Mayors provide updates on Shelby County cities

Whether it’s a new restaurant, a new roads project or new residential areas, the cities and towns of Shelby County are seeing progress, according to mayors from across the county.

The 13 mayors from Shelby County gave updates on their municipalities during the Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce’s “State of our Communities” luncheon on Feb. 22. In addition to a few jokes at one another’s expense, the mayors updated chamber members on ongoing projects, new developments and a few challenges.

Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer, who is the city’s second mayor since its founding 20 years ago, said he is seeing the strain the city’s population puts on its infrastructure.

“We’re experiencing unprecedented growth in our city and our county,” Picklesimer said. “Chelsea is approaching 13,000 in population based on estimates, with an infrastructure that was built for 5,000. I personally witness two traffic jams a day, five days a week from my office window.”

The traffic jams he sees, which take place at the intersection of County roads 39 and 47 in front of Chelsea City Hall, are compounded by the trains that also run through that area. Improving the city center and that crossroads will be a primary objective during his time as mayor, Picklesimer said.

Other goals for the city include growing its population, increasing commercial development and improving infrastructure. The city recently contracted with a retail coach that will work to bring businesses to the city.

“The population growth is happening. Here they come, ready or not,” Picklesimer said. “We had 261 home permits issues in 2016, and have recently approved three new residential developments in our city. We’re seeing existing neighborhoods begin to build again.”

As a young city, with an average age of 38 years old and household income at more than $80,000, Picklesimer said they’re facing challenges in school resources. Schools in Chelsea are managed by the Shelby County Board of Education, which recently approved a 21-classroom addition to Chelsea High School. This step, however, was simply meeting a need, Picklesimer said, and he looks forward to partnering with the board to continue maintaining a high quality in Chelsea schools.

Picklesimer said he also hopes to control and manage the city’s population growth so that it does not exceed available resources or disrupt the city’s hometown way of life and spirit of family.

“What will Chelsea look like in 2025? We can’t know for sure. But what we can do is keep our lifestyle and our spirit of community as a top priority,” Picklesimer said.

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said he plans to continue to build on what Hoover already has to offer to the county and state. As the sixth largest city in the state, Brocato said Hoover produces about $4 billion in retail sales each year.

“We’re important to the economy of our state, and we want to continue to build on that,” he said.

Since taking office, Brocato chose to give around $5 million to Hoover City Schools in addition to covering the cost of school resource officers. The school system is a cornerstone for the city, he said, and help bring neighborhoods and businesses to the area.

In the future, Brocato said there is a need to be careful in planning future growth. They plan to hire an urban planner, and one goal is to “retrofit suburbia,” he said, which would work to incorporate walkability, biking and other desirable amenities.

“We’re going to have to look at our city and transform it in a way, to really urbanize it,” Brocato said. “I think that’s what you see in the youngsters who are living downtown, they will eventually move out of downtown and into our communities and our school systems.”

These plans will also provide a chance for revitalization, Brocato said. Outside of Hoover, he said he looks forward to working with mayors of neighboring communities on mutually beneficial projects.

“Those are the types of things, I think as mayors of these communities, we have to think that way — of the entire area,” Brocato said. “And when we do, we help our areas as well.”