County mayors give community updates

The Shelby County Chamber hosted its annual State of the Communities, a virtual event with mayors throughout Shelby County, on Feb. 24.

Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer discussed what he hopes to accomplish in his second term.

He said the state of the city of Chelsea is very good and that 2021 is off to an amazing start.

“My message for today is we are back,” he said. “We started the fiscal year in October with a 4% increase in revenues, and our community sectors are buzzing with prospects, and our revenue is exceeding our forecast.”

With Chelsea residents shopping from home, the online sales have increased exponentially and December 2020 was the largest single month for revenue in the 25-year history of the city. The first quarter of 2021 has already seen growth of 8.74%.

“We will have six new business building facilities in our city this calendar year, including three new restaurants opening in the city,” he said. “Those new businesses will include a Racetrac gas station in front of Publix, and the first tenant of the Foothills Business Park will begin construction this year.

“The business park is a city-owned development created with one simple goal: bring businesses and jobs to our city,” Picklesimer said. “That is one of my primary focuses in my second term in office, and a lot of interest is being shown in it.”

Education also continues to be a focus on ways to help the city’s five schools. The one cent sales tax that was approved in October 2019 has already paid huge dividends, and the Nick Grant program has been a huge success.

Picklesimer said the city’s population continues to grow because the momentum in the housing market is very strong. Four large subdivisions will begin construction or continue to grow.

“We expect Chelsea to remain the fastest growing city in Shelby County,” he said.

With the new playground at Melrose Park open and the splash pad set to open May 1, residents will be able to enjoy the new outdoor amenities. The Chelsea Sports Complex on Shelby County 11 will have four new baseball fields and a new cross-country track.

The city turned 25 on March 1, and a birthday celebration will be incorporated into the Fire at the Foothills event at City Hall on April 17.

Mayor Brenda Bell Guercio of Indian Springs said it will institute a small sales tax in 2021 in order to begin to contribute more financially to the schools and be prepared for any needs that may arise, such as road repairs.

“Every year we spend less money than we budget for and bring in more money in revenue than we budgeted, so we’re doing quite well,” she said. “We have money in the bank and no longterm debt. “

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said there are lots of wonderful things going on in the city during his second term.

He said lots of great development is going on in the city and mentioned several areas including Tattersall park on U.S. 280, Meadowbrook Corporate Park and International Park.

Brocato said the western side of Hoover is really on fire with the shops and business at Stadium Trace Village, and a 350 homes for ages 55 and older will be built in that area also.

The city is building its fifth fire station and continuing to work to bring businesses in and around the Riverchase Galleria.

Another project is building an additional campus for National Computer Forensic Institute (NCFI) training.

Other mayors who spoke during the event include James Latimer of Vincent; Larry Riggins of Westover; Ricky Morris of Wilsonville; Scott Brakefield of Alabaster; David Mitchell of Columbiana; Rusty Nix of Montevallo and Brian Puckett of Helena.