laps equal one mile], attracting more than 1,000 observers to the fundraiser. The teen has also been featured in Sports Illustrated twice, where she was quoted: “Laps for CF is a way my bad news can be an opportunity in disguise . . . If not for me, but for others.”

Since her fundraising began, Emily Schreiber has raised well over half a million dollars for cystic fibrosis research. On April 22, Emily will swim 100 laps at the University of Alabama’s Aquatic Center at 1 p.m. The nationally ranked Crimson Tide swim team will be in attendance to log a few laps as well.

There’s no cure for cystic fibrosis, yet. But Emily is enthusisatic about the primary motivation behind her work: “Every amount of money that we make is to help somebody get better,” she says. After being thanked for the interview, the charming young swimmer replies with the cool, detached demeanor of a true champion: “No problem.” &

To donate, call 205-939-9675 or visit www.lapsforcf.org.