City Council - Regular Meeting

Ro. Council President Middlebrooks here. Council prom Driver here. Council member Schultz here. Council member Smith present. Council member Levelville present. Council member Murphy present. Council member McClennon here.

All right. With everybody here, we have a quorum and we will ask everyone to stand as the city clerk gives the invocation and we have a special guest to lead us in the pledge that Miss Lovel will introduce in just a minute after the invocation. and all the blessings. Amen. Amen. Amen.

And this evening we are joined by our glitter girls which is our youth dance program at Spain Park. And we have more than 70 dancers, obviously not with us this evening, but they are going to lead us in the pledge and then after that have a special performance.

To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation Under God, indivisible with liberty andice for all. Great job. Good show. Thank you guys. Good show. Thank you.

Okay. Next on the agenda, I'd like to ask Greer Feldman to come forward. This is Miss Hoover Teen 2026. She was crowned at the Hoover Public Library Theater. Her community platform focuses on supporting children battling cancer inspired by our family friends fight with leukemia. She launched her own 501c3 nonprofit, the State of Love Foundation at age 8 to provide support and raise awareness for pediatric cancer patients. in a role. She will represent the city of Hoover at community events and aims to compete and will compete in the Miss Alabama team pageant March 7th and 8th. Yes. At Thomp Thompson High School. So, want to wish you a lot of luck and uh I just want to say too that you have been a a fantastic representation for our city. Very proud of what you've done and we look forward to uh to watching you at Thompson High School in a few weeks. Okay, there you go. Thank you.

Well, hello everyone, mayor, council members, and the city of Hoover. Thank you so much for this incredible honor tonight. To stand here as Miss Hoover's teen and feel the support of the city that has helped me grow means more than I can fully put into words. When I was little, I used to stand in front of the mirror imagining bright lights in a stage that felt bigger than the world. I had big dreams in a very small body. And I remember wondering if I was truly capable of all the things my heart was whispering to me. In just a few days, I'll step onto the Miss Alabama teen stage for the very last time. And as I prepare for that moment, I've been thinking about that little girl. She thought this journey would be about crowns and sparkles and applause. And yes, there have been beautiful dresses and exciting moments. But what she couldn't see were the early mornings in the gym before school. The baton practices that left my hands sore. The interview prep that stretched my mind. The school days that felt long. The appearances that filled my calendar. The countless hours trying to make a small difference for pediatric cancer patients. And the nights where I quietly wondered if I was enough. What she didn't know was that this journey as Miss Hoover's teen would [clears throat] shape her far beyond a title. Through this experience, I've learned disciplined when quitting would have been easier. I've learned grace when things didn't go my way. I've learned that confidence doesn't come from winning. It comes from becoming. I found my voice not just to be seen, but to say something that matters. I've had the privilege to serve this community, to represent Hoover, and to grow into a young woman who understands that while a title is temporary, character is forever. And I have to say, I don't think I fully

understood just how special Hoover was until I became yours. I knew this city was strong. I knew it was successful, but I didn't realize how deeply supportive Hoover is of its title holders. [clears throat] how intentional you are about encouraging us, celebrating us, and truly wanting us to succeed. From city leadership to local businesses, from school administrators to families at community events, I have felt seen, valued, and championed. The heart this city has for its young people is real. You don't just hand us a title and wish us luck. You stand behind us. That kind of support really does change a person. In life, there have been hard days, disappointments, moments of personal doubt, but every single one of them has shaped me into the person who will walk onto that stage, steady, grounded, and grateful. This walk at Miss Alabama's Teen isn't about proving anything. It's about honoring everything. It's about the little girl who dared to dream. It's about the hours no one saw. It's about the growth that happened quietly. And it's about representing a city that believes in its young women and gives them the courage to believe in themselves. I am so proud to say that I am Miss Hoover's teen. And as I step onto that stage, I will carry the people of Hoover with me. Your encouragement, your investment, and your heart. I will always be proud to represent the city of Hoover.

[applause]

Mr. Attorney, could you read the proclamation? [clears throat]

