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By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – The Montevallo City Council held its first meeting of 2025 on Monday, Jan. 13, and provided updates on various developments across the city.

The meeting began with a regularly scheduled work session at 5:30 p.m. The council announced that a public hearing would commence at the formal city council meeting.

The public hearing focused on Ricky Pickett, a property owner, and his proposal to amend the master plan of the Colonial Oaks special district. Pickett’s proposal involved removing nearly 15 acres of land from the master plan or a part of the area called “Phase 6”. This area was supposed to be allocated for 42 future homes. Pickett’s request was to change the zoning for those nearly 15 acres to a business zone rather than a residential zone.

The reason for this proposal stems from Pickett seeking to build a climate-controlled storage facility and about 90,000 square feet of office and warehouse space spread out over six single-story buildings on the acreage.

The property in question is located near Evangel Presbyterian Church and is near Montevallo Road and County Road 24. Dozens of citizens filled the Montevallo City Council chambers to protest Pickett’s proposal, but they would have to wait until the council meeting officially started at 6 p.m. to participate in the public hearing.

In the meantime, the council discussed the other items on the work session’s agenda, including the discussion to pass an ordinance establishing the monthly compensation of the mayor and City Council. The discussion was brief, with City Clerk & Treasurer Steve Gilbert noting that the mayor’s current salary is around $24,000 per year.

Following the brief conversation surrounding the compensation ordinance, Montevallo Chief of Police Jeremy Littleton gave an update on the city’s yearly crime statistics.

“We had 6,168 calls, 126 traffic accidents, 1,738 traffic citations, 449 arrests, five assaults, nine burglaries, eight auto burglaries, 58 domestics, 35 thefts and 5,802 traffic stops,” Littleton said.

The council then announced that city offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 20 for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Various projects were highlighted during the meeting, including the Montevallo Bright Ideas Pitch Contest for local Montevallo businesses.

After the work session concluded, the City Council meeting began with a public hearing regarding Pickett’s request to amend the master plan of the Colonial Oaks special district. Mayor Rusty Nix opened the floor for public comment regarding the matter.

Ricky Pickett did not attend the meeting, and neither did anyone representing him. Multiple citizens of Montevallo who would be directly affected by Pickett’s proposal spoke out against the move.

“We want to preserve the neighborhood character, and we don’t want to decrease the property values,” resident Carlay Layton said. “The neighbors are friendly, helpful and everyone enjoys the peace that we have developed there.”

The main points of contention amongst those who spoke out against the proposal were concerns about the loss of future housing, changes in the area’s character from quiet and residential to business-oriented and loud, as well as the addition of traffic congestion with the new proposed businesses.

Following the public hearing, the council meeting resumed, with the city of Montevallo announcing a proclamation to declare January 2025 as Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month in the city.

Following the proclamation, the council moved to vote on Pickett’s request, and it was unanimously denied.  The move thrilled Montevallo residents, and David King, the representative of the district affected by the move, gave comment on the resiliency of the citizens regarding this move.

“Y’all elected me many years ago to represent y’all,” King said. “In that four years that I have represented y’all, I’ve sat in a lot of these meetings and seen a lot of people come and voice their opinions about changes that they thought might occur around them. And I would just like to say that y’all have been one of the most civil and understanding groups of people that I’ve seen step to the podium in my four years doing this.”

Nix also added that while he is in favor of any economic advancement to Montevallo, the move made sense considering the circumstances.

“I am very pro-business, but you guys purchased your property as everything being residential,” Nix said. “There was no commercial involved. I have to side with you guys here. I am pro-business, but I understand the investment you guys made.”

The ordinance to establish the mayor and city council’s monthly compensation was tabled for the next City Council meeting, as the council cited that it needed more time to consider the proper amount before making the decision.

The next Montevallo City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 27, with the work session set to begin at 5 p.m. and the formal council meeting beginning at 6 p.m. For more information on the Montevallo City Council, visit Cityofmontevallo.com.