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By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The Pelham City Council recognized the retirements of David Smith and Chris Carpenter during a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, March 17.

Smith and Carpenter were both longstanding employees with the city. Smith was the library supervisor at Pelham Public Library, while Carpenter was the deputy fire chief with the Pelham Fire Department.

The meeting began with a work session beginning at 4 p.m. The work session began with interviews for vacant positions on Pelham’s Commercial Development Authority.

The Commercial Development Authority in Pelham serves the city by working with the mayor, city manager and city council to develop strategies to attract businesses to the city.

Candidates interviewed for four vacant seats within the CDA. Matt Jaeh, the CDA’s current secretary and treasurer, requested to be reappointed within the CDA, leaving three vacant seats within the organization.

Eden Roy, Chris Arvin, Keltin Garrett and Billy Carroll all interviewed for the three vacant seats within the CDA. All four are Pelham residents, one of the required qualifications for the position.

After the interviews were completed, the council rearranged the order of the meeting due to time constraints. The meeting continued with a discussion regarding the appointment of Place No. 2 within the Pelham Board of Education.

The Council was supposed to recommend a candidate for appointment to the position based on interviews conducted on Monday, March 10, but failed to reach a consensus on who the appointment would be.

Councilmember Michael Harris cited confusion with the scoring process as the reason for the appointment’s delay.

“I think the interviews were great,” Harris said. “I think we’re very blessed in the city to have the applicants that we have. But, I’m not sure that I understand the scoring process. I’m not sure if the process is best.”

Harris further explained that candidates who seemingly performed well in the interviews were scored poorly.

“We had some very strong candidates,” Harris said. “I don’t know if it’s opinionated or if we’re going strictly off of the interviews, but they were scored low… I want to do what’s right for Pelham and our kids and the school board.”

Council President Maurice Mercer countered by stating that the current process for selecting new members of the Board of Education is rooted in consistency.

“We’ve stuck to a fairly consistent process for the last few years,” Mercer said. “Whether everyone agreed with the final outcome of the process… I would have some heartburn with changing the process, personally.”

Councilmember Rick Wash backed up Harris’s points, believing that the process for selecting candidates should be changed.

“We need to really think about the way we’re doing this, and if we’re going to call it an interview process, interview people and then grade them on how well they do the interview, then that’s what we do,” Wash said. “And if we’re not, and come in with preconceived notions (towards the candidates) then we need to discuss that before the interview process…. Honestly, when I look at this, what this tells me is I wasted two and a half hours of my time last Monday night, as did several of these candidates.”

Councilmember Chad Leverett shed further light on the process, narrowing the field of the potential candidates for the position without specifying them by name.

“It really comes down to two candidates,” Leverett said. “I think it may be appropriate in the executive session to figure out what I’m missing… it’s just frustrating that we always seem to get in these situations where we have these very important board positions to appoint, so that’s the unfortunate thing.”

Mercer concluded the discussion by expressing his concern with changing an already rigid selection process.

“When we start changing processes for whatever reason… it gets into a slippery slope in my opinion,” Mercer said.

The work session then moved to a presentation on proposed improvements to Pelham City Park. Brian Cooper, the director of Pelham Parks and Rec, and Michael Shows, a representative of Chambless King Architects, presented the project.

The projects include a field conversion, a new batting cage facility and overall aesthetic improvements to one of Pelham’s landmark areas. The project also proposed tearing down the restroom and concessions building in the middle of the park and building a new standalone restroom and concessions building in its place.

The scope and total cost of the project is estimated to be $4.889 million. Shows expressed his appreciation for the work of the project.

“This has been a really fun project to come into,” Shows said. “It was kind of a new area to me, and you’ve got a really good campus feel.”

Shows expressed what he wants to address in the construction of the project.

“The thing that stood out to us most is that this is an opportunity to provide a gateway into the fields,” Shows said. “I think you’ve got a stunning recreation facility when you come on campus, but you kind of stumble your way into the fields themselves.”

Cooper then gave an estimated timeline for the project at the presentation’s conclusion.

