In the Spotlight
Listen to this 12-minute TED Talk from horticulturist Rebecca McMackin! Many gardeners work hard to maintain clean, tidy environments ... which is the exact opposite of what wildlife wants.
Council Member Graham Smith discusses the state of small business in the City. Sales tax revenue is strong and please continue to Shop Local at our small businesses even with the many road projects going on in the City. The Chamber of Commerce is a wealth of information and they promote their membership through regional publications, advertising, social media, and community events.
Council Member Lloyd Shelton talks about the financial condition of the City. We have the best run city in the State of Alabama due to our City Council, staff and Finance Committee working hard to provide services on a lean budget with good stewardship. The City has budgeted revenues of $50 million and our #1 source of income is real estate taxes.
We take seriously our financial responsibility. Listen to Council Member Shelton's summary of our city budget.
Attend a seminar hosted by UAB Sustainability, and hear Doug Tallamy speak!
Friday, January 26, 2024 from 10:30am -11:00am
Hill Student Center, Alumni Theatre and Ballrooms
1400 University Blvd, Birmingham, AL 35233
If you have any questions about this event, please contact Ms. Meena Nabavi at mnabavi@uab.edu.
Mayor Welch discusses Public Works and the many projects going on this year. He gives an update on Amwaste and the improvements they are continually making to services in the City.
Click here to listen to Mayor Welch.
This year’s Patriot Day event was hosted by the City of Homewood. The ceremony remembers those we lost on this day in 2001. The Patriot Day event rotates between Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, and Homewood. Mountain Brook will host next year’s ceremony. #NeverForget
Did you know that many pollinators hibernate in leaf litter and the hollow stems of dormant plants for the winter?
While many of us are growing more sensitive to the plight of the pollinators, mindfully incorporating pollinator-friendly plants into our gardens in the spring and resisting the urge to use pesticides in our garden all summer, we are unwittingly undoing our hard work and good intentions when we clear away the leaf litter and standing dead plant material in the fall!
Many thanks to our Public Works Department for the beautiful lights and decorations in the city! The crews put in long hours to make our villages "sparkle." Starting November 1, they decorate for the holidays and work 7 days a week until everything is hung. Take a look at what they do:
Crestline Village
82 street poles are decorated with garland and bows
23 trees have lights added to them and the clock tower has wreaths added to all four faces
Mountain Brook Village
Recently at Canterbury Park and other locations around the Birmingham area, many “ant hills” have popped up or swarms of “yellow jackets” have taken over yards. These are not ant hills on the ground and the bees are not yellow jackets. They are Miner Bees.
In honor of National Pollinator week, and the city’s affiliation with Bee City USA, the city of Mountain Brook is hosting a native plant giveaway on Friday, June 23 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at City Hall! Come on by and learn why native plants are imperative to our pollinators and to our Alabama ecosystem! Take a look at the newly established city hall pollinator garden and bee hotel, check out the baby monarch caterpillars who have taken up residence on our milkweed, and take home a native plant and some swag!
Citizen Appreciation Day is Saturday, April 29, 2023 from 10am - 2pm at City Hall. Come learn more about the city departments and the services they have to offer. Touch-A-Truck, face painting, kid's zone and free lunch for all!
Click Citizen Appreciation Day to hear from Mayor Stewart Welch and Heather Richards about this fun and informative event at City Hall on April 29, 2023.
City Council Pro Tem Billy Pritchard gives the March City Council Update concerning the projects at Crestline Elementary and MBJH Field that the city and school system are working on. He emphasized the safety procedures the school system has implemented in light of recent incidents in the news. The city is hosting Citizen Appreciation Day on April 29, 2023 from 10am - 2pm. Councilman Pritchard encourages everyone to attend this fun and informative city event.
City Council Member Graham Smith gives the April City Council Update concerning our April events like the School Showcase and Citizen Appreciation Day. In addition, Mountain Brook is the first Bee City USA in the state and she encourages everyone to check the website to learn more about pollinators. The city audit report was presented to the Council and Graham emphasizes the excellent financial position the city is in considering the many capital improvements over the past year.
Colorectal cancer is the 2nd most deadly cancer death in the United States. The vast majority of colon cancer deaths are preventable through proper screening and early detection. The blue fountain in front of City Hall is a reminder to those 45 and over the importance of colorectal screenings.
Click Cancer Screenings to hear from Dany Hollingsworth about the importance of colorectal screenings.
Mountain Brook Police Department Community Safety Meetings will be held at the following locations in the city. Crime updates and holiday safety will be discussed along with input and questions from the community.
City Council President Virginia Smith gives the February City Council Update concerning the Paving Projects, Leaf Pickup, Flood Mitigation, First Responders Foundation, and the new Crestline Crosswalks.
Click February Recap to hear from Council President Smith and the important information she is sharing.
Human Trafficking: Prevention - Recognition - Responding
The City of Mountain Brook hosted a community event for parents and concerned citizens on Protecting our Children from Exploitation and Online Predators. We had Teresa Collier and Amy Wagar, two child advocates/trainers from the Child Trafficking Solutions Project, to share information.
Ninety-five percent or about 143 million households in the country will receive an initial invitation to respond to the 2020 Census in their mailboxes between March 12 and 20. Households are encouraged to respond when they receive their invitation. Depending on how likely the area is to respond online, households will receive either an invitation encouraging them to respond online or by phone, or an invitation along with a paper questionnaire.
