Called to serve

The mayor and the City Council are often the face of major government decisions that impact part or all of Mountain Brook, but there are other groups of individuals serving their city: those who give countless hours to the seven different boards, committees and commissions in the city of Mountain Brook.

Mountain Brook Board of Education President Elizabeth Dunn first started on the board nine years ago. Dunn, like other board or committee members, first had to be appointed and approved by the City Council.

In addition to the monthly board meetings, she and other BOE members meet for work sessions and as needed to discuss policy changes or potential new hires. It’s a time commitment, she said, but because the BOE is a policy-making board, they have to think about how every decision could impact each student.

“We try very hard not to have an agenda, so to speak,” Dunn said, noting that they try to find members interested in helping the school system as a whole. Despite an extensive PTO background, Dunn said she found the most challenging aspect of becoming a board member was learning the financial responsibilities. 

“It is more complicated than I knew. …  The funding of the school system is so involved,” she said, particularly local, state and federal funding.

But because board members have their own experiences and professions to draw on, Dunn said it helps the board make informed decisions. 

“We all bring varied experience and … we really do listen when people talk to us about their concerns. We try to bring all our levels of background, whatever those happen to be,” Dunn said.

That’s something that is echoed throughout other public service groups, too.

Sitting on City Council are members with a background in architecture, accounting, law and investment banking, said councilman Phil Black. All can offer expertise to lend to constructive dialogue and agreements.

“In a given meeting, we will just look to the other person who happens to know what they’re talking about,” he said. 

Black is a two-year council member but previously sat on the Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Adjustment. His current role includes acting as liaison for the Planning Commission to the council.

Ellen Elsas — a 12-year member of the Village Design Review Committee, former Birmingham Museum of Art curator, art history teacher at UAB and participant in many public project committees — said the Design Review Committee has similar variety in skillsets.

With experience in architecture, commercial real estate, retail and landscape architecture, she said the variety helps VDR do its main job: “maintain the character of the villages” while keeping standards for an attractive community.

As a committee, VDR reviews “visual communications” in the villages, such as signs, storefronts and additions for aesthetics and consistency, using design ordinances, or guidelines, to make in decisions.

“It’s not just the taste of the people on the committee,” Elsas said. “What we rule on is how it fits with the ordinances, but because we’ve got some really skilled professionals on the committee, they give freely their advice.”

Council, as well as the BOE, BZA, the Planning Commission and other committees, also refer to ordinances and stipulations when making decisions. Black explained that what most people don’t realize, however, is that the BZA is a quasi-judicial body.

“The decision it makes can not be overruled by the City Council,” he said, adding that those instances are uncommon. “It has to be overturned by the circuit court.” 

And something else many people are surprised to hear? All those who sit on City Council, boards, committees or commissions, including the mayor, are volunteering their time for work sessions, meetings, briefings and other work.

“People are willing to take this volunteer job [on VDR], where they have to get to a 7:30 [a.m.] meeting once a month, and take it so seriously,” Elsas said. 

As BOE president, Dunn spends a great deal of time speaking with Superintendent Dicky Barlow outside of meetings, discussing issues that may arise or future plans, in addition to the regular meetings and keeping up to date on documents related to projects or ordinances. 

“I just think people need to understand that people on the boards take it very, very seriously,” Elsas said. In addition to meetings and proposals, Elsas said VDR members work on updating ordinances to fit both the needs of each individual village and meet the changes in technology.

But they all started because they wanted to help the city they live in and the residents they call neighbors.

“I wanted to do it because I feel like I have some things to give back to, the schools … it’s one of the things that shaped me, it shaped my children and it’s a huge thing that shapes our community,” Dunn said, and Elsas noted that she’s enjoyed learning from her peers while being able to give back to Mountain Brook.

“Across the board, everybody that I’ve ever worked with, has a genuine desire to make the city better,” Black said. “And even as good as our city is, it’s underlaid by a lot of effort from everyone on the boards and the City Council.”