By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – The city’s Public Works Department likely will be able to move into its new facility in Limestone Park in mid-July, as construction crews are now putting the final touches on the building.

Alabaster City Manager Brian Binzer gave City Council members an update on the project during a June 21 work session, and said the majority of the structure is now complete.

“It’s getting really close to being finalized,” Binzer said. “We’re looking at a mid-July move-in. It’s coming along well.”

In late-April, the council accepted a $98,493 bid from Apel Machine and Supply to fund water main improvements to serve the new public works building and other facilities at the park. Binzer said the new water line serving the park has been installed near U.S. 31, and crews will work in the coming weeks to connect the new line to the public works building, the park’s remote-controlled plane airstrip, police firing range and community garden.

The new public works facility is being constructed between the park’s central lake and the Alabaster Police Department’s shooting range to house the city’s garbage trucks.

In August 2017, council members voted to award a $1.25 million bid to Wayne Davis to construct the public works facility.

The facility will include a brick façade on the front, and paving in the area immediately surrounding the building. The city is not currently planning to pave the gravel road leading from U.S. 31 to the garbage truck facility, as was originally planned.

Once completed, the Limestone facility will play a major role in Alabaster’s city-run garbage service, which began in January.

The council voted last year to keep residential garbage collection rates the same as they are now once the city’s garbage service begins.

The $15.27 monthly residential rate includes one garbage cart and one recycling cart, and customers can pay one-half the residential rate for each additional cart.

Commercial and non-residential customers pay $30.54 per month, receive two carts and can pay one-half the commercial rate for each additional cart up to a maximum of four.