Certainly. This is a proclamation for Miss Hoover teen 2026. Whereas the city of Hoover takes great pride in recognizing young women who exemplify leadership, service, scholarship, and character. And whereas the Miss Hoover team program provides meaningful opportunities for young leaders to develop confidence, civic responsibility, and a commitment to serving others. And whereas Greer Felman, Miss Hoover Teen, 2026, a rising senior at Oak Mountain High School, has distinguished herself through exceptional dedication to community service, academic achievement, and personal excellence. And whereas she is the founder and leader of State of Love, a long-standing service initiative dedicated to supporting pediatric cancer patients through which she has spent more than a decade advocating, fundraising, and donating thousands of items to children undergoing treatment while reaching millions through awareness efforts. And whereas her passion for service was inspired by personal connection to childhood cancer. and her work has provided comfort, encouragement, and tangible support to children and families in hospitals and communities beyond Hoover. And whereas Greer Felman is a talented performer and competitive Team USA member with the United States twirling association, showcasing discipline, dedication, and excellence through her baton twirling achievements. And whereas she has earned the title of Miss Hoover Teen 2026 through her poise, communication skills, service platform, and commitment to making a positive impact and was awarded scholarship support toward her continued participation in the Miss Alabama's team program. And whereas is Miss Hoover Teen 2026, Greer Felman proudly serves as an ambassador for the city of Hoover,

representing its values with integrity, compassion, and professionalism. Now, therefore, we Nicholas C. Duris, mayor and Casey Middlebrooks, city council president on behalf of the city council of the city of Hoover, Alabama to hereby encourage all citizens to recognize and celebrate Greer Felman for her outstanding achievements and dedicated service to others. Presented this the 23rd day of February in the year of our Lord 2026. [applause]

[applause]

Okay, I'd like to now call Debbie Rutherford down and the beautifification board to receive the Arbor Day proclamation. Arbor Day is a holiday dedicated to planting and caring for trees, promoting conservation, and protecting force for future generations. So, uh, we'll stand up front and let the city attorney read the proclamation. Okay. [clears throat] City of Hoover Arbor Day. Whereas in 1872, Mr. J. Sterling Morton championed America's first Arbor Day celebration in Nebraska City, Nebraska, where more than 1 million trees were planted. And whereas in 1887, Alabama Governor Thomas C signed the state's first Arbor Day proclamation. And whereas in 1975, the Alabama State Legislature adopted an act designating the last full week in February as Arbor Week in Alabama. And whereas it was the purpose of that designation as well as the designation of Arbor Day throughout the nation to encourage the planting of trees, encourage sound tree conservation, and encourage the protection of trees and forest from destructive pest, wildfire, vandalism, and practices that degrade forest health, beauty, and sustainability. And whereas through the cooperation of all Hoover residents, business and governance in recognizing the beneficial effects of healthy trees and forests, practicing sound tree conservation, and protecting trees from their natural and unnatural enemies, Hoover can pass on the enduring and vital heritage of its urban forest resource to succeeding generations. And whereas in appreciation for the exemplary leadership and dedication displayed by Hoover Beautifification Board member Michael L. Xerinac in

organizing Hoover's Arbor Day celebrations from 1999 to 2013. All future Arbor Day celebrations shall be conducted in a manner that will honor Mike's memory and his undeniable passion for trees. Now therefore, we Nicholas C. Duris, mayor, and Casey Middlebrooks, City Council President, and on behalf of the residents of the city of Hoover and the Hoover City Council, do hereby proclaim Saturday, March 7, 2026 as Arbor Day in Hoover, Alabama. We encourage everyone able to do so to observe this day through the planting of one or more trees and/or through participation in one or more programs that the sponsors of Arbor Day may provide. presented this the 23rd day of February in the year of our Lord 2026. [applause]

[clears throat]

Good evening. I'm Lyn Franks, the chairman for Hoover Beautifification Board, and I just want to give a little education on Hoover for just a second. Raise of hands. How many people here know that Hoover is recognized as Tree City USA? If you look at all of our signs, our logos, our badges, you'll see trees. We are very, very proud of our trees in Hoover. There's four requirements that we have to do to be able to be a Tree City USA. That is to have a tree board, a community tree care ordinance, a community forestry program, an in a arbor day observation, which is what we're doing tonight, where we recognize the schools and the students and the residents of Hoover. The Hoover board would like now to recognize and thank the following people. the Green Valley Farms for donating the trees for all the schools that will be have already been planted or will be planted in the near future. We'd also like to thank the Hoover Parks and Recreation Foundation for donating trees for our current Arbor Day. Also, we'd like to thank our local businesses for continuing to help support our Arbor Day. So, now we're getting to the fun part. The Hoover Beautifification Board would like to recognize the following students and recognize that they will be the future of Hoover in preserving our beautiful Tree City, USA with their essays. So, the first student we'd like to call up today is Mary Katherine Brunson, Bluff Park Elementary. [applause] Yeah.

Hey, mayor. Mayor. Hi, Mayor. Mayor. Yes. [clears throat]

[clears throat] [applause]

London Finny from Deer Valley, Miss ODM's class. [applause] Count, [applause] Kayla Bradford from Greystone, Miss Gill Ian's class. [applause] [clears throat]

He's so cute.

