Council Meeting Sept. 15, 2025

Council Meeting Sept. 15, 2025


The council approved bids for Green Springs Phase 2, compact-only parking at Patriot Park, new no-parking zones in Edgewood next to Otey's, and crosswalk realignments at Oxmoor and Saint Charles. Council also approved a Seven Brew Coffee development at Wildwood, nuisance cleanups across several properties, a ThinkGard disaster-recovery contract, and honored Councilor Melanie Geer for five years of service.


Agenda: https://bit.ly/46mfmWR

  • Details

    Item 030725: The council approved a bid from Gillespie Construction for Green Springs Phase II, as recommended by the Finance Committee. Approved


    Item 030725: The council approved a bid from Sain & Associates for engineering services related to Green Springs Phase II. Approved


    Item 160825: The council authorized the city manager to sign change order number one with Gossett Construction. Approved


    Item 170825: The council approved a contract with Gossett Construction  to designate two parking spaces at Patriot Park for compact cars only. Ordinance adopted


    Item 180825: The council approved sponsorship for the Birmingham Ball. Approved


    Item 190825: The council approved creating a no-parking zone to replace a loading zone in the Edgewood business district. Ordinance adopted


    Item 200825 and 210825: The council approved adjusting pedestrian crosswalks at Oxmoor Road and St. Charles Street, consolidating both items into one ordinance. Ordinance adopted


    Item 220825: The council approved removal of overgrown trees at One West Lakeshore Drive. Approved


    Item 080825: The council declared the property at 405 Woodvale Lane a public nuisance due to sanitation violations, giving the owner 30 days to address the issue. 


    Item 050825: The council approved an amended development plan at 215 Lakeshore Parkway to allow construction of a 7 Brew Coffee stand. Ordinance adopted


    Item 240825: The council dropped a nuisance case for 139 State Farm Parkway after the property was cleaned up. Dropped


    Item 250825: The council declared the property at 1807 Mayfair Drive a public nuisance for excessive growth. 


    Item 260825: The council declared the property at 2534 Central Avenue a public nuisance for excessive growth. 


    Item 270825: The council dropped a nuisance case for 28 West Lakeshore Drive after the owner cut grass and removed a dead tree. Dropped


    Item 280825: The council continued a public hearing for 109 Hanover Road due to health and hardship concerns of the property owners, allowing more time for cleanup. Carried over


    Item 290825: The council declared the property at 251 Carr Avenue a public nuisance for excessive growth and referred it to the abatement board. 


    Item 300825: The council declared the property at 1045 44th Street a public nuisance for excessive growth. 


    Item 140925: The council approved a three-year agreement with ThinkGard to replace the city’s data backup and disaster recovery systems.

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Scam Alert! Cyber-Criminals Impersonating City Officials

December 15, 2025
If you pay invoices to the City of Homewood, you need to be aware of this scam and potential cyber fraud! The City has recently been made aware of cyber-criminals impersonating city officials and sending fraudulent invoices to residents who have applied for Planning Commission or Board of Zoning Adjustment cases. If you receive an invoice and have any questions about its authenticity, please contact the City’s Finance Department directly before making payment: ap@homewoodal.org

Hot Wheels Swap Spot

December 9, 2025
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 & Council Meeting Dec. 8, 2025

December 9, 2025
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 Strengthens Its Leadership Team

December 8, 2025
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.

Sign Up For Text Alerts

December 8, 2025
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.

BZA December 4, 2025

December 5, 2025
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

December 3, 2025
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 & Council Meeting Nov. 24, 2025

November 25, 2025
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

Thanks & Thanksgiving for City Employees

November 19, 2025
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!

Want to Serve Our City? BZA Spot Open

November 13, 2025
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
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