Mayor Welch, City Council President Smith begin new terms

The year 2020 has been turbulent, to say the least.

We’ve seen the deadly, disruptive COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest and a failed presidential impeachment, as well as apocalyptic forest fires, storms and floods.

In fact, 2020 “has felt like an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone,’ Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch III told Village Living this summer.

However, Welch believes the city has responded effectively to COVID-19 and other events.

That response was “very much a collaboration,” Welch said, crediting the efforts of the City Council, City Clerk Steven Boone, City Manager Sam Gaston and other department heads, as well as the city’s employees and first responders.

And Welch expressed excitement recently about beginning his second four-year term in office the first Monday in November.

“I’m very excited, very optimistic,” he said, despite the economic and public health impact of the pandemic with which he and other public officials are still wrestling.

Welch and City Council President Virginia Carruthers Smith were both unopposed in the city’s municipal election Aug. 25. Therefore, the Mountain Brook City Council voted to certify their election in late July, after the end of candidate qualifying.

There was one big surprise in the August election.

Gerald A. Garner — a member of the Board of Zoning Adjustment but a newcomer to electoral politics — upset incumbent Phil Black to claim the seat for Place No. 2 on the council.

The terms of the other three council members — Billy Pritchard, Lloyd Shelton and Alice Womack — continue until 2022.

In recent interviews with Welch, Smith and Garner, Village Living asked them to describe their priorities for Mountain Brook, including the need to help businesses recover from the economic hit of COVID-19.

‘CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT’

The COVID-19 pandemic has been “a game-changer in many, many ways, and everybody is looking forward to getting back to normal,” Welch said.

That makes supporting local businesses the mayor’s “No. 1 goal,” he said.

The mayor said he’s proud the city acted quickly to help those enterprises — including restaurants — after the mid-March COVID-19 shutdown.

The city has also been “very swift in relaxing lots of regulations” to help businesses, he said prior to the August election.

In March, Welch — through the Welch Foundation — created a campaign that distributed $60,000 in small grants to local restaurants to help them pay their employees.

In addition, the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce created the Merchant Relief Fund, which has raised about $80,000 in donations.

“I think most of that money has been dispersed to merchants who needed help,” Welch said.

The best way for people to help Mountain Brook businesses is to spend money with them, Welch said.

“I know that shopping online is in some cases easier and in some cases maybe even safer, but I think that our merchants have gone way out of their way to make sure that shopping is both safe and a good experience,” he said.

Another priority for Welch and the City Council is improving the city’s youth athletic facilities, a topic Welch discussed in his monthly column of our October issue.

He said this initiative, already underway, is a $6 million capital improvement project.

“It has been the vision of the City Council — certainly my vision — to have a major renovation of youth athletics,” Welch said.

The mayor said the city and Mountain Brook Schools — the city’s project partner — have worked with stakeholders, including the organizations that run youth sports leagues, to develop a master plan.

The plan “focuses on the assets we have, because we really don’t have an easy way to go out and get new land that is contiguous to Mountain Brook for more fields,” Welch said.

One project underway is the conversion of the fields at the Mountain Brook Athletic Complex to artificial turf to eliminate rainouts and rescheduling of games and practices.

Another major initiative for the city in Welch’s second term is the completion of Lane Parke Phase 2 in Mountain Brook Village, Welch said.

“We’re working with our legislature to have Lane Parke designated as an entertainment district,” Welch said.

He said developer John Evans has made “a lot of progress” on planning Phase 2 and is planning to begin construction soon.

The city is also continuing its long-term effort to expand sidewalks.

For example, in a joint project with the city of Birmingham, Mountain Brook will begin work on a sidewalk to connect Hagood Street and Montclair Road. That work should begin in 2020 and be completed in 2021, Welch said.

There are also some major infrastructure projects planned in the city, including bridge renovation and replacement projects, the mayor said.

“The theme for the City Council and the mayor is continuous improvement,” Welch said. “How do we continue to improve on all facets of what’s happening around our city?”

‘GIVE A LITTLE, TAKE A LITTLE’

A retired attorney and Mountain Brook native, Virginia Carruthers Smith has been on the City Council since 2000, and served as council president for three of her five terms.

In November, she begins her sixth term in Place No. 4.