[applause] Hollisberry from Gwen, Miss Ford's class. [applause]

[applause] Darby Walker, Riverchase, Miss Conwell. [applause]

[applause] Okay, if I mispronounced this name, I apologize in advance. We'd like to honor Yuvok rev Yvon from Rock Ridge, Miss Northingington. Sorry, I butchered your name. [laughter] [applause]

[applause]

Corora Kron, Shades Valley, I mean Shades Mountain, Miss Nelson. [applause] Kate Johnson should be the next. Okay. [applause] Kate Johnson, Trace Crossings. Miss Underwood. [applause]

[clears throat] [laughter]

She's so cute.

[applause] And at this time, we'd like to introduce the winner, Liberty Norwood. She come up, please. [applause] [applause]

Yeah. And we understand that Liberty's been rehearsing her speech, so we'd love to hear it at this time. [applause] Liberty.

Oh, she's coming to go and get it. Hi, my name is Liberty and I am a sugar maple tree. I wake up every day to birds chirping and kids playing games like hide and seek and tag. I'm 10 years old, so when kids climb on my branches, I'm really sturdy. I also live in Moss Rock Preserve in Hoover, Alabama. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I blossom flowers in April, May before my leaves come. My leaves are red, orange, and yellow. I provide sugar. My trunk is used to make furniture and burned as firewood. I can also provide a beautiful and amazing landscape. One day, a big storm hit my home. I think it was a tornado because it had really strong wind and the thunder was so loud and made the ground shake. Some of my family and friends were scared, but I wasn't. Some of them were hurt on their branches, but we all survived. Here in Moss Rock Preserve, we have a lot of animals who live here, like squirrels, rabbits, deer, and birds. We also have all types of insects, and when the weather is hot, mosquitoes are everywhere. Daily, we have human visitors come. I prefer the children because they climb on my branches and laugh a lot. The next time you come to Mars Rock Preserve, stop by and say hello. You can easily spot me based on what you know about me. I provide a lot of good stuff. I provide a home for animals and insects. I also provide maple syrup because who doesn't like syrup on their pancakes? [laughter] [applause]

Sure. Yeah. At this time, if we could ask all the students to come up to get a group picture, please

let'sbody.

[laughter]

Okay, let's [clears throat] stay right there. How about Congratulations [applause] Okay, [clears throat] our last proclamation is be kind week. Be kind encourages kindness, respect, compassion, and standing up, standing up against bullying in schools, in the community. So, please come forward. In attendance is Hoover City Schools, Terry Coleman and Merrick Wilson from the Hoover Public Library, Amanda Bordon, [clears throat] Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce, Nan Baldwin, Hoover Helps, Greg Bishop, and the City of Hoover, Aaron Cobalt, Jamie Shore, Maty Posey, and Kaylee Martella. Good.

Yes, sir. [snorts] Proclamation Be Kind Week and Pink Shirt Day February 23 through 27, 2026. Whereas the city of Hoover recognizes that any day, week, or month is a good time to remind all of us of the need to remember that respect, dignity, compassion, and humility are four essential ingredients in the creation and maintenance of a civilized society. Whereas in the heart of all of us lies the idea that we hold the power of kindness within us. And whereas by knowing and understanding and actually using this power, we have the ability to send out a positive ripple that may travel for miles. And whereas no one, no matter how young or how small, is too little to make a difference in our community and our world. And whereas through acts of kindness, we can promote healthy behaviors and positive dynam dynamics within our schools and our community. Whereas we seek to stand up to bullying in our schools, workplaces, and community. And whereas we seek to cultivate caring, kindness, and compassion within our schools and community through our youth by teaching them that kindness is the mark you leave on the world. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Mayor Nicholas C. Dersis to hereby urge the citizens of our community to join us in observing the week of February 23 through 27, 2026 as Be kind week and February 25 as pink shirt day in the city of Hoover. [applause] Sure.

Good evening. I am Terry Coleman, the district lead counselor for Hoover City Schools, and just wanted to take a few moments to share the story of how Pink Shirt Day and kindness week came about. Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 after two 12th grade students organized an act of support for a ninth grade student who had been bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school. The older students purchased and distributed 50 pink shirts to classmates as a stand against bullying. Since then, Pink Shirt Day has grown into an annual event dedicated to promoting anti-bullying efforts and spreading kindness in schools and communities around the world. In 2017, Hoover City Schools in collaboration with the city of Hoover, Hoover Public Library, Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce, Hoover City Schools Foundation, and Hoover Helps launched the Be Kind Initiative to coincide with pink shirt day celebrated on the Wednesday of that week. And we're truly blessed to have a district and a community that actively supports and promotes kindness. This year, Be Kind Week, as previously stated, is this week, February 23rd through the 27th, and Pink Shirt Day will be this Wednesday. We look forward to celebrating together and continuing to build a culture of kindness throughout our schools and community. So, please join us in wearing your pink shirts on this Wednesday. Thank you, [applause]

Council. That's all we have tonight. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, at this time I'd like to recognize Joe Ree. Always good to see you, Joe. Joe is a former city council member, attends regularly. So, appreciate that, Joe. Uh, public comments. Mr. Shastry, come on down. Tell us why you're here. She's busy chatting right now. [laughter] Please tell us your name and the community you live in and you'll have four minutes. Okay.

