The Sunrise Rotary Club of Birmingham is a civic organization made up of 110+ men and women from across the Magic City whose motto is: “Service Above Self.” For over 30 years, we have made a positive impact in our city by providing volunteer service and funding to a wide variety of civic projects, including the Birmingham Zoo, the YMCA, local schools, Children’s Hospital, the Cahaba River, Habitat for Humanity, and many others.

In 2019, we created a planning committee to investigate possibilities for restoring the long-neglected Altamont Park. We approached the Birmingham Parks and Recreation Board, as well as the neighborhood associations that border the park. We held two workdays with Cub and Boy Scouts to begin to clear invasive species, dead trees, and large amounts of trash that had overtaken the Park. We consulted with an experienced landscape architect and created a number of options for what the park could become, then presented those at a public open house to get neighbor feedback before the design phase proceeded. A summary of that meeting and what we heard is attached.

During our process of due diligence, we encountered many residents who were enthusiastic about enhancing the area; however, there were some who did not want us to be involved in any significant way. Due to our initial efforts to shine a light on this Park, a group of neighbors have created an organization called the “Friends of Altamont Park” to undertake their desired improvements to this City of Birmingham Park.

Our goal was to bring attention to this neglected piece of public land, and we feel this has been accomplished. Sunrise Rotary has decided to step aside at this time and let the Friends of Altamont Park resume the efforts to beautify Altamont Park for their neighborhood. They are welcome to build on the work product attached that could be considered an additional contribution to the cleanup provided. Sunrise Rotary will continue our volunteer efforts with other projects to help make Birmingham a better place for all citizens.