City of Leeds Launched Imagine Leeds
City of Leeds launched IMAGINE Leeds with its first community meeting to share information about the new comprehensive plan process on Thursday, January 11 at Leeds High School. This meeting was a workshop style and attendees had an opportunity to give input into what they would like to see happen for the future of Leeds, Alabama.
IMAGINE Leeds is a public process and the city wants input from as many citizens as possible. In addition to the in-person meetings and workshops, residents can provide input via an online survey at https://forms.office.com/r/E8RLTnucCT
To see all photos from this meeting, please visit the City of Leeds Facebook page at: https://facebook.com/leedsalabama.
Mayor David Miller shared a few words and representatives from Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) led the workshop. This is the first of several meetings that will be scheduled this year.
"This is a program that was set up quite some time ago. As y’all know, this administration is about progress and growth, but sustainable growth, ecologically appropriate growth, and what we really want to do is hear what the citizens have got to say about how we're doing, where we're going, what you would like to see for us to do in the future. These guys are going to talk about that and it will then be up to you to throw in your comments and give us some guidance, because this is a big deal. This has got a lot of federal push behind it and it's something that it will carry us into the future.” -Leeds Mayor David Miller
Click here to read the press release about IMAGINE Leeds.
For more information about IMAGINE Leeds, please visit https://ImagineLeeds.com.
Post-Event Interviews
“We had our kick-off meeting this evening for what I think is going to be a wonderful long-term development program. The product that will come out of this will be a comprehensive plan for the city. No Plan can be made in a vacuum and that's exactly what this meeting’s about tonight, is to involve the citizens and what they want to see Leeds be as we move along.
We have a great future. We've got a lot of potential and we're talking about just the best way to actually use what we have lying in front of us.
We’ve done a lot in the last 11 years of this administration. We’ve got twenty years in our sight. This is something that will be the guiding document for the foreseeable future.
This plan is going to look into just about every aspect of what goes on in a municipality. We’re talking about education, about business development. We’re talking about infrastructure, anything that you can think of that makes up the municipality is going to be addressed as part of this plan. It will be our guiding document, as I say, and one of the things that Leeds has that a lot of places don’t have is that we still have a beautiful downtown. We have the outlying shops on the edge of town. We have major investments in attractions such as, well we have to mention Buc-ee’s. You can't talk about Leeds without talking about Buc-ee’s, but we have the Bass Pro Shops and we have Barber Motorsports on our edge.
We have annexed 700 new acres where major subdivisions are going in. We have about five new subdivisions going in. That is the key to our future, rooftops, but the type of rooftops that come make all the difference. Leeds was selected as one of the top places in the state for future wealth development. It was selected as one of the top 5 locations in the state for young professionals to move to. Our school system was selected as the number one up-and-coming school system in the state and we’re really happy that we are doing something now to make sure that we guard our future.
If you look at the history of Leeds, it started out as a little railroad community and has blossomed. We have quite a mixture here in Leeds. We are multi-cultural. We have economic status all the way from low-income housing to million-dollar-plus houses. There is something here in Leeds for everybody and we want to keep it that way.
The business environment is invigorated. In the years that this administration has been in, first thing we said is that Leeds is open for business. We meant it and we have achieved that. If you look at the business growth in the City of Leeds, we have actually brought in over 80 new or expanded businesses. I think the latest one that we cut the ribbon on this morning is number 82 so we're looking at our future. We're working on our future and we're steering the ship.”
“I'm really, really excited that Leeds is doing this. I think it’s been a long time coming. It’s a great community, but I think more people need to hear about it and I am really glad that we are just getting information from all of the community so that it gets out to everybody. I'm most excited about the sports complex. It’s something like that, that comes into existence in Leeds, and ball game over, pun intended, right? Sports facilities and complexes bring in a lot of revenue. Softball tournaments, baseball tournaments, and that kind of stuff, will be huge for our community. There’s not a whole lot that wasn’t covered on the individual tables and I am just really excited that we are getting the surveys done. One of the biggest things for me is information from the people, getting it out there, putting it on the plan, and moving forward. I love Leeds and the community that it is. There are so many good people in the community and so many great churches. As a pastor, I'm always talking to other pastors and other churches. As a community, we get together and have service together, and it's just a great place to raise a family, to have kids and there's always lots to do in the community.” -Morgan Jones, Mosaic Chapel Pastor.
“I think that this is a great program. I think that it is great for the City of Leeds. I think that this will help push the City forward with their plans to grow, develop and diversify, bring in people that work, live and play here, to have their input as well as city officials, is nothing but a win-win for the city. I think businesses bringing in entertainment for the kids, entertainment for adults, restaurants, green areas for the family…I think those are the things that were really discussed tonight. I think Leeds has changed and people are recognizing the beauty, the historic part of the city. Business has come like Buc-ee’s and the Leeds outlet has really drawn people here. I think a lot of young adults are looking at Leeds and I think this plan will further help grow the City, diversify it and just make it a great place for families, older people, younger people, all people.” -Telra Rocker, Alabama Power Community Relations Specialist.
“I am so excited to be here tonight. I am excited to see how the city grows and I look forward to all the wonderful changes and just being more involved in our community.” -Melissa Lee