The City Council approved a request to place a shared toy box for Hot Wheels cars along the edge of Morris Boulevard. Andrew Elliot, the driver behind this project, worked closely with neighbors and hopes it will become a small gift to children who pass by. The idea grew out of the Elliott family’s own story. Their boys love Hot Wheels, and they first saw something like this while visiting grandparents. Their five year old helped build the box with his grandparents, and both boys plan to serve as ‘Hot Wheel-brarians.’ They already have an inventory ready so empty spaces can be filled again. They have spent many hours racing cars at home, naming each one, and turning simple toys into fun family championships. They hope this box invites other families to get outside and enjoy the surprise of finding a new car on a walk or a bike ride. Their hope is simple: “We hope the box serves as a blessing to others in the neighborhood! What's the most exciting toy / hot wheels car for a kid? A new one that you don't already have! Part of the ambition is that it gets kids around the neighborhood excited to go out on a family walk, bike ride, etc. - knowing it will result in bringing a new hot rod home!” Stop by and feed your inner vroooom!

Pre-Council Meeting December 8, 2025 Council members walked through the upcoming agenda, and heard updates on items like restricting a few on street parking spots on Linden Avenue, adding a crosswalk at Shades Road and Westover Drive, tightening oversight of vouchers and credit card use, and cleaning up shared dumpsters behind downtown businesses. The highlight was an item to appoint Sam Gaston to serve as Special Assistant to the City Manager, bringing his decades of experience to help guide Homewood through its transition to the new council manager form of government and support long term planning. Agenda: https://bit.ly/3YdB0J5

Homewood has voted to appoint Sam Gaston as the Special Assistant to the City Manager. This is a steady step as our city moves into a new form of government. Sam will work with city leadership and help guide the transition as we look to find a permanent City Manager. Sam brings 45 years in local government management and planning. He recently retired after more than 32 years as the City Manager of Mountain Brook. His roots run deep in public service. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in public administration from Auburn University. He has served as president of the International City County Management Association, the Alabama City County Management Association, the Alabama Chapter of the American Planning Association, and the Homewood Mountain Brook Kiwanis Club. Mayor Graham Smith of Mountain Brook offered this statement, "Sam’s decision to serve in Homewood is a gift to our entire region. He is one of the most respected municipal leaders in Alabama," she said. "His experience and steady leadership will be exactly what Homewood needs as it moves into this new government structure. Mountain Brook has benefited from his wisdom for decades and now our neighbors in Homewood will share in that same strength." Homewood Mayor Jennifer Andress shared this, "We are excited and grateful to welcome Sam Gaston to Homewood as Special Assistant to the City Manager," she said. "Sam is the gold standard for city managers in Alabama. He encouraged our move toward a Council Manager form of government and we are thankful to have him join Cale Smith in this important season." We are proud to welcome Sam and look forward to the experience he will bring to our city.

Homewood is rolling out text alerts. You can sign up for as many as you like, or choose 'HWDALL' to receive all alerts. Even if you subscribed before, you will need to sign up again using the info below: Text HWDALL to 38276 to receive ALL alerts Text HWDINFO to 38276 to receive news alerts only Text HWDSTREETS to 38276 to receive street closure info only Text HWDEMERGENCY to 38276 to receive emergency alerts only Text HWDGARBAGE to 38276 to receive holiday garbage schedule alerts only.

Board of Zoning Adjustments December 4, 2025 The Board of Zoning Adjustment approved three variance requests including a detailed appeal from the owners of 800 College Avenue to rebuild on their existing footprint with strong neighbor support, and granted requests to add a second story at 564 Forest Drive South and extend a front porch at 600 Handball Avenue. A fourth case for 1707 Reese Street was continued to the January 8 meeting. Case Packet: https://bit.ly/48M4fc3

