The Gospel According to T.C. Cannon

EXPLORING THE STORIED LIFE OF A BIRMINGHAM INSTITUTION.

T.C. CANNON POSES WITH SOME OF HIS FAVORITE VEHICLES WHILE SPORTING HIS SIGNATURE UAB SHIRTS. PHOTO BY JULIANNA HUNTER

Those who have followed city politics in the past decade or spent evenings as bar flies at any time between the 1960s to the ‘90s in local drinking establishments perhaps know of Terry “T.C.” Cannon. In 1962, Cannon and his older brother Joe opened the Plaza bar (better known as the “Upside Down” Plaza) on 11th Court South behind Western Supermarket on Highland Avenue (currently the long time home of Hot and Hot Fish Club).

Cannon recalls with a grin that his brother Joe had been ‘captured’ (involved with) then gambling kingpin of Birmingham, Little Man Popwell. “So everything (at the Plaza) was in my name,” T.C. says.

The Plaza drew a nightly cast of characters, creating an oddball clientele mix; Lawyers, doctors, students, businessmen, musicians, librarians, and schoolteachers made it the most eclectic bar in town. Bohemians drank with professionals. “It’s a wonder that the magnolia tree outside the Plaza survived because almost every lawyer in Birmingham has pissed on it,” an attorney friend and long ago Plaza patron told me.

The lounge was a Southside landmark. The Upside Down Plaza is currently still in business in the Five Points South area beneath Pickwick Plaza, where it relocated when the lease was not renewed in the mid-‘80s. In 1987, the nightclub began operation under new ownership.

Cannon claims the Plaza was forced out of its original locale because the landlord discovered religion. “A local preacher instructed them that they had to get rid of this horrible beer joint,” says T.C. “We still had three years on the lease and when we went to court, we won and got to stay three more years. And that was a lot of fun.”

How the Plaza’s sign came to be hung upside down is recalled by T.C. on a recent afternoon at his home on Seventh Avenue South, in an old Battery Warehouse a block away from a bar called Tin Roof, which once was home to “TC’s,” the bar that Cannon opened in the Lakeview entertainment district in 1986.

“The reason the Plaza got the name ‘Upside Down’ was because Dick Coffee, the guy that went to 787 Alabama football games in a row without missing one, came into the joint one day. He was selling ads for a publication,” Cannon recalls. “We said, ‘Go away, man, we’re starving to death. We damn sure can’t afford an ad.’ But then we found out how much a one-inch ad in the publication would cost. My brother Joe said, ‘Hell, a little one-inch ad is going to get lost.’ So Joe suggested having the Plaza’s name upside down to make it stand out in the ad.”

Cannon’s next lounge venture, TC’s, soon earned a reputation every bit as charming as the original Upside Down Plaza. “I had the only beer joint in the world financed by the federal government. I applied to the SBA — Small Business Administration,” he says. “I applied to them for financial assistance and, of course, had to concoct an application and try to get it railroaded through claiming that my inventory belonged to ‘so and so.’ I had a little cash and a whole lot of [expletive],” says T.C. during an interview at his warehouse home.

Surrounding his warehouse is a fleet of Volkswagen Beetles and VW vans in various states of disrepair. “In the old days I drove ‘em because I had to. They were economical. Anybody that can chew bubblegum and walk at that same time can work on a VW. A very economical vehicle. We also raced them,” he admits.

“I’ve known T.C. for about 35 years. He might be the craziest human I’ve ever known,” long time friend Billy Jett days with a laugh. “Eccentric is an understatement. Anybody that’s got the money he’s got and lives in a battery warehouse, that’s kind of eccentric right there.

“The damn Volkswagens and the junk that he has accumulated . . . Why does he accumulate that stuff? I don’t think he has a clue. But we loved The Plaza and his other place, T.C.’s . . . There’s 25 or 30 of us that run around together and half of us met our wives at the Upside Down Plaza.”

The Beer Joint Business

Cannon was 10-years old when he began working in the bar business in 1947. “I was born and raised on a dairy farm on Acton Road and old Highway 280. In those days Shelby County was dry. Talladega County was dry. We had the typical ‘county line businesses’ (bars that sold booze legally in Jefferson County). Our dairy farm was adjacent to all those joints,” says Cannon.

