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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Billy Pritchard speaks to Crestline Village resident Michael Crump at Mountain Brook Council on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Crestline Village resident Michael Crump speaks to the Mountain Brook Council on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
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Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Crestline resident Joe Sandner speaks to the Mountain Brook Council on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
A pair of Crestline residents asked the Mountain Brook City Council on Monday night about the decision to cease livestreaming of council meetings. Each asked the council to discuss the matter in a public forum.
Council President Billy Pritchard announced at the end of the Jan. 27 meeting that future council meetings would not be hybrid with online access via YouTube.
Joe Sandner asked if the decision was made in either of the past two pre-council meetings or the last two council meetings. Pritchard said that matter was discussed informally prior to those gatherings, adding that participation in online meetings was minimal.
“The overwhelming majority was probably Heather [Richards, the city clerk] and her husband,” Pritchard said. “It was kind of a carryover from COVID. It was problematic in certain ways with us being able to technologically have it work as it should every time.”
Sandner said there is a lot of public good from the livestream, noting that he didn't see where the matter was discussed publicly in council minutes.
“I guess I'd ask the city council to consider putting it on a future agenda,” Sandner said, “talking about the pros and cons publicly and giving the residents the opportunity to voice their opinion on it.”
Michael Crump made the same request. A technologist by trade, he said he had two issues with discontinuing the livestream.
“It's probably cost-effective to cut the stream. I would not argue against that,” he said. “I would also argue that AI (artificial intelligence) might interfere with the stream, with unregulated bots or people coming into the stream and not knowing if this is real or not real, a patron of Mountain Brook or citizen or whatever.
“But I also recognize…about having public access, no matter if it's in person or not in person,” Crump said. “If I were to take a vacation or a trip or a missionary location, I would want to see a city council meeting even if it's the only one (council meeting) I attend the whole year. I would rather have this option open in case I do need to use it and I'm out of town.”
Pritchard reminded the audience that everything that’s to be discussed is included in the agenda that is posted the Friday before the meeting. He added that minutes are available after they have been reviewed and approved.
“You're more than welcome to ask us anything and call us about any issue that is a concern of yours,” the council president said.
Said Crump, “It's not the same as real time livestream where you can ask real time questions.” Pritchard countered that YouTube livestream does not permit direct remote verbal interaction with those in the meeting.
The council president said he is worried about the potential of someone altering the livestream.
“In the world in which we live, we see from time to time on YouTube or internet [that] there are opportunities for things to be manipulated or taken out of context and used in certain ways,” Pritchard said. “I've talked to several IT experts who say that's something that you cannot really guard against. That was a concern of mine.”
Pritchard said the council will take the residents’ comments under advisement. During the meeting, Mayor Graham Smith appointed Ellen Hawley, Janine McCall and Jeff Lisenby to the city’s Environmental Sustainability Committee.
The council:
- Gave permission for the nonprofit Embrace Alabama Kids to restore the long faded mural along U.S. 280.
- Approved a memorandum of understanding with One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice Center.
- Authorized the sale or disposal of certain surplus property.
- Executed an agreement with Cardinal Technology Consulting Services of Alabama with respect to issues related to AT&T.
- Approved a work authorization agreement with Sain Associates for the Public Works Crew Facility addition.
- Executed an agreement with United Ability Inc. – doing business as Gone for Good – for a community document destruction and e-waste recycling event on April 18.
The next regular meeting of the city council will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 23.
