Hoover City Council honors outgoing mayor, councilmen

The Hoover City Council tonight honored Mayor Gary Ivey, Council President Jack Wright and Councilman Joe Rives for their service to the city.

It was officially a work session for Monday’s City Council meeting, where Mayor-elect Frank Brocato and a new City Council will be sworn in.

Most of the agenda items for Monday’s meeting deal with appointments to be made by the new council, such as choosing a city clerk, city treasurer, city attorney, municipal judge, prosecutor, magistrates and auditing firm.

The outgoing council did not discuss those items. Instead, Councilman John Lyda — one of three councilmen who were re-elected — led in recognizing Ivey, Wright and Rives. Councilman Jack Natter, another councilman who chose not to seek re-election, was absent tonight.

Lyda thanked all three men for their years of service to the city, and City Attorney Charlie Waldrep read proclamations concerning Ivey and Wright, who each have served more than a decade as elected officials.

Ivey’s proclamation noted that he began serving on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission in 1999, was elected to the City Council in 2004 and served as president for seven years. He served the final year of Mayor Tony Petelos’ term when Petelos resigned to become Jefferson County’s manager in 2011 and was elected mayor without opposition in 2012.

“Gary Ivey is a skilled businessman and has worked diligently to ensure that the City provides a high level of service to its citizens and that the public safety provided is exceptional,” the proclamation said.

Read more about the end of Ivey's term here.

Wright’s proclamation noted that he served 20 years on the City Council, the last five as president, making him the longest-serving member. He has worked with five mayors and 24 different council members.

Wright also served on Hoover’s Industrial Development Board since its creation in 1981 and the city’s Stadium Advisory Committee since 2004 and Veterans Committee since its formation in 2005.

“Jack Wright’s expertise and conservative management of the City’s finances have contributed to the financial stability of the City, and he is proud to leave Hoover in good standing with its current AAA rating,” the proclamation read.