By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – The City of Montevallo was recently bequeathed $850,000 from Elizabeth Mahler.

Recently, the city learned it had been made a part of Mahler’s will. Her generosity toward the city is only part of the picture.

Mahler’s entire estate totaled $5.1 million. She left instruction in her will to donate to her church, the schools in Montevallo, the library and many other causes that were close to her heart.

“We are extremely honored that she thought enough of the city to provide this donation,” Mayor Hollie Cost said in the Dec. 13 city council meeting. “You were here on the night the city received an $850,000 gift from an incredible and very precious woman.”

Mahler designated the Parnell Memorial Library $50,000, the city golf course $100,000, Montevallo Fire and Rescue $100,000, the Shoal Creek Park Fund $100,000 and the City of Montevallo $500,000.

The funds for the city were designated by Mahler to be used for the paving of trails between all the city’s parks, including the new Shoal Creek Park.

The city encountered a problem in planning the paved trail between Orr Park and Stevens Park. Under the bridge on Main Street there is no room for paving, according to Cost.

There was some flexibility in Mahler’s instructions, though, according to Mahler’s representative. The city will work to spend all of the funds she designated as faithfully to her wishes as possible.

The recent donation was not the first time Mahler had shown generosity toward the city; she had already donated a 167-acre estate with an antebellum home located in Montevallo near the American Village. Her instruction for this property was that it be used as a park and for other purposes deemed appropriate by the city.

The council and Cost expressed their thankfulness for Mahler’s gifts multiple times in the meeting. After a discussion for the benefit of those in attendance and a review of Mahler’s generous donation and its designations, the council approved the resolution accepting the funds.

“On behalf of the citizens of Montevallo, the city council once again express our deep and most sincere gratitude to Elizabeth A. Mahler and the entire Mahler family for their incredible generosity, faith and support of our city,” read the accepted resolution.