Photo by Jon Anderson
People gather around the official Christmas tree for the city of Hoover, Alabama, at the city's tree lighting ceremony at Hoover City Hall on Dec. 3, 2024
The Hoover City Council on Monday night agreed to shell out $75,070 for a new 42-foot-tall artificial Christmas tree to be installed along U.S. 31 next to Hoover City Hall over the holiday period.
The city’s current Christmas tree, which is 1 foot taller, was purchased in 2013 and “at some point they wear out; they break down; the lights don’t work; they get kind of brittle,” Hoover Parks and Recreation Director Erin Colbaugh said. “That’s where we are with this.”
The new tree will come pre-lit and with all new ornaments, Colbaugh said. It just has to be assembled each year.
City workers are going to try to salvage some of the existing tree and put it up at Veterans Park, but a base with an electrical hookup will have to be built for it there, she said. She’s unsure how much of the tree is salvageable, she said.
The new tree is being ordered now so it will arrive in time to be put up for December, Colbaugh said. This will be the tree the city uses for its annual Christmas tree lighting.
In other business Monday, the City Council:
- Agreed to spend $23,525 to hire Schroeter’s Lawn and Landscape to remove four trees along Lorna Road between Rocky Ridge Ranch Road and Old Rocky Ridge Road and install 31 trees spread along both sides of the road. This includes the area in front of Aldridge Gardens.
- Appointed Jennifer Paepcke to fill the final 3½ months of Jeremy Vice’s spot on the Hoover Parks and Recreation Board.
- Approved a license for Bawarchi to sell alcoholic beverages at 2798 John Hawkins Parkway, Suite 108.
- Authorized the mayor to execute a contract with Safe Haven Baby Boxes for the installation of a baby box at the new Hoover Fire Station No. 1 being built along U.S. 31 in the Green Valley community.
- Extended the city’s moratorium against approving new CBD and vape shops until the end of the year (an additional six months) because that’s when the state’s new regulations regarding such businesses go into effect. The moratorium has been in place since July 1, 2024.
- Gave approval for an artisanal beer and wine bar at 3601 Market Street, Suite 101 in the Ross Bridge Town Center.
- Gave approval for a business called Iconic Carts to sell, rent and service golf carts at 508 Mineral Trace in the Trace Crossings community, next to Brock’s Gap Brewing Co. and Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The request includes a provision that would allow for temporary outdoor cart displays.
- Did not approve a request to allow Allesha Rowser to change the classification for her residence at 3599 Deerfield Drive in the Pinewood subdivision from a day care home to a group care home so she can expand the number of children for which she can care at her home from six to 12 (including three of her own children) and the number of adult supervisors from one to two. The motion failed on a 3-3 vote.
- Changed the regular meeting dates for Hoover City Council meetings from the first and third Monday nights to the second and fourth Monday nights of each month (at 6 p.m.), with a work session to be held the preceding Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
- Changed the regular meeting date of the Hoover Board of Zoning Adjustment from the fourth Monday of each month to the third Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m.
- Changed the regular meeting date of the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission from the second Monday of each month to the first Monday of each month at 6 p.m., with a work session to be held at 5:30 p.m. the same day.
