By JAN GRIFFEY/Editor

COLUMBIANA — Allan Lowe has announced his candidacy for a fourth term as mayor.

Lowe, who has served as mayor of Columbiana since 2000, said he wants to complete projects and build upon a base of good works he’s helped build during the last 12 years.

“Columbiana has come a long way, but we can be so much more to so many more people,” Lowe said.

He said Columbiana has weathered the effects of the poor economy well, and sales tax and business license revenues are now trending upward.

“These past four years we have been blessed not to have had to lay off anyone or decrease services during the economic downturn, which was our primary goal,” Lowe said. “My primary focus the next four years will be to bring residents and businesses into Columbiana.”

The city accomplished its goals without adding another financial burden on its citizens, he said.

“We didn’t increase rates, either, though the sewer rate was increased because it is automatically indexed. We made it through by putting some projects on hold. Now, we’re beginning those projects again.”

Lowe said he and other city officials are at work on a number of projects, which he would like to see to completion.

“We want to continue linking the city together with sidewalks. We are developing a comprehensive plan for the Summer Classics property, which will be a mixed-use commercial and public parks area.

“And I’m going to continue my goal of getting a diagnostic center in town to complement the services already available at Columbiana Clinic, like a facility that offers MRIs, PET scans and CAT scans, dialysis and an emergency care unit so if someone is having a heart attack, they can stabilize them until they can get to a hospital,” Lowe said.

Offering Columbiana residents the ability to take courses at a community college here is also on Lowe’s wish list.

“Central Alabama Community College administers GED courses here and their long-range goal is to have a presence here.”

Lowe said he is proud of a number of accomplishments during his tenure, like the “downtown renovation, the completion of our sports complex and girls’ softball fields and bringing Alabama Therapeutic Education Facility to town to replace many of the jobs lost when Elastic Corp. closed down.”

Lowe also said he secured grants worth $425,000 for a new senior citizens center in Columbiana, which will be matched with city and county funds totaling more than $200,000.

“It will be a center for seniors from all of our communities, not just Columbiana,” he said. The facility will serve as the community’s Meals on Wheels headquarters and will also have a community meeting room that will feature video teleconferencing equipment and room for about 70 people.

“That room will be offered to groups in the community, just like in Pelham, and we hope the health department will have a presence there and offer things like vaccinations, hearing checks, preventive tests, not just for seniors, but for the entire community,” Lowe said.

Lowe and his wife of 22 years, Scarlott, are the parents of two children. Son, Caleb, 17, and daughter, Caroline, 14, are students at Shelby County High School.

Lowe is owner of Allan Lowe Insurance Agency. In addition, he retired in 2006 after a little more than 20 years with the Alabama Army National Guard.

During his military service, Lowe served in combat zones Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait in 1990 and 1991 in Operation Desert Shield and Storm. In 2003, he served in Germany, Turkey and Iraq.

“Anyone who wants other information can visit MayorLowe.com. They can visit that website if they want to check any facts and see what my plans are for the next four years, as well as see what we have accomplished in the last 12 years,” Lowe said.