Huntsville updates

[daveyp]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

Seriously, someone should write a letter to the city council/mayor and let them know that this height limit seems shortsighted, especially considering the city's attempts to woo young professionals. Young people are attracted to places with vibrant downtowns, and part of the perception of a vibrant downtown is tall buildings. It may sound silly, but it's true. Plus, we already know that there have been recent proposals for 20+ story buildings. I think a well-thought out diagram of the downtown showing locations for tall buildings (which don't abut a neighborhood) might convince some of (y)our leaders to ease up on this.

it would take more than one or two letters, but i've always thought that if you disagree with something in your town you should make your voice heard (beyond an online forum)... you and i have just as much of a stake in the town as the good ole boys who are trying to steer the ship so blindly.

[-=skywalker=-]

Originally Posted by cwilson

My mom works in Nortrop Grumman and she loves the new building but my question is if the city oh Huntsville has this much money to build new malls new buildings and things why don't they have to money to finish buliding the Parkway or make new ways for not such congested roads??

Because this city is run by closed minded stuck in the past good ole boys. The roads here are terrible, the same trip that used to take me 15 minutes from Whitesburg Bridge to UAH eight years ago is now about 30-45 minutes. Mayor Spencer is no longer the right person for the job, yes under her leadership the city did a wonderful job attracting new businesses and industry 10 years ago but appearantly the city wasn't prepared for a population boom, as now the infastructure and the narrow minded thinking of the city officials are becoming a thorn in the side of future developement and foward thinking.

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by cwilson

My mom works in Nortrop Grumman and she loves the new building but my question is if the city oh Huntsville has this much money to build new malls new buildings and things why don't they have to money to finish buliding the Parkway or make new ways for not such congested roads??

Because privater developers build office buildings and malls, and roads are dependent on the state and the Alabama Department of Transportation the worst road organization in US history.

[Huntsville_secede]

Funny thing is they are actually trying to recruit people in Atlanta to move here to fill all of the jobs coming.


Alabama's space city wants you to relocate there

By MICHAEL E. KANELL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/25/08

Huntsville is hanging out the "Help Wanted" sign — in Atlanta.

A job expo in Midtown on Tuesday is aimed at luring talent to the northeast corner of Alabama to fill thousands of openings in an economy bolstered by government spending on aeronautics, the military and space.
• More business and development coverage

About 30 businesses will be in recruiting mode at the Atlanta Marriott Suites Midtown between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., part of the "Huntsville on the Road 2008 Career Expo."

Among the companies looking to hire in Atlanta are Boeing, Westar Aerospace & Defense Group and Dynetics, Inc., as well as NASA, according to the Chamber of Commerce for Huntsville and Madison County

About 10,000 new jobs must be filled by 2012, the chamber said.

From just over 200 miles away, Huntsville recruiters view Atlanta as a large and deep pool for talent, spawning engineers and techies by the thousands each year.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/...ille_0226.html

[TimCity2000]

Originally Posted by daveyp

it would take more than one or two letters, but i've always thought that if you disagree with something in your town you should make your voice heard (beyond an online forum)... you and i have just as much of a stake in the town as the good ole boys who are trying to steer the ship so blindly.

i live in birmingham. but i basically agree with what you're saying.

[TimCity2000]

Originally Posted by -=skywalker=-

Because this city is run by closed minded stuck in the past good ole boys. The roads here are terrible, the same trip that used to take me 15 minutes from Whitesburg Bridge to UAH eight years ago is now about 30-45 minutes. Mayor Spencer is no longer the right person for the job, yes under her leadership the city did a wonderful job attracting new businesses and industry 10 years ago but appearantly the city wasn't prepared for a population boom, as now the infastructure and the narrow minded thinking of the city officials are becoming a thorn in the side of future developement and foward thinking.

unfortunately, roads have more to do with aldot than the city of huntsville, so i'm not sure we can put all the blame on them for that one.

[JuanHunt]

The population of the actual city of Huntsville is decreasing, hence the ever decreasing school enrollment which has been declining since the early eighties. The surrounding area of Madison, Limestone, Morgan and even TN and Jackson county is booming. The daily influx of workers has created the road overcrowding issues. But these people chose to move to rural areas in large numbers, in spite of the lack of tall buildings. Could it be that the only people that REALLY want them are the developers?

[-=skywalker=-]

Originally Posted by JuanHunt

The population of the actual city of Huntsville is decreasing, hence the ever decreasing school enrollment which has been declining since the early eighties. The surrounding area of Madison, Limestone, Morgan and even TN and Jackson county is booming. The daily influx of workers has created the road overcrowding issues. But these people chose to move to rural areas in large numbers, in spite of the lack of tall buildings. Could it be that the only people that REALLY want them are the developers?