“At one time or another there were nine beer joints. Out of those nine, my family either owned or built or had an interest in five of the nine,” he says. Cannon’s father drowned on a fishing trip in the Coosa River with the president of Moore-Handley Hardware when T.C. was five-tears old. His mom raised the family.

“My mother was a ‘Rosie the Riveter,’” he says. “She worked at TCI —Tennessee Coal and Iron, which is now U.S. Steel. My mother built one of our restaurants from scratch. She ran a 140-acre dairy farm with 150 cows and she built a restaurant called Akantu Restaurant, which was local Indian language for ‘Tip Top.’  It was a barbecue and beer joint. At age ten I was working as a bus boy.” Much of the family business included customers stocking up to sell booze in dry counties. His mother eventually became a LPN despite having only a sixth grade education.

When asked if he ever was forced into physical altercations while in the nightclub business, Cannon replies, “Nope. My brother Joe was the world’s greatest bouncer. He was a pretty cool, laid-back dude. He whipped more people without ever laying a hand on ‘em.”

Cannon was once subpoenaed to court when there was a stabbing at the Upside Down Plaza. A guy named Paul and a little guy got into a fight while Cannon was stocking the cooler with beer. Cannon tells the story: “So I jumped over the bar and got around to ‘em. We’re all in a circle and I hear one of them say, ‘You’re drinking my beer.’ And the other says, ‘I wouldn’t drink your beer after you’ve had your filthy mouth on it.’ And I see the shorter guy pop my friend Paul a good one and then run off.

“But then a few days later, I’m subpoenaed to court because Paul had stabbed the little guy before Paul was punched. The little guy had been cut wide open. While I was standing there close to ‘em, Paul — a master with a Case double X single-blade knife — had pulled that knife before he got hit. He pulled it and flicked it with one hand and reached around and cut the guy from his backbone all the way around to his gut twice.

“In court, the victim pulled up his shirt to show the judge [his wounds]. And it was like a perfect little railroad track — two slits with the stitches on it, you know? (T.C. laughs)  I had been packing the box (beer cooler) and Paul reached over the bar and dropped the knife into the cooler after he cut the guy. He didn’t want the cops to catch him with the knife. I didn’t know the knife was in there until I found it about six months later. I probably still have it somewhere.”

Cannon says that most fights never lasted long. “At [The Plaza], we never really had anything other than real quickies. Most barroom brawls last about 30 seconds,” he says. “They wind up rolling around on the floor and that’s about it. In the later days I got smarter. I used to try to break them up physically or whatever. Wrong. I instructed bar employees that when the [expletive] goes down, immediately get the girl that started the trouble and walk her out of the place. Ninety-seven percent of all bar room trouble is over a girl, whether she’s there or not.”

Racecar driving days

I’d known Cannon a little from patronizing the Upside Down Plaza for years. But the first time I spent time with him away from one of his bars was on a Saturday morning when I was writing a story about the history of cheating in NASCAR. Cannon had raced on the beaches of Daytona in the early 1950s, driving on the sprint car circuit throughout the Midwest in the late ‘50s, and raced at Birmingham International Raceway (BIR) in the ’60s and ’70s.

On a Saturday morning while driving to a service station whose owner Cannon had promised would tell NASCAR cheating stories (the owner didn’t), Cannon stopped on Clairmont Avenue every 50 feet to pick up golf balls laying against the curb that had escaped Highland Avenue Golf Course. Soon, a couple dozen golf balls rolled around on the floorboard of his car.

“We built a 1939 Chevy coupe. In those days they had two divisions of what is now known as NASCAR,” Cannon remembers. “In 1953 we went to Daytona to race on the beach before they built Daytona Speedway. Two miles of beach and two miles of highway made it a four-mile oval racetrack. I later started racing cars at BIR at age 15.” He raced late model modified cars against the likes of Bobby and Donnie Allison and Red Farmer. “I was not very successful. Never won a race. I was not a good mechanic or a good racecar driver,” he admits.

After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1959, Cannon joined a sprint car team that included 1949 Indy 500 winner Bill Holland. The team raced on the sprint car circuit throughout the Midwest with Cannon behind the wheel when Holland was unavailable.

