Mayor Brocato unveils 'Future Hoover' initiative to identify city needs, funding alternatives

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato tonight unveiled an initiative to find out what Hoover residents think the city needs to keep it vibrant and healthy and potential ways to pay for those ideas.

In a talk to the Hoover City Council that was reminiscent of his campaign speeches last year, Brocato recounted many of the things he believes make the city a great place to live and said he is both concerned about potential problems and excited about opportunities to improve.

Brocato said the initiative, which he dubbed “Future Hoover,” will over the next six months focus on Hoover schools, transportation and roads, city staffing, economic development, stormwater and wastewater management, marketing of the city, and facility needs, such as a fine arts center.

He also wants to address the question of whether Hoover needs a central downtown area and if so, what it should include and where it should be.

The mayor said he and his staff will start off by talking with school officials to ascertain the school system’s needs.

The Hoover school system is the city’s crown jewel, but the school board already is planning to add portables at Deer Valley Elementary due to overcrowding and Hoover High School will be over capacity in five to 10 years if something is not done to add space there or build a third high school, Brocato said. Plus, the school system’s annual debt payments soon will start to increase due to debt restructuring from years past.

The mayor and new City Council elected last year doubled the school system’s base funding from about $2.5 million a year to $5 million a year and continue looking for ways to defray the school system’s operational costs, he said.

However, “we know the school system needs more money,” Brocato said. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to increase the city’s level of support for schools without straining the city government’s obligations, he said.

“This concerns me,” Brocato said. “We know we don’t have any more money to give to the school system.”

Brocato said he wants school officials to let city officials know what the school system needs to maintain the level of excellence that has made the schools what they are today.

He also will be working with city staff and the City Council to identify road and transportation needs and facility and staffing needs, he said. They also will develop alternatives to financially support those needs, he said.

But the most important part of the process will be listening to want the residents and businesses of Hoover want to see happen, Brocato said. Between July and September, he plans to hold town hall meetings to give people a chance to share thoughts and ideas on all these subjects, he said.

Then in early December, he plans to make a presentation to the council to share the public feedback and, by January, present recommendations for action, he said. It will essentially be a roadmap to prepare the city for the next 50 years, he said.

“We’re sitting right in the center (of the metro area). We’re ready to explode, so we just need to look and be prepared for those things,” Brocato said.

This initiative is designed to let Hoover residents tell elected officials where they want the city to go and how the city should pay for it, he said.

At the same time, the new city planner will lead the way in helping the city develop a comprehensive master plan, Brocato said. The “Future Hoover” effort will complement the master planning process but not replace it, he said. The master planning process will be more about land use, such as identifying what parts of town are right for residential development, commercial development or an entertainment district, he said.

Brocato said he doesn’t think the “Future Hoover” initiative will be hard because people already have been talking about many of these ideas, but “the funding issue is always going to be a challenge.”

Hoover Councilman Derrick Murphy thanked Brocato for having foresight and for his desire to move the city forward. If a city gets stagnant, it will fall behind, Murphy said.