Latest news with #PinsonCityCouncil
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Former Pinson Mayor Hoyt Sanders seeks return to office
PINSON, Ala. (Trussville Tribune) — Hoyt Sanders has announced that he will be running for mayor of Pinson in this year's municipal election, seeking a return to the office he held for 16 years. Sanders served as mayor from when the city was incorporated in 2004 until his defeat to Joe Cochran in 2020. After Mayor Cochran passed away last year following a long battle with ALS, Councilor Robbie Roberts was sworn in as mayor. Sanders was appointed to fill Roberts' seat on the council. Brad Walker announces reelection bid for Pinson City Council In his announcement, Sanders highlighted numerous projects the city undertook during his time as mayor from paving roads and installing the traffic signal at Pinson Valley High School to enhancing their law enforcement program with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and providing funding to both fire districts and local schools. 'We purchased the former Carraway Medical Building to house City Hall and began the Pinson Public Library, which became 10th in circulation in the entire Birmingham Public Library Cooperative. We purchased the land and constructed Bicentennial Park and Splashpad. We then purchased the Rock School and renovated spaces for the Library and our newly formed Public Works division,' Sanders wrote. 'We did all this and maintained a firm financial footing and received stellar annual audits,' he added. 'I would be honored to be your Mayor and get back to work moving Pinson forward!' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pinson Councilor John Churchwell recognized for 2 decades of public service
The following article is by Nathan Prewett for the Trussville Tribune: PINSON, Ala. (Trussville Tribune) — Councilor John Churchwell was recognized during Thursday's Pinson City Council meeting for recently being honored at the annual meeting of the Alabama League of Municipalities (ALM) for serving two decades as an elected official. During his report, Mayor Robbie Roberts talked about the council's attendance at the gathering where Churchwell was among 35 others recognized. Roberts thanked him for his service and offered his congratulations. 'Well, it's not necessarily about being recognized as being able to get that accomplishment,' Churchwell told the Trussville Tribune. 'And it was great for me and hopefully it's good for the city also. 20 years is a good thing to do just about anything.' Churchwell was elected to his position in Place 4 not long after the city was incorporated in 2004. 'I've always liked politics,' he said. 'And I worked for the federal government, Social Security Administration, and I spent 38 years with them and of course you can't be involved in politics and work for the government, so it was just natural when we came up with getting everything organized and we became a city in [2004]. And so I just said 'Okay. Been waiting for 38 years.' So I decided to run for council.' Churchwell said that during his tenure he ran opposed the first time he ran but the next four times he ran unopposed, calling it something of a 'miracle'. He added that he will not be running for reelection. 'But I've enjoyed being here in the city,' Churchwell said. 'And it was really enjoyable and good to have the opportunity to help set up the guidelines and the rules and regulations that the city is still going by. So that was my reason but now it's time for me to move on.' Roberts also announced that the splash pad will open on Saturday and will be operated on Tuesdays through Saturdays at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays at 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The splash pad will not be open on Mondays with the exception of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. Alabama study reveals hurricane resilience programs are paying off for homeowners and insurers Afterwards the council passed the items on its agenda, beginning with a resolution to approve an allocation from the Rebuild Alabama Act of approximately $140,000 to be used for street and road maintenance. The resolution states that the city has received approximately $116,000 from a new 10 cent gas tax that was implemented by the act and will put towards a continuing plan to pave and construct industrial roadways in the Highway 79 corridor. The council also approved purchasing a sousaphone for the Pinson Valley High School or PVHS Marching Chiefs and approved $5,000 to fund a composer to write a musical piece for the school's mariachi program, which has been developing over the past several years and will soon have a full-time teacher. The program at PVHS was said to be the first in Alabama. Mariachi is a genre of music native to Mexico, with its performers often remembered for their distinctive hats and outfits. 'It's great to see that we're a community that's quite diverse,' Roberts said. 'And that diversity shows even in a program like the mariachi, which is of course a more Hispanic-oriented type music if you're familiar with it.' Among other items to be passed was an ordinance that set the qualification fees for those who run for mayor or councilperson. The fee to run for mayor is $50 and $30 for anyone seeking a council position. Payments are made to the city clerk and deposited into the general fund or prior to the time of taking out qualification papers by the candidate, says the ordinance. The ordinance also specifies that if anyone who cannot pay the fee may furnish the city clerk with an affidavit stating that they cannot pay the qualification fee. In other business the council: Approved a grant request for $1,341.27 from the Birmingham Regional Emergency Medical Services System (BREMSS), Approved a change order of $14,000 for clearing projects at Palmerdale Fire Station and the Palmerdale Homestead Community Center, and Granted $1,000 to the Pinson Valley High School business education teacher to attend a conference on the condition that she will have to pay it back if she does not return for the school year. Pinson City Council meets on the first and third Thursdays of every month at City Hall on 4410 Main Street. Live-streamed meetings can be seen on the city's Facebook page. Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pinson City Council hears update on accounting system, tornado report