“I came back to Birmingham in 1962 because this insane redneck shot my mother,” Cannon says. “She survived and lived another 50 years in Florida.” He opened the Upside Down Plaza with his brother Joe, also a racecar driver.

The pair began competing regularly at BIR. Cannon raced in blue jeans and a T-shirt. In those days, drivers did not wear fire-retardant suits. “The guys that were really concerned about fire would buy a jumpsuit and soak it in a fire-retarding substance, which certainly did not make it that safe.”

Cannon worked on late NASCAR star Fireball Roberts’ crew for one race at Dixie Speedway in Midfield, a high-banked, quarter-mile dirt track in the early 1960s. Roberts burned to death after a crash in the World 600 at Charlotte Speedway in 1964. Cannon claims that Roberts’ driving suit was not soaked in the fire-retardant substance because he was allergic to the chemical. “Fireball did a ‘CBD’ — he ‘crashed, burned, and died.’”

T.C. CANNON POSES WITH SOME OF HIS FAVORITE VEHICLES WHILE SPORTING HIS SIGNATURE UAB SHIRTS. PHOTO BY JULIANNA HUNTER.

UAB’s top cheerleader

Cannon is never spotted in public without a UAB t-shirt, the most vital accessory to his “total comfort” wardrobe that includes shorts and sandals. One sandal has a piece of cardboard inserted beneath his bare foot because one leg is shorter than the other. The result is an obvious limp that prompts his friend Billy Jett to note, “Terry walks like a duck.”

Cannon refers to UAB and the city of Birmingham as one. “The word ‘university’ itself defines a city and a college as one campus,” he explains while complaining about the University of Alabama board of trustees not giving UAB total autonomy, including lack of support for UAB’s beleaguered football team. He always refers to trustee Paul Bryant, Jr, and the board as “PBJ and the boys.”

“I am totally exasperated (by the system) and that affects my health, my resources, my family, the whole works,” says Cannon. “I’m not a liberal and I don’t want to divide the riches among the masses but there’s got to be a better way.”

He leans into my recording device and loudly emphasizes, “Throughout the recorded history of mankind, the strong must take care of the weak. Cannot be disputed. The only question is how to do it best. And it is my strong contention that what the (University of Alabama) board of trustees — which is the most powerful body in the entire state of Alabama — is doing is immoral and criminal, a simple violation of state law and they do it knowingly and willingly. And my favorite name for them is ‘The Masters of Malfeasance.’ The board of trustees do not intend for Birmingham and UAB to do anything that would in any way, form, or fashion compete with Tuscaloosa. It’s not a money thing, it’s an ego thing.”

T.C. and Politics

For the past decade Cannon has been known for running for mayor and city council on three occasions each. “He was always running (for political office). We used to gamble on how many votes he’d get,” says his old pal Billy Jet. “We had a (money) pot, whether it’d be for city council or mayor. People have won the pot by placing bets on T.C. getting anywhere from one vote to 29 votes!”

When asked if he plans to run for mayor of Birmingham again, Cannon hints that he’s frustrated because he wouldn’t stand a chance because those in Birmingham vote along racial lines. “Birmingham has no leadership and nobody’s telling the truth . . . 40 percent of our city’s population live at or below the poverty level because our leadership — our 1,518 preachers that eat good, a lot of chicken on Sunday and the whole works — why don’t they educate their congregations that our resources are going to Tuscaloosa (to the University of Alabama instead of going to UAB) . . .

“As for whether I’ll run for mayor again or not, I’m not a good speaker. Hitler was a corporal in the army but he was a good speaker . . . George Wallace was a good speaker.” If he runs and is elected, he doesn’t hesitate to share what his first act would be as mayor.

“To have Larry Langford dying in prison for what most of us politicians do daily is wrong,” Cannon says, laughing. “If I should ever become mayor, one of my first official duties will be to get Langford out of prison and bring him back to Birmingham, put a (location detection) bracelet on him, and he’ll work from daylight to dark for the city. And then he can go home at night. Langford’s got a brilliant mind. [My idea] is a no-brainer . . . I like Langford’s style of ‘do something.’ My favorite of his quips is ‘You can fix something but you can’t fix nothing … Let’s do something now,’ is what he is saying. ‘Whatever we do, if it’s wrong, we fix it. But if we don’t do nothing we can’t fix nothing.’”

