Photos by Jon Anderson
Hoover City Administrator Ken Grimes, left, has been named the city's new economic development director, and Pell City police Chief Clay Morris is Hoover's new police chief.
The Hoover City Council on Monday night approved two key changes in the city’s leadership, including appointing City Administrator Ken Grimes as the city’s new director of economic development and Pell City police Chief Clay Morris as Hoover’s new police chief.
Both moves were recommended by new Mayor Nick Derzis, who just stepped away from the police chief job after 20 years in the role.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR CHANGE
Grimes has served as Hoover’s city administrator since late October 2023 and will be shifting into a role left vacant by Greg Knighton, who turned in his resignation as Hoover’s economic development manager on Sept. 2.
Grimes comes from an economic development background. He holds a master’s degree in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi and began his career as an economic intern with Alabama Power Co.
Grimes severed seven years with the Bessemer Area Chamber of Commerce and a year as president and CEO of the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce before being hired by the city of Orange Beach. He spent nearly six years as a special projects coordinator for Orange Beach, 14 years as city administrator there and almost a year as director of external affairs before being hired as Hoover’s city administrator.
“His tenure as our administrator has provided him with a comprehensive understanding of our economic landscape, our industry mix and the challenges and opportunities that face our city,” Derzis said. “We have identified the revitalization of the Riverchase Galleria and Patton Creek as this administration’s top economic priority. I’m grateful that Ken has chosen to lend his experience and expertise to lead this crucial effort.”
Grimes said this new role is an exciting opportunity for him, noting that one of his first jobs was folding towels at the McRae’s department store at the Riverchase Galleria when it opened in 1986. His new role of working to help revitalize the Galleria campus brings him full circle, he said.
“For me, this is a wonderful city,” Grimes said. “There is so much opportunity, and yet we have challenges.”
Grimes said over the past two years, he has been able to gain a lot of insight into the city’s internal operations and how the city’s budget is so dependent on retail sales taxes. He knows the city’s economic development staff and entire city staff will do a great job of focusing on strategies to redevelop the Galleria and Patton Creek campuses, and he looks forward to seeing what ideas and contacts the mayor’s transition team brings forward, he said.
Derzis said the city will begin taking applications for city administrator Tuesday.
POLICE CHIEF
Derzis said there were seven applicants to fill his shoes as Hoover’s top cop. Picking one of them was a very tough decision, but he knows that Morris is the right one for the job, he said.
He has known Morris for more than 12 years and said he believes he is handing the reins of the Hoover Police Department over to someone who is smart, tenacious and innovative and who will continue to keep Hoover one of the safest communities in the country.
Morris has been Pell City’s police chief since March 2022. Before that, he spent 25 years with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and additional time with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Department.
Morris started with the DEA in 1995 and in 2011 was named the section chief for the DEA’s Office of Investigative Technology. In 2013, he was selected as assistant agent in charge in Alabama, supervising five DEA offices across the state. In 2017, he was called back to Washington, D.C., to be section chief of the Office of Investigative Techology again but returned to the Alabama office in 2020 before retiring from the DEA.
Morris has a bachelor’s degree in general studies from the University of New Orleans and a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Louisiana.
He thanked the Hoover City Council for putting their trust in him to lead a department that he said is known as one of the best departments in the Southeast and in the country.
“It’s not lost on me I’m replacing a chief that has been here almost 21 years,” Morris said. “The gravity of that is fairly heavy. You always want to follow a loser in their job,” he joked. “That’s not the case here.
“I will bring an honest and dedicated work ethic that will be second to none,” Morris said. “I truly believe that Hoover is on the cusp of a very transformative almost Renaissance period for the city of Hoover, and I’m thrilled to be a part of that. To the men and women of the Hoover Police Department that are here tonight, if you’ll just give me a fighting chance, I promise you I’ll earn your trust and your respect, and I look forward to working with everyone to making Hoover Hoover again.”
Councilman Derrick Murphy said he appreciated the detailed process Derzis used to make a selection and the mayor’s inclusion of so many people in making the decision. He also joked that Derzis, known for his flashy attire, may need to inform the new police chief that he is required to have a teal or hot pink suit, sparking much laughter in the audience.
Councilman Robin Schultz said this is one of the biggest decisions that Derzis has made so far as mayor, noting that Derzis has some big shoes to fill. Morris is set to begin his police chief job on Monday, Dec. 1.
Photo by Jon Anderson
New Hoover police Chief Clay Morris, second from right, poses for a photo with his wife, two of his children, Hoover Mayor Nick Derzis and the Hoover City Council on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025.
INTERIM CFO
In other leadership news, Melinda Lopez, who served as Hoover’s chief financial and information officer from 2016 to 2020, has agreed to serve as interim chief financial officer while the city looks for a new one. Former CFO Jennifer Cornett left Hoover in October to become assistant city manager and finance director for the city of Mountain Brook.
Lopez’s position is only temporary, Derzis said. She is not interested in filling the job permanently but agreed to come back and help the city develop a budget and manage finances until a new CFO can be hired, Derzis said. Robert Yeager, another former CFO for the city, is temporarily serving as city treasurer until Dec. 31 and will be working with Lopez, who returned to work last week.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 6:41 a.m. on Nov. 25 to correct the date that Greg Knighton turned in his resignation as economic development manager. That date was Sept. 2.
