City of Pell City partners with LMLPA for Boo Bash on Logan Martin 2024

The third-annual Boo Bash on Logan Martin takes to our local waters on Oct. 12, 2024. The City of Pell City is proud to be a 2024 partner of this year’s event as it seeks to engage our community while supporting an impactful nonprofit organization, the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association (LMLPA).

Pell City Parks and Recreation Employees gear up for Boo Bash 2024 and stop on the route at Lakeside Park. The City of Pell City partnered with the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association for the event on Oct. 12.

In this article

  • Boo Bash 2024 supports the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association
  • LMLPA / City Parks & Recreation / Library partner for Lakeside Park Stop
  • St. Clair Airport Aviation Career Day Flyovers
Click Here to Register for Boo Bash 2024

Boo Bash 2024 Supports LMLPA

According to organizers Kelli Lasseter and Sonya Hubbard, Boo Bash is a “dockside trick-or-treat spooktacular hosted by families and local businesses along Logan Martin Lake.” On October 12 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., all across the lake, families in costume will be treated to a different Halloween experience at each dock they visit.

The event, which began in 2022, increased by more than 1,000 participants in its second year. Now on its third year, Lasseter and Hubbard have solidified their efforts to engage, grow and protect the lake community by giving back in a big way.

“Thanks to our amazing sponsors, this year Boo Bash on Logan Martin was able to raise more than $14,000,” Lasseter said. “These donations are more than enough to meet our main goal of supporting the LMLPA in adding 10 new hazard buoys to Logan Martin Lake.”

Follow the Boo Bash Facebook Page

LMLPA Stop at Lakeside Park

LMLPA President Neal Stephenson said the organization launched its Buoy Program in 2019 in partnership with Alabama Marine Police/ALEA. Among its many other efforts to protect Logan Martin, LMLPA relies on donations and volunteers to install lighted navigation buoys around the lake to enhance and encourage recreational boating safety.

The City Council of Pell City approved a land-use agreement with LMLPA earlier this year. Aided by the City’s Parks and Recreation Department, Lakeside Park will be the home of the organization’s awareness and fundraising efforts during the event.

Boaters can expect an exciting new stop on the route this year as City employees from Parks & Rec and the Pell City Library join the LMLPA in creating a new spooky scene at the Park featuring photo booths, food trucks, and registration for a kayak giveaway.

Learn more about the LMLPA and its mission to protect our lake

Aviation Career Day Flyovers

Another exciting addition to this year’s Boo Bash is its affiliation with the St. Clair County Airport’s Aviation Career Day and Open House. Now in its 6th year, the all-ages, all-day aviation event is packed with exhibitions, displays, and career seminars – all free to the public.

Manager Wendy Watson encouraged Boo Bash Participants to stop by the Airport before or after they take to the lake, but she added that the best time to be on the water would be between noon and 1 p.m. when dozens of historic planes are scheduled for Logan Martin flyovers.

Learn more about Aviation Career Day

For more

The City of Pell City urges all Boo Bash participants to follow all laws and practice safe and responsible boating.

Register for Boo Bash: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRaiqc2ujQnZZh4XERJ9Vn25yYwlvcx193Y9g-BJa3NJeDlA/viewform

Follow the Boo Bash Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/BooBashonLoganMartin

Learn more about the LMLPA and its mission to protect our lake: https://www.lmlpa.org/

Learn more about Aviation Career Day: https://www.facebook.com/p/St-Clair-County-AirportKPLR-100064467948878/

City Hosts Future Leaders on Field Trip

What a fantastic day we had at City Hall and other Pell City facilities yesterday.

On Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, The City of Pell City was thrilled and honored to host more than 300 bright and curious fourth grade students from Pell City Schools on an inaugural tour of our municipal departments and facilities.

Organized by Coosa Valley Elementary Teacher Angela Davidson and City Special Projects Coordinator Jeff Thompson, the students went behind the scenes to learn more about City administration, police and fire operations and the Pell City Public Library. These young minds were eager to learn about how our city operates, and we were more than happy to share our knowledge.

In addition, Davidson organized the students’ visits to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, and Central Dispatch. Finally, every fourth grader also had the opportunity to tour the Museum of Pell City and learn the history of our community.

The City of Pell City is grateful to Ms. Davidson for taking the initiative to create this wonderful opportunity, and we’re especially proud of our City’s fourth-grade students for their exemplary behavior, insightful questions, and excitement about our wonderful employees and the work they do.

Special thanks to the organizers and presenters at the seven different stops throughout the day:

  • Bill Pruitt, Mayor of Pell City
  • Captain Josh Herren, Pell City Police Department
  • Battalion Chief Joey Vaughan, Pell City Fire and Rescue
  • Youth Librarian Jordan Rawson, Pell City Library
  • Chief Deputy Matt Coupland, St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office
  • Deputy Director Charity Mitcham, St. Clair Emergency Management Agency
  • Museum Coordinator Erica Grieve, Museum of Pell City

Thank you for joining us, future leaders – we’ll see you next year!

