City Council - Regular Meeting

May 11th, 2026 city council meeting. I'll call the meeting to order. Uh, Madame Clerk, would you please call the role? Council President Middlebrooks. Council Pro Tim Driver here. Council member Schultz here. Council member Smith. Council member Levelville present. Council member Murphy present. Council member McClinton

here. Madame clerk, would you please lead us through the invocation to be followed by Robin Schultz uh leading us in the pledge of allegiance over each of us here tonight. We also thank you for Casey and his family tonight. And we thank you for just being with us and also being with the mayor and his family and the mayor's prayer breakfast tomorrow morning. We thank you for just the wonderful welcome we'll have it and we thank you for all the people that will be attending in the name of your son Jesus Christ to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands nation indivisible with liberty and justice for All right. Uh we'll start by adopting our agenda. Do we have a motion?

Madam President, motion to adopt. Second. All in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? All right. We will move forward with our announcements and reports. We'll start with a proclamation. So we have Miss Alli Mims here this evening. Miss Hoover 2026. Um, Mr. Mayor,

come on down.

Council, tonight we've got Miss Hoover, Alli Bims, had the sendoff party out in the lobby for the last hour for going to the Miss Alabama contest here in a couple of weeks. uh founder of the Joyful Noise Foundation. She's raised more than $15,000 to support music therapy for special needs students. She's providing instrument grants for 105 special education classrooms, accomplished student at Sanford University, a publisher, published author, vocalist, community leader, and really we've we've known Ally for a while. You know, she was obviously Miss Teen Hoover and then became Miss Alabama teen and then went on to be the first runner up in the Miss America teen the same year that Abby Stalker became Miss uh US uh Miss Miss America. Yeah, I'm thinking USA. I'm wrong. Miss America. Uh but I'll say this about uh about Ally. She's been just a great uh a great representative for for the city of Hoover for the last several years. And uh we can't say enough about to say thank you for everything you've done for our community and we just wish you all the best uh in the Miss Alabama pageant here in I guess a couple weeks, right? Okay, Mr. City Attorney,

pardon me, Ali Mims, Miss Hoover 2026 and Miss Alabama's Teen 2024 has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, compassion, and service through her dedication to music education, advocacy for individuals with special needs, and community engagement. And whereas she is a two-time published author of the books Make Music with Joy and Alli's musical Butterflies and creator of the Joyful Noise app, using her talents and creativity to inspire children and families through music and positivity. And whereas Ali Mims founded the Joyful Noise Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing music therapy opportunities for special needs students and supporting youth mental health through music, joy, laughter, and play. And whereas through her charitable efforts, Ali Mimmss has personally raised more than $115,000, provided instrument grants to 105 special education classrooms across the globe, awarded 15 scholarships for special needs students to attend music camp, and implemented music programs and special needs choir initiatives that have positively impacted countless young people. And whereas she created the joyful now noise talent show fundraiser featuring celebrity guest judge Cheryl Porter assisted with the Add's Army fundraiser alongside Tim Tibo and planned the Red, White, and Blue Ball fundraiser in partnership with the city of Hoover for the Joyful Noise Foundation. Whereas Alli Mims composed and wrote Make a Joyful Noise, which was performed by a 160 voice choir and has received numerous honors, including the National Best Vocalist Award, participation in All State Choir, and performances as a soloist for the

Alabama Veterans Association, and the National Anthem at the SEC Baseball Championship. And whereas Alli Mims continues to lead and inspire others through her Pound Pretty heart social media initiative in partnership with the American Heart Association, Pam Miss America Fit, serving as author of Pound Pretty Hearts and host of Healthy Hearts workshops promoting wellness, confidence, and heart health awareness. And whereas her commitment to scholarship, service, leadership, and the arts exemplifies the very best of the city of Hoover in the state of Alabama. Now therefore, I, Nicholas C. Mayor and Christy Driver, Council President Pro Tim on behalf of the city of Hoover, Alabama to hereby recognize and honor Ali Mims for her outstanding achievements, unwavering dedication to serving others and extraordinary impact on the lives of children, families, and communities across Alabama and beyond. Be it further proclaim that we extend our sincere appreciation and congratulations to Alli Mims and wish her continued success and all future endeavors presented this 11th day of May in the year of our Lord 2026. If anybody wants to hear a treat, listen to Ally and her mother sing God Bless America like they did.

We can do it right now. I'm just joking. I'm joking. They could break out in a duet right now. It' be great.

No, I'm just joking. but it is on Facebook if you want to go watch it. Um, well, if I'm ever given the opportunity to talk about what the city of Hoover has been to me, I take that opportunity. Um, I'm sure I'm a familiar face to a lot of you. I I do everything that I can to be present in the city of Hoover. It is become my home, not just the environment, but the people. Um, I've had such a unique opportunity to be able to foster the most incredible relationships with people here in the city of Hoover. I have never in my life seen a group of people get behind somebody the way that these people have. I mean, they're at every event that I'm at. They they are commenting on every social media post, even if they probably have no idea what it is. They are there financially, um, physically, I mean, verbally, the way that these people show up is absolutely incredible. And I've been involved in the Miss America organization since I was a 14-year-old girl. And now I'm 19 years old, and I and I just have never seen a community such as the city of Hoover. And so, I am extremely eternally grateful for what Hoover has been for me. Um, I will be competing for the title of Miss Alabama in June. Finals is June 6 where they're crown a new Miss Alabama. And of course, I'm trusting the Lord's plan for whatever happens. This is my first year to compete. But what I do know is that I am so thankful that because of me trying to reach my goal to become Miss America one day, that it led me to meet all of you guys. And so I'm so thankful and um I have to give Dwight and Sandy Sandin with the Salem Foundation a shout out because they have donated $30,000 to my uh foundation, the Joyful Noise Foundation to be able to implement music education for students that have disabilities and special needs all across the state of Alabama. And so I'm so thankful again for all of the doors that have opened. And if I never become Miss Alabama, so be it. Because the the

year that I've had with Hoover as Miss Hoover and Miss Hoover's teen in 2024 has been absolutely incredible and 100% pivotal for who I am becoming. So, thank you. That was great. All right. Proclamation for the America 250. I would like to ask from the George Maris colonial dames of 17th century contingent, Elizabeth Speargillian, Martha Jones, Karen Shallenburg, and Lucy Willis. If you're all here, please come forward. From the Hoover Historical Society, Deborah Bernett, Pam Thompson, Carolyn Kolar, Paula Watts, Jim Langley, please come forward. And from the American Legion Post 911, Ron Bradstreet, Fred Hughes, and Ginger Branson, please come forward. before you read the proclamation uh comments I have. This year marks the 250th anniversary of America's founding and was proud to celebrate this historic milestone with a week of patriotic community activities. Throughout the week, residents of all ages will enjoy arts, history, family activities, fitness programs, and entertainment across our city. Highlights include patriotic art at the Hoover Randle House, family programming at the library, wreck activities, and for all of us, the USO swing dance at the senior center. You know, that'll be something. The significant event and the signature event we're calling the fourth on the 1st because we'll be we will be uh having on July 1st at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, our big fireworks celebration. Uh in the past, everything's been done outside. This year, everything will be done inside the stadium. It'll be from 6:00 to 9:00. We will have some really fantastic things take place for all you hot dog eaters.

