Mayor’s Minute By Ashley Curry - January 2023

I hope all of you had a joyful holiday season with family and friends. From a city perspective, we had a special holiday season with holiday events in our new Civic Center. The Christmas tree lighting event was moved indoors at the Civic Center because of thunderstorms. Participants were greeted by a larger tree for the lighting ceremony, a delightful Christmas concert by our elementary and middle schools, a performance by the “Rockettes” and guided tours of the new facility.

On Dec. 9, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra performed a “Christmas Concert” in our new ballroom of the Civic Center. This event was hosted by RISE (Rebels Impact through Service and Engagement), part of Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills. Proceeds from this event benefit the Adolescent and Young Adult division of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB Hospital. This was a fantastic event and provided another opportunity to showcase our new Civic Center ballroom.

Our Beautification Board encouraged our citizens to “Light Up Vestavia Hills” by placing a live or artificial tree (featuring white lights), a menorah or any celebratory holiday symbol in the front yards of our homes. Thanks to all who participated in lighting up our city.

As I observed the tree lighting event in the new Civic Center, I remembered that about five years ago, our City Council was planning the much-needed renovations to our parks. Coincidentally, the owner of the building that is now our Civic Center contacted the city to see if there was an interest in purchasing the building. This was a stroke of good fortune and probably one of the best decisions this council has made. What a blessing to have this nice building adjacent to City Hall. Our Parks and Leisure Services Department will be able to accommodate most any type of event.

Here are some things to look forward to in the coming year. We should finish our Community Spaces and Infrastructure Plan in the next few months. This would include the Crosshaven Drive street widening and sidewalks in Cahaba Heights. We will also finish Phase Three of the Wald Park improvements: tennis courts, pickleball courts, and dog park. We will also complete the finishing touches on the new Civic Center.

Now that the COVID-19 crisis is behind us, I look forward to resuming awareness meetings for topics such as financial scams against the elderly, opioid awareness, our Phoenix Program for individuals with substance abuse issues, and awareness about human trafficking.

You have probably made your New Year’s resolution by now and hopefully you have not already broken it.

If you have not made one, I will leave you with a thought for the New Year. An old Chinese proverb said, “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for the day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. But, if you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”

I wish everyone a happy new year.