By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Matt Penhale said he would like to support the city’s growing economy, work to control growth and ensure the city’s school system continues to thrive if elected to serve on the Alabaster City Council.

Penhale has qualified to run for the Ward 2 seat on the council, which will be decided during an election on Tuesday, Aug. 23. The election will be held from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Alabaster First United Methodist Church’s Restore building off Alabama 119.

Penhale and fellow candidate Rick Ellis have qualified to run for the Ward 2 seat. The Ward 2 incumbent, Bob Hicks, is not seeking re-election.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Penhale said. “I know the Hicks family, and (Bob) has been such a great asset to the city. It’s going to be hard to fill the shoes of someone like him.”

If elected, Penhale said he would like to work to increase support for the Alabaster fire and police departments and other city employees.

“That’s a big part of what makes the city of Alabaster so great,” Penhale said.

Penhale said he would like to work to continue Alabaster’s economic growth in an effort to increase funding for the Alabaster City School System.

“I’d like to continue to seek opportunities to increase revenue by growing business opportunities in a way that is planned and controlled so we can see ACS continue to grow,” Penhale said.

Penhale has lived in Alabaster most of his life, and is a 2005 graduate of Thompson High School. After graduating from college, he moved back to Alabaster with his wife.

“One of the big reasons I wanted to serve is because my wife and I are expecting our first child in December,” Penhale said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to grow up anywhere else, and I want the opportunity to make sure it stays that way for my children.

“As my kids grow up, I want them to have the same safety and security that I had growing up,” he added.