Leasure, Donnelly appointed to Hoover Arts Council

The Hoover City Council on Monday appointed two visual artists as members of the Hoover Arts Council.

The council chose Bluff Park jewelry artist Kerry Leasure and Green Valley stained glass artist and painter Dennis Donnelly to replace two other visual artists — Linda Chastain of Bluff Park and Sandra Fuller of The Preserve, whose terms recently expired.

The council did, however, make Chastain and Fuller emeritus members of the Hoover Arts Council, which means they can continue to serve on the council in an advisory role as they desire but without voting privileges. Chastain and Fuller both have been on the board since it was created in the summer of 2018.

Both Leasure and Donnelly have lived in Hoover about 13 years.

Leasure for the past 10 years has been a full-time artist working in mixed media jewelry and shows her work at art fairs throughout the Southeast 10-15 weekends a year, but she plans to expand nationally.

She has three children, two of whom have participated with the Hoover High School marching band and a third child in the Simmons Middle School Synergy show choir.

Donnelly grew up doing drawings and paintings and later in life as an adult learned the art of working with stained glass. Several years ago, he learned how to sew and makes costumes for children and adults and competition dance costumes for his daughters.

He is a project manager by trade and also served on the Green Valley Elementary PTO board from 2015 to 2019, including as co-president. He also was a member of a group called Faith in Action Alabama from 2016 to 2019, joining people from multiple faiths to discuss and take action to address racial inequality and financial disparities.

Both Leasure and Donnelly were appointed to six-year terms on the board through May 2028. Other members of the board include Chairwoman Paulette Pearson, Vice Chairwoman Julie Preskitt, Matina Johnson, Hoover City Councilman Curt Posey, Pamela Sayle and Tricia Simpson.

The Hoover Arts Council typically meets the second Wednesday of each month at the Hoover Randle Home and Gardens but is taking a break this summer and will start meeting again Sept. 14, Posey said.

In other business Monday, the Hoover City Council:

• Amended the city’s 2022 budget to provide $236,894 for a one-time cost-of-living adjustment for city retirees in October and to use $57,425 of the money the city receives for housing federal inmates in the Hoover Jail to upgrade audio/visual equipment at the Hoover Police Operations Center on Lorna Road.
• Agreed to put $35,000 toward a fitness court with workout stations at Veterans Park, with Shelby County also contributing $35,000 and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama providing a $50,000 grant. The fitness court should be completed and operational in October, Parks and Recreation Director Erin Colbaugh said.
• Approved an agreement for the city of Hoover to host the Move United Nationals adaptive sports competition for people with physical, visual and intellectual disabilities in July 2023 and July 2024.
• Gave approval for Lake Crest Presbyterian Church to relocate into Suite 320 of the Chase Commerce Park office building at 3829 Lorna Road, with the conditions that no more than 99 people be allowed in the church space, services and Bible studies can be held only on weekends or after 5 p.m. on weekdays, and no more than 12 people are allowed to meet there during business hours.
• Gave approval for a one-story, 10-classroom addition at Bluff Park Elementary School.
• Gave approval for the Pizza Hut at 2312 John Hawkins Parkway to add a pickup window on the southeast side of the building, with the condition that no outdoor speaker or microphone system be allowed.
• Renewed an agreement for the Alabama Department of Revenue to continue to rent 18,678 square feet of space in the Hoover Public Safety Center for another five years, with an increase in cost of $1.50 per square foot, boosting the overall annual cost from $280,170 to $308,187.
• Renewed an agreement with Alliant Insurance Services for insurance for catastrophic or unpredictable losses, including a 32% — $114,000 — increase in cost.
• Renewed an agreement with Global Aerospace for insurance for the Hoover Police Department’s drones, including a 15% reduction in cost.
• Approved an agreement with Travelers Insurance and Surety Company of America for crime insurance to cover things such as employee theft and credit card forgery.
• Approved an agreement to join with Jefferson County in paying G Squared for geographic information system data.Agreed for the city to continue leasing space on a Crown Castle communications tower on Old Tyler Road for public safety antennas for another three years through Oct. 31, 2025.
• Declared property at 2112 Blue Ridge Blvd. as a public nuisance due to high grass and/or weeds.
• Agreed to put liens on properties at 1139 Camelot Circle, 425 Shades Ave., 2039 Arnold Road, 3555 Atdoann Drive and 2240 Tyler Road because of work the city had to do on those properties to remove high grass and/or weeds and a dangerous tree since August 2021.