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IRONDALE, Ala. (TRIBUNE) – Irondale Mayor James D. Stewart, Jr. shared stories of past success and a vision for the future during his State of the City address last week at Church of the Highlands.
Terry Schrimscher of the Trussville Tribune reported that Stewart shared his optimism with the crowd, saying he is thankful he didn’t listen to many of the detractors who spoke out when he first ran for office.
“I never thought in my wildest dreams that we would be able to achieve so many things,” Stewart said. “But somewhere I heard, attempt to do something that is so big that if God is not a part of it, it’s doomed to fail.”
Stewart turned to the screens to show photos of many of the city’s accomplishments over the last year including the new dog park, new sports complex, and new library that is currently under construction. He also touched on the city’s projected budget surplus for the year.
Along with the past accomplishments, he also showed a few future plans for the city including a new Irondale City Hall being built on Crestwood Blvd. and the new Irondale Civic Center, which is being converted from the old Zamora Temple. He even showed off plans for a sculpture for the center of the roundabout connecting Old Leeds Road and Grants Mill Road.
In a crowd of city leaders, media, business owners, and citizens, Stewart gave much of the credit to Irondale’s employees and business partners. Speaking to the Tribune, he praised the city’s employees for their hard work and their sense of teamwork.
“At the end of the day, our team is just built different. We’re like a family here, and we all collaborate and communicate—from public works to the fire department to the revenue office,” Stewart said. “We build each other up as a team and that allows us to provide the citizens of Irondale with the best services a city can offer.”
One future Irondale business owner shared with The Tribune how impressed he was with the city’s enthusiasm toward attracting business and jobs to the city.
“When looking for a place to build our new beekeeping store, we continued to hear comments about how Irondale was doing great things,” said Adam Hickman, founder of Foxhound Bee Company, which plans to open in Irondale later this year.
“Everyone on the project seemed to speak highly of working with Irondale and its leadership. So, when we approached the city to discuss our project, we learned the rumors were true. Within days of our request, we were able to meet with the Mayor and his whole team to pitch our project.”
He continued, “Emma Tolbert, their public relations director, has been eager to promote our business however she could. The whole city, from the building inspector to the Mayor, is ready to do business, and we couldn’t be happier to work with them.”
Foxhound Bee Company is expanding into Irondale from downtown Birmingham and has purchased several warehouses and 1 1/2 acres to develop its new Beekeeping and Pollination Education Center.
“The new facility will be a destination for beekeepers and the general public who want to learn more about how to become a beekeeper and what pollinators do for us,” Hickman said. “We will even host events where we can do team-building events for groups by setting up and opening some hives.”
Stewart told The Tribune he understands criticism and relies on his faith and his team to stay the course.
“Our city’s team is growing, and with that growth, challenges come. In the past several months, we’ve added three new departments—dispatch, public relations, and parks & recreation,” Stewart said.
“We’re growing to be able to execute the plan that our citizens laid out for us with Blueprint Irondale. We know that as long as we stay focused on open communication with our team and our citizens, and we trust in God, we’re going to be able to handle whatever comes our way.”
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