Dollar hot dogs. How's that? I mean, that's big time. $1 hot dogs. Expect that to be a big a big draw. And for those that uh may want to witness, I think there is a possibility for the city council to actually have a hot dog eating contest. So, uh uh not not to try to upstage Nathan's at all, but uh you'll have to be there on the first to actually uh see it. We've also will be featuring a 350x 150 foot American flag that will take 188 people to hold it. Uh we hope that'll be done at the same time that we sing the national anthem and we're hoping to have a flyover. Also, there's a lot of other things that'll be taking place. I want it to be as the staff and I want to say thank you to the staff because I I kind of told them that we want I want stuff for for kids. This should be Baron and Bailey Circus on steroids and uh I want kids to be looking everywhere and things happening. So that's they're going to have dogs running after frisbees. There's going to be some some crazy stuff taking place and I'm hoping in the next couple of weeks they'll have an announcement of kind of the premier event other than fireworks that'll happen that night. So again, we're expecting uh really a lot of uh a lot of fun that night and and really plan on packing the house. So again, appreciate you all being here and uh I will ask uh Mr. City Attorney if you will read the proclamation, please.

This proclamation is celebrate America 250 here. Whereas July 4, 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a historic milestone that initiated the birth of the United States of America as a nation dedicated to the enjoyment of life, liberty, equality, and self-government of the people. And whereas the George Maris chapter of the National Society Colonial Dames 17th century in Alabama in partnership with the city of Hoover Historical Society is encouraging local observances that recognize and celebrate this historic founding of our great nation. And whereas the city of Hoover takes pride in its community's role in preserving history, promoting civic engagement, and fostering a spirit of patriotism through local events, education, and service. And whereas for two and a half centuries, the United States has served as a beacon of democracy, resilience, and hope, striving to live up to its founding principles while navigating the challenges of a growing and evolving nation. And whereas the 250th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on our nation's past, to honor the sacrifices of generations from all backgrounds and walks of life who have upheld American rights, and to look forward to the future with a renewed spirit of innovation, service, and unity. And whereas all citizens, schools, civic organizations, and businesses are encouraged to participate in activities that highlight the histories of our communities and contribute to the remembrance of and maintain a deep respect for the principles upon which our great nation was founded. Now

therefore, I Nicholas C. Dersis, mayor and Christy Driver, council president proim on behalf of the city of Hoover, Alabama to hereby proclaim the period leading up to and including July 4, 2026 as celebrate America 250 during America's semic quincential. Uh and I call upon the people of Hoover to join in this historic celebration to reflect on our 250 year journey to honor those who came before us and to renew our commitment to the ideals that have shaped our past and will guide our future. Presented this the 11th day of May in the year of our Lord 2026. Everybody On behalf of the George Maris Colonial Dames 17th Century and on behalf of the Hoover Historical Society, I want to thank the mayor and the council for this proclamation. And I'm going to try to say it too. Semi sinquentennial. I got

you said it better.

Uh that is been a obviously we know that it's a very very important date in our history that our country has been a country for over 250 years. We are celebrating that now. I can remember oh gosh I'm going to tell my age. I remember being at the uh bicesentennial and uh celebrating that and also I also remember celebrating my the 150th anniversary. guy. I am telling my age, but we are so happy and so proud that our nation and the organizations that we all belong to and the cities and the states in Alabama have come together to celebrate during this period of time. And again, we thank you.

Thank you. I see there are a few uh former and current elected officials here visiting with us tonight. So, we have uh State Representative Susan Dose. Uh we have um Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pway. Um we have Josh Cisk, our Shelby County Commissioner and former city councelor here in Hoover, Joe Reeves. It's always wonderful to have all of you here with us. So, thank you so much. All right, we will move next to a recognition. This is uh related to um the Sandland Foundation and a wonderful uh organization that they support uh Magic City Woodworks Manufactured Good um which was created by Tim Lawson in his um woodworking shop in Bluff Park years ago and has has grown into something much bigger, doing a lot of great in our community. I'd love to invite um Dwight and Sandy and and David um and others to come on down. Uh anybody who's here on this item, please come on and join us. And David, would you like to make a couple of remarks?

Sure. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Christie. I appreciate it. Uh we've got Tim and his wife Lindsay here. And for those of you that are not familiar with Tim Lawson, he is also a battalion chief here with the Hoover Fire Department. So, uh, he wears a cape during the day and I can assure you that at night and on the weekends he's wearing a cape at Manufactur Good. Uh it wasn't that long ago that Dwight was standing up here launching the Sandland Foundation to the city of Hoover and reminding everyone that kindness was at the root of this foundation that he and Sandy have so generously given to. And we couldn't be more proud of our 14th partner which is announced tonight which is Manufacturer Good or some of you may have known it as Magic City Woodwork in its day. But Tim, I I'm honored. We're honored to stand with you. Uh folks, when we told you that this foundation was going to go at every initiative that was showing impact and kindness and showing real results on changing lives, this organization is the very embodiment of that. In the last 24 months alone, Tim and his team have re-engineered and turned around the lives of 36 men in the Shelby, Jefferson, greater county areas and showing them and putting them in workforce development to learn real good paying metalworking and woodworking jobs. These are men that are typically never given jobs after being released from custody and are given up on. But Tim and his team don't give up on anyone. And their mission is as strong as as any of the charities that we work with. And I I know I'm speaking for Dwight and Sandy tonight, but we couldn't be more proud to stand with you tonight, Tim, and let you know that

$100,000 has come to your organization on behalf of the Sandland Foundation, which by the way, in 6 months now puts us at 2.1 million total for the 14 area charities. So, let's hear for Dwight and Sandy. And and Tim, I I would love for you to come up and say a few words about manufactured good. Folks, if you don't know anything more about them and you weren't already impressed with what I just told you, if you dine at Taco Mama or Broxcap Brewery or you've eaten at any of the restaurants in Stadium Trace, you sat on their chairs, their stools, dine on their tables. This is not a charity that just makes things and people buy them from them for charity. They're almost a self- sustaining charity that is in high demand. And when Dwight and I were down there, we saw half the orders were going to Sanford University. So, uh, when I tell you they're a great organization, I mean they're a great organization. Tim,

thank you. I certainly want to thank the the Sins and the and the foundation. It's been a pleasure um just getting to know you. That's the main thing for me. I love these relationships. Um, but you know, Magic City Woodworks and manufactured good was born out of the idea um that that I was taught in a fire station and that is just to love the guys around you. Mentor them and treat them the way that you want to be treated. And so we get the opportunity to do that every day. And the things that I'm teaching these young men, they they're with me for 12 weeks. There's six every 12 weeks uh year round. So we're running roughly 24 a year. But we're reading the Bible. 60 chapters of the Bible these men get to read alongside of me. They get to pray with me. They get to hear the gospel. They get to learn about woodworking and metal working and the trades. And uh but most importantly, they get to learn how to be the men that God's called them to be. And I learned that at a Hoover Fire Station. So, how great is it that I get to work at the last 27 years of my life, be mentored by my fire chief who's in the room, and then get to take that mentoring and go give it back to the young men all over our community. So, it's an honor to get to do that. It's certainly a blessing to be partnered with families like the Sins and and with David and Steve and there's so many other ones that are involved in my life on a daily basis that are helping me to make the impact that I'm making. So, it takes a team and I really appreciate everything we're doing. Thank you all so appreciate it.