All right. Hello everyone. Good evening. My name is Aasta Shastri and I'm here to invite our H city and city council member all of you to the event which I have conceptualized for many years and this is our second year to host it. The event is about welcoming spring together as a family uh in a South Asian way. We are combining two major South Asian festivals. Kite flying also known as a makarantri or utran and color powder throwing which is also known as holi. These two festivals have been celebrated in South Asia for many many years with common concept of uh good winning over evil and welcoming spring. So this event will be vibrant celebration of uh Indian performances, kite flying, color powder throwing, food trucks, a DJ, Indian music instruments, kids activity, a photo booth, and the Hoover City ballerina trying Bollywood dance again. So I'm here to warmly welcome every one of you and the mayor to grace the occasion. And for today, I do want to thank you, Steve Mcclinton, for helping us everywhere. Thank you so very much. I have got a little bit of something in case you guys going to miss this event this year. A little kite for all of you guys to remember our festival. So the event will be on March 7th, Saturday at Veterans Park, starting 12 p.m. We would be love to see your faces over there and welcome spring together in a South Asian way. Thank you so very much all of you. [applause]

Mr. present. Um, last year Ashley and I actually went to that event. And if you want to participate in all the uh, y'all seen the fun run, the color run that the middle school kids do. If you want to get painted on, bring something that you don't mind getting dirty. But it's a fun event and I'm in it for the food really. So, [clears throat] [snorts] Thank you all so much.

Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Come on down.

Good evening. My name is Chenir Patel and I am a proud resident of Hoover. I want to say I want to start by saying I love the city and I'm grateful to call Hoover home. Today we've seen the uh recognition and the event that you all will be possibly attending the Hindu festival of holi and I celebrate that alongside with my Hindu neighbors that recognition means a great deal to our city. I came here with the same type of same hope asking you for the same recognition for Eid and for you to join the Idul Fther and Idul Adha a celebration of Muslims of various cultures, background and of taxpaying Hoover citizens. So I honestly uh hope that you know you will be uh coming and I would love to come back and invite you all in a very formal way for the Eid celebration and to honor uh the different communities and different faith that are reside in Hoover. Thank you.

Thank you Miss Pel. When is the when is the event? What date is the event? It is going to be in March. Uh yeah, most probably March 18th or 19th since we follow the lunar calendar. Uh but I'll let you know the exact date. You're always welcome back. Thank you. Is there anybody else that wanted to have anything to say during the public speaking time? Seeing none, uh we'll move on to the consent agenda. We went over all these items at our work session on Thursday. [clears throat] Uh, is there any item that the council uh would like to pull off the consent agenda? Mr. President, go ahead.

Move items 8 through 10 to the regular agenda so that I may abstain from voting on those items. Mr. City Attorney, please remove 8, 9, and 10. President, I'd like to remove item six. And Mr. your attorney. Item number six. Any other items the council would like to remove? Any items that the public would like to remove? Seeing none, Mr. Attorney, if you'll read the consent agenda minus 6, 8, 9, and 10.

First is a review of payment and bills. Second is the minutes to be adopted for February 5 and February 9 of this year. Resolution 875326 is a resolution that approves an alcohol license for the Rebar LLC. Resolution 875426 is a resolution approving account information for regions in Wells Fargo banks for the city. Um, resolution 875526 is a resolution authorizing the mayor uh to execute a professional services contract with hospitality business solutions to promote the city. Resolution 875726 authorizes the mayor to execute a third amendment to a lease agreement with RMC Investments for certain uh premises located in Hoover. Resolution 876126 approves plans and authorizing cooperation uh with ALD DOT and the Federal Highway Administration for projects within the city. Resolution 8762-26 authorizes the conveyance of temporary construction easements uh and a utility easement for the state of Alabama for a project within the city. Resolution 876326 authorizes participation in the Alabama state and local cyber security grant program and then the uh mayor is authorized to execute that. Uh, resolution 876526 adopts an updated investment policy for the city. And resolution 8766-26

authorizes the mayor to execute a license agreement with Richard Shirley. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as read? Mr. President, I would move to uh approve the consent agenda as presented. that with those removals as requested. Second that. I have a motion and a second. All in favor say I.

