Mayor Earl Johnson on Thursday inducted the longest-serving CEO of PowerSouth Energy Cooperative into the Andalusia Leadership Hall of Fame.
“PowerSouth, and our community, are better places, thanks to the contributions of Gary Smith,” the mayor said.
Smith is a native of Corinth, Mississippi, who earned bachelor’s and juris doctorate degrees from the University of North Alabama and Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. He moved to Andalusia in 1989 to join what was then the Alabama Electric Cooperative, or AEC, and was named CEO in January of 2000.
“Gary began his career as an attorney, but has emerged as a leader in business and energy in Alabama and across the Southeast,” Johnson said.
The mayor cited Smith’s extensive involvement as a board member for energy, business and education organizations.
He currently chairs the boards of Southern Independent Bank and the South Alabama Regional Airport, and he is a past chairman of the Business Council of Alabama and the BCA Progress PAC. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of North Alabama; the Alabama Port Authority board; the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives board; the Florida Electric Cooperative board; the Alabama Fiber Network board; and the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama Board.
Gary and Debbi have three daughters, three sons-in-law and eight grandchildren, all of whom reside in Birmingham. He is also the proud companion of Yadi, his yellow lab.
“All of these things say a lot about who Gary Smith is, but perhaps more important is his love for and generosity toward the quality of life of this community,” Johnson said. “Under his leadership, PowerSouth has generously paid its civic dues, both literally and figurately. PowerSouth has taken an active role in economic development and assisted with projects in Andalusia and throughout the PowerSouth service area that have made local economies stronger.
“It is currently my honor to serve as chairman of the PowerSouth Board of Trustees,” Johnson said. “In that role, I also have the unwelcome responsibility of finding his replacement, as Gary plans to retire this year, and spend a lot more time with his family and Yadi.”
Smith said that when he moved his family to Andalusia, the community embraced them.
“This was and is a wonderful community in which to raise a family,” he said. “Part of my push in has been to make places like Andalusia become places where my daughters want to live. As a builder of a company, we have tried to provide jobs for people in our community who want to come back to our community.”
During his tenure, PowerSouth’s annual sales have grown from $365 million to $1 billion, and its capacity for power generation has doubled.
“I’m proud of what we built,” he said. “I encourage each of you, as you build your businesses, look for opportunities to help others grow.”
Previous inductees in the Leadership Hall of Fame include John G. Scherf Sr.; Henry Opp; Charles Dixon and Solon Dixon; Seth Hammett; Ed Short; Earl Johnson; Larry Avery; Dr. James D. “Jim” Krudop; and Taylor Parts founders James Marion Taylor, Marion Dobie “Buck” Taylor, Riley Rousseau Taylor Sr., and James Marion Taylor II.
Deirdra Trawick Belton will become the first African-American female to serve on the Andalusia Board of Education when she is sworn in at the board's next meeting.
The Andalusia City Council appointed her Tuesday to fill the unexpired term of District 1 board member Sammy Glover, who stepped down earlier this month.
"I love children, I love the community and I love the school," Belton, who is the owner of Deelightful Kids Child Care and Learning Center.
Before returning to her hometown and opening her child care center, Belton served as a director of the first community child care center for the Killeen City (Texas) School District. She also worked as lead Pre-K teacher for the U.S. Military Child Development Program in Worms, Germany.
Belton is a graduate of Andalusia High School and earned a bachelor of science degree in human services after studying at Alabama A&M University and the University of Phoenix. She is a member of the Andalusia Public Library Board, the Oleander II Social and Civic Club, the Pilot Club, NAACP and the Order of Eastern Star. She also is active in her church, where she is president of the Church Missionary Ministry and works with church organizations.
Glover said he couldn't have a better replacement.
"After learning more about her, I'm really glad she didn't decide to run against me," he said. "Her background working with kids is an advantage."
Glover said he decided to step down because it was time.
"We needed to turn the decision-making over to someone younger," he said. "Ideas about education have changed, and she fits the bill for the time."
In unrelated business, the Council also approved a short-term lease agreement with Blue Bird Coffee of Andalusia to use the commercial kitchen at Springdale when it is not in use as a venue. City administrator John Thompson said the company, owned by Greg White and Casey Teel, has grown its custom cheesecake business and needed access to a kitchen until it can work out a better solution.
