Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Mayor Patrick McClusky poses with Taylor Duncan after presenting a proclamation for Alternative Baseball.
Weeks before Homewood citizens will vote to potentially change the city’s form of government, Mayor Patrick McClusky ensured there would be even more changes when he announced his retirement at Monday's City Council meeting.
Citing a desire to spend more time with his family and to pursue “new opportunities on the horizon,” McClusky announced that he is resigning his position effective Nov. 1. Council President Alex Wyatt will become the mayor on that date and Council President Pro Tempore Walter Jones will become council president.
McClusky and his wife Leah have three kids – a son who recently graduated from Homewood High School, a daughter who is a freshman in high school and another daughter in eighth grade. Taking his son to college proved eye-opening.
“When we dropped my son off at Auburn a couple of weeks ago, I was like, ‘How did we get here? He was a toddler just a few minutes ago.’ It really is fast."
“I’ve served the city of Homewood 16 years now. That’s a long time for anybody, much less somebody who started as young as I did, getting into serving,” McClusky said. “It’s just my time.”
The mayor said he’ll be around until Nov. 1, adding that he and Wyatt already work closely together as mayor and council president.
“I think Alex will do a fantastic job finishing out the term and getting us where we need to be before the new council, no matter how it looks like, takes hold,” McClusky said.
Like the mayor, the council president was elected at-large.
The changes at the top of Homewood city government came four weeks and a day before residents vote to determine if the current mayor-council government will change to a council-manager government. Wyatt and Jones are thus charged with leading the council and the city toward that possible change.
If approved on Sept. 24, the 11-member council – the largest in the state – will have five members with four elected from four wards. The fifth member, elected at-large, will be the mayor and will vote as a member of the council.
If approved, applications will be accepted for city manager with the plan that the new city manager would be in place prior to the election of the mayor and council in 2025.
Prior to McClusky’s retirement on Nov. 1, Jones will continue to chair the council’s Finance Committee. He announced during Monday’s council meeting that the fiscal 2025 budget will be presented at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Wyatt served six years on the council as a Ward 4 representative before being elected president of the council in 2020.
The council will receive applications and conduct interviews to appoint someone to fill Jones’ Ward 3 Place 2 seat, which he has held since 2008. Beyond chairing the Finance Committee, he serves on the Public Safety Committee and is the council liaison to the Cable Commission.
Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Bo Seagrist smiles as he accepts congratulations after his appointment to city clerk.
Along with these changes, Monday’s meeting opened with the council approving McClusky’s appointment of Bo Seagrist to be the city clerk. Seagrist had been assistant city clerk since the retirement of Melody Salter at the end of January 2024.
Seagrist, who is accustomed to chronicling what others say, was given the floor to express his feelings. He began by acknowledging his parents, Ed and Jada Selleck, before expressing his gratitude to the council and the city’s department heads.
“I want to thank God for this opportunity. Without Him, none of this is possible for me,” Seagrist said. “I just want to do great things to serve this city, to serve the residents and to serve the employees."
“Last but not least, I have to thank my staff in the city clerk’s office,” he continued, encouraging applause for his staff. “They do a tremendous job of making me look good, shining me up.”
During the meeting, the council:
- Appointed Colleen Bedics to fill the Ward 4 position on the Homewood Environmental Commission.
- Set a bid date of Sept. 9 for Kenilworth Drive stormwater improvements.
- Approved the purchase of a portion of land at 12 Pamona Avenue by Donna Dowling.
- Approved budget amendments in the form of line-item transfers for Parks and Recreation, Public Works and the city clerk’s office: $65,000 ($3,000 for janitorial supplies, $55,000 for maintenance contracts and $7,000 for overtime earnings); $9,800 for vehicle maintenance, and $3,000 for building maintenance.
- Approved a $3,000 transfer to install speed bumps in the parking lot of Homewood Public Library.
- Approved an automatic aid agreement with Mountain Brook Fire Department.
- Granted permission for alley improvements to be made at 205 East Linwood.
- Approved a new facilities agreement with Oscar Padro of SoHo Social and SoHo Taco to host events in the City Hall Plaza. It also OK’d a crossfit competition to be conducted in the plaza from 9 a.m. to about 1 p.m. on Sept. 14.
- Set a public hearing for a requested sign variance for Cookie Plug at 815 Green Springs Highway, Suite 101.
- Granted permission for the City Hall Plaza to be used for the Wine 10K on March 1, 2025.
- Approved the potential purchase of the former Waffle House property at 185 Oxmoor Road.
- Granted an ABC 040 retail beer (on or off premises) license for Classic Wine at 1831 28th Avenue South, Suite, N110, pending approval from the police and fire departments.
- Approved vouchers for the period Aug. 13 through Aug. 26.
- Authorized the mayor to sign the contract with Clastran and pay the budgeted 2023-2024 appropriation of $16,842.
Changed council meeting dates in September due to the Labor Day holiday. Full council meetings will be Sept. 16 and 30 with council committee meetings on Sept. 9 and 23.
