Chelsea City Council approves new member
The Chelsea City Council had a special meeting called Thursday night to fill the vacancy of Place 3 after David Ingram resigned just two days prior.
“We all knew it was coming, and I made the choice to allow the city council to make nominations to fill the vacancy,” said Mayor Tony Picklesimer.
Chris Grace was chosen and approved to take over Place 3 and serve the remainder of Ingram’s term.
“I’m honored to be considered for this position and hope through my services to contribute to the quality of life here in Chelsea,” he said. “This is a great council who is doing great things.”
Grace, along with his wife Gina, have been residents of Chelsea since 2003. He was born and raised in Jasper and attended college at the University of Alabama. The couple have three children, ages 20, 25 and 26, who all graduated from Chelsea High School. They attend the Church at Brook Hills where they lead a small group for parents of older children.
For his day job, Grace works as a civil engineer and is vice president at Barge Design Solutions, a full-service engineering and architectural firm.
He currently serves as vice-chair of finance and administration for the Shelby Chamber and has been on the board for five years.
Being nominated for Chelsea City Council came as a surprise to Grace. A 2014 graduate of the Leadership Shelby County program, he was asked by Mayor Picklesimer to give a presentation on the quality of life experience in Chelsea just last year after his work with the Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) program.
Grace’s wife Gina is looking forward to her husband’s contributions on the council.
“I am excited about him getting to serve the city of Chelsea,” she said. “It has been a great place to raise our children and has a small town feel with everything close by.”
Mayor Picklesimer said that Grace has previously volunteered his time and talent to help on projects just because he wants to be a good citizen.
“Chris and Gina are as all-American couple as they come and I’m so proud they chose Chelsea to make their home,” he said. “I am looking forward to his contributions on the council through the 2020 term.”
One other item was discussed at Thursday’s special meeting. A motion was approved for Mike Jared, owner of Jared Properties, to obtain quiet title to property he bought eight years ago and develop it. The city of Chelsea was one of the defendants in a lawsuit filed regarding the matter, but Jared offered a settlement to the city to get it cleared to proceed with development.