Hold on one second. By the way, I'd like to put my hat.

Guys, I don't know about you, uh, but I've had a lot of second chances. Uh, God's been very good to me. These guys take the people who we almost discard and throw away and say their life isn't meaningful. That's what they do. They I cannot be more proud to be associated with you guys. Sandy and I are blessed to have the opportunity to know you and see what you do. Next, we'll move along to public comments. Um, looks like we have uh Jim Langley here from the Hoover Historical Society, Jim. Thank you. slides. You have my PowerPoint. Okay. I am Jim Langley or as Charlie Waldrip used to call me, bear killer. That's a story in itself right there.

We'll start your time over when we get the slides if you'd like. Like I said, I'm Jim Langley, and I want to ask you, what do you think you would happen if uh if you were this child whose mother said, "Boy, it would be easier to have another child than to clean you up or what do you think would happen to a marriage where the guy said, "I went on my honeymoon. I took six thick books and I read them all." Well, I can't tell you what happened to all those incidents then because you got to follow up and come to our storytelling event that I'm going to tell you about. Um yeah, there are other things that told like the other examples I had up there was was a hot summer day uh and how to count for special adults and I learned more motivation in a weekend with special needs adults than I did as 23 years as an army officer. Or another one is at 10 years old, my b my daddy, chief of police of the town of Vernon, Alabama, let me and 11year-old cousin chased two desperate criminals through the woods and put them in jail. Now, those are just kind of starting points of stories. So, next Anyway, go ahead.

Okay,

just keep going to um go next. Yeah, storytelling has become a big deal in the southeast. If you go to several of these larger areas in um in Georgia and Tennessee and Alabama and you see that they have storytelling festivals that draw large crowds in and you have storytellers from all over the world. Well, you know because everything we u hear is just an opinion and everything that we see is just perspective. So storytellers take that and turn it and into what should be. Uh our written history, all written history started as stories. So storytelling is a big deal and we all have in common a lot of different things about stories. Now the event is um put on by the uh Hoover Historical Society and it's u sponsored and hosted by the First Christian Church over on Valley and Storytellers have a rich history and um we will have this event. Go ahead. Next slide. This is a poster or the flyer for the event. We'll have it on May 31st at 1:30 which will have you uh time to go off from church to lunch and come back again just over on Valley Road. And I've got uh different people that are from different walks of life, but they're all just ordinary people. They're just you regular old people that are telling stories. We've got I call him the colonel. We've got an executive who's retired executive. We got a judge. We got a principal used to be principal Hoover High and u we got a guy that did the Appalachian Trail and we have um you know all kind of guys that are going to tell and women who are going to tell

their stories, real stories from life and it starts at 1:30 on May 31st at First Christian Church. It's free of charge to the public. No reservations needed. So, just come and join us u on May 31st and it'll be a good time. Okay, that's uh that's me if you don't recognize me. I do a character called Delmmont and I do my own storytelling. So, um that's um that's picture I put up there. So, what I want to do though is not to just tell you about this event. What I want to do is propose that for Hoover the storytelling festival would be a good idea. And I'd like to see after we see how this one does, if it's successful, I would like to promote and see if we Hoover and other organizations get behind and get a storytelling festival where we can really have that whole all the groups coming in together. So that's probably why I came tonight to propose that. Let's let's do it.

Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you. Sunday, May 31st.

Thank you, Mr. Langley. So, next we have some candidates for political office. We have Shel um Mr. Copeland, who is running for Shelby County Tax Commissioner. Come on down. Good evening. Can everybody hear me? Uh, my name is Deus Copelan and I'm running for Shelby County Property Tax Commissioner. Uh, I live in Caller with my wife and our three children. I always like to start off by saying by a show of hands, does anybody like paying property taxes? Nobody ever does it. Nobody raises their hands. Well, I can assure you I can save you money on your property taxes today. The legislature has created a bill and laws where there's two ways not to pay property taxes. The first way is by being permanently and totally disabled through the Department of Veteran Affairs or through the Social Security Administration. The second way is to be over 65, which most people in Shelby County and Alabama are. So, every time I go out and I go to an event and there are people over 65, they always say never ask a woman her age. But I say, "Is anyone here over 65?" Every time they raise their hand, are you paying your property taxes? Yes. And so I'm here and I think it's important as being the property tax commissioner that we educate the public. That's the number one thing that I think the property tax commissioner can do because during these hard economic times, people are paying money that they actually don't have to do. Now, if you are 65 and older, there's two ways that you don't pay. be uh excuse me, you know, because it's means tested. So, if you make over $12,000,

you pay uh you don't pay state taxes. So, you have to pay city and county and schools and all that good money. If you make under $12,000, then you don't pay any property taxes. So, it's means tested, but that's the way you don't pay. Hopefully, I've saved somebody some money today. Anyone? Okay. All right. Uh the legislature passed two bills which are very good. They're called HB77 and HB155. 77 uh the property tax commissioner can give you a tax exemption certificate that you can take to your closing and you give to the bank and you tell them do not take any money out of my um uh future escrow. So that was a big thing that the legislature did and I support that bill. The second bill they passed was 155, which says that you don't have to keep coming back and asking for property tax exemptions. If you turn 65, you're not going to turn 64 next year, right? So, you know, uh things are not going to go reversed. If you're permanently disabled, I don't think you're going to be healed the next year. So, those were good bills uh that were co-sponsored by Kenneth Pascal from Pelum. Now, who am I? Uh my name is Deus Copeland. I said I spent about 10 years in the Department of Defense, mostly in the United States Marine Corps. I'm a war fighter. I served in the infantry right out of here in Bessemer. Um I believe in putting my life on the line. I've done it in my country in uh Operation Enduring Freedom. So I've served my country and I'll do it again. Um after I left the Department of Defense, uh spent about nine years within the federal government serving in different leadership positions. Then I left the federal government and uh I run my own real estate law practice here in Clara while I focus on real estate law. So that's my background. Um I love people. I love being an attorney. I love real estate and I would love to have your vote. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for your service, Mr. Copeland. We appreciate you and your family and for your sacrifices. Um next we have candidate Nate Carlson for state senate district 16. How are we all? Thank you all counselors for having me. Mayor Duris, I really appreciate y'all letting me be here tonight. Can you'all hear me? Okay. Okay. Awesome. Uh I'm Nate Carlson and I am running in the Republican primary coming up next week on May 19th for State Senate District 16. For those of you that are trying to place exactly where that is, that's going to be Homewood on the north end running south uh through Hoover and into northern Shelby County. Um I am originally from Birmingham. My wife and I, I have uh my wife here tonight and and our youngest of three. Um we have our kids in the Homewood schools and um are just so fortunate to to be a part of this community. Um and so I uh a little bit more about me. I'm a I'm a former college athlete. I played football at the University of Alabama. I walked on down there. Um we played under coach Nick Sabin. We had a tremendous amount of success when I was down there. We won a national championship in 2009 and 2011, which was a lot of fun. Got to play with a with a lot of really talented people. But one of the things that I think I've taken away from that experience as it pertains to this tonight is the the way that we continually approached every day to try and build and grow and both personally but also collectively as a team. And um I've I've drawn on that often through the years as um as I was getting done with with that I knew kind of two things that I wanted to do. I wanted to build businesses and I wanted to serve people. And so for me that really manifested um my wife and I in 2016 we opened Real and Rosemary and

