Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Mountain Brook City Manager Steve Boone listens as people show appreciation for his 30 years of service to the city during a Mountain Brook City Council meeting on Monday, June 22, 2026.
It’s not every day that you can surprise Steve Boone at a Mountain Brook City Council meeting.
The first-term city manager is generally on top of everything that’s on the council agenda. But Monday, June 22, wasn’t just any meeting. This was the meeting in which Boone was recognized for his 30 years of service to the city.
“You're such just a rock of our city,” Mayor Graham Smith said before reading a resolution in Boone’s honor. “We hope you have felt celebrated. We know you don't like to be celebrated. We try to celebrate you. We try to just snuggle up against Steve and just be as friendly as we can. But thank you so much for all you've done for the city.”
The crowded chamber stood and applauded the city manager when Smith finished the resolution that was crafted by Janet Forbes, Boone’s assistant, and City Clerk Heather Richards. Boone drew laughs when he said he expected to go outside to unveil a statue in his honor.
“We have not appropriated the money for that bronze,” Council President Billy Pritchard said. We're working on it. There's nothing more to say. I can tell you this: The city of Mountain Brook would not be where it is today and what it is today without your service.”
Boone’s wife, Cathy, and mother-in-law, Carolyn Smitherman, sat on the front row.
“You never thought he’d turn out, did you?” Councilman Lloyd Shelton quipped.
“I always thought he was a pretty good guy,” Smitherman said.
Boone sat in his traditional spot at the end of the council table. Behind him was a picture of him from a Halloween celebration, dressed as Ken from the “Barbie” movie. There was also a light-hearted photo fire Chief Chris Mullins, who also is celebrating 30 years with the city.
Later in the meeting, the council:
- Agreed to hire John Ward of Cooper Carry Inc. for the Brookwood Village redevelopment project, with services capped at $20,000
- Agreed to pay Stuart Franco of Cotton State Media $5,500 a month to provide social media management, communications consulting, videography, photography, graphic design, public relations, media outreach and crisis communications support for the city
- Agreed to hire a company called Park Loyalty to provide hardware and software, including license plate readers, for a parking enforcement system for the next five years. The cost for year one will be $34,390, and the cost for remaining years will be $12,600.
- Extended the home occupancy moratorium another 30 days, through Aug. 20
- Agreed to hire Bhate Geosciences Corp. for $11,750 to conduct a geotechnical analysis to help determine the best place to expand the sewer plant on the Mountain Brook High School campus
- Extended for two more weeks a sidewalk café permit for Cala Coffee at 2409 Montevallo Road
- Reappointed Dale Brasher to the Board of Landscape Design
- Agreed to allow a masonry wall in a city drainage easement along the side and rear property lines on property at 2801 Montevallo Road
- Named Boone and Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Cornett as authorized signatories for the city’s investment account
- Approved contract documents for the O’Neal Library renovation project
- Gave approval for a special event alcoholic beverage sale license for the 2026 Otey’s Fest at 224 Country Club Park
The City Council plans to conduct a special meeting at 5 p.m. on July 9 to discuss the home occupancy ordinance. The next regular meeting of the council will be at 7 p.m. on July 13.