Give us hard stats showing the city of Huntsville's population is decreasing...I'd really like to see some proof of that. Otherwise, don't make claims if you can't provide the facts. But I will agree that areas surrounding Huntsville have also seen a boom and have contributed to the road congestion, still could have been prevented had the county/city/state taken the steps to insure the infastructure would keep up with the population growth. Fact is, they waited too late to begin upgrades on the road system and of which have now created a mess of things.

Anyways, according to US Census Bureau.
2000 Census: 158,216
2006 Estimate: 168,132

That's a net gain of 9,916 within the city limits in a six year span.

[JuanHunt]

US Census says the 1990 population was 159789 and the 2000 population was 158216. Your 2006 estimate may or may not be accurate therefore it is not factual. I did misquote about the school enrollment as it has been decreasing since 1970 when there were 35,000 students and in 2006 there were 22,947.

http://www.al.com/specialreport/hunt...gain/sa11.html
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet...rd=&_industry=

I would guess that without large annexation, the population would have stayed stable or decreased since 2000.

The lack of maintenance of the existing infrastructure and minimal road improvement was also due to the requirements of providing same for new development. The existing customers of the city pay higher use rates for power , water and garbage because of the costs of providing these services to the new developments.

[-=skywalker=-]

Originally Posted by JuanHunt

Your 2006 estimate may or may not be accurate therefore it is not factual.

It is not MY estimate, as I provided the link to the stats it is the US Census estimate. Nowhere did I claim it as mine.

Thanks for providing a link to backup your argument about school enrollment.

[JuanHunt]

Dude, I posted the same link. The margin of error on the 2006 estimate is almost 6000, so that is NOT A FACT and FACTS are what you asked for.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by JuanHunt

Dude, I posted the same link. The margin of error on the 2006 estimate is almost 6000, so that is NOT A FACT and FACTS are what you asked for.

Huntsville's population is growing and at a faster rate than any of the large cities in the state. Educate yourself and go back to post 1 and read through all the posts and try and catch up. Are you an Al.com naysayer.
Blame ALDOT for the road woes, this has been well documented.


By TAYLOR BRIGHT
Times Montgomery Bureau tbright@htimes.com
MONTGOMERY - It hasn't taken BRAC to make Huntsville and Madison County grow briskly.

Between 2000 and 2005, Huntsville added more people than any city in Alabama, according to the latest U.S. Census estimates.

In a state where many of the urban hubs are losing population, Huntsville and Madison, which ranked third in the number of people added, continue to grow.

According to numbers released Wednesday, Huntsville added 6,727 people in the last five years - an increase of 4.2 percent.

Madison added 6,567 people in the last five years, an increase of 22.4 percent.

"Huntsville and Madison are perennially the fastest-growing cities in Alabama," said Annette Watters, manager of the Alabama State Data Center at the University of Alabama.

After Huntsville, Madison was behind only Auburn, which added 6,620 people, in the number of people who moved to town since 2000.

Overall, Huntsville's population increased to more than 166,000.

As well as Huntsville did, Madison County did even better.

"There are a lot of attractive places to live in Madison County that are not inside the city limits of Huntsville," Watters said.

The county grew by 7.7 percent, increasing to 298,192 people.

Watters said the area will continue to grow, especially with the announcement of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission transfers. Redstone Arsenal is set to gain 4,700 Department of Defense jobs from BRAC moves, and another 5,000 contractor jobs are expected to follow.

"The recent BRAC announcements are really going to keep it in a high growth mode for the rest of the decade," Watters said.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Huntsville_secede

Funny thing is they are actually trying to recruit people in Atlanta to move here to fill all of the jobs coming.


Alabama's space city wants you to relocate there

By MICHAEL E. KANELL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/25/08

Huntsville is hanging out the "Help Wanted" sign — in Atlanta.

A job expo in Midtown on Tuesday is aimed at luring talent to the northeast corner of Alabama to fill thousands of openings in an economy bolstered by government spending on aeronautics, the military and space.
• More business and development coverage

About 30 businesses will be in recruiting mode at the Atlanta Marriott Suites Midtown between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., part of the "Huntsville on the Road 2008 Career Expo."

Among the companies looking to hire in Atlanta are Boeing, Westar Aerospace & Defense Group and Dynetics, Inc., as well as NASA, according to the Chamber of Commerce for Huntsville and Madison County

About 10,000 new jobs must be filled by 2012, the chamber said.