Homewood and then a couple of years later we followed that with Caviot Coffee. I'm really proud of the fact that we just reached 10 years and eight years um in both of those businesses respectively. And um for for any of you that are in here that are small business owners, you likely know it is it's not every day you can take for granted there. You scratch and claw to try and survive. And certainly we have not been exempt from that. But I I'm really really proud and fortunate of the fact that we've just continued to have another day to serve our customers. Um that really kind of brings me to the why I'm here, right? And that is because I recognize right now that our district is changing, our state is changing economically. Um and the challenges that we face tomorrow will not necessarily be solved by tomorrow's playbook. And so, um, you know, I believe that our district needs someone that is a builder that understands and can think about problems from a 360 perspective that will come and work alongside local leaders like yourself to think about the complex issues that we're going to be facing, whether that's guard rails on data centers or storm water infrastructure. um to, you know, how do we work alongside you to make sure that the Galleria has has the maximum amount of impact as we revitalize and reinvision that to set our community up for the next 20 plus years. Um, and so I get really excited about that because I think that that my perspective and my experience is so uniquely positioned to be able to think about things and from a not only a P&L perspective, but just how do you manage all the different facets that are business and life and all of that and how it's ultimately going to manifest and and and uh touch each of us, right? where we lower cost for uh every single person and we treat the the taxpayer dollars with the same level of thought and care um that many of us do in our businesses and our families every day. And so I I will leave you kind of with this as each of you go this next

week uh to the polls and you're thinking about who to vote for, I would encourage each of you to really think about what type of future do you want, not only for this state, but also for the the district and and and and right here in this community. And and I say that because for me, I want and I envision our future and I want it to be something that my kids feel like they can be in. It was so encouraging to hear Ally speaking about um how much this community has meant to her. And I certainly want to make sure that we have the type of environment that our children feel like they are uh they can they can remain in and keep their roots in and be a part of in the future. So anyways, if I can answer any more questions, I know I'm out of time. I will be here afterwards. I would love to speak to each of you. Uh if you'd like some more information, please go to crosslenforalabama.com. And I would humbly ask for your vote next week on May 19th. Thank you.

Next up, we have Chris Anderson who's running for Jefferson County Sheriff.

Good evening. I hope y'all can hear me. Okay. Being tall is not the best thing when you start talking about microphones, but I'll try to be brief. My name is Chris Anderson. I am a longtime law enforcement officer. I've spent over 31 years in the profession. 25 years ago, my wife and I started raising our family here in Hoover. I've worked in law enforcement for the past 31 years. Most of my life, I followed my mother's footsteps into the profession. I spent the first 21 years of my my my career with the Birmingham Police Department. I metriculated through all departments within the department. I've led several different task forces in ter several different precincts and several different organizations that have led that have sought to bring crime down in the city of Birmingham. I was also one of the investigators that was featured on the show First 48. Since retiring from the city of Birmingham in 2016, I spent the last 10 years of my career traveling the country working cold cases, working wrongful convictions, writing new strategies and new policies for different agencies all across the country. I'm also the author of not one but two separate books that relate to the intersection of mental health and law enforcement. And speaking of author, I also authored some of the strategies that are currently being used by the Birmingham Police Department with the Birmingham Crime Commission. My experience in this profession is vast. I want to bring that same experience to the sheriff's office. Now, I'm not here to bash anyone. That's not in my character, but I believe we need a strategic plan. a strategic plan that will help bring safety to not just Hoover, but every single city that Jefferson County covers. When elected, my administration will

build stronger partnerships between cities like Hoover and the rest of the cities around Jefferson County, share resources, and continue public safety excellence. will focus on proactive crime prevention, not be reactive to help keep cities like Hoover and the rest of the cities in Jefferson County much safer places. My administration will ensure that the cities like Hoover have access to specialized equipment and regional well and whenever regional crit regional I'm sorry whenever critical incidents occur those regional you will have access to those resources within the city. My goal is simple. Protect what Hoover has built. support the professionals already serving in this community and ensure that the ser sheriff's office add value whenever and wherever needed. I'll be here also and I also have a minute to spare. That's the first time that's happened. I'll be here after the meeting if you have any questions. I would love to sit down and talk to any of my neighbors here in Hoover. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your support. Mayor Derzik, keep doing what you're doing, sir. Next, we'll have our current state representative, Susan Deose, for district 45. Thank you. My name is Susan Dose. I'm Representative Susan Deose and I represent the 45th district. I'm a Hoover girl and it is my honor and privilege and quite honestly my joy to represent all of you down in the state house. When I was uh elected for the first time four years ago, I was actually the first representative that Hoover had had in the state house in over 20 years. And I wanted to make a

difference down there. And I hit the ground running. I've lived in Hoover for over 27 years with my husband and children. My kids grew up in the Hoover public schools and I think we have fabulous schools here. I'm so proud of the schools that we have here in Hoover and the state house. I'm on the education policy committee. I'm on the health committee. You know, I grew up or I wouldn't say I grew up, but my background is in banking and finance. I worked for central bank and compass bank. And I thought when I went down to the state house, I would be analyzing financial statements and picking apart things like that. But you know what? That's not what I ended up doing. I ended up standing up for women, standing up for minors. Within a month of being down there, I passed the bill protecting women in sports. And I didn't stop there. I define male and female. I went on to work in all areas of education. So, education is a priority for me. Then I can and I look forward to continuing to work in that area. Uh, next week when you go to the polls, if you're voting in the Republican primary, I am going to be on there in district 45 and I do have an opponent. He he's not working. He's not campaigning, but the fact of the matter is he's on the ballot and he's on the ballot ahead of me. So, if you live in the east side of Hoover over on the gray Greystone side, please look for me on the ballot. I would humbly and honorably appreciate your vote. Thank you all for being here. And again, it's my privilege, honor, and joy to represent all of you down the state house in Montgomery.

