Ashley Curry
It is hard to believe that December is already here. It reminds me of the movie “Forrest Gump” in which there are multiple scenes of Forrest sitting on a park bench and telling his life history to a myriad of unsuspecting visitors to the same bench. If Forrest was here he would say, “and just like that it was December.” Maybe it is the altered state of our lives, caused by COVID-19,that has changed our timing and made it difficult to keep up with the months.
As I mentioned in last month’s submission, we will always remember the year 2020 as the year of the pandemic and how our lives were changed because of the virus. Let’s try to focus on the positive things that transpired for our city this year. First of all, our city celebrated its 70th birthday Nov. 8. On that date in 1950, a majority of voters approved the incorporation of Vestavia Hills. We have come a long way from the 600 or so residents at that time. We have not been able to hold a large public gathering to celebrate that milestone because of the virus. Maybe we can have a belated birthday gathering when the virus is behind us. Secondly, our city schools celebrated 50 years of excellence this year.
I also can’t believe that I, along with my colleagues on the City Council, have completed a four-year term that began with our election in 2016. Some of our accomplishments include:
With sound fiscal strategy, we have been able to sustain financial strength and spur economic growth. Our city’s credit rating, measured by Moody’s Investor Services, was increased to the highest possible rating of “AAA.” The City has been able to increase its emergency reserves during this term. Simply put, our city is in the strongest financial position in its history.
We are in the final stages of completing the largest infrastructure and parks renovation in the city’s history. Our new parks and our community building will ensure that our amenities, one of the critical components of “quality of life” assessment, will be something for which our citizens can be proud. The new aquatic facility, the new senior center (New Merkel House), the new Miracle League field and dog parks are good examples of what is to come upon completion of this program.
We have approved and funded major new road construction and sidewalk construction throughout the city. During 2019, we were able to resurface 20 miles of paving. Also, we have established an annual resurfacing program that will fund the paving of 7-8 miles of roadway per year. This was sorely needed as the city had fallen behind on keeping up its streets.
We have improved our communication efforts to ensure transparency and information sharing. During this term, we have approved the hiring of a Communications Specialist. Subsequently, the city added an email newsletter and various community engagement tools to supplement our existing monthly newsletter.
I am very proud of these accomplishments and I congratulate my colleagues on the Council, our City Manager, and all the Department Heads for making all of this possible. I am looking forward to the next four years.
I wish all of you a Merry Christmas.
