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:
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Item 011225: This item was a request to restrict on-street parking along the eastern side of Linden Avenue between Reese Street and Oxmoor Road. Only about three cars can park near the stop sign today, and those cars are causing problems for drivers trying to turn from Reese onto Linden, especially with all the ins and outs from nearby businesses and driveways. The group noted that most other parking in that block is on private property and that the businesses themselves raised the concern. The item will remove those few on-street spaces near the stop sign to improve traffic flow and safety.
Item 021225: This item was a request to add a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Shades Road and Westover Drive where new curb ramps have already been installed by Public Works. It is separate from a previous stop sign request at the same intersection but ties into that overall effort to make the area safer for people walking.
Item 061225: This item was a request to appoint Sam Gaston to serve as a special assistant during Homewood’s transition to the council-manager form of government. Acting City Manager, Cal Smith, shared that Sam has been a mentor for many years, has deep experience in local government, and will work up to 20 hours a week under a salary cap of $38,000 due to his retirement and pension limits. Council members and staff expressed strong enthusiasm, noting Sam’s love for Homewood and the chance to benefit from his leadership as “big time” for the city.
Council Meeting December 8, 2025
The council worked through a full agenda that included final approvals for several major projects like the Piggly Wiggly expansion, Brookwood Village medical offices, a new Valvoline on Green Springs, new stop signs and a crosswalk on Westover and Shades, plus vouchers, audit contracts, and retiring the old standing committee structure, while also setting January public hearings for a condemnation case, Homewood Community Church’s new building, and a Brookdale pickleball court. The big moment of the night was a unanimous, enthusiastic vote to bring longtime regional leader Sam Gaston in as Special Assistant to the City Manager.
Agenda:
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Details
Item011025: This item was about updating the development plan so the Piggly Wiggly on Oxmoor can be renovated and expanded. The council had already held a public hearing in November and did not have any new questions, and the mayor noted she is very excited to see the project move forward. The updated plan was approved.
Item021025: This vote covered rezoning 1690 29th Court South from an office district to an institutional district so that the property lines up with the other parcels owned by Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church. The public hearing and main discussion happened in November, so this meeting was just the final step to confirm the change. The rezoning was approved.
Item031025: This amended development plan allows Brookwood Village to convert part of the old mall into medical office space and add more parking for Andrews Sports Medicine. The council again noted how encouraged they are to see positive movement at the Brookwood property, and neighbors on the council said they are looking forward to the improvements. The amended plan was approved.
Item041025: This final development plan authorizes construction of a Valvoline Instant Oil Change in the Green Springs Shopping Center. The council revisited questions about rotating the building, dumpster placement, and how visible the garage bay doors would be from Green Springs. The engineer explained why the building could not safely be rotated and described changes to colors, extra shrubs, and new dogwood trees to better screen the bays, while the company representative stressed that operations are quiet and limited to basic oil change services. The plan was approved.
Item071125: This request was to install a three way stop at Waverly Drive and Avalon Road, based on the city engineer’s recommendation. The first reading had already been done in November, so the council briefly confirmed there were no more questions and then moved forward. The three way stop was approved.
Item091125: This item added a stop sign on the Westover Drive approach at the Shades Road intersection, again following a recommendation from the city engineer. The council had already discussed it at the prior meeting and had no additional comments before the vote. The new stop sign was approved.
Item121125: The council considered a recommendation to accept a bid from Infinity Tools LLC to supply tools for the City of Homewood’s fleet maintenance shop. The details were reviewed in pre council on November 24, and there were no new questions during this meeting. The bid with Infinity Tools LLC was approved.
Item131125: This ordinance repeals Article 3 of the city code, which described the old standing committee system for the council. The city attorney explained that, with the new form of government, the council no longer plans to use that committee structure, and the council agreed this is part of firmly moving into the new term and way of doing business. After granting unanimous consent, the repeal of the standing committees article was approved.
Item151125: This item authorizes the city manager to sign a contract with Carr, Riggs & Ingram to provide audit services for the city. The council had walked through the details at the November 24 pre council meeting and did not raise new issues here. The audit contract authorization was approved.
Item071225: This request covered approval of city vouchers for the period from November 24 through December 8. During pre council, there was a detailed discussion about improving transparency, and staff committed to scanning and including city credit card statements with future voucher packets so council members can review them more easily. With that process change noted, the vouchers for this period were approved.
Item021225: This ordinance directs the City to install a marked pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Westover Drive and Shades Road, tying into the new stop sign approved earlier in the meeting. It also requires drivers to yield to people in the crosswalk and makes violations enforceable under the city code. After unanimous consent and a roll call vote, the new crosswalk at Westover and Shades was approved.
Item061225: This resolution approves the appointment of retired Mountain Brook City Manager Sam Gaston as Special Assistant to the City Manager in Homewood. The council expressed strong enthusiasm and described this as a big step forward for the city’s organization and future structure, with members openly celebrating the hire and what his experience will bring to Homewood.
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