Thank you very much. Um, next we have our current Jefferson County Sheriff, uh, Mark Pway.

Mayor Durges, council, citizens of Hoover. I'm Sheriff Mark Pweight, your current sheriff, and I'm delighted to stand before you today to tell you some of the things that we've done here the last eight years in Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. As sheriff, I work with all the municipalities right here in Jefferson County to make sure that crime is down. Crime is down over about 44% in Birmingham right now and over 23% in all of Jefferson County. So, we're proud of the work that's been done right now in Jefferson County. Over a year ago, I received a call from at that time Mayor Derzy's little kid was lost in the woods. His mother was concerned. He called and asked for the help of the helicopter. But before I was able to send the helicopter up, he called me back and said, "The kid has now been found." We work together for with everyone right here in Jefferson County to make sure that crime is down. And by doing that, we send a message out to the bad guys to let them know that they're not going to do business right here in Jefferson County. Now, we rather be on the preventive end. We do things to prevent things such as we going to the schools. We work with the Kowanis downtown to read to kids. We give them books to start their own library. We want to stop their pipeline from school to prison by reading to kids. And this encourages this encourage them to to read, to learn, and to dream big. This is what we want for for our youth. Not only do we do that, but we have sports programs that we have for our kids. It is called LEAP, law enforcement athletic partnerships. We partner throughout all of Jefferson County to get the kids into sporting programs to where we can mentor them, talk to them about conflict resolution, and not to carry guns to schools. We've been right here in the city of Fairfield. Councelor Murphy helped us get right here to do a threeon-ree basketball tournament right

here in the city of Fairfield. We love working with other municipalities. We love partnerships. Also, we believe in redemption. We have a program, a workforce program right now in our county jail to help those that are incarcerated. We believe in redemption to help them when they leave the jail to be able to be employed with great paying jobs because when you're at work, we want them at work also. We don't want them to have opportunity to have a idle mind. So we invest in them to get them an education and opportunities to get skills to be employed when they leave the county jail. Not only do we do that, but we believe in protecting our places of worship. Our place of worship has been under attack. But we have training at our academy right now to teach you how to stand till we get there to protect your place of worship. We want you to worship in freedom. We want you have an opportunity to stand there and pray and do whatever you have to do at your place of worship without having to worry about someone attacking you during your time of worship. We have free training also for those that have handguns and we'll be talking about that tomorrow morning on the on the news at Fox 6. So those that have handguns and you've not been trained, come out to our facility. We want to train you how to use your handgun, how to make sure you clean it and put it away safely. So I say for a better way, a more excellent way on election day, keep Sheriff Mark Pway. Thank you and have a blessed day. Thank you very much, sir. Next, we're going to consider our consent agenda. That is items number one through 16. Oh, I am so sorry. Cath Katherine Robertson for attorney general. My bad. That was my cue to keep it short. I'll do it. I'm Katherine Robertson and I'm running for attorney general. Um, I'm

running for attorney general because for the last decade I have served as chief counsel to your current attorney general. And uh during that time I've had the privilege of working with the city of Hoover on multiple occasions. Uh first with your police chief and now with your mayor and your new police chief. Um I have to say from top to bottom across Alabama, this is probably the city that I have the deepest relationship with, including some of you on the council. Um y'all are easy to work with. You're great to work with. Um, it was my pleasure to work with your mayor to make sure that false reports to police uh is now a felony in case that ever happens again. Uh, but we've also worked to make Alabama a safer place to live through tougher sentences through um tools to fight gangs and um maybe last week you noticed that we um settled a big case with roadblocks where the proceeds of that settlement will be pushed out to fund school resource officers. Um, you know, working in the attorney general's office is a is a complicated place, is a complex place. You're asked to be the state's chief law enforcement officer and you also lead the state's law firm. And so, the reason that I decided to put my name on the ballot is because I know that office like the back of my hand. And what that means is that on day one, I'll be able to get to work for the people of Alabama delivering results. Uh, when you guys call, you know, I'll answer and I'll know what to do. And I think that's very important. So, I told you I'd be short. I'm Katherine Robertson. Glad to be with y'all tonight. Thanks for having me.

Thank you very much. Before we move to the consent agenda, um we will have an opportunity as we go through the items on the agenda for people to make public comments. If you're here about a specific agenda item tonight, but if you are here just to make a general public comment, I I do want to offer the opportunity if there's anyone who has not yet made a comment but would like to tonight. All right. Now we will move along to the consent agenda which is items 1 through 16. We had the opportunity as a council body to go over these items with the staff at our public meeting this past Thursday and ask the questions that we have. So we usually vote on all of these as one block. Um I will ask the the members of the council whether there is anyone uh who would like to remove an item from the consent agenda tonight.

Madam President, I would like to move item nine. All right. will remove item nine from the consent agenda and move it to the regular agenda. Any other items that the council wishes to remove from the consent agenda tonight? All right. Any members of the public wish to remove an item from the consent agenda this evening? All right. Uh Mr. City Attorney, would you read items 1 through 16 with the exception of item number nine, please?

Yes, ma'am. Item one is simply reviewing the payment of bills. Item two is the approval of the minutes for two prior council meetings. Item three is a resolution authorizing the mayor to amend an agreement with the Jefferson County Commission uh concerning the construction project. Number four is a resolution informing the uh department of environmental management of certain actions taken by the city concerning uh wastewater treatment plant at Iness. Item five is a resolution that informs the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the same uh report to the same agency, just a different report. And item six is a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a change uh two change orders for the Riverchase pump station. Item seven is a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with the state acting through ALDOT for the installation of traffic control signs within the city. Item eight is a resolution adopting the division G multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan which is part of the federal disaster mitigation act. Number 10 is a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with Hoover Mall Limited for Community Art Display Project at the Riverchase Galleria. Item 11 is a resolution authorizing the use of the America 250 Alabama logo for city purposes. Item 12 is a resolution authorizing the submission of a grant app to the Jefferson County Commission for certain funding. Item 13 is a resolution accepting a grant from the

Alabama Tourism Department on behalf of the city. Item 14 is a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a service agreement with the Miss Hoover Foundation for marketing. Item 15 is a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with municipal and commercial uniforms for um public safety personnel. Item 16 is a resolution authorizing budget amendments for the fiscal year ending September 30th of this year. That completes the consent agenda. Thank you, Mr. City Attorney. Do we have a motion?

Madame President, I would move for approval of items 1 through 16 with the exception of item nine. Second. We have a a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? All right. Now we will take up item number nine which was removed from the consent agenda. This is resolution number 8838-26.

This is a this is a resolution accepting change order numbers 34 through 36 37 R1 39 through 43 45 R1 and 46. and authorizing the mayor to execute any and all documents needed to effectuate the change orders for the new Hoover fire station number one. Thank you, President Proim and councel. I'm here to answer any questions. We also have representatives from Aaho Architects here if you have any questions for them as well. Before we move to discussion, I think we need a motion.

