By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Incumbent Ward 4 Alabaster City Councilman Rick Walters said he intends to re-run for the seat during this year’s elections, citing a desire to continue projects he and his fellow council members have begun working on.

Walters, who has served on the City Council since 2000, has announced he plans to run for another term once the candidate qualifying period opens on July 5.

“I’m really excited about what the future will hold. It’s an exciting time to be in Alabaster,” Walters said.

Walters and his family moved to Alabaster in 1989, and he and his wife attend Westwood Baptist Church, where he has been a Sunday school teacher for more than 20 years.

He is a charter member of the Alabaster Lions Club, is chairman of the Alabaster Water Board and served on the Alabaster Planning and Zoning Board from 1997-2000.

Walters said some of his biggest achievements on the council have been working with other council members to form the Alabaster City School System, build Veterans Park off Alabama 119, construct a new Senior Center and City Hall and upgrade the city’s sports facilities. He also helped create the city’s biodiesel recycling program and the safe trade zone near the Alabaster Police Department.

Since taking office 16 years ago, Walters said he and his fellow council members have worked to recruit more than 1 million square feet of retail space, and have steadily increased the city’s emergency reserve fund.

“I feel like I’ve got more time to dedicate to the city now,” Walters said, noting his children are grown. “I’d like to see through some of the projects we’ve already started.”

Walters said projects the city is already working on include widening Alabama 119 between Fulton Springs Road and Veterans Park and extending Fulton Springs Road to U.S. 31. He also said he would like to work to restore the old Siluria cotton mill water tower near City Hall.

“That’s our history, that’s our identity as a city,” Walters said of the water tower. “I’m super excited to see the city continue to grow.”