Council approves new board of education member after rejecting two nominations
After the Vestavia Hills City Council voted down two nominations to the Vestavia Hills Board of Education from council member and education liaison Kimberly Cook, Jaclyn Hudson was appointed to replace outgoing BOE member Jerry Dent.
Cook nominated Tealla Stewart, who previously served on the BOE and taught at Vestavia Hills High School, saying she would be a great ambassador for the schools and understood the facility and budget concerns of the school heading into the future.
Council members Paul Head and Rusty Weaver, along with Mayor Ashley Curry, voted against the nomination. Council member George Pierce voted yes.
Cook then nominated Steven Shepherd, but in a roll call vote, she was the only person to vote for Shepherd.
Curry then nominated Jaclyn Hudson, and everyone except Pierce and Cook voted to place her name in the resolution appointing the new BOE member. All council members voted to approve the resolution.
“I think the council has spoken, the majority rules,” Cook said. “... Obviously I’m not happy about it.”
Curry said he didn’t have a problem with any of the nine candidates but felt Hudson’s experience as a teacher at Vestavia Hills Elementary - Liberty Park and her having children in the school system set her apart from the rest of the candidates.
The council also voted to renew a conditional use permit for Serra Automotive at 1476 Montgomery Highway. The permit expired in 2015, one year after the business closed due to flooding. The owner of the business has made changes to try to mitigate flooding, Weaver said.
The council approved the installation of four beehives at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Cahaba Heights. A church member told the council the church wanted to better steward their property.
In legislative news, the council passed a resolution opposing an Alabama Senate bill that would, in their summary, strip power away from municipalities to regulate the use of city rights-of-way and utility poles for small-cell technology, which will pave the way for a 5G network.
City Manager Jeff Downes also told the council about a bill that has passed the Senate and now sits in the House that would allow cities to opt back in to Tier 1 benefits through the Retirement System of Alabama, which was desired by the city in order to help their employees, particularly first responders.
In other business, the council:
- Amended a conditional use permit application from Lamar Advertising to state that in exchange for the company having one digital billboard placed at Royal Automotive, they would remove eight existing billboards from the city.
- Approved the rezoning of 3984 and 3988 Natchez Drive from Vestavia Hills R-4 to R-9.
- Approved the rezoning of 3785 Glass Drive and 3784 Poe Drive from R-4 to R-9.
- Created a court technology fund using existing fees from the city’s defensive driving courses.
- Approved the overnight annexation of the Magnolia Cove subdivision and renamed the street Magnolia Cove to Magnolia Cove Road.
- Approved a resolution authorizing a magistrate to sign checks and drafts for payments from the court bond account.
- Approved the tax levy for both Jefferson and Shelby counties.
- Approved an alcohol license for Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe, 1425 Montgomery Highway Suite 199, which will open April 30.
On first read, the council announced an upcoming discussion on an ordinance moving a polling place from the Cahaba Heights Senior Center to Cahaba Heights Baptist Church.