Fifth anniversary of veterans home same as first – fulfilling a vision

It’s mid-morning at the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home, and a flurry of activity surrounds all who walk down the grand corridor leading to the “town center.” That’s what it’s called – town center. After all, this is a community, just as it was intended five years ago when it opened its doors for the first time.

Men and women sit side by side playing Bingo. A couple of men gather in the sports lounge to swap a story or two. Others sit in front of the fireplace as if they are in their own living room, reading a newspaper. Nearby in the barber shop, a haircut is being delivered. And across the way, residents are getting an early start on lunch in the café.

It’s not much different than most communities, only this one is only for veterans. It’s the state-of-the-art, model for the country veterans home that started as a vision and evolved into a reality most states could only dream of.

When it opened Nov. 1, 2011, unparalleled fanfare followed. And rightly so. This Pell City-based facility has few rivals across the country. “We still see ourselves as a model for the rest of the country,” said Director Hiliary Hardwick.

“We have had multiple states in to tour our home. Federal planners have featured our home for future veterans homes to be built,” she said. “We are still considered that state-of-the-art facility for the whole country, not just the state, but the whole country.”

HMR of Alabama partners with the Alabama Department of Veteran Affairs to operate the facility, and the partnership has been a good one. “We are honored and delighted for the opportunity to serve the veterans and their families at Col. Robert L Howard State Veterans Home,” HMR Director Derrick Williams said. “Over the past five years it’s been an incredible journey to see a plot of land transform into a fully functioning facility. Most noteworthy is the sustained support from the community. Today our veterans receive superior services in a world class facility.  We look forward for the continued opportunity to serve the veterans in this community. 

When Rear Admiral Clyde Marsh, serving as State Commissioner and Director of the Alabama Department of Veteran Affairs, saw the planning and construction, he knew he wanted it to be a place worthy of the veterans who gave so much in service to their country.

Today, “when you walk through those doors, you appreciate where you are,” Hardwick said. “We wanted to create a true, homelike environment.” Take a look around, and that’s exactly what you see. “It is warm and inviting, not just for the veterans but for their friends and families.”

Each veteran in the 254-capacity facility has their own private room. Throughout, there are plenty of areas to socialize, and they are as comfortable and inviting as a favorite chair at home. “It is a place you come to live, engage, socialize. It has a good atmosphere and a good quality of life,” she said. “We know it’s home, so we want to provide as much as homelike and routine as we can.

“First impression is really a good one when you walk through those doors,” Hardwick said. Some might call it the Wow! factor. These veterans simply call it what it is — home.

And five years later, that’s still the case.

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Graham Hadley
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2041 Comprehensive Plan Update

Comprehensive Plan 2041 pic 1500x

 

. 2040 Comprehensive Plan 

 

 

by David Atchison/The Daily Home

Pell City begins process of revising its Comprehensive Plan

Comprehensive Plan Meeting Photo

PELL CITY – Officials have begun the process of rewriting the Comprehensive Plan, a shared vision for the future of the municipality.

“It went well,” City Manager Brian Muenger said of the first steps in the process.

City employees as well as residents who volunteer on various city boards gathered at the new Municipal Complex on Tuesday to kick off efforts to revise the plan. Muenger said the 15-year-old plan does not accurately reflect the city’s plans for the future.

 

“Our needs have changed in the last 15 years,” he said.

He also noted that when the plan was written, Pell City only had 9,000 residents. Today, it has more than 14,000.

“It’s a 25-year comprehensive plan, but it needs updating at least every five years, and it needs to be fully revised every 10 years,” Muenger said.

He said the process to revise the municipality’s plan will take about 18 months, and the process must have public involvement. The plan focuses on six distinct areas – economic development, recreation, education, the historic downtown district, housing and public safety.

Muenger said the city will encourage residents interested in shaping the city’s future direction to volunteer to serve on a committee or subcommittee that will focus on one of the six planning areas.

He said the municipality will make applications to serve on committees available on the city’s website within the next two weeks.

“We want a diverse group of people to serve on each committee,” Muenger said. “We are looking at a full overhaul of the current Comp(rehensive) Plan.”

The council recently hired Epiphany Collaboration, LLC., to help guide the city through revising the plan. Katherine Ennis, with Epiphany Collaboration, LLC., said company officials hope to make the city’s plan more user friendly and easier to read.

She said the revised plan will have long-range goals.

“It’s a 20-year plan, but we want to know what you want to concentrate on for the next five years,” Ennis told those who were in attendance at the Leadership Retreat, which was Tuesday.

She said the process will include public hearings to encourage public involvement.

“This is a very public process,” Ennis said. “It has to involve your community.”