Planning Commission December 2, 2025 The Planning Commission addressed items that included a pickleball court addition at Brookdale, a large two-part request from Homewood Community Church, and a Frisco Street re-survey. Most of the night centered on the church’s proposal, with neighbors raising concerns about traffic, construction access, buffers, lighting, and flooding; the applicant responded in detail, committed to no construction access on Columbiana, and the Commission sent both items to Council with favorable recommendations. Agenda: https://bit.ly/48M4fc3

Pre-Council Meeting November 24, 2025 The council moved through a handful of items including the TAP multimodal facility contract coming in under budget, a budget amendment to complete the project this year, and the continued 80% reimbursement through the TARP grant. They also discussed new fleet-maintenance tools that will help recruit and retain technicians, an ordinance to clear out old committee language that does away with the old style of committees and now has become one "Pre-Council" meeting, tiered year-end employee bonuses supported by a strong surplus, and a new agreement with Carr Riggs & Ingram to continue supporting the finance department. Agenda: https://bit.ly/4rhpXMe

City of Homewood staff and leadership enjoyed an early Thanksgiving meal thanks to the Homewood PTO. This annual tradition rotates around our elementary schools. Edgewood Elementary School hosted this year. It is their delicious way of thanking our city employees for all they do for us!

The Board of Zoning Adjustments has an open supernumerary position and applications are welcome from anyone interested in serving the city. This is a meaningful way to assist the vision of Homewood and learn how zoning decisions can shape our community. The deadline to apply is November 24 . To apply, send your resume and cover letter to bo.seagrist@homewoodal.org If you have questions about the scope of the work itself, email emily.harrismiller@homewoodal.org

Council Meeting November 10, 2025 The council opened with a proclamation honoring landscape architect Jane Reed Ross, announcing that the large Shades Creek Greenway bridge will be named for her, then moved through business, awarding the Homewood Public Library phase four renovation bid, approving contracts including one for acting city manager Cale Smith, and giving the city manager authority to sign contracts up to $100,000.  Agenda: https://bit.ly/3JV3BPS

Pre-Council Meeting November 10, 2025 This marked the first time for this meeting. Instead of five separate committees, agenda items are now reviewed during a pre-council meeting, where the full council and mayor discuss all policy matters. The council and mayor discussed a holiday live music request for downtown, reviewed finances showing about 2.9 million dollars in net income, and approved shifting 127,000 dollars to finish the library renovation. They set November 24 hearings for projects including the Piggly Wiggly expansion, Our Lady of Sorrows rezoning, Andrews Sports Medicine offices, and a new Valvoline. Other items included a Brookwood road closure for construction, a neighborhood Hot Wheels toy box, new stop signs, a Lakeshore water line, and city manager contract authority. Agenda: https://bit.ly/47PsswC

Board of Zoning Adjustments November 6, 2025 The Board of Zoning Adjustment denied a variance request to convert a nonconforming carport at 13 Oak Moor Drive into a master bedroom. Members also voted to raise application fees, approved the 2026 application calendar, and welcomed acting City Engineer Amy after Cale Smith moved into the acting city manager role. Case Packet: https://bit.ly/3XhBtJN Upcoming meeting schedules: https://bit.ly/3bvufcT Archived meetings: http://bit.ly/2UiSIaA For all the details about this meeting watch the video above.

Something new is lighting up the holidays in Homewood. Homewood Holly Days will turn Central Park into a festive forest of more than 50 decorated trees, each sponsored by local businesses. The celebration begins November 28 at 6pm with a Tree Lighting Ceremony featuring Mayor Jennifer Andress, the Rotary Club of Homewood, live music, and hot cocoa. Beyond the lights, the event supports local students. Since 2016, the Homewood Rotary Club has awarded $223,000 in scholarships to Homewood High School seniors through the Bill Crawford Educational Foundation. Each tree sponsorship helps fund these scholarships and gives students the chance to reach their goals. Tree sponsors will receive a 6 to 6.5-foot tree from the Boy Scouts of America and can decorate it between November 23 and 27. The trees will stay on display through December 31, creating a bright and welcoming centerpiece for the holiday season.

