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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Construction on the new Trussville Fire Station No. 4 is underway on Trussville Clay Road near Hewitt-Trussville Football Stadium on Nov. 6.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Construction on the new Trussville Fire Station No. 4 is underway on Trussville Clay Road near Hewitt-Trussville Football Stadium on Nov. 6.
The City of Trussville’s fiscal 2024 budget and the Trussville 2040 strategic plan were the primary focus of Mayor Buddy Choat’s annual state-of-the-city address on Oct. 18.
The keynote speaker of the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce’s monthly meeting, Choat spoke to a packed room at the Trussville Civic Center and highlighted various aspects of the Trussville 2040 plan, which features an array of projects this city is working to bring to life.
For the projects on tap in fiscal 2024, Choat said that the City Council and key leaders have worked diligently to develop a budget that will address city needs. He added that the current state of the economy, with persistent supply chain holdups and other issues, made developing a budget problematic; however, he believes the city is positioned to provide the services and amenities its residents desire.
“Looking at the budget this year, it was very obvious there were some unknowns on the economy that we didn’t know. So it took a lot of work, a lot of hours, and we’ve come up with a budget that really is supporting what we need as a city,” Choat said.
The pieces of the 2024 budget can essentially be placed into two broad categories: expanded city services and quality-of-life enhancements. The $52 million budget is the largest in the city’s history.
“That’s because things are growing,” Choat said. “We’re close to $52 million this year, but that includes a lot of things that we had to get done, none more important than [that] we’re building fire station number 4.”
Currently under construction, Choat said the new fire station will be located on Trussville Clay Road. The 2024 budget includes the cost of construction, salaries and new equipment for the station.
Other items in the budget include a new A/V system for the Community Center; new floors and bleachers for the gymnasiums at the old Cherokee Road elementary school and the “blue gym;” and a contract with a professional arborist to monitor and care for the hundreds of oak trees in historic sections of the city.
“We have a lot of old trees, hundred-year-old trees, down there, and honest-to-goodness the hardest thing to do is those trees that are on the right-of-way, to know if that tree is healthy,” Choat said.
The business community is also a priority for Choat and city leadership. At the beginning of his address, Choat awarded the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce a check for $60,000.
“We just appreciate so much, how much they do for our city,” Choat said as he presented the check to David Moore, president of the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
The Trussville 2040 plan, much like this year’s city budget, will also revolve around city services and quality of life.
One key element is a new marketing campaign promoting the city’s businesses, particularly downtown. Titled “The Gateway,” Choat said the campaign is designed to market the city as a destination, encouraging people from outside Trussville to spend their entertainment dollars in the city. The campaign has already launched with a feature in Business Alabama magazine and commercials on WIAT CBS 42.
“We know that you all know what we have here, but we have so many people that come in from outside of Trussville to visit,” Choat said. “What we want to do is let those other people that don’t know what we have here, to come and shop and eat and dine here in Trussville.”
While the Trussville Entertainment District will be a highlight of the campaign, the Gateway campaign will highlight the diversity and quality of the entire city’s business community, he said. He also pointed to the campaign’s website, trussvillegateway.org.
“We’re featuring a lot of businesses, not just in the Entertainment District, but downtown businesses and those businesses around downtown, again that we show people outside of Trussville of the opportunities they have here,” Choat said. “I realize how fortunate we are, how blessed we are to have what we have here, but I want other people to know.”
Choat then pivoted to the city’s plans for the Glendale Farms property, which was purchased last year and is another element of Trussville 2040. While final plans and drawings are still under development, Choat showed a handful of conceptual drawings of the 230 acres that will include an array of amenities and, most importantly, a new elementary school. Choat said the city purchased the property after an earlier development plan under two owners was rejected by the city.
He added that the property will include several multi-purpose athletic fields and a town center with new shops and restaurants, all surrounding a new elementary school to serve the quickly growing communities in the northeast section of Trussville. It should take approximately three years to complete.
Choat said the growth Trussville has experienced in recent years is largely driven by the quality of the city’s schools, as well as its public services.
“We have got to have this fourth elementary school,” Choat said. “Our number one priority is to get that school built, and it is in the works now that we have a site that we feel like it’s going to work.”
One of the final Trussville 2040 projects Choat highlighted is a partnership between the city and school system for a new softball complex near Hewitt-Trussville High School. Under the leadership of head coach Taylor Burt, the girls softball team has won three Class 7A state championships since 2019, and the new complex, Choat said, not only will provide a new place for the team to practice and compete but also will be a jewel for the entire community.
“This is a first-class, state-of-the-art softball facility. We want to showcase not only the City of Trussville, but our softball program,” he said. “We want to show the state championships that these young ladies and Coach Burt have won, and we want to send a message to those teams that come in here.”
“Coach Burt has established our softball program as the gold standard in the state. I am excited that our team will be able to compete in a first-class facility. It will be exciting to watch our younger softball athletes learn the game and grow as well,” said Hewitt-Trussville High School Athletic Director Lance Walker, who attended the State of the City address.
Patrick Martin, superintendent of Trussville City Schools, also was part of the audience at the address and expressed gratitude to Choat and the Trussville City Council for how they support the schools and the city’s students.
“This is a very exciting time for the city of Trussville, as well as Trussville City Schools,” Martin said. “We are very fortunate to be able to partner with such a supportive city leadership team. Mayor Choat, City Council President Lisa Bright and the entire City Council have a clear vision for education in Trussville through their 2040 Plan.
“We have been working over the course of the last several months to align to this vision and look forward to our continued partnership in seeing this plan come to fruition,” he added.
