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Photo by Jon Anderson
Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry., right, greets someone after delivering his 2024 state-of-the-city address to the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce at the Vestavia Country Club on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. With them is chamber President and CEO Michelle Hawkins.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry delivers his 2024 state-of-the-city address to the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce at the Vestavia Country Club on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry delivers his 2024 state-of-the-city address to the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce at the Vestavia Country Club on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry delivers his 2024 state-of-the-city address to the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce at the Vestavia Country Club on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
The Vestavia Hills City Council poses for a photo at the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Vestavia Country Club on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. From left are council members Paul Head and George Pierce, Mayor Ashley Curry and council members Rusty Weaver and Kimberly Cook.
Economic strength and quality of life are the two biggest factors that have kept the city of Vestavia Hills successful in recent years, Mayor Ashley Curry told the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce in his 2024 state-of-the-city speech Tuesday.
The city’s general fund revenues surged to a record $71.2 million in fiscal 2024, which ended Sept. 30, and the city was able to end the year with a $4 million surplus, boosting the general fund balance to about $29 million, Curry said in his speech at the Vestavia Country Club.
Sales tax revenues were a record $28.3 million, and revenues from the simplified sellers use tax, which is a tax on online purchases, climbed to an all-time high of $3 million, he said. When that tax was first implemented in 2018, the city received about $20,000 a month from it, but now that amount is about $250,000 a month, Curry said.
He emphasized the importance of shopping local to keep tax revenues with the city of Vestavia Hills and provide money for services needed by residents.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY STRONG
New construction permits are a good sign of future revenues, and the future looks bright there as well, Curry said. The city would like to average about 80 new construction permits a year, and this past year there were 135 permits issued for new construction, including 91 residential permits and 44 commercial permits, he said. That’s up from 49 new construction permits in fiscal 2022 and 113 in fiscal 2023, according to data he shared.
The city has maintained a AAA credit rating with both the Fitch and Moody’s Investors Service rating agencies, which is something few cities in Alabama have, Curry said.
The city’s population has grown by about 5,000 people since the 2010 census and currently stands at about 39,000, he said. The fastest growing part of town continues to be Liberty Park, he said.
Maintaining a balance between commercial and residential growth and good financial planning have enabled the city to make many improvements to city parks and facilities in recent years, Curry said. He introduced and credited City Manager Jeff Downes, the Vestavia Hills City Council and the city’s department heads.
“The department heads that you saw and these council members are the team that makes everything happen, and they deserve all the recognition for making our city what it is, an exceptional place to live,” Curry said.
Photo by Jon Anderson
The Vestavia Hills City Council poses for a photo at the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Vestavia Country Club on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. From left are council members Paul Head and George Pierce, Mayor Ashley Curry and council members Rusty Weaver and Kimberly Cook.
When this group of elected officials took office in 2016, they realized that some of the city’s parks and facilities were woefully inadequate, Curry said.
“We had ball fields that were in disrepair. We had a swimming pool that I remember having a portable truck out there with a pump on it to recirculate the water so that we could even keep the pool open,” he said.
City officials surveyed residents about what improvements they would most like to see and went about making it happen, Curry said.
PARK & FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS
Wald Park was completely redone with new ballfields, an open lawn and new aquatics complex that has more than 4,000 members, Curry said.
“In the summer it's not unusual to have 500 people a day, and that does not even include the swim team participants,” he said. “Your pool is being used a lot, and thank goodness we've got it because, like I say, in 2016 you wouldn't have had that kind of turnout.”
The city also was able to acquire the building that formerly held Gold’s Gym and convert it into a new Civic Center. The city was fortunate to find a building right next to City Hall with flat land and 300 parking spaces, Curry said. “We couldn’t have done that anywhere else in Vestavia.”
The Civic Center has more than 1,300 members and more than 100 people a day using the walking track or exercise facilities, he said.
Cahaba Heights has gained new ballfields, a new senior center for the city, walkways that connect residential and commercial areas and improvements to the busy Crosshaven Drive.
The city also has been busy reclaiming old mining land near the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex and has plans to add a fire station and library branch on some of that land, Curry said.
Altadena Valley Park has been created as a passive park on the former Altadena Valley golf course, and there are plans in the works for expanding walking trails there and building a veterans memorial.
The city also has been able to add sidewalks along Mountain View Drive and in the Dolly Ridge community, provide money for the school system to add artificial turf at Vestavia Hills High School’s football field, boost the amount of money for street paving and replace aging police vehicles and fire trucks, despite especially long waits for fire engines and emergency transport vehicles, Curry said.
EMPLOYEE RETENTION, CUSTOMER SERVICE
To remain competitive with other municipalities and recruit and retain high-quality workers, city leaders boosted the pay and benefits for city employees, he said. This has been especially helpful in the Police Department, he said. While Birmingham has a shortage of 172 officers, Vestavia Hills has remained in good shape with a total of 110 sworn officers and hasn’t had a problem keeping its force up, he said.
The City Council and city manager will have another strategic planning session in February to develop priorities for the coming year, he said.
Curry also the city has been putting a high emphasis on customer service with its employees because “we’re in the customer service business.”
City employees have undergone training to be engaged, take ownership of problems and respond to them in a timely manner, practice professionalism, be informed about other city departments besides their own, listen actively and show care and concern for people, he said.
He shared several stories of city employees taking this training to heart and noted residents who have made donations to the foundations that support the library and Fire Department because of the exceptional service they have received from the city.
When a senior citizen fell and was injured at the New Merkel House, the senior center director, Melanie Perry, went with the person to the hospital and stayed with them until a family member arrived, Curry said. It’s an excellent example of showing care and going the extra mile and beyond what’s expected of you, he said.
“Simply put, your city's in great shape,” Curry said. “Our quality of life, our sound financial practices … I'm truly thankful, and I'm very proud to be the mayor and work with this council on keeping this city in the shape that it's in.”