Homewood has appointed Cale Smith as Acting City Manager. Cale has played a key role in shaping the city’s infrastructure and growth since joining the City of Homewood in 2021 as Director of Engineering and Zoning. His experience, leadership, and collaborative approach have earned the respect of colleagues and residents alike. Mayor Jennifer Andress shared, “Cale Smith has been an invaluable Department Head for almost five years as Homewood’s City Engineer, and I am excited to see him take on the role of Interim City Manager. Cale knows how to lead, how to put processes in place to make our city better, and has a servant heart for the people of Homewood. I look forward to working with him in this capacity.” Here is more about Cale: Cale Smith, a native of Greenville, Alabama, moved to Homewood in 2004 after earning his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Auburn University. Since 2021, Cale has served as the Director of Engineering & Zoning at the City of Homewood, partnering with department heads and working directly with residents to implement thoughtful solutions to community needs. In this role, he has managed more than $15 million in capital projects across the city. Prior to coming to the City of Homewood, Cale spent 17 years in the private sector as a Professional Engineer, serving as both Principal and Project Manager for several consulting firms based in the Birmingham area. During that time, Cale managed projects and budgets for many public sector clients, including UAB, the Montgomery Housing Authority, the Housing Authority of Birmingham, BJCC, and BJCTA. Some of his favorite projects involved developing affordable housing options in Montgomery. These projects strengthened his ability to translate complex design and financial considerations into clear, actionable discussions with stakeholders and community members, building trust and consensus among diverse groups. Through this experience, Cale discovered a passion for public service. So, when he had the opportunity to serve as City Engineer, his answer was an enthusiastic “absolutely.” As Interim City Manager, Cale looks forward to building on the strong culture of collaboration and trust among the City’s department directors to advance the Council’s vision, enhance operational efficiency, and deliver exceptional customer service that our community deserves and expects. Cale is married to Dr. Keya Kraft, who serves on the Homewood Public Library Board of Trustees and works as the Director of Economic Development for the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham. Their daughter, Dot, is an eighth grader at Homewood Middle School, where she enjoys playing on the school’s basketball and volleyball teams. He can be reach here: cale.smith@homewoodal.org

It is an exciting new chapter for the City of Homewood. On Monday, November 3, 2025, Mayor Jennifer Andress and the members of the new City Council were officially sworn in during a ceremony at City Hall. You can watch those above. Each elected official took the oath of office surrounded by family, friends, and community members who came to celebrate the start of a new term in Homewood’s history. Newly seated members: Jennifer Andress, Mayor & Council President Paul S. Simmons II, Ward 1 Nick Sims, Ward 2, Mayor Pro-Tem Chris Lane, Ward 3 Winslow Armstead, Ward 4 The new Mayor and Council begin work immediately, with meetings starting next Monday as they focus on continuing the progress and planning for Homewood’s future.

On behalf of Mayor Alex Wyatt and the outgoing City Council, I would like to thank Glen Adams for his dedicated service to the City of Homewood at a truly historic time. In September 2024, Homewood held a referendum in which our citizens elected to change our government from a Mayor-Council form of government to a Council-Manager form of government. Glen was hired as our first ever City Manager in March and went straight to work, making immediate improvements in the city and our day-to-day operations. Our city employees truly enjoyed working for Glen and responded well to his leadership and direction. As his contract expires, and we head in to the next Council term, we wish Glen the very best as he takes on his future endeavors. We are well-positioned to move into our next term and new form of government thanks to Glen’s hard work these past 8 months. Mayor-Elect Jennifer Andress

Council Meeting October 27, 2025 This council meeting was a historic farewell, filled with proclamations, gratitude, and reflection as the city’s mayor, council, and longtime leaders concluded their final meeting under the mayor-council form of government. Emotional tributes honored departing Mayor Alex Wyatt, Council President Walter Jones, Councilor John Hardin, and City Attorney Mike Kendrick for decades of service that shaped Homewood’s growth, stability, and spirit, culminating in the creation of the new “Mike Kendrick Award for Service" for the City of Homewood that will be handed out annually. Agenda: https://bit.ly/3X4CkNL