Today we had the privilege of attending the Gardendale Mayor Stan Hogeland’s State of the City address at the Chamber luncheon. If you could not attend, you missed out on the atmosphere of excitement amongst all those in attendance. The event costs $10, which covers lunch provided by the Shrimp Basket. Mayor Hogeland is an excellent speaker as he delivers a message that genuinely conveys his heart and excitement for the city of Gardendale.

Gardendale is all about Community

He started by speaking about the harmony within the council and the heart behind each council member to do the best for the community of Gardendale. He added that the head of each department utilizes their gifts to move Gardendale forward. The local Christmas parade, Magnolia Festival, and ribbon cuttings for new businesses were also a sign of praise from the Mayor for the local citizens of this great city. Financially the city is strong as we continue on an upward trend compared to the same period last year.

Gardendale’s Momentum

The Mayor stressed that the current momentum in Gardendale is unprecedented. We at the North Jefferson Post were able to get the slides, and they speak volumes about this momentum.

From Longhorn, Olive Garden, Sonic, Subway, and more, the city’s growth is something to bring praise. In true fashion for Mayor Hogeland, he praised the citizens and characterized the city as hard-working and community-focused, which he said was the true reason for this momentum. He did bring a slight word of caution not to get complacent and stay the course.

Investing in the kids of Gardendale

From the new football field for the high school to the playground equipment for the elementary, we counted over 10 projects that amounted close to 1.3 million proved to the four Gardendale schools over the past two years.

The Children are the Future of the Community

The new Bill Noble Park (referred to as Moncrief park by some locals) will be a sight to see. We encourage you to view the pictures below to see what a fantastic facility this will indeed be for the city.

Key Partnership, Closing thoughts, and City Video

The Mayor spoke on key partnerships that help the city. Our takeaway here was a humble reminder that we should all work together for the good of Gardendale. He also showed a new version of the city’s promotional video highlighting the city. He mentioned that this video is utilized on the city website and is an excellent reminder of Gardendale’s communities, amenities, economy, and future! He finished with a quote taken from a popular Chris Tomlin song titled God of this City where it says greater things have yet to be done in this city. After today’s State of the City, we would have to agree the momentum of Gardendale shows great things are to come!