Hoover Mayor’s Minute By Frank V. Brocato - November 2022

Have you stopped by the Hoover Recreation Center lately? If so, you may have noticed quite a few changes taking place. Our staff has been working hard to make some improvements both operationally and aesthetically. It is all being done with the goal of creating a better quality of life for our residents when it comes to recreation and leisure activities in the city.

In February, we welcomed Erin Colbaugh as the new director of our Parks and Recreation Department. One of her first action items was to gather the staff and create a new mission statement to drive their efforts.

Their new “why” statement is: Hoover Parks and Recreation exist to unite the community by providing enriching opportunities that serve everyone.

Once that statement was complete, the staff got to work across the city. For example, they completed renovations at Georgetown Park, installed new parking lot lights at Central and Riverchase sports parks and placed new fencing and gates at the Explore Playground.

At the Rec Center specifically, there have been a lot of cosmetic improvements including: repainting the gym, deep cleaning the locker rooms, installing new flooring in the nursery and adding new bicycles to the cycle room.

We also combined some of our departments and brought them under the umbrella of Parks and Recreation. The department now consists of six divisions, including administration, athletics, events, park maintenance, recreation and the Senior Center.

And the work is not done yet. Some projects still on the horizon include: adding pickleball courts at Veterans Park and the Hoover Met Complex, fitness courts at Veterans Park and Senior Center vestibule renovations.

If you are out and about and see some of our staff working hard, I ask you to stop and say thank you. Their efforts are a big part of why we love to live, work and play in Hoover.