City council member and Hunter Hills resident David Ingram is running for re-election for Chelsea City Council Place 3.
Ingram was elected to Chelsea City Council in 2012 and has previously served on the city’s parks and rec committee. If re-elected, Ingram said he hopes to continue building on the projects started by the current administration.
“In the next four to six years, we need to continue that momentum to improve the way of life for people in the community,” Ingram said.
Ingram cited improvements in public safety and community amenities as some of the successes the current council and mayor have accomplished. The city partnered with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and county commission to ensure there are student resource officers at all schools in Chelsea, partnered with the county on COMPACT 2020 and purchased a new fire truck for the Chelsea Fire & Rescue Department and a new vehicle for the Chelsea Citizens Observer Patrol program.
The city also constructed new tennis courts, started construction on a new sports complex and completed the Chelsea Community Center, which Ingram said were great steps for the community.
“I think it’s [the community center] being utilized a lot more than people in the community think it is,” he said. “You just have to go in there and see it.”
The community center offers options for several age groups, Ingram said, including basketball for young athletes, activities for seniors, exercise for adults and other options. In the future, Ingram said he would like to develop a master plan to continue to build on the community center and provide for more age groups. A splash pad for young children, he said, might be a good addition.
Other projects, such as the new sports complex on Highway 11, are also off to a good start, Ingram said. During the month of June, the current baseball fields on Highway 47 hosted a 30-team tournament, which Ingram said was a success.
“Out of those 30 teams, five teams were Chelsea teams, so you’ve got 25 teams from outside the community,” he said.
The new baseball fields on Highway 11 will allow the city to accommodate more youth tournaments, which can provide income for the city and bring consumers into Chelsea businesses and restaurants.
To continue Chelsea’s financial growth, Ingram said bringing new businesses to the city is an important step. The council and mayor have heard presentations from multiple business-recruiting firms in the last several months, and Ingram said he hopes to pick a firm that suits the city’s needs soon.
“I think this really needs to be a focus for the next administration,” he said.
When elected to the city council in 2012, Ingram had no experience with municipal government. While he has learned a lot over the last four years, he said it is important to keep how the government operates a transparent practice. He also hopes to open up more communication with the community.
“I would like the idea of having routine town hall meetings, where everyone is invited,” he said.
These town hall meetings would have an open forum and more informal atmosphere that would be welcoming to citizen comments, he said, and allow citizens to voice their concerns.
“It’ll arm the city council and mayor with what the community is looking for,” he said.
Other goals for Ingram include looking into establishing a municipal court, which would allow for enforcement of city ordinances and working more with the City of Pelham.
Following a 2014 separation agreement with Pelham, which established its own school system, some neighborhoods have students grandfathered into Chelsea schools living next to new neighbors who attend Pelham schools. The situation is complicated and confusing for some residents, who may have initially bought a house when it was zoned for Chelsea area schools prior to the agreement, Ingram said, and it’s not ideal for either municipality.
“This has not been addressed since the separation agreement,” Ingram said. “… I think it’s not something we can continue to ignore, and a good time to address it would be with the new administration with both cities.”
For more information, visit Re-elect David Ingram for Chelsea City Council Place #3 on Facebook.
Resident Gary Isbell is also running for Chelsea Council Place 3. The election for Chelsea mayor and five city council seats is scheduled for Aug. 23.
If you are running for city council or mayor in Chelsea, you can reach our community reporter Erica Techo at erica@starnespublishing.com.