Lloyd Shelton is sworn in for his third term on the Mountain Brook City Council. Photo courtesy of Heather Richards.
For the third time in his political career, Lloyd Shelton was sworn in as a member of the Mountain Brook City Council. And for Shelton, it seems like old times.
“This will be the beginning of my third term,” said Shelton, who missed being sworn in with two fellow council members last week due to being out of town. “The desire to serve and kind to give back is still there. That's why I ran. I feel very much the desire to continue to serve and be responsible in how we do it.”
Shelton said it appears more people are watching what happens in city government these days. He cites higher voter turnout as his reason for drawing that conclusion.
“Folks are gonna pay attention to what's going on in the city, which I think is a good thing,” he said. “I think the desire to do the right thing is just as strong as it was eight years ago when I was first sworn in.”
Shelton’s absence last week was because he was out of town completing the New York City Marathon. It was the third time he completed a 26.2-mile course, which he said is tougher than running the gauntlet of city government.
It’s easier, he said, because he’s part of a team of fellow council members and volunteers on the city’s various committees.
“There are just a lot of good, hard-working, smart people in the community,” Shelton said. “It's nice to know that I can pass that torch off if it gets into something that's really heavy legally. You've got Billy (Pritchard) and Virginia (Smith) with law degrees. I think Graham (Smith) had some of that experience as well. Gerald (Garner) has the investment advice covered. It's nice to know you've got those folks working side by side with you.”
During the meeting, the council also:
- Approved the change order for the parking lot fill project near Field No. 1.
- Approved a contract with Focus Creative Birmingham for social media management, communications consulting and other services.
- Reappointed Ro Holman and Elizabeth Poynor to the Board of Landscape Design.
- Approved the conditional use application for Watkins Branch to serve lunch at 2708 Culver Road.
- Approved the resolution authorizing the sale or disposal of surplus property. Authorized an agreement for consulting services with Schoel Engineering Inc. related to the Lorena Lane and Fairmont Drive area drainage improvements.
- Awarded the bid for the janitorial services contract for the O’Neal Library to Hills Janitorial Services.
The next regular meeting of the City Council is 7 p.m. on November 28.