PINSON, Ala. (Trussville Tribune) — During its March 20 meeting, the Pinson City Council heard an update on the accounting software the city uses to keep up with finances, as well as a brief report on the recent tornadoes from Mayor Robbie Roberts. According to Nathan Prewett with the Trussville Tribune, accountant Kevin Wallace delivered an overview of how the city is managing the finances, beginning with an action to outsource payroll to ADP Services and a restructuring of the accounting accounts to make them more 'streamlined.' It was mentioned that an audit will be conducted for Pinson in two weeks. This comes after the city experienced a number of issues with bookkeeping that occurred last year and resulted in a budget that was passed after months of delay. One of the problems was switching from an old accounting software to the current system, called 'Tyler.' 'The analogy that I have come to in my head is I have a child who turns 16 and instead of giving him the keys to a used Camry I gave him a Lamborghini, brand new, and I said, 'Here you go, use it,'' Wallace told the council. 'It is a very robust system.' He added that he and staff members have had time to educate themselves on using it and that it should be beneficial to the city. Afterwards, Roberts gave his report, including comments about the storms that hit the state on Saturday. Pinson was not affected, but during that time Roberts said that he was asked by a citizen about using the shelter at Rudd Middle School. Birmingham police investigating shooting that killed 1 person, injured 2 others He found out that the shelter could be used by the public and reached out to Principal Gerolyn Woodruff, who allowed it to be used. 'She was more than happy to allow us to have access to it,' Roberts said. 'I worked with the folks at the Palmerdale Fire District and they assisted in being able to get in and out of the facility.' He also announced that streetlights from Alabama Power have arrived to replace several malfunctional lights and will be installed soon. Before concluding his report Roberts mentioned the earlier car crash near Pinson Valley High School that involved several people, saying that they were students who were injured during the incident. 'And so again our thoughts and prayers are out to the family and the individuals that are in the hospital now,' Roberts said. 'But we do want to encourage folks to be careful out there. And, you know, especially younger drivers, I want to encourage you guys that might be watching or hearing about this, please be careful.' Towards the end of the meeting Roberts stressed to the public about the use of several dumpsters at city hall in which he said people have been misusing them. One is a trash dumpster that is only for the city government's use while the other two are exclusively for cardboard and paper recycling. He added that putting trash with cardboard contaminates them and causes them to become useless. This has prompted him to seek to have signage made to clarify what the dumpsters are used for. If the dumpsters continue to be misused the city may have to discontinue them, he said. In other business the council: Approved a resolution for the repairs and utilization of the site at 4286 Main Street used for various city events for $6,500, Approved fence repairs and upgrades at the Pinson Youth Sports Complex (PYSC) for $22,686, Approved the repair of the vent hood at the PYSC concession stand and fire suppression system inspection for $3,000, Released school funds in the amount of $60,000 for all of the schools, including $5,000 to the high school for landscaping, and Approved sending a school resource officer to TAASRO training for $5,000. Pinson City Council meets on the first and third Thursdays of every month at City Hall on 4410 Main Street. Live-streamed meetings can be seen on the city's Facebook page. Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pinson City Council considers ordinance that would raise pay of next mayor, council
PINSON, Ala. (TRIBUNE) – The Pinson City Council held the first reading for an ordinance that would increase the salary of the next mayor and council during its meeting Thursday night. As required by state law, the raise would go into effect after the next municipal election in August. According to Nathan Prewett of the Trussville Tribune, the current maximum compensation is $9,500 for a council member, $10,100 for the mayor pro-temp, and $70,200 for the mayor. If the new ordinance is approved, the new maximum compensation will be up to $11,990 for council members and up to $12,740 for the mayor pro-temp, and $86,500 for the mayor. The council will revisit the ordinance at their next meeting on Feb. 20. Earlier in the meeting, the council also held a first reading for an amendment to a temporary business license ordinance. City Attorney Shane Black explained that the ordinance regarding temporary businesses states that they could obtain a permit at a reduced rate from the city as opposed to being required to have a regular business license at the greater rate. The amendment restates the ordinance and adjusts the definition of what a temporary business is, he said. A temporary or transient business is defined by the ordinance as any business that is conducted for less than three days and when there are no more than two events or incidents where the business is conducted within the city per year. Mayor Robbie Roberts said that vendors such as arts and crafts vendors usually qualify as temporary businesses. He also stated that the city does not have a 'system' for such businesses unlike the larger ones such as the Butterbean Festival. 'This would allow us to be able to have these events at various locations depending on what the event is and perhaps time of year and level of interest by vendors in the community,' Roberts said. Black further explained a significant highlight of the ordinance, which is Section 5. '[The idea was] that some of the events that you have in Pinson such as City Fest, Butterbean and the like, there are vendors that set up at the events and that in those cases the city does not have an expectation that the vendor will get a business license,' Black said. As an example, if there is a vendor selling cotton candy at the Butterbean Festival the vendor is not expected to get a business license. Section 5 allows the mayor to give exemptions if criteria are met. The criteria includes the brief duration of the business; educational, social or recreational benefits to the city, 'any negative consequences or special events likely to result from the imposition of requirements articles in the business,' Black said. The section also allows the council to override the mayor's decision if necessary. Also during the meeting, City Clerk Marie Turner gave a report on the recently demolished building on 4302/4306 Main Street, stating that the total cost was $7,029.32. A public hearing will be held at the Feb. 20 meeting to consider approving the cost. Center Point Fire District Deputy Chief Al Tinney and Palmerdale Fire District Chief Taylor Hancock gave their reports for the month of January. Tinney said that there were 837 calls, 35 fires (13 structure fires), 204 assist occupants, 14 weather-related hazardous conditions, 519 EMS calls, 354 EMS transports, nine mutual aid given and four mutual aid received. He also mentioned that their training facility will be hosting a recruitment program on Feb. 24. Hancock reported 155 calls, two structure fires with no injuries, and 130 EMS calls. In his report earlier in the meeting, Roberts said that traffic signals at Highway 79 and Highway 151 have been malfunctioning and that the city is in contact with ALDOT to have them repaired. He also mentioned that streetlights no longer working at several intersections throughout the city will be replaced with LED lights. In other business the council: Announced the tentative shred day dates as March 29, June 21, Sept. 20 and Dec. 13, Annexed a property on Mars Avenue, and Approved an amended contract with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Pinson City Council meets on the first and third Thursdays of every month at City Hall on 4410 Main Street. Live-streamed meetings can be seen on the city's Facebook page. Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
