Mayor’s Minute By Stewart Welch III - June 2023

You are likely aware by now that the city of Mountain Brook became the first Alabama city to be named Bee City USA. This certification requires the city to do certain things that promote ‘saving the bees,’ whose populations are in decline across America. What we have recently done is install a ‘Bee Hotel’ at Mountain Brook City Hall.

On my many weekly trips to City Hall, I often see kids playing on the outdoor chess board. Well, now they can check out the bee hotel too. To help attract bees, public works planted a pollinator garden, with native plants and flowers that support pollinators. The bee hotel even has an observation door you can open to watch a bee in her nesting cavity. 

This bee hotel was designed and built by Gary Williams from our Public Works Department. If you stand back and give it a good look, you may notice it resembles the design of our city hall. Gary is quite the craftsman and just happens to be the husband of Shanda Williams, who heads our Parks and Recreation Department. Dana Hazen, director of planning, building and sustainability, is the brainchild behind this movement. We owe them all our sincere thank you for bringing this project to life.

As a reminder, these bees are solitary bees, not aggressive social/swarming bees because they do not have to protect a hive.

We are not sure when our local bee residents will show up as occupants of our hotel, but I hope you will join me in keeping a lookout.

This is a fun project the city has embraced that does good for our environment and fits nicely along with our Tree City and Green Zone initiatives.

I was driving through Crestline Village recently and noticed two of our public works guys blowing leaves. What was startling was the lack of noise. They were using electric blowers and the quiet was so nice. I stopped to visit and take a quick video to share on Facebook. They did comment that the electric blowers are not quite as powerful as the gas blowers, but I encouraged them to stick with it. The positive impact on our environment, both in reduced noise and zero emissions, is worth it. If you see them (you likely will not hear them), please let them know you appreciate their efforts.