Hoover rose above COVID-19 challenges, mayor tells chamber
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato told the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce today that while the pandemic challenged the city, Hoover’s officials, employees and residents have made it stronger than ever.
“No doubt 2020 challenged us as we never imagined,” he said during his state-of-the-city address at the chamber’s luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel. “Nevertheless, we are standing strong today — ready to forge ahead — allowing the lessons learned to propel us.”
Much of Brocato’s address reflected on how COVID-19 had impacted the city and how Hoover residents rose above it.
For instance, he noted that through teamwork, and strategic adjustments, the city ended 2020 “in the black and financially sound,” despite early projections that Hoover could lose between $8 million and $15 million in revenue due to coronavirus-related shutdowns. Particularly, he pointed out that reorganizing city departments meant that “through attrition, we were able to eliminate some of our department head positions and salaries — and that move alone saved us $750,000 per year.”
He noted several highlights:
- 1,123 business licenses issued
- 23 new commercial buildings built
- 399 new single-family homes constructed
- A nearly 16% reduction in total crime offenses compared to 2019, including a 30% drop in burglaries
- Opening a new $4 million police training center
- Ongoing work on new Fire Station 11, which sits near the Hoover Metropolitan Complex
And Brocato pointed to the city’s future, outlining several strategic initiatives, including:
- Working with private sector partners to redevelop the Riverchase Galleria campus
- Developing a new interstate exit along Interstate 459 and other roads in western Hoover to improve traffic, public safety and pollution
- Working with other government officials to expand the U.S. Secret Service National Computer Forensics Institute, a federal facility located inside the Hoover Public Safety Center
- Continuing to upgrade technology
- Continued automation of traffic engineering
- Developing a continuity of operations plan to prepare for disasters
- Improving the supplier diversity plan and human resource processes
The mayor spent a good bit of his time lauding the efforts made by city departments to cope with the pandemic, the mandated shutdowns and all of the various ways COVID-19 changed life in Hoover. And he made sure to call out the efforts of ordinary citizens.
”I’ve lived in the city and served in the city for over 45 years of my life, and I’ve experienced the strength of the community, its character and the kindness of its citizens. So when COVID 19 struck I saw your responses — reaching out to neighbors, helping one another,” Brocato said. “And I really wasn’t surprised. I was really comforted by the signs that confirmed who we really are. There were so many acts of kindness, large and small, that went unnoticed. So many heroes that stepped up to the plate and went beyond serving others.”
He took note, for instance, of Wren Manners, who made meals and then organized additional meals provided by neighbors for doctors and others in the community.
“Overall the neighborhood contributed about 100 meals. Wren prepared 50 of them on her own. All this happened during a time when she was dealing with the recent loss of five of her own family members and friends. She said, preparing the meals gave her a way to keep her mind occupied, so the work was as much for her as it was for the city.”
The mayor also took note of the actions of Rebekah Crossman, who made face masks when they were particularly hard to come by early during the pandemic.
“She was stuck at home, but she had friends who were frontline workers, and so she pulled out her sewing machine and began making masks,” Brocato said. “At first, she made them for friends. Then other people started to ask her to make masks for them. At one point, she could not make them fast enough — the requests were coming in from everywhere. By the time October rolled around, Rebekah had sown over 2,000 masks all by herself — all to help others.”
Brocato ended on a hopeful note, saying he was “so grateful to lead this wonderful city, and it is a privilege to work with the city employees, our businesses, our schools and our wonderful citizens. As I close, I am so encouraged about the future of our city. It is in fact very bright.”