Happy New Year from Mayor Zaragoza

Happy New Year. 2014 is poised to be a very bright year for the City.To help disseminate that news, you will see that we have increased the frequency of our Community News distribution from every other month to 10 months per year (we will not publish in January or June). 

In City news, we anticipate an updated financial rating, both from Fitch and Moody, in response to our decision to secure additional bonds. We don’t expect this to alter the City’s double A+ rating, a coveted classification we share with only a handful of municipalities across the state, including Mountain Brook and Huntsville.

I hope the holiday season has allowed many of you the occasion to enjoy a breakfast out at the Egg & I, the City Center’s newest addition, which opened its doors in December. 

In other news, those citizens who are interested in becoming more civically engaged are encouraged to apply for the 2014 class of Leadership Vestavia Hills. The group, originally conceived by Dennis Anderson, is a great organization for learning about your community from local government to the school system to the city as a whole. They have conceived and brought to bear many projects that are now a substantial part of the community. These include the Youth Leadership program, which is very big in our schools, Wing Ding, CERT and many others.

In economic development news, we have plans in the works for the lot that formerly housed Pizza Hut and Ruby Tuesday. As these plans are firmed up, we will keep you informed. 

This is a time of high energy and meaningful progression for our City. Let our office hear from you about what you like and also what you think needs improvement. We are here to serve you.

Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year to you all,

Mayor Butch Zaragoza