I. Those opposed. Have it. Consent agenda is passed. We will move back to item number six. Resolution number 875626. Mr. Attorney. This is a resolution that adopted that adopts the Hoover Fire Department standards of cover and the 2025-2030 community-driven strategic plan.

Do I hear a motion? Mr. President, I move for approval resolution 8756-226. Second. I have a motion and a second. Uh any comments or questions from councel?

Mr. President, I would I know uh Chief Bentley was not here for work session and these are some very important initiatives uh that the fire department's going to have over the next five years. And uh I think that maybe chief might want to spend just a couple of minutes. Uh, I know the council has had these studies in our hands for several weeks now, but the public might want to know a little bit more.

Sure. Thank you, Mr. President, council and mayor. Um, the documents that we presented u two weeks ago was our communitydriven strategic plan for five years. Many of you in the room uh were part of that process. I think we had uh somewhere around 40 45 community members who participated in the event. That information was taken uh to our internal stakeholders and we developed a five-year strategic plan with with four broad goals and those are in front of you. Um our communitydriven um standards of cover is a document that outlines the services that we provide, how we provide those services, how we assign resources and personnel to different types of calls and it's based on a risk analysis um that we've done uh with the help of the technical assistance program five years ago. And so I'm really happy with the standards of cover because as I was growing up in the fire service, if we asked the question, why do we do things the way we do it? The the simple answer was, well, that's the way we've always done it. And so the standards of cover gives us an outline. Um, and everything that we have is uh on our website. So you can look at the strategic plan, you can look at the standards of cover, you can look at our annual reports. Just go to the hoover department.org. uh website and those things are there under accreditation and uh obviously we're available to answer any questions that the public might have. Um we we spent a lot of time on this. Um we think they're both good documents and I think it's documents that will help us and guide us um uh over the next five years.

Chief, I assume these are working documents that could and would be adjusted as needed throughout the five-year period.

Absolutely. Um the goals are just what they are. They're broad goals, but those goals are intertwined into our budget process and and how we request funding. and those goals um really um kind of indicate what the public expects and demands of our services. And so we've tried to articulate that in in a document that would give us the opportunity to um show the need and the request for funding. So all of those things are adjusted as we go forward. um we we set high aspirations and we have high goals, but we don't set goals sometimes that we can't always achieve. Uh so we we we take this very seriously and uh we appreciate your support. Uh this document is not our document, it's your document and um you know, our success comes from the council and the mayor's office. Um, we can only do what we can do with the funding that we have and we're grateful for the support that we have from the council. I think we have a the best working relationship we've had that I can remember with between a council and the mayor's office. So, city administrator's office and so we're grateful for this opportunity and um it is a it is a living and breathing document. Chief, I can certainly say uh my time from 76 to 93 working for the Hoover Fire Department with everyone. Uh that environment of firefighting is certainly different from what you have to do today, you and your personnel. Things have drastically changed in the decades since then.

Well, thank you for saying that. I'm very proud of our members um the work that they do, the level of commitment that they have and the u the um customer service that they offer. But I'm also proud of you guys too as well and and helping us achieve our goals. Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Any further comments or questions from council? Just want to add that the mayor has discussed numerous times about setting the standard uh back again for the city of Hoover and chief your department certainly sets the standard for the for the state and the country to follow. So um good work. With that being said, uh we have a motion and a second. All in favor of resolution 875626 say I. I.

Those opposed, the eyes have it. We'll move on to number eight, resolution 8758-26. This resolution authorizes modification of the use of ADCA grant funds and extends the availability of the funds. Mr. President, I move for approval resolution 8758-26. Second. Motion and a second. Um, Mr. Mr. or Miss Dickerson, please note that Miss Driver will be abstaining from from this resolution. Any comments or questions concerning this?

Mr. President, I won't bel labor the point today, but if we can can we get an update at a later date on the park itself? I know we're I think it's close to being back open in those particular areas. So, we get an update that'll be wonderful. Any further comments or questions? Any from the public? Seeing none, all in favor say I. I. Those opposed. The eyes have it. Uh, number nine, Mr. Attorney,

resolution 875926. This authorizes the acceptance of a grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs for park improvements in the amount of $500,000 for the Hoover East reel electrification project. Mr. President, I move for approval resolution 8759-26. Second. Have a motion and a second. Once again, Miss Driver will be abstaining. Uh any comments or questions from the council? Any from the public on this issue? Seeing none, all in favor say I. I. Those opposed.

The eyes have it. Resolution 876026. This resolution authorizes the acceptance of a grant from the Alabama Department of Economic Development Community Affairs for park improvements in the amount of $100,000 for the Hoover East re-electrification project. Mr. President, I move for approval resolution 8760-26. Second. Have a motion and a second. Finally, Miss Driver will be abstaining from this. And I want to say that the Alabama Power has been doing the work for this project. Miss Driver works for Southern Nuclear, part of that company is against her abstension from this. Uh any comments or questions from the council?