Madam President, I would move for approval. Resolution 88 38 826 second. All right, Chief Bentley, um any questions that you have for Chief Bentley or comments? Chief, I just wanted to go on the record tonight uh how these uh these uh changes are being going to be funded

there. There's no funding, additional funding requested for these change orders. Um, actually the the project will come in um under budget. Some of that's as a as a result of the liquidated damages that uh have been assessed to the contractor, but there's no additional funding for these requests. These are penalties that are due to the contractor being eight months late. That is correct. Um, you still feel that they'll be able to finish about a week and a half? It's been almost a half a week since we met on Thursday.

Yes, sir. Um we do we feel confident in the plan and um as I said Thursday night um you know hindsight's clear and um if we had had known that this may have taken eight months to complete this project or eight months late we could have uh changed some things. Um and so we worked through that process and we went through uh with you Thursday night everything that we did. um our Blake Miller and Aaho Architects were able to have a discussion with Kaiser Construction and uh came up with a solution and we feel confident in this plan and um we want we want it to be completed. Uh we've uh they've rectified uh an issue with an electrical system power issue on Highway 31. They've come up with a solution for that uh that both have agreed to. And so, uh, we just want to finish the project and and get the station opened. I know the public wants the same thing. And so, we feel like that this is, uh, the best option for us at this point. Obviously, if the if it's not completed by in by the end of the month, as we said, Thursday night, we'll come back to you as a council, and it would be a council vote uh to um potentially um separate employment between us and Kaiser Construction and then let their shity uh bonding company come in and finish the project.

Chief, how much was the bond? I'm not sure. Uh 100%. 100% behind and performance bond and the bid came in at how much? I'm sorry. 5.25 million.

5.25 million. Okay. Um and I want to make sure that that everybody understands that this is not on Chief Bentley. Um this uh contract was taken under previous administration. And in an effort to save $10,000, they chose a company that the chief knew was having problems in other communities. Uh he let them know that there were problems in other communities, but yet they chose to save $10,000. And yet look at where we are now. Thank you for everything you've done, Chief. Thank you. That's all I have.

Chief, Madam President, just I won't hold you too long, Chief. Um just so all know so we're assuming these are going to be the last uh change orders pending uh completion. Yes sir. Okay. So um and you're fine. I'm good. I don't want to

No, I'd like to explain that. So we we've waited there there are a couple of things that have been completed that you're approving in this in this change order group. Um, we didn't want to come back to you and ask you for any any additional change orders until we were confident that we were close to being completed. Um, I will say that there there will be some clean up at the end. There will be a change order that we'll have to balance things out, but um, no requests to do additional work. So, just so these these are the punch list items after the walkth through or still another walkthrough that may produce additional

punch items. We had a walkthrough that took several days uh with the architect and a punch list and that punch list has been uh narrowed down to um a handful of items that they will complete with within the within the month. Yes, sir. Just a couple more. So, being that they're behind

Mhm. Are we um should we look at u warranty negotiations you know Tim or because the only reason why I say that the assets commissioning stars warranty and they'll argue that so we may be outside our warranty by time the project in and they won't honor it um while we're negotiating. Is there any way we can also add that to that? Maybe that's a Charlie question. uh the contractor has not yet achieved substantial completion which is the legal uh term in construction law that stops the clock ticking. Uh that has not been granted yet. That has been withheld until the building can be used for its intended purpose. So that is what starts warranties. That is what stops liquidated damages. And we're not there yet. that's being kept as additional leverage over the contractor.

Yeah. Good to go. Thank you. Thank you, Chief. Any other questions from the council? All right. Um thank you, Chief Bentley. Um I know we agreed at the work session that you'll give us another update before the end of the month at the next meeting, which will be on the Tuesday following um Memorial Day. Um we will not be having a work session uh before that meeting. So, we look forward to hearing hopefully a good report at that time. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you. Now we'll move to item number 17, which is ordinance number 26-2699. Madam President, do we need a vote on item 9?

Oh my goodness, we sure do. I know I drug things out. Thank you. We do have a motion and a second. So, uh, all in favor say I.

I. opposed. All right. Now we will move to number 17. Uh ordinance number 26-2699. This uh this is an ordinance to provide for the levying of municipal taxes for the city uh for the assessment and collection of such uh taxes. And this is a I think recently at the work session councelor Smith said it's housekeeping and that's what it is. Do I have a motion? President, I move for approval.

Madame President, I would move for approval of well adoption ordinance 26-2699. Second. Do we have any questions or comments on this item from the council? How about from the public? All right. All in favor say Oh, we have to do a roll call, right? All right. So, uh, Madame Clerk, please call the role. Council member Schulz, I. Council member Smith, I. Council member Levelville, I. Council member Murphy, I. Council member McClinton, I. Council Proim Driver, I.

All right, the eyes have it. We will move along to number 18, which is ordinance number 26-2695. This is an ordinance that requires a public hearing. It's an ordinance that amends a zoning ordinance of the city of Hoover pertaining to the sale of consumable hemp products and it is um offered in compliance with recent state law changes. Do we have a motion? Madame President, I would move for adoption ordinance 26-2695.

Second. I'll open the floor for questions and comments from the council. Madam President, uh Mack, under the current zoning or under the proposed zoning, um there were several sections that it stated like C1, C3, and others, but below that it just had the letter C. What was what does that indicate?

Anytime you have uh for this new classification consumable hemp store as a primary principal use uh in our non-residential districts, anytime you see the C indicated in any of our zoning districts, that means that uh it has to obtain conditional use approval before they can submit for a permit and a certificate of occupancy. And would that indicate that it was not it would not be appropriate to license or would not be uh available to license under the other commercial zonings.

That's correct. Uh if you have a commercial zoning district that does not indicate either a C for conditional use or P for permitted by right means the use is not permitted within that zoning district. And under item 10.14, it lists four items that you cannot have a location within a certain number of feet of other locations as well as minimum square foot floor length uh floor size. Um, they can't be uh thousand feet from a uh religious institution, school, single family residence, kindergarten, kindergarten, child care, public or private park or public playgrounds. Um, I know we're going to be addressing some things in a in a later motion, but uh how Trying to think how I want to phrase this. I know I know we had an issue some 20 something 20 years ago 20 something years ago with an adult facility in the city and the city sued under zoning and lost. How can we make sure that we can adhere to these zoning issues in this case? Well, I think you have a couple of things going for you in this particular matter. Uh, one, um, we treat this particular facility in like manner, uh, to liquor stores, uh, the sale of liquor for off-remise consumption as a primary principal use. Um, we have not had any issues enforcing that aspect of the

zoning ordinance since I have been here. um don't anticipate the issues with this particular use classification. The other thing I'll say is that um our ordinance is structured in such a manner to mirror uh what the state has put into place as far as laws governing this particular kind of use. Um the only exceptions that we have to those distance requirements uh that you noted just a moment ago is if we have an existing consumable hemp business that has been in continuous operation and can prove that it has been in continuous operation. There are uh some grandfathering um attributes here uh where we can consider those on a case-byase basis and uh they'll actually come before the city council for approval of their ABC license. Um but I would say those are some of the some of the guard rails for us getting into or keeping these kinds of uses on track.

