Mayor’s Minute By Ashley Curry: June 2022

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for the summer.

There will be much going on in the city this summer. There are still a few pieces of the Infrastructure and Community Spaces Plan that should be finished sometime during the summer. The infrastructure component of the Community Spaces Plan (CSP) are the road improvements on Crosshaven Drive in Cahaba Heights. As you have surely seen driving through Cahaba Heights, these improvements are progressing as the city has completed two of three construction phases.

Speaking of Cahaba Heights, on May 14, Cahaba Heights celebrated its 20th year since its annexation into Vestavia Hills. On May 14, 2002, more than 1,500 Cahaba Heights residents voted to join the city of Vestavia Hills. Cahaba Heights has continued to maintain a close neighborhood feel while growing significantly.

The improvements are continuing at Wald Park this summer. Phase three of our renovations include the construction of tennis courts, pickleball courts and additional parking. An additional feature will be a dog park on the upper end of the tennis courts. With this additional dog park, the city will have three designated areas for dogs.

We are anticipating the completion of our Civic Center sometime this summer. It has been tedious dealing with supply chain issues for construction materials, but it is coming along. As we near completion, you will be advised of our “grand opening” plans for this facility.

This past month I had the honor of attending an awards day and the graduation for our Vestavia Hills High School seniors. I am always impressed with the academic standing of our graduates. It is always impressive to see the dollar amount of scholarships that have been offered to our seniors. Congratulations to the faculty, staff and the students for another outstanding class.

In my address to the seniors, I encouraged them to persevere in pursuing their goals.  Nothing in life comes easy or is simply handed to you. Most of you reading this article have probably learned that by now. The second thing I asked of them was to help others along life’s journey. You never know what an impact you will make on someone by doing some simple act of kindness. This was exactly what Steve Skipper, our featured speaker at the Dogwood Prayer Breakfast, mentioned in his presentation. Steve overcame a difficult childhood and, with the help of a friend that took him to church, turned his life around, which included leaving a “street gang,” and became the renowned artist he is today.

Father's Day is always celebrated on the third Sunday in June.  This year it will be Sunday, June 19. Father’s Day began in 1910, two years after the first official celebration of Mother’s Day. Last month you celebrated Mother’s Day, so let’s not forget to recognize our fathers this month.