By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Alabaster Board of Education will lease the upper floor of the new Alabaster City Hall building for at least three years after the board moved forward with the agreement during a March 25 meeting.

During the meeting, the School Board voted unanimously to authorize Alabaster Interim School Superintendent Dr. Phillip Hammonds to enter into the three-year lease agreement with the city. The School Board will have the option to extend the lease agreement up to two additional years, Hammonds said.

As a result of the agreement, the second floor of the currently under-construction new City Hall building will house the Alabaster school system’s central office staff.

The city’s central school office staff members currently are housed in an office condominium at 6919 Alabama 119, which the School Board previously leased through the end of August. The School Board’s lease agreement with the city will go into effect after the lease on the office condominium expires.

Through the agreement, the School Board will pay the city $3,800 per month to lease the about 2,400-square-foot upper floor. The rent will include utility costs.

“Our partnership with the city is a strong one,” Hammonds said. “I think this is a good opportunity, and it’s a visible sign of moving forward.”

In other business, the School Board:

-Voted to enter into an agreement with the Volkert company to address several short-term issues outlined in a recent facilities assessment conducted on Alabaster’s school buildings.

Through the agreement, the School Board will pay Volkert up to $150 per hour to complete items such as roof repairs, re-keying of all school doors and other projects recommended by school administrators.

The School Board still must approve each project before Volkert begins working on them.

-Voted to enter into a one-year contract with the Pelham-based Transportation South company to provide school bus maintenance and inspection services effective July 1. The contract can be renewed up to two additional years.

-Voted to hire Maxine Burns to serve as an Alabaster central school office secretary. Burns currently is a receptionist for the Shelby County School System assistant superintendent.

-Voted to approve a job description and post a job opening for a coordinator of operations. The coordinator of operations will be in charge of implementing a school safety program, after-school programs and other day-to-day duties, Hammonds said.