Mr. attorney. I know you were not the city attorney at the time, but I'm sure you're aware we were all close friends with the president of the council at the time. Um, do you feel that there will be any problems in in enforcing this zoning? You know, the the the short answer, no. I just say this is a completely different situation than almost 20 years ago when it was a shop that was uh dealt primarily in adult novelty novelty type items. Thank you sir. Thank you madam president. Any other questions or comments?

Madam pro Tim. Um, so according to the current ordinance versus the proposed new, um, is it more stringent? Is it less? Is it Can you just speak to that? I know it's in accordance with the state laws, but Sure. Um, compared to what we've Yeah. What we've had

prior to the city issuing its temporary moratorum on consumable hemp businesses. Um the category of which these uses fell CBD stores and the like was general retail. We did not actually have a separate use classification for those. Um it came to our attention that we were starting to see a proliferation of those kinds of businesses. Our council at the time was concerned about a proliferation of those businesses. And so that's when we instituted the temporary moratorum to give us time to structure a zoning ordinance that would have better guard rails in place and other review procedures. And then the state legislature came in and and gave us an incredible amount of help in defining those uses, defining the products and they themselves giving a licensing apparatus for it. Uh so definitely gave us a lot of guidance in how we structured this ordinance. So it will be more stringent than what we had before the temporary moratorium went into place.

Thank you. That's what I wanted to know. Other questions or comments? Do we have any questions or comments from the public? All right. Madam clerk, please call the role. Council member Schulz. I. Council member Smith. I council member Levelville. I council member Murphy I. Council member McClinton I. Council pro Tim Driver. I. All right. The eyes have it. We will move along to ordinance number 26 2698. An ordinance to reszone the property located at 2333 Farley Place.

I'm sorry. Second. Do we have any uh questions or comments from the council on this item? Are there any questions or comments from members of the public on this item? If not, we will move along to the roll call vote. Madame clerk. Council member Schultz. Hi. Council member Smith. I council member Levelville I council member Murphy I council member McClinton I council pro Tim Driver

I with six eyes and zero nays the motion passes we'll move along to resolution number 8813-26 uh this is a resolution declaring a certain structure to be a public nuisance uh providing for a public hearing and directing the abatement of that pursuant to uh Alabama code tile 1153B1 through 1153B16. Madam President, I would move for approval resolution 8813-26. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any questions or comments from the council? Any questions or comments from the public on this item? Madame President, I did have one person come up to me and ask whether or not we need to deal with the vegetation on the property prior to, and I know this is out there a little bit because we're not ready to do any demolition at this point, but do we need to consider the vegetation being cleaned up prior to anybody going in and doing any demolition work on the property just for safety sake? Mr. Martin.

Yes. If the vegetation is out of compliance with the ordinance as of today, then yes, I think that is a sage move to go ahead and have that taken care of to keep uh our contractor that works on that piece of it from having any damage incurred by potential um leftovers or remains from the demolition of the house. Might we have enough timeline to be able to get that done prior to a vote on what's before us now and the next step? It may adjust the actual demolition date a bit. Um your action tonight should you approve for approve the abatement of this nuisance uh starts a 45day clock on whether or not we are able to actually go abate it.

Very good. Thank you, sir. Just have the uh contractor go by, visit the location. He may not need it. I'm assum he gonna have some heavy equipment, right? Okay. Yeah. Yeah. See if he go by and see if he even needs it to be cut previously and might give us save some time. Councilman Smith, we'll do. I'm going to open the floor for a public hearing. Do we have any comments from the public? Any further questions or comments from the council? All right. Um this we have a resolution um a motion and a second. So all in favor say I. I.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Next we have ordinance number 26-2697. This is uh related to short-term rentals. Mr. City Attorney. Yeah. This is simply an amendment to the current law relating to shortterm rentals of properties within the city. Madam President, I would move for adoption of ordinance 26-2697. Second. We have a motion and a second. Um, open the floor for any questions or comments from this council.

Do we have any questions or comments from the public? All right, we've got a roll call vote. So, Madame Clerk, will you please call the role? Council member Schultz. I. Council member Smith. I council member Levelville. I council member Murphy I. Council member McClinton I. Council prom Driver. I with a vote of six eyes's and zero nazs. The motion carries. Next we have resolution number 8814-26. Mr. This is I'm sorry.

Go ahead. Go ahead. This is a resolution granting conditional use approval to allow the installation of uh a twocar metal canopy with a trench drain and a sand uh or oil interceptor to handwash cars behind the space 140 uh for property located at 140 in Corners. Madame President, I would move for approval resolution 8814-26. Second. We have a motion and a second. I'll open the floor for questions or comments from the council.

Any questions or comments from the public on this item tonight? All right, we have a motion and a second. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. The next item is up for immediate consideration. It is ordinance number 26-2701. So, first we'll need a a motion to suspend the rules. Madam President, I would uh move to suspend the rules. Second. Madame Clerk, will you please call the role? Council member Schultz, I. Council member Smith, I. Council member Levelville, I. Council member Murphy, I. Council member McClinton,

I. Council Pro Tim Driver I uh with a vote of six I's and zero nazs the roll uh call vote is carried. So next we will entertain a motion for adoption of the ordinance. Madam President I would move for adoption of ordinance 26-2701. Second. This this is an ordinance that amends the zoning ordinance of the city for revisions to uh use permissions of office or uh technical use regulations by district. Going to open the floor for a public hearing uh questions or comments from the council.

Madam President, go ahead. You something I guess quick. Uh and again uh defining conditional use. So this is the be I'll be clear. This is the beginning process of not having a organization or a company come in and uh get a piece of property and develop it how they want conditional uses based upon uh if then uh if they do this we'll consider this. I would ask um then that gives us a little bit of um leeway to prevent anything from coming to the city without um evaluation. But I would say um Mr. President, I mean, uh, Mayor, uh, once that those rules and regulations, uh, come about on the steps we're going to take, uh, would there be some form of a presentation back to us on what, um, uh, considerations will be put in place from a deliverable standpoint. for example, uh I'm sure there'll be some discussion about buffers, buffer zones, encroachment zones, setback zones, um aquatic studies and things of that nature that the engineers will have to approve. Um I will give one recommendation uh upfront and I'll probably my only one um uh uh because what has been happening around the nation lack of information uh utility availability and capacity letter that has to be submitted by each utility um to from that company to that to the city. That gives us idea of you know can power can they serve with power? Would they have enough water? Any gas, natural gas related issues? So, just a couple ideas, but I'm I'm just I guess can you clarify the it'll be additional information that we'll set uh for these companies that are coming in. But this is just the starter of that so we can have a conditional use process.