Mr. President, I do also want to make the point that uh power company does a lot of work. Um this not not uh abnormal for them to work with cities all around the state of Alabama. So u they do a lot of work for entities and cities all around. Absolutely. I think this was a great partnership with Alabama Power. they came in and and actually saved the city money and uh a good bit of time getting this project completed uh by having them come in. So, any further comments or questions from council? Any from the audience? Seeing none, all in favor say I. I. I.

Those opposed? The eyes have it. We will now move to the regular agenda. Resolution 876426. This is a resolution finalizing the budget for fiscal year 2026. Mr. President, trying to move to the right page. Um move for approval resolution 86 8764-26. Second. Have a motion and a second. Dr. Lopez.

Good evening. Good evening. Uh Wendy, do you mind can you put the one we had up on Thursday first,

please? So, we have a couple things here. So, this is actually going to be the finally we're at the original everything we talk about tonight with the prior operating budget that we approved will be uh what's considered the original budget for fiscal 26. And uh so these items, the first line on here is going to deal more with the capital request and we'll come back to that at the end. But I was want I was going to quickly go over these uh other items on here. Uh line two is rel is an additional $450,000 for the uh Hoover Board of Education. Uh this will provide uh a total of 1.1 million in estimated front door fees. That's how much we had budgeted in revenue. So for the total contribution for the schools uh in fiscal 26, we'll have budgeted $6.1 million. Uh lines three through six are various items from the police department from uh a multitude of special revenue funds. Uh in the items including uh software uh fitness equipment uh rubber flooring in the workout area the training centers, some canine related items as well as some vehicles and those are coming from uh state drug funds. uh federal inmate funds and uh o opioid funds. Line seven is a true up, not a lot, but it's an older uh project, ALDOT project for some sidewalks that we had a true up amount that it finally closed out. Uh and then line eight, the uh DECA grants that were just mentioned, the three that total 1.1 million. This will

be budgeting the revenue for those. And then line nine is an upgrade uh related to a painter. And then there's a balancing entry on line 10. I think the next page uh and that's basically a transfer from actually [clears throat] from the capital project fund to the general fund to cover these items. I don't anticipate that they will be it will be needed at the end of the year, but just to make sure we can continue our balancing efforts. Uh the other items on here are estimated carryovers. If the kind of the second line that's kind of a shade does we usually this normally when we do the budget we do not know our carryovers yet but because it's so late we kind of estimate those. So I went ahead and included on th those on there as well. Uh and then if we could go back to the capital projects which is kind of the meat of this uh amendment uh and maybe pull up the second page uh that I sent. Thank you. Uh, no though the one I sent you today.

Yeah, sorry. Perfect. Yes. Okay. So when we first started looking at the budget obviously we adopt you all you y you all adopted the operating budget in December toward the end of December and we decided to separate out the capital portion of it. when we started looking at the capital portion of the budget, uh it was realized we didn't have a multi-year outlook of that. And so we took that opportunity with the additional time to send uh back out a request from the departments that they would I think they had maybe a week turnaround time to uh basically provide a multi-year outlook of what they saw as needs in the city related their to their substantive areas. They did that. Uh we we received those back. Um they were asked to actually take up to a five-year outlook. Uh some of them we basic basically said three to five years because it was such a short notice. We received those back. Uh there is uh after reviewing those uh the mayor, city administrator and the finance staff either met or talked to any department all the departments that were related with those capital requests. Um the mayor developed a plan of what of funding those uh and so forth. We then met with uh council members at various times to be able to kind of go through those in detail. Due to the amount of the money, it makes sense. We want to put a little more effort in those discussions and make sure everybody was clear on that. U as you can see on this page that's on the screen, this kind of shows from fiscal 26 to fiscal 30 what those requests and and granted this these are just representing requests that impact

the capital projects fund. So sometimes we have special revenue funds that can fund some capital and so forth, but this is the uh impact to the capital projects fund. As you can see in fiscal 26, uh we had a total and actually I should say we did have more in 26 but we actually moved some to a subsequent year but they're all included in this five years. So you can see it ranges from 27.5 million 42 million 47 million 20 million 12 million. Obviously, you get further out, it's hard to say what your needs are going to be. For a total of about over five years, $150 million of requests. Now, one thing I do want to point out, this does not include any potential uh I459 exit 9 interchange cost overrun. So, that would be if that was to occur once it's bid, that would be in addition to this. And to put this in perspective, these this $150 million is almost equivalent to spending your general fund reserve balance two times. So it's a lot of money, a lot of requests. The other thing uh I think is important to know is many of these requests are more of not brand new items, but they are maintenance and repairs or new roofs, new fields, communications that are necessary for public safety, um park upkeep, vehicles and equipment to do to do the jobs of departments. So you can see there's a lot to a lot of improvements that are needed. In the highlighted yellow, those numbers represent what's in the mayor's proposed budget. Uh the kind of more general items, uh almost eight and a half or a little over $8.5 million and fleet and equipment, a little over $6 million for

a total of about 15 million. We were able to fund more this year because the previous meeting we did change and update the general fund reserve policy and that probably was able to fund about half of these. We will not have that hit necessarily next year. So, uh anyway, with that, I think the mayor was going to make a few comments.

