The Montevallo City Council met Monday, Dec. 14, for their regularly scheduled, biweekly meeting. The Council met to discuss the set agenda topic as well as field the concerns of citizens who chose to attend the meeting. The Council met both in person and via Zoom, with the meeting livestreamed on the city’s Facebook page. 

Bobby Pearson addressed the council at their last meeting on Nov. 23 on behalf of the Shelby County NAACP, regarding their plans to host a march and program in Montevallo to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.  

Pearson provided an update on the NAACP’s plans. Because of concerns regarding the transmission of COVID-19, the group no longer plans to host a march or in-person program. Instead, they are hosting a program over Zoom featuring guest speaker Derek Gilmore—a Montevallo High School alum and current Vice President of Stillman College. The program will be open “to anyone in the city and anyone in the nation.” 

The council was also presented with an updated flood damage prevention ordinance. The city’s current flood damage ordinance hasn’t been updated since 2013. Updates would be based on evaluations and observations made by FEMA and would not allow building in areas identified as floodplains—primarily, areas of the city around creeks, as well as put programs in place to ensure that there is not flood damage to properties located in flood prone areas. The ordinance will be discussed further in later council meetings. 

The city council also approved the purchase of several pieces of EMS equipment for the Montevallo Fire and Rescue Service. The purchase, which would come to a total cost of $70,238.99, includes two Stryker Lucas 3.1 Devices and one Life Pak 15 Cardiac Monitor. The Lucas 3.1 device is a chest compression device that performs CPR chest compressions and allows EMT responders to perform other tasks outside of chest compressions during a cardiac arrest situation. The Cardiac Monitor device works as an AED and EKG device.  

The fire department anticipates that this purchase will be reimbursed by the CARES Act, as several neighboring cities have made the same purchase recently and have been reimbursed, and ultimately would not cost the city anything. 

In addition to this purchase, the council approved the purchase of materials and labor to retrofit the lighting in Parnell Memorial Library to LED. This purchase cost a total of $37,664, however the council accepted $34,000 in ADECA grant funds to use towards this project.  

The next City Council meeting will be held Monday, Dec. 28, at 6 p.m. The meeting will be livestreamed on the city’s Facebook page. Citizens may also attend the meeting in person at City Hall, however there will be limited seating and social distancing protocols put in place.