Perhaps the most important objective for the council moving forward will be supporting local businesses affected by the pandemic and encouraging residents to buy local, Smith said.

Like Welch, she also wants to see the Lane Parke development finally bear real fruit for the city of Mountain Brook.

“I really do look forward to seeing Lane Parke become an integral part of Mountain Brook Village and a terrific appendage to our entire city,” Smith said in July.

She mentioned her desire to see further improvements at Jemison Park.

She’s also anxious to see the construction of two long-discussed traffic roundabouts in Mountain Brook Village to help channel traffic coming off U.S. 280.

However, that project will likely be delayed until 2022 due to the need for some sewer work in the area, city officials said.

In February, Smith told Village Living she pointed to the development of Lane Parke, the opening of Cahaba River Walk Park and the installation of sidewalks as a few projects she’s proud of. However, “It’s all a team effort,” she said in July.

Smith also said that she and Councilor Alice Womack have enjoyed taking part in a regular roundtable discussion with councilors from other Jefferson County municipalities to talk about such issues as recycling and garbage pickup.

“It’s been a great way to communicate with our fellow city council members and talk about issues that all of our cities have and struggle with,” she said.

She said she’s a good listener and thoughtful decision-maker with a high degree of institutional knowledge.

“I think when you listen well, then you’re willing to listen to everybody’s opinions and try to make informed decisions,” she said in March. “Sometimes you give a little, take a little.”

‘MAKING A LITTLE HISTORY’

When Garner won his seat on the council on Aug. 25, he defeated Black by a narrow margin — a little more than 50 votes out of a total of nearly 2,200 votes cast.

On Aug. 26, Garner said he was “blown away” when he saw the results in his favor.

City officials told Garner during the campaign that no incumbent had ever been defeated in a Mountain Brook election, he said.

“We made a little history,” Garner said.

“I am really honored and humbled, obviously, that I’m in this position,” Garner said in September, as he began to prepare in earnest to take office.

Beginning in mid-September, Garner began meeting with staff at various city divisions, such Public Works, Parks and Recreation and the fire and police departments.

He was impressed by the people he met.

“I’ve really enjoyed that because it goes to show that there are so many moving parts in the day-to-day operation of the city, and I’m meeting some incredible people,” he said.

“I am excited about learning everything I can learn,” he said.

Smith said that she knows Garner from her time serving as the council liaison to the Park and Recreation Board and to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA).

“He will be great to work with, and we are already including him,” Smith said, noting that Garner had already sat in on at least one meeting of the council’s editorial committee.

“I have had several conversations with him,” Smith said.

Smith also said that City Manager Sam Gaston and his staff “do a great job of getting new council members involved — and not just involved, but informed.”

“I’ve heard he’s a great guy, and I’m sure he will be an asset to the City Council, and we welcome him,” Welch said. “We are looking forward to having the opportunity to get to know him and work with him.”

Garner’s immediate priority upon taking office was doing anything possible to support local businesses.

“Let’s try to get the word out and drum up some foot traffic in these businesses, especially as it gets toward the holidays,” he said in September.

Garner said he also wanted to hear from any citizens with “concerns or thoughts or questions.”

A former long-time member of the Park and Recreation Board for over a decade beginning in 2007, Garner became a full member of the BZA in July after a vote by the City Council.

A Vestavia Hills native and a graduate of the University of Alabama, Garner has worked for 22 years as a financial planner.

During the campaign, Garner said the city needs to continue to make improvements to its sidewalks, parks, athletic fields and other facilities.

He took a strong pro-business stand during the campaign.

During a candidate forum in August, Garner said he was disappointed when the City Council passed an ordinance in June stating that businesses must require patrons to wear face coverings to help stem the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city should “push back” against any county or state restrictions and allow businesses “to open completely and fully,” Garner said.

Garner also said the city should make its streets safer by increasing funding for police, fire and emergency medical services.

Another critical issue facing the city is supporting its “fantastic schools,” Garner said.

During the candidate forum, Garner said an immediate infrastructure need is to continue to improve the Lane Parke commercial development in Mountain Brook Village and make it “more functional.”

He suggested creating some green space that can be used for concerts, outdoor movies and other events that will draw more people to the facility.