At Friday morning’s Coffee With the Mayor program in Westover, Ms. Senior Alabama Edwina Chappell provided the wake-up call with a rousing rendition of “God Bless America” to start off the meeting.

Mayor Mark McLaughlin and Fire Chief Tim Honeycutt provided the rest of the program for a crowd of approximately 40 people crammed into the Westover Town Hall.

McLaughlin started the talk by outlining how far Westover has come since 2001, the year the town was incorporated.

“We didn’t have a park. We didn’t have a sheriff’s deputy. We didn’t have a parking lot. Now we have that,” he said.

He said the town is moving towards fully implementing their comprehensive plan, and the next step is to start moving ahead with Pine Mountain Preserve, a large residential community. That could happen as early as 2010, McLaughlin said.

“2010 might be the time when we start seeing some of this growth,” he said.

McLaughlin also said the storm shelter project is nearly complete. A storm shelter is being built close to the Westover Town Hall. The project, which is financed by grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Shelby County, should be complete within 30 days.

Honeycutt talked about the services provided by the fire department, including emergency medical services and around-the-clock service.

“We are providing the highest level of service to our citizens that we possibly can,” he said.

The South Shelby Chamber of Commerce sponsored the event.