Yes, sir. That's correct. Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, sir. Madam President, I just want to speak to the necessity of suspending the rules.

Um staff brought to our attention uh Thursday night, if not some of us prior to that, um that we don't know how many people might be out there wanting to apply for business license. And if we placed a conditional use and waited two more weeks for a vote, they could come in and apply for that license and there wouldn't be much we could do because we had not voted this ordinance prior to then. And so that is what created the necessity for this evening.

Any other comments or questions from the council? So, the public hearing continues with any questions or comments from the public. Yes, please come on down. Uh, come down to the microphone so we can get you on the on the recording. Um, please give us your name and the area of town uh that you live in, please. Hi, my name is Rachel Leer. I live in Ross Bridge. Why this versus a moratorum? Why did you decide to go this route versus just a complete moratorum? particularly for I'm assuming you're talking about AI data centers.

I would invite um Mr. Martin to comment on that for us. Well, in analyzing the ordinance and the steps that we would take should we have a new uh data center project that falls under this office technical use definition or the expansion of an an existing one. Uh we do have at least one prominent data center within the city limits of Hoover. um felt the the better route to go for us moving forward would be not completely shutting the door on that particular use but having a process in place by which we can analyze it. I think Mr. Mr. Murphy put it well that um we needed to have a step in place to evaluate that particular use. Um, I know one of the things that we grappled with when trying to identify how a data center would be um defined in our zoning ordinance um was exactly what is the definition of a data center? What are the necessary components thereof? And um I know that there are a number of different kinds of facilities that are located around the country right now. uh different levels of impact that they could potentially have. Uh closed system, some uh with integrated water system, some with power generation on site u many with generator backup. So a number of different components um to data centers. Um, in our analysis, we found that we did have the office technical use designation that most

closely fit uh what we're seeing um materialize in form of data centers. And having that conditional use process would at least give someone looking to place one in Hoover or one that already exists in Hoover and may want to expand an opportunity to be heard, an opportunity to uh provide that evaluation, uh the statistics and the potential impacts to us and allow our planning commission and our city council to make the final decision. Thank you, Mr. Martin. Any other comments or questions for members of the public?

Come on down. Give us your name and the area of town where you live, please.

Um, I'm Barbara Del Rio and I live in Bluff Park, not far from the Nebulous Data Center. And my question is, how are you going to engage residents uh with your plans for developing ordinances for data centers? H how are we going because you talked about he talked about engaging businesses or corporations that want to come in with them and giving them a chance to be heard, but how are you going to give residents a chance to be heard before you approve something like that? and and just what are your plans for developing this ordinance?

Uh so councel councelor Schultz would like to speak on that item.

I think it's a very good question and one of the things that uh councelor level and I have found over the last uh month is what is a data center? It was a question that was asked at our town hall meeting. In this room we have a data center in the back room there. Data centers are def defined as can be as small as a closet and can be as big as projects that are 900 acres. So what we're going to do first is we're going to educate everybody including ourselves as to what is a data center and from there we can we can pursue the projects that may be in front of us and we're going to engage the public into uh when when something comes in front of us. I think it's important. I think what we've seen in the uh the city of Birmingham project, it drew a lot of a lot of uh comments from people in Hoover and the very first thing they asked the city is how can you stop it? Well, we don't have jurisdiction over Birmingham. We can't stop Birmingham. We can't stop Bessemer. But we can we can start with this ordinance right here in making sure that whatever comes in front of us, we can look at it and make a good decision. We have data centers in Hoover right now. There are five data centers within two miles of the Lakeshore project that people aren't aware of. It's they're already there. They're not huge like some of them are. Some of them are fairly small. And that's where we we with this particular ordinance, it gives us the opportunity to look at each one and make a decision on each one. But it starts with education.

Miss Mia, I do I do want to respond briefly to your question about how the public can be engaged in these discussions. So, um, I serve on planning and zoning commission in addition to my role on the council and we have public meetings once a month where if there ever were an item that were being presented for this conditional use, there would be a public hearing over that. It would be advertised to the public. Um, the public has the right to come and speak at that meeting. And then because conditional uses are just recommended by the planning and zoning commission, this body has to make that ultimate decision. So then there would be another opportunity for public engagement to come and express your concerns and you know bring any of your friends or neighbors who had concerns as well. Does that help?

Yeah, that does. Okay. Thank you. Any other comments or questions from the public? All right, we will close the public hearing and have a roll call vote. Madame clerk, will you please call the role? Council member Schultz, I. Council member Smith, I. Council member Levelville, I. Council member Murphy, I. Council member McClinton, I. Council Prom Driver, I with a vote of six eyes and zero nazs, uh, the ordinance is adopted. Uh, next we'll have a first reading for an item that will have a public hearing on May 26th. Um, this is for ordinance number 26-2700. Uh, Mr. City Attorney,

uh, this is an ordinance that, uh, uh, will amend the code of ordinances regarding licensing classifications and requirements for the consumable hemp products that you addressed previously with the zoning change. All right. And finally, we'll have any closing council comments. Mayor, do you want to talk about a little baseball? Thank you. Thank you. Bless you.

The uh SEC baseball tournament begins next uh next Tuesday. We'll have uh single elimination. Uh all 16 teams from the SEC will be in town. So, want to thank staff. Everybody's been working very very hard uh getting ready. expected uh another probably 170 to 190,000 attendees next week. So uh if you like baseball, it's the best baseball in America. So uh enjoy it and uh hope the weather will be uh capable. Supposed to be a beautiful week this week. We hope uh it'll be a beautiful week next week. Thank you so much and thanks to the staff for all the work that you put in. Countless hours go into preparation for hosting this event every year. Um council level.

Yes, madam president. I wanted to just give a a quick thanks to Mack as well as Brian Minger on uh the ordinance that we just passed in relation to office technical use. It was a creative way to um solve something that was in front of us and I appreciate we listened to the public. We understood their concerns and then we responded accordingly. Um, so I'm just proud to be a part of this administration that takes proactive approach uh to situations rather than reactive. So thank you guys so much for what you do.

Madam President, let me make one correction uh clarification. Item 20 uh for the record. I'm not directing Mack to do anything. So I'll ask the mayor what he consider uh having the contractor to go and visit and report back. I want to make sure I'm in my processes are correct. Yes, sir. Of course, we all took that as a request, not a mandate. Any other council comments? Councelor Schultz.

Uh speaking of baseball, Spain Park has advanced to the semifinals. Uh they're playing this Thursday at uh at home uh against Northridge. And uh if you're not able to go, um you can listen to it on YouTube. And I do recommend you listen to it. Coun uh board of education president um Alan Perquette does the color for the for the playbyplay. He does a really good job. He thinks he's Chris Stewart. So uh I I encourage you to listen to it. Thank you. Any other comments from the council? All right. Have a good evening everyone. Meetings adjourned.