Illustration by Sarah Owens
Mountain Brook City Council heard presentations from the Mountain Brook Schools Foundation, Leadership Mountain Brook and Chamber of Commerce at Tuesday night's meeting, with each organization highlighting their work.
The MBCS Foundation reported a successful fundraising campaign, raising $4.4 million since August of 2024. This is the fourth major gifts campaign the Foundation has launched in its thirty year history.
An initial goal of $3 million was set to increase the endowment fund to $15 million. The response and momentum surrounding the campaign during its silent phase by the Mountain Brook community resulted in the initial goal being reached by December 2024. The committee has since set a stretch campaign goal in line with the Foundation's long-term strategic plan to increase the endowment fund to $20 million in order to grant Mountain Brook Schools $1 million each year. They aim to surpass this $5 million goal by December 2025.
Leadership Mountain Brook's presentation proposed changes to the city limit signs, stating enhancement of the signs would elevate people's perception of the city.
The group offered three sign design options, one of which was recommended by the Village Design Review Board. The project will be added to list for consideration as the city approaches the next annual budget season and, if approved, it would cost $1,840 to $2,415 to enhance all 23 signs within city limits, depending on the chosen design.
The Chamber had 67 new members join the organization in 2024, a record high. They also made a few new hires and hosted the inaugural Harvest on Hoyt community supper event. The Chamber also developed and implemented their Chamber Ambassador program and invested in a Placer.ai, a data metric system that allows them to track retail trends and visitors. The data showed growth in visit rates for Mountain Brook's Villages. Moving forward, the chamber will be putting on a few new events in 2025, and they have a women in business initiative and tourism project in the works.
The council approved the following agenda items:
- Resolution authorizing the sale or disposal of certain surplus property.
- Resolution declaring certain property as surplus and authorizing its sale to West Blount Fire Department.
- Resolution authorizing the City’s participation in the 2025 “Back-to-School” Sales Tax Holiday.
- Resolution making an appointment to the Mountain Brook Board of Education.
- Ordinance amending Chapter 121 of the City Code with respect to signs.
- Change order for fencing along Memory Lane in conjunction with the Montclair Road Sidewalk Project.
- Safe Street For All (SS4A) grant application for various traffic safety projects. information.
- Resolution authorizing engagement of Michelle Reynolds for Memory Triangle planning.