Regarding presidential politics, Cannon says that the Democrats have got a difficult year ahead of them. “They don’t have a viable candidate and I think Trump, with his bodacious, infamous style, has really been healthy for the system,” T.C. says with reverence. “Several of the Republicans sound good, look good. But if I had to bet, it’d be Jeb Bush—who mumbles worse than I do—he’ll probably wind up with the nomination. But I am a Trumpster,” he admits.

Cannon has often consulted Birmingham Times publisher Dr. Jesse Lewis when running for public office. “I don’t know when I didn’t know him, it’s been so long. I met him because we have a mutual interest in UAB sports,” says Lewis. “He was one of the main reasons that UAB got a football team, because of his efforts. And not only are his efforts loyal to the football program, his efforts have been loyal to UAB (overall) ever since I have known him. If there has been one person who has ever made a difference at UAB, T.C. would be that person.”

Lewis laughs when discussing Cannon’s political aspirations. “He has always wanted to be a politician. And I have always discouraged him. Every time he has run for political office he has been by my office to sit down and talk with me,” says Lewis. “And I explain to him, ‘T.C., you’re too honest to be a politician. You stand up and tell the truth, and these politicians aren’t telling the truth. They tell you what you want to hear.

“Actually, he would make an excellent politician but he is not electable . . . I consider him a personal friend. He is one of the most truthful and dedicated persons you’d ever meet in your life . . . I told him if he runs for political office he has to buy a suit. I don’t think he owns a suit. I told him, ‘Don’t come back by my office and ask me to help you no more unless you buy a suit’  . . . If he runs for office in 2016, I’m going to buy him a suit.”

In springtime, a boy’s fancy turns to breaking the law.

2004-12-30 City Hall

December 30, 2004

“The council shall determine its own rules,” read Mayor Bernard Kincaid from the Mayor-Council Act , which sets the rules of governing for the city of Birmingham. At issue was whether or not Councilor Gwen Sykes could ask for reconsideration of a vote that failed earlier that day. That vote would have secured the remaining $22 million Kincaid had requested from the council for end-of-year budget requests, which total $31 million. The council approved $9 million of the request on November 23.

Sykes abstained on the first vote at the December 7 meeting, causing the budget request to fail in a four-to-four deadlock. The only way a vote can be recalled is by request from the prevailing side, a councilor who had voted against the budget request in this instance. But Sykes asked for a ruling on whether someone who had abstained could seek a second vote. City Clerk Paula Smith, parliamentarian for the council meetings, said that Sykes was allowed to do so. City attorneys and council attorney J. Richmond Pearson agreed with the city clerk.

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However, Councilor Joel Montgomery, reading from Robert’s Rules of Order, said anyone abstaining from a vote could only bring it back up in a special or standing committee, such as when the council meets for work sessions in what is called a “committee of the whole meeting [requires a quorum].” Montgomery argued that a regular Tuesday council meeting did not meet such criteria, as it is a legislative body. Council President Lee Loder overruled him and allowed Sykes to bring the vote back, which passed this time when she voted “yes” along with Councilors Royal, Reynolds, Miller, and Hendricks [who had voted "no" the first time]. Councilor Carole Smitherman abstained after voting “no” initially, while Councilors Abbott and Montgomery retained their “no” votes.

It was the second time in a month that a vote has been reversed with Sykes as the swing councilor. On November 9 Sykes abstained from voting to approve the hiring of Henry Sciortino as the city’s financial advisor. That vote had resulted in confusion about whether three votes constituted a majority when two voted “no” and two abstained. Loder allowed the vote to be taken again at meeting’s end, by which time Sykes decided to vote “yes” after talking with Mayor Kincaid. Whether Kincaid will now support Sykes in next October’s council elections is a matter of great curiosity at City Hall.

