Screenshot by Ingrid Schnader
Council President Peter Wright reads a proclamation honoring Scott McBrayer's 12 years of service as mayor of Homewood.
City Clerk Melody Salter described the Oct. 26 City Council meeting as melancholy as the 2016-2020 City Council and mayor met for the last time.
Four new City Council members and a new mayor will swear into office Nov. 2. During the Oct. 26 meeting, Mayor Scott McBrayer honored the outgoing council members.
Ward 2 Representative Mike Higginbotham was first elected in 2016. While on the council, he served on the Finance and Special Issues committees. He was also the council liaison for the Homewood Environmental Commission. Higginbotham did not seek reelection in 2020.
Ward 1 Representative Britt Thames was first elected in 2012 and served two terms. While on the council, Thames chaired the Planning and Development committee and was a member of the Finance and Public Safety committees. He was also the council liaison to the Planning Commission. Thames lost the 2020 election to Melanie Geer.
Council President Peter Wright was appointed as Ward 5 Representative in 2011 and served there until 2012. He was then elected to the 2012-2016 council to serve as council president pro tem. In 2019, he was appointed as city council president. While on the council, Wright chaired the Public Works Committee and served on the Finance Committee. As city council president, he served as the council liaison to the Homewood Board of Education. Wright did not seek reelection in 2020.
“I have so thoroughly enjoyed my 11 years here with you as mayor,” Wright said to McBrayer at the Oct. 26 meeting. “One thing you taught me that you have always honored and continue to honor — and I hope this carries through with the new council — is we are neighbors. We are neighbors to each other as city council members, and we are neighbors to our residents. We should all communicate and treat each other like neighbors.”
Wright then read a proclamation honoring McBrayer for his 12 years of service as mayor. During McBrayer’s tenure, the city saw new houses, new businesses and exciting new community fixtures, Wright said. McBrayer lost the 2020 election to Ward 3 Representative Patrick McClusky, who will begin his term as mayor on Nov. 2.
“We as the city are and always be immeasurably grateful for the mayoral tenure of Scott McBrayer, which demonstrated vision, hard work, friendliness, compassion and an unwavering commitment to propelling this city forward in exciting new directions,” Wright said.
In his closing remarks, McBrayer reminded the City Councilors to “stay focused on Homewood.”
“Don’t let people compare us to Mountain Brook and Vestavia,” he said. “I can promise you it will be a mistake. Homewood, Vestavia and Mountain Brook have very little in common, except for the type of people who live here and our income. But what it takes for us to operate our city versus what it takes for them to operate their city — just don’t let them get you off in the weeds on that. Stay focused on what we’ve been doing for the past 12 years and understand there are huge differences.”
For example, Homewood might spend more on fire trucks than Mountain Brook, McBrayer said. But Homewood has more to protect, he said — such as Samford University and Brookwood Baptist Medical Center.
The city has much to be proud of, he continued.
“Look at our school facilities — it’s some of the finest in the state, and our kids deserve that,” he said. “The money that we use to make investments in our parks, in our public safety facilities and in our schools — don’t let anyone make you feel bad about that.”
McBrayer said people have asked what he’ll do now that he will no longer be the mayor of Homewood. He said he remembers what his friend said upon his retirement from Mountain Brook Baptist Church.
“He said, “Scottie, I’m going to sit down in my rocking chair on my front porch, and after about six months, I’m going to start rocking,” McBrayer said, laughing. “I think I’m going to take that advice for a while.”
Also as the Oct. 26 City Council meeting:
- Developers interested in turning Brookwood Village into a mixed-use development shared their plans and scheduled public forums. Read more about their plans here.
- Councilors voted to restrict parking at City Hall Plaza. “It’s just not a place for cars to be driving through,” said Council President Pro Tem Alex Wyatt.
- Councilors voted to install pedestrian crosswalks at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and La Prado Place. They also voted to further study the traffic around this area.