Thank you, Dr. Lopez. I want to thank uh Dr. Lopez and her team for uh extremely hard work for the past several months trying to dig into what we've got and where we need to go. And I will say I will work with council. We've got to get a disciplined multi-year capital project plan. It appears to us that the city has oper not operated in a true multi-year capital plan for years. you know, the department heads, we asked them, I asked the CFO to submit to the uh department heads, send us out those three to five year plans. And again, uh when you start looking at things like roofs, uh public safety uh roof, uh Valadel Road, um the cost is uh is exceedingly high. And again, what I can see, no plan, no plan. Um, I will say that the deferred maintenance has led to a lot of repairs. The assets have been used until they fail, which is crazy. We've used the assets until they fail. Reactive spending is more expensive and disruptive than planned. So, we must plan. We got to maintain what we own. Tonight is just a call to act responsible and strategically and I will be looking forward to having many more discussions with y'all. But again, I I think this plan what we've got tonight gets us to where we need to be right now, but we've got a long way to go. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mayor and Dr. Lopez. Uh comments, questions from the council,

Mr. President? I think the mayor was uh was spot on with with what he said. Um I want to thank Dr. Lopez for meeting with us. I spent uh Mr. Smith and I spent three hours with her a couple weeks ago. And after meeting with her, it's evident that over the past five years, the fiscal stewardship of the prior administration fell short of the transparency and prudence our residents deserve. Significant bond obligations were undertaken without sufficient long-term capital planning, leaving this council constrained in our city financially restricted in projects we'd like to do. Equally concerning was the limited communication with the full council which resulted in votes on complex financial matters without adequate information or deliberation. Those days are thankfully over with as we consider a restricted capital improvement budget today. We're confronting the consequences of decisions that lack both collaboration and sustainable financial discipline. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Schultz. Any further comments or questions, Mr. President Mitch Lopez, I noticed in in one of the original uh projections for the 911 center, we were going to take away the $320,000 that had been preunded for uh um an area that was to be built out next to that room for future use. Is is that going to remain in or is that still being taken out? Currently, it is not in the budget due to the fact that when we got some true estimates in, it was going to be considerably more than that would cover.

Okay. But what is the downside to leaving the funds there?

Well, for some reason, those funds were bud they weren't budgeted out of the capital projects fund. They were budgeted in the 911 fund that is actually supplemented by the general fund. And due to the nature and the needs to balance the general fund, it made more sense to remove it out of there. And then at the point that that project gets undertaken, all the funding come out of the capital projects fund is what the thinking was. But when you have a an operating uh budget the size that the city does, do we need that $320,000 in the operating budget to the despair of those that work in the 911 center?

I'm not sure how you want me to answer [laughter] that. Well, truthfully, you know, we got people here that work there. Um, they've been waiting for years for for additional funds to be placed there, and the cost of that project has gone up tremendously, I'm sure. Um, since it was originally broadcast uh or or or placed in the budget,

I can't speak to the prior years why that wasn't funded at the time. uh I can speak to it when we have so many needs in my mind we need to if we're not able to fund the complete project we need to fund the ones that we can fund so with the limited resources that we have. Do we have any other projects that were defunded? Uh I don't know of another project that got put on hold like that. I'm not sure if there was or not. I don't think so. We've got a lot of roadway projects that have been funded for years and years. That has never happened.

We have those are under contract. We have to do those. That's why that's a little bit different situation. Mr. President, um it's unfortunate that that it seems that we're removing this $320,000. I would hope that sometime before the end of this fiscal year if the funds become available that we find a way to put that back. Thank you, sir. Mr. Smith, any further comments or questions from council?