The budget request has been before the council since October, yet oddly, councilors reportedly did not meet to work out the details, though Kincaid did huddle individually with all but Councilor Montgomery. [Kincaid said that Montgomery failed to reschedule a canceled meeting, while Montgomery said no meeting was ever scheduled.] Councilor Valerie Abbott said she was not opposed to all of the items in the year-end budget, but simply wants the council to sit down as a group to develop a policy for spending from the city’s reserves. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m against fixing a dam or against fixing any of the things on this list. The Mayor was really kind to talk to us individually, but we need to sit down as a group and hear what each other has to say—not to be operating in a vacuum,” said Abbott.

The $22 million, which will be taken from the city’s approximately $88 million in reserve funds, includes $13 million for a Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex parking lot, $1 million for flood mitigation, $500,000 for the Birmingham Zoo, $575,000 for a minority disparity study, $500,000 for repair work at East Lake Dam, and $120,000 for roof work on the A.G. Gaston Motel. Another $5 million appeared to be the most controversial, as it was earmarked for nothing other than “emergencies.”

Councilor Carol Reynolds expressed displeasure with the initial deadlocked vote that caused the budget request to fail. “I’m pretty dismayed about the vote that we just had on the spending,” Reynolds noted. “There are a lot of things in here I maybe could not have supported. But the East Lake Dam and the million dollars for flood mitigation are two of the most important issues in this city.” Then Reynolds shocked her colleagues with this dire warning: “I hope we have enough money to buy body bags if that dam [East Lake] breaks.” Councilor Joel Montgomery immediately took umbrage to that comment. “To characterize us as sitting on it [East Lake Dam], committing murder, and putting people in body bags is totally out of order,” said Montgomery in disgust. “We can pull East Lake Dam out of this entire amount here and vote on it by itself at any time this council deems it necessary.” Montgomery added that a second option was to have the dam declared an emergency if it was that dangerous.

After the council initially failed to approve the budget request, Councilor Bert Miller expressed shock that his colleagues could not reach a consensus to financially help residents: “We’re going to set this city back 20 or 30 years, possibly more than that!” Miller, who filed for bankruptcy in November with $93,000 in debt (according to an article in the Birmingham Post-Herald published the day the council approved the remaining $22,000,000), admitted, “I’m not ashamed to say it. I’m broke; I’m not afraid to say that, because I’ve tried since I’ve been here to help other people . . . There are the haves and the have-nots.” Miller, who in the past has bragged that he was “the money man,” has made headlines during his council tenure by drawing the names of poor to help. To this observer, it looked like a blatant attempt to purchase votes. Perhaps the councilor should consider that a politician who can’t handle his own finances has no business meddling with taxpayers’ money. &

]]> http://www.edreynolds1995.com/city-hall/city-hall-the-council-shall-determine-its-own-rules/feed/ 0 http://www.edreynolds1995.com/city-hall/city-council-city-council-pontification-blasted-by-mayor/ http://www.edreynolds1995.com/city-hall/city-council-city-council-pontification-blasted-by-mayor/#comments Thu, 07 Oct 2004 19:45:57 +0000 http://www.edreynolds1995.com/?p=1652 2004-10-07 City Hall

October 07, 2004

When business owners come before the Birmingham City Council with liquor license applications, it’s routine for the councilors to indulge in self-righteous pontification. This time it’s the Best Convenience Store on Pearson Avenue near West End High School that’s prompting the Council’s grandstanding. Store owner Ashal Saeed bought the business a month ago after moving to Birmingham from California. Community residents and school officials have been distressed that the store’s reportedly long-standing practice of selling single cigarettes and beer to teens is allegedly being continued by Saeed, though no one submits proof during the council meeting that the store owner is guilty. Although Councilor Carole Smitherman said she had seen groups of school children in uniforms leaving the store during the middle of the day while smoking, she said she assumed that they purchased the cigarettes at the Best Convenience Store.

Neighborhood activist Nell Allen has complained about the store for some time. “When you walk into the store you see barrels of cold beer and wine; cold and ready for them [presumably students] to purchase!” complained Allen, who was concerned about the beer signs on the premises as well. Students have also reportedly been pouring beer into soda containers so they can drink in class, though again, no one could prove that the alcohol was purchased at the Best Convenience Store. Arguing that teachers are at a disadvantage when instructing because students are “drugged and drunk” in class, Allen also complained that “you can smell dope in the air” when in the store’s vicinity, a claim which Councilor Bert Miller confirmed in a shocking manner: “I got high [in the store's vicinity] standing on the corner, almost, last week!” He added that the store was “filled with litter and loud music.”

