Graham Smith and Billy Pritchard are sworn in by Municipal Judge KC Hairston on November 7, 2022. Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Mountain Brook Councilman Billy Pritchard said little compares to the challenge his colleague Lloyd Shelton took on in running the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
“That's quite an accomplishment,” Pritchard said of Shelton completing the 26.2 miles in five hours, 33 minutes and 55 seconds.
Shelton’s commitment to run his latest marathon in the Big Apple meant he wasn’t on hand to be sworn in for another term on the council. Pritchard and newly-elected Graham Smith took their oaths of office during the council’s organizational meeting.
“There's a lot of work that goes into both,” Pritchard said of running a marathon and serving on the city council, “but I'd say that the New York City Marathon is a lot harder task.”
Partly because service on the city council is a team effort, as was evidenced by the council leadership roles approved during the Nov. 7 meeting.
The city’s parking committee includes all members of the council. Parking has been an issue that has stretched across many matters in Mountain Brook.
“I thought it was important that we all knew when there was a parking issue,” said Virginia Smith who is again serving president of the council. “Frankly, the parking committee doesn't really meet by itself, unless we have a parking issue. We have had parking issues right behind the Sneaky Pete's (now Rougaroux’s) alley.”
Smith said all council members wound up going there to assess that situation. She said appointing all council members to that committee is important since parking occurs in the city’s villages, at the Jemison Trail and at schools as well.
“It is important that we all knew about it so we could all weigh in on its ramifications, if any,” Smith said, “as opposed to it coming to us out of a vacuum from one area.”
Gerald Garner and Virginia Smith swapped committees with the council president being the liaison to the board of zoning adjustments and Garner being the liaison to the parks and recreation board.
“I was trying to switch them up a little bit so our volunteers on these boards see a little bit more of us,” said Smith, who’s been the park and rec liaison since her election in 2000. “It's just kind of easy to just swap those up. We all share each other's duties with each other.”
The council president said the council liaisons are not voting members of committees, adding that department heads really manage those matters.
Other committee assignments are:
- Planning Commission (voting member): Phil Black, an architect and former council member
- Board of Zoning Adjustment (liaison): Virginia Smith
- Parks and Recreation Board (liaison): Gerald Garner
- O’Neal Library Board (liaison): Lloyd Shelton
- Board of Education (liaison): Billy Pritchard
- Finance Committee (voting member): Lloyd Shelton
- Villages Design Review Committee (liaison): Graham Smith
- Editorial Board: Billy Pritchard and Virginia Smith
- Board of Landscape Design (liaison): Virginia Smith
- Chamber of Commerce (liaison): Graham Smith
- Parking Committee: All
- Municipal judges: Mayor Stewart Welch
- Public Safety Departments: Mayor Stewart Welch
- All In Committee (voting member): Billy Pritchard
City Manager Sam Gaston, City Clerk Heather Richards and Assistant City Treasurer LA Sisson were also sworn in this morning. In other actions, the council:
Awarded the bid to JD Morris Construction Co. Inc. for the Mountain Brook Junior High drainage improvement project.
Approved the Friends of Jemison Park improvement projects at Jemison Park and the Irondale Furnace Trail.
The next regular meeting of the city council is Monday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. and Shelton will be sworn in during that session.
