Photos from Rusty Weaver Facebook page, George Pierce
Left: Vestavia Hills Councilman Rusty Weaver. Right: Vestavia Hills Councilman George Pierce presents a certificate of election to his daughter, Ali Pilcher, who will replace him on Vestavia Hills City Council Place 4 in November 2025.
The Vestavia Hills City Council on Monday night certified Rusty Weaver and Ali Pilcher as members of the council for the next four-year term when it begins Nov. 3.
Neither Weaver nor Pilcher had anyone qualify to run against them in the Aug. 26 election, so their election is automatic now that it has been certified by the council. This is Weaver’s second time to get into office without opposition. He was also unopposed in 2020. Weaver was first elected to office in 2016 when he defeated incumbent John Henley for Council Place 1.
Pilcher, the daughter of current Vestavia Hills Councilman George Pierce, gets to follow in her father’s footsteps in Council Place 4. He decided not to seek re-election after almost 17 years on the council, and no one made an effort to keep his daughter from succeeding him.
“It was a thrill for me tonight,” Pierce said of getting to present the certification of election document to his daughter.
There are still three races to be decided in the Aug. 26 election. Mayor Ashley Curry faces a challenge from former Vestavia Hills police officer Richard Cheatwood, while Councilwoman Kimberly Cook is being challenged by Karl Julian for Council Place 2.
Three people are seeking the Council Place 3 seat being given up by Paul Head. They are Brian DeMarco, Jacob Pugh and Michael Vercher.
The Vestavia Voice will continue profiling candidates and sharing information about their views on issues facing the city until the election takes place Aug. 26.
In other business Monday night, the current City Council:
- Began a 90-day annexation process to bring 1.6 acres at 2560 Rocky Ridge Road into the city limits. The property owner, Brandon Hays, is asking the city to allow for the construction of eight single-family homes on the property. His request first will go to the Vestavia Hills Planning and Zoning Commission for a “pre-zoning” of the property. Plans submitted to the city show a road stretching west off Rocky Ridge Road with eight lots that are 43 feet wide and 72 feet deep. “If the rezoning is approved, the next item of business will be annexation of the property,” City Clerk Becky Leavings wrote in a memo. “If the rezoning fails to pass, the annexation request will not be considered.”
- Approved spending $997,484 to buy and install a new emergency generator for Vestavia Hills City Hall and to relocate the old generator on the campus to serve the Vestavia Hills Police Department building.
- Approved an agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation that allows the city to perform grading and landscaping on state right of way near the intersection of Interstate 65 and U.S. 31 in conjunction with installation of a new sign welcoming people to Vestavia Hills and to install drainage structures on that right of way.