From just over 200 miles away, Huntsville recruiters view Atlanta as a large and deep pool for talent, spawning engineers and techies by the thousands each year.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/...ille_0226.html

"About 350 attended the job fair,

In addition to companies with a Huntsville presence, employers that sent representatives included the Missile Defense Agency, the Army Aviation & Missile Command, Huntsville police and fire departments and Huntsville City Schools, Southerland said.

Brown said three more recruitment fairs are planned for this year, and more are likely next year. In addition to disseminating information about prospective employers, the chamber sets up a table with details on the Huntsville area's quality of life, including outdoor activities and the local arts scene. The next Huntsville on the Road will likely be in the Detroit or Cleveland area, with future trips possible to California and Washington state, among other regions, Brown said.

Chamber members interested in attending will be surveyed on which areas they would like to recruit, he said. The job fairs will target new graduates and seasoned professionals.

"We'll let (employers) decide where they will most benefit," Brown said. "It's helping to create an awareness about Huntsville."
http://www.al.com/business/huntsvill...610.xml&coll=1

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by JuanHunt

US Census says the 1990 population was 159789 and the 2000 population was 158216. Your 2006 estimate may or may not be accurate therefore it is not factual. I did misquote about the school enrollment as it has been decreasing since 1970 when there were 35,000 students and in 2006 there were 22,947.

http://www.al.com/specialreport/hunt...gain/sa11.html
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet...rd=&_industry=

I would guess that without large annexation, the population would have stayed stable or decreased since 2000.

The lack of maintenance of the existing infrastructure and minimal road improvement was also due to the requirements of providing same for new development. The existing customers of the city pay higher use rates for power , water and garbage because of the costs of providing these services to the new developments.

It's a pretty accurate estimate. To say Huntsville city limits have lost population is ridiculous considering all estimates say it has gained the most people in the state in the last six years of all cities. Whether its through annexation or whatever, the fact is the population has increased a lot. There is no possible evidence that shows the population has deceased you are talking about from the 1980 to the 1990s wake up its 2007!

[-=skywalker=-]

Originally Posted by Huntsville_secede

wake up its 2007!

Actually, it's Feb 28th 2008...

[Port_of_Bama]

lol

[JuanHunt]

Yes, I am a naysayer. I dont automatically accept estimates with a margin of error of 4 percent, which is about the same as the estimated increase.

And you cant blame all the road problems in Hsv on the state, only those on the Parkway and Governors.

One other fun fact, the population of Birmingham actually peaked in 1960. The traffic problems down there are the a result of the same trends seen in Hsv. Maybe Huntsville should enact a occupation tax too.

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by -=skywalker=-

Actually, it's Feb 28th 2008...

lol oh yeah I temporarily forgot its 2008

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by JuanHunt

Yes, I am a naysayer. I dont automatically accept estimates with a margin of error of 4 percent, which is about the same as the estimated increase.

And you cant blame all the road problems in Hsv on the state, only those on the Parkway and Governors.

One other fun fact, the population of Birmingham actually peaked in 1960. The traffic problems down there are the a result of the same trends seen in Hsv. Maybe Huntsville should enact a occupation tax too.

No its a lot more than just the parkway and governors. The state has only sent back less than half of the gas tax sent by madison county back for road construction. 100% blame is to the state for constantly delaying the overpasses at US 72 and moores mill/shields. No the roads in the county like wall triana and jeff road you are right the state isn't responsible for that.. but technically those roads arent in the Huntsville city limits either. Thats Madison/Monrovia Harvest. The roads in the Huntsville city limits are fine for the most part. I can think of a ton of other roads that are in the state's jursidication that have been delayed, you must not be familiar with ALDOT. Ask anybody from Birmingham or Huntsville and many other cities in Alabama how their road projects are constantly delayed. Yes Huntsville is partially responsible but the majority of the blame goes to the inept organization of ALdot.

[Exodus]

Originally Posted by -=skywalker=-

Give us hard stats showing the city of Huntsville's population is decreasing...I'd really like to see some proof of that. Otherwise, don't make claims if you can't provide the facts. But I will agree that areas surrounding Huntsville have also seen a boom and have contributed to the road congestion, still could have been prevented had the county/city/state taken the steps to insure the infastructure would keep up with the population growth. Fact is, they waited too late to begin upgrades on the road system and of which have now created a mess of things.

Anyways, according to US Census Bureau.
2000 Census: 158,216
2006 Estimate: 168,132

That's a net gain of 9,916 within the city limits in a six year span.

But the city has also pushed the city limits outwards a little bit since then.