City, Rotary partner to finalize downtown streetscape improvements

In July 2024, the City of Pell City celebrated the installation of 20 black, cast-iron benches and 11 matching litter containers along Cogswell Ave. – the final piece of a years-long Downtown Improvement Project.

These new, modern benches were made possible through a contribution from the Rotary Club of Pell City. They join other significant improvements installed along Cogswell Ave., Comer Ave., and 19th Street including new sidewalks and curbs, planters, and streetlights.

Pell City Rotarians met on the corner of 19th St. and Cogswell Ave. to celebrate the installation of new benches in downtown Pell City. The Rotary Club of Pell City contributed $20,000 toward the purchase and installation. From left are: Immediate Past President Serge Brazzolotto, Secretary Emily Norris, City Council member and Sergeant-at-Arms Jay Jenkins, Jaxon Phillips, Steve Talley, President-Elect Brian Muenger, and President Kelly Furgerson.

Rotary Past-President Serge Brazzolotto, who led the Club from July 2023 through June 2024, initially saw the value of transforming the City’s historic downtown into a more vibrant and walkable space. He spearheaded the club’s involvement.

“It was Rotary’s goal to provide the people of Pell City with something that enhanced their experience downtown,” Brazzolotto said. “These benches will be used daily, and our Club is proud to help improve our community in such a meaningful way.”

Pell City Rotary President Kelly Furgerson and Immediate Past President Serge Brazzolotto led the effort to involve the Club in the City of Pell City’s Downtown Streetscape Improvement Project.

Total cost of the benches and litter containers was approximately $40,000. Rotary committed to assisting the City with the expense by contributing half the cost – more than $20,000.

This contribution is part of the Rotary Club of Pell City’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. The Club, founded in 1974, marked a half century of community service this year, and each bench is branded with a badge that recognizes the Club’s decades of “Service Above Self.”

“Rotary sends a tremendous thanks to the City for the vision and effort that went into improving our downtown,” Rotary President Kelly Furgerson said. “We’re excited to celebrate our 50th anniversary alongside this major accomplishment.”

The City of Pell City’s Downtown Streetscape Improvement Project dates back to June 2020, when the City applied for an Alabama Department of Transportation TAP Grant, which stands for “Transportation Alternatives Program.”

The grant request was for $640,000 to remedy ADA non-compliant sidewalks in the downtown area. The City provided local matching funds of approximately $500,000, including landscaping and lighting costs, as well as engineering and inspection fees.

Streetscape Improvements completed by the City with the assistance of the TAP Grant included the corner of 19th St. and Cogswell Ave. (above), and the corner of 20th St. and Cogswell. Ave. “Before” photos from the City’s grant submission.

In August 2023, the City awarded a bid for construction to Taylor Corporation of Oxford for approximately $830,000. Taylor Corp. completed their portion of the project in June.

Installation of the Rotary benches was the final piece. They were installed in July by the Pell City Street Department under the supervision of Greg Gossett and Blake Nixon.

“We are grateful to ALDOT for recognizing this need and helping us transform downtown Pell City,” Muenger said. “Punctuating it with a gift of this scale from Rotary is what truly makes this a community project, and one that we hope residents will appreciate for years to come.”

For more on the Rotary Club of Pell City, visit pellcityrotary.org

Investigation Underway after Devastating Pell City Plant Fire

Investigation is underway at the site of an industrial fire in Pell City that kept Pell City Fire Department (PCFD) crews mobilized for 26 continuous hours on July 30-31.

On Tuesday, July 30, at 6 p.m. PCFD responded to a report of smoke in the ventilation system at Royal Foods, located at 1904 16th Ave S. in Pell City. Crews arrived within minutes and found one of the company’s two plant facilities emitting heavy smoke.

Smoke poured from the roof of the original Royal Foods facility on June 30, 2024. Drone photography by Brian Muenger.

Pell City Fire Chief Tim Kurzejeski engaged the PCFD Special Operations Team, and on-duty staff entered the plant to attempt suppression efforts from within. Within 45 minutes, PCFD had 45 of the department’s 60 firefighters on site, but the crews were forced into defensive positions when the fire spread to inaccessible parts of the plant and compromised the roof structure.

Teams from Pell City Police Department, Pell City Street Department, and Pell City Utility Department were all called to the scene to provide critical support to the firefighting teams. With assistance from St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, Kurzejeski requested mutual aid from regional partners. Six fire departments provided personnel and equipment to assist in containment and suppression efforts.

Photo courtesy of Jared Brannon

“The response to our request for assistance was unbelievable,” Kurzejeski said. “Our City departments were operating as a complete team alongside our partners who answered the call for aid.”

Throughout the 26-hour mobilization, PCFD and mutual aid partners used more than 3 million gallons of water to suppress the plant fire. Kurzejeski credited Utility Superintendent James Hadaway and his team for rising to meet the challenge of supplying the water without interruption.

He also thanked Street Department Director Greg Gossett and Pell City Police Chief Clay Morris for the constant support. Both teams led traffic control around the site. City Manager Brian Muenger, in conjunction with the Police Department, provided drone footage to help firefighters target hotspots, and the Street Department provided a constant supply of fuel and other resources to PCFD and their mutual aid partners.

“In Pell City, we operate as a unit,” Kurzejeski said. “During this operation you were able to see multiple departments and agencies come together without missing a beat, put their training into practice, and do everything they could to protect the structure, prevent injury, and contain the fire.”

The fire started in the plant’s original structure, a building Royal Foods moved into when it relocated to Pell City in 1992. Royal Foods’ staff were fully evacuated, and firefighters were able to contain the fire to the original facility. No injuries were caused by the fire, either to Royal Foods employees or to the suppression teams, and all other Royal Foods structures at the site were protected.

Kurzejeski and other City leaders remained in contact with Royal Foods throughout efforts to extinguish the fire, which resulted in a total loss of the structure. The company said in a statement issued July 31 that it intended to retain all 130 employees at the site, and that Royal Foods was looking forward with optimism.

As of this release, the site is still considered active and PCFD crews are continuing to monitor the plant for potential flare-ups. 19th Street is open to the public.

PCFD is investigating the cause of the fire with assistance from the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Photo courtesy of Jared Brannon

Mutual aid responders and contributing departments and agencies included:

  • Springville Fire Department
  • Odenville Fire Department
  • Leeds Fire Department
  • Lincoln Fire Department
  • Trussville Fire Department
  • New London Volunteer Fire Department
  • Pell City Police Department
  • Pell City Street Department
  • Pell City Water Department
  • St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office
  • St. Clair Emergency Management Agency
  • Alabama Power
  • Springville Community Emergency Response Team

“I’m thankful for the overwhelming support from our mutual aid partners,” Kurzejeski said. “I’d also like to thank the members of the Pell City Fire Department for their grit and commitment throughout the response. The moment we received the call, we hit the ground running and did not stop. If that jacket is on, we’re moving. I would not have expected anything less of our firefighters. They go above and beyond, give anything and everything, and always work to complete the task.”

Photo courtesy of Jared Brannon