Yeah, I just wanted to make one statement and the mayor did speak on this. I think uh the council see a lot of u modification how things go. uh once a plan is established and projects are based upon a risk based planning um then it it's not about a department as much as about the the city itself and how it's prioritized. So I know they have staff back there will be looking at all those things and typically what you'll do too is every department will uh play a piece in that and know not just what the department need but what other needs of the cities are and also how is ranked as well too. So on once all that takes place then you'll stay on schedule and if that schedule moves then it has to be a justification on why each one of those projects move and last thing I'll say too many times when project planning occur uh you have idea of saying I want to do this project but you can't complete a project if you don't have a design so you put a pro you'll put something in a project knowing that it's not going to get completed because you missed step one and two so all that has to be planned out in detail and then all the things that have to be required required by the federal government and EPA that takes a more of a steady point and then the funding mechanism some state projects are are have a 5050 split y spending for that. So when all that takes place I think we'll be in a better situation um moving forward. This is my two cents. Mr. Mr. President, I'd also like to say I I m Miss M Miss Lopez, I really appreciate uh the work that you and your staff do and I don't want that to go unstated. Um we've known each other for a very long time and uh there have been times in the past that we've we've uh knocked heads and there have been other times that we've completely agreed, but you know, that's just the name of the game. Um, but I do appreciate all that you do,

especially uh you did not have to come back and help us in the situation that we're currently in, and that is most appreciated. All right, any further comments from council? Seeing none, are there any comments or questions from the public? Seeing none, uh, we have a motion and a second. All in favor of resolution number 8764-26 say I. I. Those opposed. The resolution passes. Resolution number 873826. Mr. Waler.

This is a resolution um granting a conditional use approval for a three tenant shopping center for the property located at uh 1543 Montgomery Highway. Mr. President, I would move for approval of resolution 8738-26. Second. Have a motion and a second. Uh, any comments or questions from council? Any comments or questions from the public?

Yes, sir. Come on down and state your name and area of town and you'll have

My name is Don Fizer. I'm at Orange Development 147 Resource Center Parkway. Um just here to answer any questions you've got regarding uh our proposal. work closely with uh the mayor staff and uh coming through the whole process through planning commission BCA and ultimately here with you all today. Just here do you all have any questions whatsoever with what we're asking. Any questions? Just want to say thank you for your investment in the city. Yep. Uh bringing that property up to up to date.

Well, we know that uh the pawn shop was pretty unsightly. So, as soon as that uh lease expired, we were excited to have the opportunity. And then also next door 1539 is ours and mirrored that architecture to uh pretty it up. As we were told many times, I mean, it's the gateway into Hoover. That's right. So, we're proud of the property. It looks great. So, 1539. Is that the framing shop? Uh, no. It's right next to Thompson. It's right next which is the other property that you own. Stop. Well, 1539 is the strip center, Hoover Crossing Strip Center. It's 15,000 ft that we took out uh the transmission shop that you just built. Yeah. Thank you. It's very nice. We're proud of it. Thank you. Thank you all.

Any further comments or questions from the public? Seeing none, all in favor say I. I. Those opposed?

The eyes have it. Uh before moving on to number 18, uh excuse me just a second here. Can we confirm under the consent agenda that we read resolution number 876626 authorizing the mayor of the city of Hoover to execute a license agreement with Richard Shirley? Do we skip that during the consent agenda? I recall I I recall having read it, but it's possible that I read it before the meeting.

We'll take it up just just in case. Can I have a motion for number 15? Resolution 876626. Move for approal approval resolution 8766-26. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any comments from council on this? None. Any from the public? All in favor say I. I. I. Those opposed. Thank you. Just to cover our bases there. Mr. President, those of us seated here at this panel all feel like we've adopted it twice, but who knows? No harm, no val.

That's right. Resolution number 876726. Mr. Walter. This is a resolution regarding a public nuisance. Nuisance is report of the cost for abating that nuisance.

Do I have for approval? Resolution is this 8767-26. Yes, sir. Second.

Have a motion and a second. Any comments or questions from councel? Any from the public? Seeing none, all in favor say I. I. Those opposed. The eyes have it. Finally, we will set a public hearing for March 9th, 2026 where we will uh have a public hearing for resolution number 875226 granting conditional use approval to allow drive-thru facility for Dutch Brothers Coffee for the property located at 1855 Montgomery Highway. come to the end of the business agenda. Is there any comments or questions from the council?

Mr. President, I wanted to uh let Mr. McClinton know that I spent about 20 minutes on the phone this afternoon with Miss Lopez answering questions so we could make this meeting about 20 minutes shorter tonight. God bless you. Thank you. God bless you, Dr. Lopez. [laughter] Any other comments from council? Mr. President, I'd like to invite everybody to our Arbor Day celebration. So, it is uh Saturday, March 7th from 8 to 11 at Aldridge Gardens. Obviously, we'll be uh sharing that more, but just want to say come out and support the trees.

All right. Anybody else? Mr. Mayor, you have anything to close this out? Seems like we're going to be planting a bunch of trees. This is good. Appreciate it. Very good. We're journed.