Mayor’s Minute By Ashley Curry - March 2022

Welcome to March! It is the time of year to say goodbye to winter and hello to spring.  However, this may not be the case this year. On Feb. 2, the noted groundhog meteorologist, Punxsutawney Phil, emerged from his burrow and promptly saw his shadow. According to legend, if he sees his shadow, we are in for six more weeks of winter.

Regardless of the weather, construction of the new Civic Center continues. We are optimistic that it will be completed by May. As I mentioned in the previous “Mayor’s Minute”, this will be one of the most exciting additions to our parks and recreation facilities. You will be impressed with this facility. We are told by the Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau that our 10,000 square foot ballroom will be the third largest banquet facility in the Birmingham metropolitan area.  Located on the second floor of the building, it offers a panoramic view of the Highway 280 valley and Double Oak mountain to the southeast of our city.

Meanwhile, Phase Three of the Wald Park improvements is underway and will be completed soon. You can follow these improvements on the city’s website.

There are a couple of achievements to mention.

First, the Vestavia Hills Fire Department has received an Insurance Services Office (ISO) “Class 1” rating. This is a significant accomplishment by Fire Chief Marvin Green and his staff. The ISO’s classification system plays an important role in the underwriting process for insurance companies. This rating places our fire department in the top 1% for fire departments nationwide. Out of 39,850 fire departments nationwide, VHFD was in the top 388 departments that received a Class 1 rating. This is the highest rating you can receive.  Thank you to Chief Green and his department for this accomplishment.

Secondly, Sandi Wilson of our Parks and Recreation Department, was recently awarded the “Jim Spain” professional of the year award. This award honors individuals who have rendered outstanding service or accomplishments to the leisure service, recreation, parks and/or conservation professions through leadership and/or active involvement. This is the highest award given by the state association.

During February, the city held several town hall meetings. In these meetings, hosted by Jeff Downes, our city manager, citizens were provided information and were able to ask questions about “The Bray,” the new development at Liberty Park. The Bray is a large mixed-use town center for the roughly 800 acres yet to be developed by the Liberty Park Joint Venture, LLP.  This city center concept has been in the works for several years.  There will be more to come as the council reviews what the Joint Venture describes as the “ultimate live, work, and play lifestyle all in Liberty Park.”

Don’t forget to “spring forward” with daylight savings time on March 13.