“We believe that if given direction to move this project forward, we could get this opened in time for spring baseball next year,” Cooper said.

A discussion and public hearing was then set regarding revisions to the city of Pelham’s zoning ordinance. On March 27, 2024, Pelham signed an agreement with KPS Group to assist in amending and updating the city’s zoning ordinance. Jason Fondren, a representative of KPS Group, spoke on the changes.

“Some of the things that we wanted to try to accomplish in this process was to make the ordinance easier to understand and easier to use,” Fondren said. “Ordinances and legalese can be very daunting to the average reader, but we can find the balance between making them legally airtight and making them easy to comprehend.”

Following Fondren’s report, the floor was opened to Justin Smith, the assistant city manager, and Jamie Wagner, Pelham’s finance director, who presented proposed revisions to the city of Pelham’s business license ordinances. Smith outlined the reasoning for the proposed changes while addressing the council.

“There were some redundant sections in the business license ordinances that really needed to go,” Smith said.

The council then reviewed the upcoming city council meeting agenda, removing one resolution from the consent agenda. The removed resolution focused on designating voting delegates for the Alabama League of Municipalities’ upcoming annual business meeting.

The consent agenda then passed unanimously at the city council meeting. The following items were passed:

 

• A resolution for consideration to approve the FY2024 Carry-Forward Capital Project Funding
• A resolution for consideration to accept the city of Pelham’s Fiscal Year 2024 audit as prepared and presented by Truitt Tingle Paramore & Argent, LLC, Certified Public Accountants, the city’s independent auditors
• A resolution for consideration to enter into a renewal agreement with RiverTree Systems, Inc. for external sales and use tax audits
• A resolution for consideration to approve an Alabama Department of Revenue Tax Abatement Agreement between the city of Pelham, Alabama and Specification Rubber Projects, Inc.
• A resolution for consideration to amend the fiscal year 2025 General Fund-City Clerk/Treasurer budget for anticipated expenditures related to the 2025 municipal elections.
• A resolution for consideration to appoint the city clerk/treasurer as the assistant elections manager or the city of Pelham’s 2025 municipal elections
• A resolution for consideration to appoint an assistant to the assistant elections manager and an assistant absentee elections manager for the city of Pelham’s 2025 municipal elections
• A resolution for consideration to set the election officers compensation for the city of Pelham’s 2025 municipal elections
• A resolution for consideration to authorize the purchase of police investigative equipment from the Federal Forfeiture funds
• A resolution for consideration to approve the lowest and most responsible proposal from Kevin Miller Development, Inc. for the waterline replacement at the Pelham Splash Pad
• A resolution for consideration to approve the lowest and most responsible bid from Temple J Electric for the installation of traffic signal camera detection system upgrades at 11 intersections in the city of Pelham.
• A resolution for consideration to enter into an agreement with the United States Geological Survey to perform required field and analytical work as directed through the city’s MS4 Program and Stormwater Ordinance.

 

Following the approval of the consent agenda, a public hearing was held regarding the North Shelby Library District’s request to deannex from the city of Pelham. Paul Garris, the president of the North Shelby Library Board, addressed the council regarding the reasoning behind the request.

“I would like to respectfully request that the council approve this in the interest of public safety and response times and to eliminate any confusion in coverage by police and fire departments in Pelham and Shelby County,” Garris said.

The request passed unanimously, and the council then set dates and times for the next public hearings regarding the changes to both Pelham’s zoning ordinance and Pelham’s business license ordinances.

Smith and Carpenter were then honored with service awards for their retirements. Mary Campbell, Pelham Public Library’s director, first introduced and recognized Smith.

“If you don’t know David, then you haven’t been in the library,” Campbell said. “The whole staff is really going to miss him. We’re not sure how to fill that hole, but we’re going to do our best and we know that he’s going to have a great future.”

Mike Reid, the chief of Pelham’s Fire Department, then recognized Carpenter.