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“We don’t need this in our neighborhoods, especially in our black neighborhoods,” Miller said, invoking a racial conspiracy theory. “I think some of these owners are preying on these black people in our neighborhoods!” The councilor often condemns the sale of alcohol in black neighborhoods— when he’s not complaining about the lack of minority contractors employed on city projects. Apparently, he fails to see the discrimination aspect of denying alcohol to black residents more frequently than white ones.

Mayor Bernard Kincaid has grown weary of the Birmingham City Council’s foot-in-mouth reactions when denying applications to sell alcohol. “The council actually uses the issue to pontificate and to express their distress for licenses going into certain communities. That is not what the law says. If it proves to be a nuisance, if it proves to be a detriment to the community, and it’s turned down on that basis, then [applicants] find solace by going across the [Linn] park to circuit court to get the council’s decision overturned,” Kincaid said during a press conference after the September 28 council meeting. In addition to the two reasons for denial mentioned by the Mayor, the third reason for denial as spelled out by state law is violation of zoning ordinances. The law does not allow refusal of an application simply based on proximity to churches or schools.

“It seems to me that what was described with respect to West End High School, and the property that they described over the last two to four weeks, clearly is a nuisance. It clearly is a detriment to the community,” added the Mayor. “And I think if the Council were to just stick with what the law says there would be no problems whatsoever. . . . The council adds too much extraneous conversation to [alcohol license application discussions] because what they say on the dais becomes part of the record,” continued Kincaid, adding that when a City Council denial recommendation is overturned by the circuit court, the city has to pay the attorney fees of the alcohol license applicant who has sued the city. The Mayor added that he sent police to the store in question when he heard about the cigarette and alcohol sales to minors.

Councilor Carol Reynolds emphasized that all neighborhoods need protection from alcohol sales. Using rhetoric fit for a tent revival preacher, she offered a condemnation of beer and cigarettes: “I’ve been standing up fighting for these people in these neighborhoods who do not want this filth, this venom, in their neighborhoods since day one!” said Reynolds. “Liquor stores around the city, I’m watching you! I will get your license revoked if I have to stand in front of your store and take tag numbers myself!” she warned. Later, Reynolds told other councilors on the dais, “If we have to, we’ll go out there together, a united front, and we’ll talk to these children, we’ll council these children. I’m a smoker, but it’s different when you are a developing child, and it’s against the law to buy ‘em!” What cigarettes have to do with alcohol sales is not explained by Reynolds, who added, “I’ll be glad to be a mother to this city. These children are my business.” &

October 12, 2000

September 26, 2000
The summer drought takes center stage at tonight’s Birmingham City Council meeting. Mayor Kincaid reads a memo from the Birmingham Water Works regarding emergency procedures for the rapidly depleting Lake Purdy water source, most of which serves Mountain Brook, Hoover, Cahaba Heights, Homewood, and Vestavia. One option is to add a surcharge to the water bills of those who surpass a predetermined monthly amount. As the city’s legislative body, the Council would have to approve the surcharge because it is considered a rate increase. The surcharge could garner up to $4 million in penalties for the Water Works, though the Water Works Board emphasizes in bold print in the memo to Kincaid that they are not interested in the money. The other option calls for the Mayor, the acting manager according to the Water Works’ agreement with the city, to declare an emergency. A declaration of emergency would levy penalties that include a $200 daily fine and up to 180 days imprisonment for violations of water conservation. Kincaid refuses to declare an emergency without the Council also taking action.

Mike Vann, general manager of the Birmingham Water Works, addresses the Council, stressing that “we are approaching a crisis situation.” He says that Lake Purdy is currently at less than 40 percent capacity, noting that the situation has evolved from “an extreme drought to an extraordinary drought.” The Water Works Board has determined that the surcharge option would be $5 per 100 cubic feet per month for water usage over a determined national average rate of 1400 cubic feet per month for a family of five.

