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By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – The city of Montevallo approved an ordinance establishing the salaries of the mayor and city council at a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Feb. 10.

The meeting began with a work session at 5:30 p.m. Four items were introduced as new business during the work session.

Amongst the new business items was a recommendation to accept a quote from Samson Equipment Company via Sourcewell for the purchase of a new leaf vacuum, a bid from Reliable Overhead Door to replace the overhead doors at Montevallo’s fire stations, certain items being declared as surplus and a request to purchase a vehicle for City Hall’s use.

The new leaf vacuum is set to cost nearly $126,000, and funds from the city’s sanitation account will be used to purchase the machine.

The replacements for the overhead doors will cost nearly $55,000 and will be funded by the city’s capital improvement account.

The new upgrades come with the city’s current leaf vacuum being nearly 40 years old and the fire station’s overhead doors being 21 years old.

The vehicle purchase request consists of a budget not to exceed $27,000, and funds will be used from the city’s Regions reserve account.

Following the announcement of new business items, each councilperson gave reports on the various committees they oversee. Councilperson David King, chair of the Public Health & Safety, gave updates on the city’s fire and crime statistics from the month of January. Councilperson Kenny Dukes, chair of the Sustainability committee, announced that Montevallo’s Arbor Day celebration will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22.

Councilperson Martha Eisenberg, chair of the Recreation, Preservation and Community Development committee had no updates on her department, leading to Councilperson Lelia Mitchell, chair of the Education, Arts & Outreach department, giving an update on developments in that sphere.

Sarah Hogan, director of Impact Montevallo, gave some updates on the program’s activities during Mitchell’s report.

“Our mentoring groups in the middle and high schools have been going really well this year,” Hogan said. “Our first quarter of expenses has been reimbursed (through federal grants), which is (also) great news.”

During Hogan’s address to the council, Eisenberg stated that there were two reported pink cocaine overdoses in Montevallo last week, a first in the county.

Pink cocaine is a recreational drug that serves as a combination of different psychoactive substances such as ketamine, MDMA, cocaine and more. The drug is illegal in the United States.

Councilperson Sonya Swords, the chair of the Finance, Economic Development & Tourism department, had Courtney Bennett, the executive director of Montevallo Main Street, give an update on the winners of the Bright Ideas Pitch Contest.

“Our grand prize winner was the Main Street Tavern, which was very exciting,” Bennett said. “The Dive Bar and Falcon Art Supply are our secondary winners as well. They are both getting $2,500 and the Main Street Tavern is getting $5,000 and will be our pick to represent us in the Central region for the regionals competition.”

Bennett also announced that the University of Montevallo’s homecoming will be held on Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15. She also shared the results of the annual Monte Gras Ball.

“Our inaugural Monte Gras Ball fundraiser was a great success,” Bennett said. “Thank you to all who attended. We were very surprised and very pleased that we not only sold out, but we actually turned a profit. Our goal was to at least not lose money, and we actually will probably be making about $5,000.”

Following Bennett’s report, the work session concluded and the council meeting began at 6 p.m. The council gave the public the opportunity to address the council, and fielded two requests on the evening.

The first request was from Emily Stone, a Montevallo resident who requested to enterprise vending machines around the city. Steve Gilbert, Montevallo’s city clerk and treasurer, stated that the city currently has an agreement with Buffalo Rock to be the lone vending machine distributor in the city, meaning that the city would have to review the agreement before accepting Stone’s request.

John Daugherty, an attorney, addressed the council regarding a case involving property damages to two of his clients’ property in Montevallo. However, the city could not rule on the case, as Gilbert explained, due to the circumstances of it.

“This municipal court has no jurisdiction for a felony charge,” Gilbert said. “It has to go through the Shelby County Circuit Court.”

Following the requests to address the council, Adele Nelson, the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce director, announced that businesses around the city will have discounts associated with the American Village’s Festival of Tulips once the event commences.

Following this, the four new business requests were unanimously approved and the ordinance to establish the monthly compensation of the mayor and city council was established.

The mayor’s pay is set at $2,250 per month, while city council members will make $500 per month. The ordinance will become effective on Nov. 3, 2025.

Following the ordinance’s passing, it was announced that Suzanne Hurst would be appointed to the Design Review Committee, with her term expiring in 2028. Councilperson Dukes also recognized Hogan with an award for her contributions to the city, which was presented at Montevallo’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. Hogan was not present at the celebration, leading to her recognition at the city council meeting.

Gilbert then followed up on Daugherty’s request to address the council, adding further background to the story.

“That (case) was taken by our prosecutor and presented back to the district attorney’s office in Shelby County, and they did not see that the case merited an escalation of charges,” Gilbert said. “This gentleman was informed of all of those proceedings, but yet he still insisted on contacting our prosecutor and city attorney… There was not enough to escalate the case any further.”

The council meeting was then adjourned, with the next meeting scheduled for Monday, Feb. 24. For more information on Montevallo’s city council, visit Cityofmontevallo.com.