“Chief Carpenter has numerous awards, so many that I couldn’t remember them all,” Reid said. “We are committed to meet the needs of our citizens to conduct ourselves as professionals with compassion and efficiency, and that truly is what Chief Carpenter has been for Pelham Fire Department and for the citizens of Pelham. Thank you very much for your service.”

Carpenter then took the time to share remarks on his career, sharing the importance of the space he was standing in.

“In April 1996, then Fire Chief Gary Waters invited me for an interview in this very building,” Carpenter said. “This used to be Fire Station 1… it’s interesting to me that I’m able to address the leadership of Pelham pretty close to the same spot where I started out.”

Carpenter further expressed the passion and commitment to Pelham he possessed in his career.

“Serving this city and the citizens has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and I’m incredibly thankful for the experiences and the friendships I’ve made over the years,” Carpenter said. “The brotherhood and sisterhood that we (the fire department) share is a true brotherhood and sisterhood.”

In his report, mayor Waters noted that March 17 marked the 162nd anniversary of the death of John Pelham, the city’s namesake. Pelham was a Confederate soldier who was killed in action on March 17, 1863 at the age of 24. Pelham was noted as an exemplary soldier by Robert E. Lee, the Confederacy’s military leader, who called him “The Gallant Pelham.”

“General Lee said of him ‘There sits John Pelham, Major Pelham, looking as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, but in battle, he is the perfect lion,’” Waters said.

City Manager Gretchen DiFante then gave her report to the City Council, noting an update to Pelham’s dining options.

“Today, Bojangles pulled a permit for the Burger King which has been dilapidated,” DiFante said. “Also, Edgar’s submitted plans for the library site today, so we’re very excited about that.”

Dr. Gaytan Glover then requested to address the council regarding Toastmasters International, a club that Glover is a part of in Pelham. Glover sought to introduce the club to the Pelham community.

“Toastmasters can make you more confident in what you’re speaking about,” Glover said. “With 150 countries, 14,000 clubs and 270,000 members, I believe we’re on to something.”

The club exists to help people with communication and public speaking skills. Judith Kidd, a fellow member of Toastmasters, further explained the nonprofit’s mission.

“Communication is not an option,” Kidd said. “No matter where you are and no matter who you are involved with, you need to be able to communicate effectively for them to understand you and your story.”

The council then moved to approve items classified as new business. Two resolutions and two ordinances were passed by the council. The following items were passed as new business:

 

• A resolution for consideration of ABC license 140 – Special Events Retail for applicant Legends Music, LLC located in the parking lot of 1000 Amphitheater Road, Pelham, Alabama 35124 operating under the trade name Oak Mountain Spring Fair 2025.
• A resolution for consideration to approve a proposal from Barrett Architecture Studios to provide design services for the Pelham Public Library’s circulation desk.
• An ordinance to alter, rearrange and reduce the corporate limits of the city of Pelham by deannexing certain real property owned by the North Shelby Library District, Parcel No. 10 6 23 0 001 018.002, containing approximately 4.490 acres, located at 5521 Cahaba Valley (Alabama Highway 119), Birmingham, Alabama 35244.
• An ordinance No. 521 for consideration to authorize and establish use of certain electronic vote counting devices and a system accessible for individuals with disabilities for the city of Pelham Municipal Elections.

 

All but one item under new business passed unanimously. Councilmember David Coram voted against the resolution regarding the Pelham Public Library’s circulation desk. Coram explained his reasoning for the vote.

“The $50,000 price tag that was put on this, I had a lot of heartache with,” Coram said. “It is kind of like sending a firefighter to put out a match. We have to pay (an architectural firm) hourly, which can be anywhere from $250 to $300 (per hour) when a standard furniture designer could design something like this for much less. For that reason, I’m going to say no to this resolution.”

The meeting then closed with public announcements, including the announcement of the spring shred and e-recycling event on Saturday, March 29 at Pelham City Hall, the Shelby County Free Landfill Day on the same day and the annual Taste of Pelham on Thursday, April 3.

For more information on the Pelham City Council, visit Pelhamalabama.gov/269/Mayor-City-Council.