By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Retired Alabaster deputy fire chief Greg Farrell said he would support the city’s public safety officials and would work to recruit the “right kind of businesses” to the city if elected to serve on the Alabaster City Council.

Farrell has qualified to run in the Ward 4 City Council seat against incumbent Councilman Rick Walters. The city’s municipal elections will be held from 7 a.m.- 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at the Alabaster United Methodist Church’s Restore building at 128 Market Center Drive off Alabama 119.

Farrell said he decided to run for City Council “after much thought and consideration,” and said he is looking to bring “new representation to the citizens of Ward 4.”

Farrell has lived in Alabaster for the past 37 years, and is a Thompson High School alumni. He served in the Alabaster Fire Department for 30 years and worked his way through the ranks before retiring as deputy chief in 2011.

He has served on the Kingwood Christian School board, and has served in several football coaching positions at KCS.

“I am now ready to serve in another capacity as council member,” Farrell wrote on his campaign Facebook page. “My experience with the Fire Department brings a unique perspective to represent the citizens of Ward 4 in Alabaster.”

During a July 20 phone interview, Farrell said if elected, he plans to support the city’s public safety departments by ensuring they have up-to-date equipment.

“My experience with 30 years in the fire department and being at the level I was when I retired, I know the processes that go with city government,” he said.

Farrell also said he would like to work to ensure the city’s infrastructure keeps up with the amount of growth the city is experiencing.

“As we grow, we need to keep up with that growth. We need to make sure it’s the right kind of growth,” he said. “There are certain areas we are about to grow, and we want to recruit the right kind of businesses to our town.”