Councilor Sandra Faye Little says she will not approve the surcharge because the people in her area are not the cause of the problem. Irate about expensive water bills, she points out that her home water bill last month was $77. “I don’t wash that much,” she says. Little contends that she was prepared to object to high bills regardless of the drought problem coming up on the agenda. Water Works representatives explain that the Warrior River is the source of water for her district.”I think the surcharge should be put on these people that are using these enormous amounts of water. I don’t intend for my people to be burdened with bearing other people’s problems.” She urges State Attorney General Bill Pryor to get the “state police” to enforce any violations by other municipalities. “Since he wants to get in everything, then he needs to get in this,” surmises Councilor Little, referring to Pryor’s earlier opinion that the Water Works cannot be used by Birmingham to finance city projects since other municipalities also rely on the Water Works as a water source.

Councilor Aldrich Gunn wants to know why water can’t be transferred from other sources to Lake Purdy, and asks if water is pumped through “antique pipes” at Lake Purdy. Mike Vann acknowledges that some of the pipes are old but are “working just fine.” “Birmingham has never experienced a drought of this magnitude,” Vann further states. Gunn replies, “Maybe it’s because we been playing with the Water Board for so long.” Refusing to support the surcharge, Councilor Gunn suggests that someone perform a rain dance to replenish Lake Purdy.

Councilor Loder ponders the legality of placing a surcharge only on residents contributing to the drought. The city’s legal department replies that rates have to be applied in a uniform manner, because the rate increase can’t be used as a penalizing tool. The role of the water crisis as a test of City Hall’s managerial skills is not lost on Loder. “This is one of our first tests of the water system,” the councilor notes, stressing the importance of overcoming the crisis if the city wants to continue managing the system.

Councilor Don MacDermott calls the crisis a “classic example” of why he supports removing all water system assets from the city and returning them to the Water Works Board, stating that this is a problem with which the city shouldn’t have to contend. MacDermott says the city can’t pawn off its problems if it wants to control the water supply. It must instead provide a leadership role. Mayor Kincaid reminds MacDermott that the unsavory options of surcharges and penalties is a creation of the Water Works Board.

Mayor Kincaid says that he wishes the present problem were his because he would find “competent management to make sure that this situation was avoidable.” The Mayor, who wants the Water Works to become a department of the city with professional private management and a regional advisory board, cites the short-sightedness of the Water Works Board. “We left Lake Purdy in splendid isolation while Mulberry Fork and all the other places that have plenty of water are not connected to [Lake Purdy].” Kincaid adds that he would have no problem solving the dilemma. Councilor Gunn jumps in for the final word. “I think that Lake Purdy will be filled back up before we resolve this one,” says Gunn. No state of emergency is declared, and the Council makes no recommendation. No action is taken to solve the drought crisis this evening.

October 3, 2000

Councilor Blake is absent from today’s meeting; however, Council bickering continues in the combative councilor’s absence. A flurry of morning skirmishes between Mayor Kincaid and the Council prompt the Mayor to angrily express his disdain for what he refers to as “being ambushed.”

In response to the continuing drought, Mayor Kincaid and other local municipalities on September 28 finally declared a “water emergency” which allows penalties to be attached to water usage violations. Watering yards; washing automobiles, trucks, trailers, and railroad vehicles [excluding automated car washes]; cleaning outdoor surfaces; defective plumbing leaks; and the filling of swimming pools are prohibited. Twenty-five thousand fliers will be distributed by Birmingham police to inform residents that violations of the water restrictions are punishable daily by a fine of $200 and up to 180 days in jail.

Councilor Little complains about the lack of police in her district. Kincaid notes that the problem won’t be solved this morning and points out that there are “surrounding municipalities that pay exponentially, some as many as five figures, more to their police officers than we do.” He suggests that discussion addressing police shortages be examined during the coming weekend council-mayoral retreat in Point Clear. Mayor Kincaid suggests a possible fifth police precinct. But Councilor Little says, “Mr. Mayor, I’ve been crying for a precinct ever since I’ve been on this Council for District Seven. We don’t even have a precinct over there!” Kincaid replies, “Maybe you didn’t hear me. I didn’t say put a precinct in District Seven.” Councilor Little’s temper escalates dramatically at the Mayor’s response, and she blurts, “Oh, yeah, it would be in District Seven! I think everybody else is covered!”

