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Council taps Jennifer Weaver as new BOE member, votes in favor of tax incentive for Liberty Park grocery development

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Emily Featherston

Emily Featherston

Emily Featherston

The Vestavia Hills City Council voted to appoint the newest member of the Vestavia Hills Board of Education Monday, tapping Jennifer Weaver for the role.

The highly-anticipated decision came at the Council’s second regular meeting of April, where the body voted unanimously to select Weaver to fill the vacancy that will be left as current BOE President Nancy Corona rolls off later this spring.

Weaver — no relation to Mayor Pro-Tem Rusty Weaver — is a Liberty Park resident and has three children in the Vestavia Hills City Schools system. She has served as PTO president for Liberty Park Middle School and on other community boards. Weaver has formerly worked as a chemical engineer at ExxonMobil, and currently works part time as a financial analyst for Patient Engagement Advisors.

Place 2 Councilor Kimberly Cook made the recommendation to the council, citing Weaver’s hardworking nature, involvement and experience, as well as her kindness and compassion.

“Jennifer has been a consistent advocate for students,” Cook said. “...She understands what families are dealing with currently in our society and in our schools.”

Cook also noted Weaver’s measured and steady approach to decision making and her ability to work collaboratively with others.

“Her references, parents in our school system, say that she is a leader who is not afraid to take positions once she has given fair consideration to all the alternatives,” Cook said.

Cook said that in talking with Weaver, she found their concerns about the school system to be the same.

Weaver was one of six candidates who applied for the vacancy, and one of the five who ultimately interviewed.

Charles Mason, who served as interim superintendent for Vestavia Hills City Schools, had applied for the position but withdrew his candidacy prior to his interview, according to City Clerk Rebecca Leavings.

Referencing comments on social media and elsewhere, Cook said that despite what has been said, she did not ask Mason to withdraw from consideration.

“Dr. Charles Mason served our board well as interim superintendent for six months, and I’m grateful for his service and his sacrifice in coming out of retirement to help our system in a time of great need,” Cook said.

Cook said she initially encouraged his application, and said she told him at the last meeting that he was a strong candidate.

“He has not discussed his reasons for withdrawing with me, and I respect him enough to not ask that question. I am aware that there are some in our city that have said that I have asked him to withdraw, and that is just not the case,” she said.

Cook said the school board appointment weighed heavily on her, as it was one of the main reasons she decided to run for office, and as someone who applied for a BOE position multiple times, she knows what the candidates go through.

Place 4 Councilor George Pierce also had comments about the appointment process.

Pierce began his comments by thanking the applicants, and the community for reaching out to him to express their thoughts about the appointment.

“Appointing members to the board of education is probably the most important task that the city council undertakes,” Pierce said, referencing the often-used metaphor of the school system being the “crown jewel” of the city.

Pierce said that the benefits of a strong school system are thanks to the families and community members, but that none of it, he said, would be possible without the teachers and administrators whose hard work and dedication make the district what it is.

Pierce’s comments then shifted to his concerns.

“Over the past few years, dozens of teachers within our school system have contacted me to express their concern about the lack of support they’ve received from the central office. Instead of being encouraged to express their opinions or make suggestions about how to improve our schools, they have been reprimanded and punished for speaking up and raising concerns. Some older teachers and administrators have been pushed out or reassigned, and many young teachers do not view Vestavia as a place to spend their entire careers,” he said.

Pierce said that this has led to low morale among teachers, and that while they have told him they are hopeful for a fresh start with a new superintendent, it is ultimately the council’s responsibility.

“In reality, that obligation rests with the city council as the body that appoints the board of education members who set the visions for our school, and if our teachers do not receive the support they need and deserve, then we have failed our teachers, students and our community,” he said.

Pierce went on to say that he hoped that the new appointee — Weaver had not been named at the time of Pierce’s comments — would work to listen to teachers and administrators, and to the council.

“The education of our children is too important to let petty, political games get in the way. We have some of the best teachers and administrators anywhere, and they are passionate about what they do, so we must support and build them up so they don’t have to live in fear that simply expressing a contrary view may result in them losing their job. I believe that this can only be accomplished if the board and city council are on the same page and working together,” he said.

Pierce is married to Kacy Pierce, who was formerly the principal at Liberty Park Middle School and is currently serving as principal of the Vision School, the district’s alternative school. According to the minutes of the Feb. 28 BOE meeting, Kacy Pierce’s contract was not renewed.

Mayor Ashley Curry said that to him, all appointments to the BOE are important, but with the major projects the school district is currently involved with, the new member will have significant responsibility over the next five years.

“This is a very important decision to serve,” he said.

Mayor Pro-Tem Weaver and Place 3 Councilor Paul Head both thanked the applicants and noted that all were qualified for the position, and encouraged them all to consider reapplying in the future.

No comments were made during the public forum.

Economic Development Agreement

The Council also approved an economic development agreement with Blackwater Real Estate, LLC, for a grocery-led development in Liberty Park.

Blackwater, which was represented at the meeting by John Abernathy, is the development company most in Vestavia would recognize because of the firm’s development of Patchwork Farms, particularly the Publix grocery-led aspect of that development.

The agreement, City Manager Jeff Downes explained both in his city manager’s report and as the item was discussed, is similar to other agreements the city has made with developers where financial challenges arise that might otherwise limit the ability to develop or redevelop a piece of property.

For this agreement, he said, the city would essentially share the tax revenue with Blackwater, up to $4.8 million or 10 years, whichever comes first.

With conservative growth estimates for a grocery-led development in Liberty Park, Downes said, once the agreement ends, the city could be looking at about $1.2 million in additional annual tax revenue from the development.

Abernathy went through the reasoning behind the request for the agreement, with the majority of the financial difficulty in developing the project coming from geotechnical issues.

With the amount of grading needed on the site, combined with the mines and poor structure of the soil in the portion of the “700 Acres” where the development is supposed to go, the cost to simply get the project going is significant.

Additionally, Abernathy said, national trends and tariffs on construction materials has increased the cost of building such a development, up to 17 percent more than when they developed Patchwork Farms just a few years ago.

Downes said that the council should also consider the tax “leakage” experienced in Liberty Park, where residents shop outside of city limits for groceries and other items, taking the tax revenue with them.

“If we’re going to plug the leakage of tax dollars out of Vestavia Hills, we need to consider an incentive agreement,” he said.

The council voted unanimously to approve the agreement.

Other council business included:

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