Fly your Flag Mountain Brook to show your patriotism and solidarity during the COVID-19 crisis! We hope everyone will hang an American flag on your house, a tree or mailbox to support our country. Red, white and blue ribbons are encouraged as well. We appreciate everyone on the front lines fighting this virus. #FlyyourFlagMountainBrook, #ShowyourSupport
The City of Mountain Brook becomes the first city in the nation to promote city-wide residential purchase and installation of RING-style security doorbells cameras. These doorbell camera systems have the ability, through an app, to connect directly with police allowing them to more quickly and effectively fight door-to-door types of crimes. Neighbors aims to reduce crime in neighborhoods by connecting people, security cameras and law enforcement.
The annual Shades Creek Fest scheduled for Saturday, April 25, in Jemison Park has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis. The event is planned by the City of Mountain Brook in conjunction with the City of Homewood to celebrate Arbor Day and the arrival of Spring.
The City of Mountain Brook would like to welcome you to the 2nd Annual Citizen Appreciation Day event. It will be held on Saturday, May 4th 2019 from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm at City Hall. This event is fun for all ages. We will have a kid zone that will include: a bounce slide, face painting, and a touch a truck zone. We will also be giving away free hot dogs with chips and water. While the kids are playing in the kid zone, the adults can walk through the tents to visit and learn about the city departments. Meanwhile, live music will be performed on stage.
The long awaited pedestrian bridge over Shades Creek in Jemison Park was formally dedicated on January 4th. Mayor Welch, Council President Virginia Smith and Council President Pro Tem Billy Pritchard welcomed those in attendance.
Appreciation was given to the Mouron Family Foundation and an anonymous donor for their substantial contributions to the bridge costs. Many thanks were also due to Dick Shea and Morris-Shea Bridge Company for their additional work and design of the bridge in order to make it much more maintenance friendly for our community.
Jemison Trail was voted the best running/walking trail in the Birmingham area in a poll sponsored by AL.com and Birmingham Magazine. The City of Mountain Brook is honored to receive this recognition for one of our most cherished parks. It was noted that Jemison Park won because of the shaded and beautiful scenery along the trail and where users can cross a creek and walk among the blooming wildflowers. The two mile winding trail is surrounded by native flora and fauna and follows a portion of Shades Creek.
Jemison Park’s natural setting was one of the visions of Mountain Brook’s founder, Robert Jemison, Jr. The City of Mountain Brook and community groups such as the Friends of Jemison Park have gone to great lengths to maintain this vision for the park. This park is a peaceful retreat for anyone wanting to get away from the hustle of big city life.
We would like to congratulate the other finalists in the best running/walking trail category: Red Mountain Park, Lakeshore Trail, and Vulcan Park Trail. All the Best of Birmingham 2018 winners and finalists can be found in the September issue of Birmingham Magazine or online at AL.com.
According to Zippia, a career information and options platform, Mountain Brook ranks #7 as the most successful city in the country and the most successful city in Alabama. Using data from the Census 2012-2016 American Community Survey PUMS dataset, cities were ranked in each state for median income, unemployment rate, and education rate.
Mountain Brook’s median income is $129,777, unemployment rate is 1.9%, and education rate is 85.1%.
We are pleased to announce that the City provides free WIFI in Crestline Villiage, Overton Park, the High School and adjacent Athletic Complex, Brookwood Forest Elementary playing field, Rathmell Park, English Village, and Mountain Brook Elementary playing field. Other outdoor locations are contemplated.
To encourage folks to shop local and have a lot of fun with it we hatched the idea of XploreMB. It is simple and here is how it works:
Here’s how to get to the October 9 electronics and recycling event:
Location: Birmingham City Hall at Linn Henley Park, 710 20th Street North, Birmingham, AL 35203
Please note: You’ll need to enter the site off of Park Place as short 20th street will be turned into a one-way street for the event
When: Saturday, October 9, 9 AM-11:30 AM or when collection capacity is met
Do bring (household quantities only):
Cable Boxes
Modems
Routers
Cell Phones and Tablets
See What All the Hype is About!
On Saturday, March 19th, 2022 from noon to 2:30 PM, EV owners from around Birmingham will gather in-person to showcase their personal electric vehicles and answer your questions on range, driving experience, low maintenance, cost and more.
The Mountain Brook Board of Landscape Design celebrates Arbor Day!
Arbor Week kicks off on February 28, 2022 with the Leadership Mountain Brook students visiting each elementary school to give a tree seedling to the 1st grade classes. They will promote Arbor Day with a skit
that will be used as a tool to educate the children on Arbor Day…how it started, why we do it, why it is important. The trees this year are flowering dogwood, saucer magnolia and sweetbay magnolia.
Mountain Brook is an amazing community who comes together in a crisis, and we have never experienced a crisis anything like the Coronavirus. OUR MERCHANTS ARE THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR COMMUNITY; therefore, the Mayor, City, and Chamber have worked diligently to offer a way to support our merchants.
The Annual Easter Egg Roll, sponsored by the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce, will be Saturday, April 16 at 10:00 am. This event will be held on the grassy field across from the O’Neal Library. The Easter Bunny will arrive riding on a Fire Truck! The entire family is welcome to attend the event, but the egg hunt is best for kids ages 1-6. BYOB (Bring Your Own Basket). Local merchants will help sponsor the event and normally provide goodies within the eggs. Check back with the Chamber for more updates on this event as more activites will be announced.