Councilor Little also inquires about the status of the “environmental court,” a legal entity designed to address environmental violations by neighborhood residents. Kincaid says that the issue of deputies is holding up finalization of plans because he and Council President Bell disagree on who should be deputized. Bell wants neighborhood residents to serve as enforcers of neighborhood environmental violations, but Kincaid is uncomfortable with Bell’s proposal: “I don’t think neighbors ought to police neighbors. I think it ought to be a police action of the state. Mr. Bell and I have come to some tacit agreements as to how we are going to fashion this. And we are working to hammer that out.” Bell immediately takes issue with Kincaid’s assessment of their discussion. “Mr. Mayor, I’ve allowed you to tell the press often times that you are scheduling meetings with me. We haven’t hammered anything out,” says Bell. Kincaid agrees that nothing has been “hammered out,” but reminds Bell of their “tacit agreement.” Kincaid offers to define “tacit” for Bell.

Kincaid and Bell continue to argue about the environmental court until Bell finally asks the Mayor when it was discussed, to which Kincaid replies, “In your office, that same day you said, ‘Don’t come back here shuckin’ and jivin’.’”

Councilor Little acknowledges another “emergency” facing the city this week. She introduces Tim Perell, producer of the independent film World Traveler currently being shot in Birmingham, and Michele Foreman of the Governor’s Film Task Force. Pointing out the value of making movies in Birmingham, Foreman notes that before those involved with shooting the movie leave town, they will have spent $400,000 in Birmingham in one month. Apparently the film crew has run into problems securing the state fair for a shoot the Thursday night before the fair opens. “Just to let you know the kind of crisis we’re in, they have a movie star, Julianne Moore, who has been nominated for two Academy Awards, arriving for the scene [at the fair].” Foreman also says that 200 community extras are supposed to be included in the fair scene. The film needs all the carnival lights left on for the shoot, as well as access to five fully operational rides. Perell is disturbed by “exorbitant costs” the movie would have to absorb to cover opening the fair to shoot a movie for just six hours. Little says that the Birmingham Arts Commission (BAC) could possibly cover the costs of operational needs. The councilor, head of the Park, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Committee, which had direct contact with the World Traveler production crew, had previously insisted that the film use students from Lawson State [which is in her district] as movie extras in addition to the UAB students already secured. She asks the Mayor for any comment.

An angry Kincaid replies, “You might not want to hear it. I’m tired of being ambushed up here on the Council.” The Mayor explains that United Shows of America, who stages the fair, has the contract for 10 days, the duration of the state fair. United Shows told the film company that they were welcome to film on the night requested, but they would have to pay $5,000. Foreman apologizes for not knowing that the film company should have approached the Mayor.

Perell explains that he has been talking to staffers from the Mayor’s office for two weeks. Little reassures Perell that the money will be found to cover the fair costs, emphasizing the “emergency” nature of the situation. Bell suggests that the fair operator be contacted to see if payment can be delayed. The Council President agrees to place the $5,000 request on next week’s City Council agenda.

City Finance Director Mac Underwood says that the BAC money Little wants to pay the fair operator is targeted for specific purpose. Little disagrees. Councilor Gunn asks what the movie is about. Tim Perell tells Gunn that it’s “about a man who is traveling cross-country trying to find himself in many ways, and learning to be a parent to his son.” Gunn replies, “All right!” Bell asks if it is Forrest Gump 2? Everybody, including Perell, laughs.

Kincaid says that his staff “has been dealing with someone named Heather Brinson, not these individuals,” pointing at Perell, the movie’s producer, and Foreman. The Mayor says that his office has been cooperative by working out traffic engineering plans as well as use of the police and fire departments. He also notes that he had turned down a film crew request to turn on city fire hydrants to simulate rain. “We’ve done a yeoman’s task in trying to accommodate [the film crew].” Little tells the film group to go ahead and proceed with plans as scheduled for the fair shoot, promising that the Council will “have the money in place.” &