By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – Mark Frey attended his final City Council meeting as Columbiana’s city clerk and treasurer on Nov. 6.

The council accepted Frey’s resignation and authorized his continued hourly service for payroll processing and training following the appointment of a new city clerk.

The Alabaster City Council approved Frey as Alabaster’s new city clerk on Nov. 5, Frey said.

“I’m working day and night to get everything wrapped up,” Frey told Columbiana City Council members. “It wasn’t an easy decision at all. You guys have poured into me, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. The last five-and-a-half years have been the most enriching time in my life.”

Frey was appointed as Columbiana’s city clerk and treasurer in May 2013. Prior to that, he owned and operated a chain of wireless phone stores for 19 years.

He is a 1992 Coosa Valley Academy graduate, a 1995 Central Alabama Community College graduate and a 2015 Auburn University at Montgomery Certified Public Manager program graduate. He is also a Certified Municipal Revenue Officer and took an active role in Columbiana’s work to be selected as a Main Street city in 2016.

“I certainly appreciate your last five-and-a-half years,” Mayor Stancil Handley told Frey. “I’m very pleased about where we are today.”

Handley said he is proud of Frey, whom he called one of the top city clerks in the state of Alabama.

“He deserves this shot,” Handley said. “My best wishes go to Alabaster with you, Mark.”

Councilman Leslie Whiting echoed Handley’s praise for Frey, saying, “You’ve done a great job, and Godspeed.”

In the Nov. 6 meeting, the council also voted to reappoint Johnny Farr as chairman of the Columbiana Water Board.

Farr’s appointment expired in July 2018, and the new appointment will expire in July 2024.

He has served on the board since 1990, Handley said.

“Mr. Farr is the most knowledgeable person in this city as far as the water board goes,” Handley said. “He does a great job, and we’re in fabulous shape.”

The council also approved the hiring of Mark Friedman as a part-time certified police officer.

In other business, the Shelby County Beekeepers Association received the OK to make Columbiana its home base for monthly meetings.

“We hope to be a part of the arts center when it opens,” Lisa Craddock said.

Until then, members will meet at the Columbiana Recreational Center starting in January 2019. Meetings are the second Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m.

“They’ve been looking for a place to make their permanent home, and I personally think Columbiana is the place,” Handley said. “The more people that come to our city, the more people who find out who we are and what we are. I’m 110 percent behind it.”

In other business, the council:

• Authorized Insane McCain Fireworks to bring in a trailer for the 2019 New Year’s firework season on the second week of December through the second week of January.
• Approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign an MOA with M4A to allow the organization use of a room in the city’s annex building in case of an emergency.
• Denied a recommendation from the Columbiana Public Library Board to close the library on Saturday, Dec. 22.
• Approved to hold another public hearing regarding Reneau Inc.’s sales tax delinquency.