The Council also heard from local resident Shirley Flowers, who expressed opposition to the recently approved ordinance allowing Sunday alcohol sales, and a presentation from Marck Devich on the use of cameras for traffic management.
Enhancing the quality of life for local residents will again be a major goal for the Andalusia City Council, based on discussions in an extended workshop meeting brainstorming with department heads as city leaders plan for the next four years.
Planning Director Andy Wiggins said the installation of new playground equipment in Robinson Park will begin in February, and will take four to six weeks to complete.
Struthers Reaction, LLC was the low bidder for the project, which will be funded in part with a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant.
Wiggins said that even though the City just completed its 2025 Candyland event, planning has already begun for next year, when all of the features traditionally housed on the City Hall campus will move to Heritage Park.
“In a new location, it will be new and different like we just started again,” Wiggins said. “It won’t be nearly as congested.”
Needs for Johnson Park also were discussed. City Recreation Board and School Board member Billy Bergfeld was among those attending the meeting, Bergfeld said one thing parents have requested is shade structures over the seating areas, which could also offer foul ball protection. Bull pens also could increase safety, he said.
Parks and Recreation Director Willie Edwards said drainage work is needed in the areas used as auxiliary fields, and possible an additional restroom and concession area. The number of students participating in youth sports has grown, he said, especially in basketball and volleyball, which was added two years ago.
Councilman Jeremy Craig also expressed a need for additional soccer fields to support a newly-formed soccer club, Andalusia United.
The Council also addressed upgrades to Cooper Pool.
“We’ve talked about an indoor aquatic center,” Mayor Earl Johnson said. “We cannot afford an indoor aquatic center.
“Those are plain facts,” he said. “To build a true indoor facility that would be attractive for hosting meets would cost between $12 million and $15 million to build and another million dollars a year to operate it. We are not going to have that kind of money.
“Now, that being said, we do want to improve our swim center,” he said.
Wiggins said the city has explored the cost of new construction vs. upgrades to the existing facility, and that needed repairs at Cooper Pool will likely total $1.2 million. The City had a geologist survey the property last spring after swim coach Darren Forry, who attended the planning meeting, alleged it was hollow underneath and dangerous for children.
“That’s an aluminum liner in the pool,” Wiggins said. “It’s not hollow underneath. When you let the water out of the aluminum, it expands and contracts, and the aluminum has nowhere to go but up. That’s why it appears to you to be buckled. The biggest problem is in the filter house. As the water circulates, the old pipes are leaking. We’re going to need to dig everything up and put new pipes back to it.”
The $1.2 million estimate also includes the construction of new restroom facilities.
The Council also discussed needs for police and fire protection, as well as future paving projects and the continued need for workforce housing.
Local Realtor Sue Wilson attended the meeting with photographs she had taken that morning of bungalow-type houses that need work.
“Therse are in lower-value neighborhoods,” she said. “All of these pictures show junk, but abatement won’t take care of the problem completely. We need an emphasis in the spring about clean up, paint up, fix up,” she said. “The City could offer incentives to help people.
“Maybe we could start the beautification awards again, emphasizing smaller neighborhoods,” she said. “They just need help. They just haven’t thought about putting things off the front porch.”
Mayor Johnson asked Wilson to lead that effort.
“I think this would be better received coming from citizens, and not the government,” he said. “People resent someone from the government making them do something.”
Wilson said owners of bungalow homes “don’t understand what they’ve got.”
“Andalusia could be a beautiful place,” she said.
The Council is expected to adopt a resolution formalizing its goals in the coming months.
The City of Andalusia will be closed on Mon., Jan. 19, in observance of the MLK holiday. Monday's garbage routes will be picked up on Tuesday, along with Tuesday's routes.
The Andalusia Police Department had fewer calls for service, fewer burglaries, fewer theft cases, and no murders in 2025, Police Chief Paul Hudson told the Andalusia City Council this past week.
Of the 13,838 calls answered by the APD in 2025, approximately a third, or 4,475 of those were traffic stops, from which 1,341 citations and 217 warnings were issued.
Hudson said burglary cases decreased from 66 to 49 in 2025; theft of property decreased from 337 to 284 cases in 2025; and there were no murders in 2025, compared with one in 2024.
All told, the department made 555 arrests in 2025, 34 of which were for DUIs.
“That averages 1,153 calls a month,” Hudson said.
The council met in an extended workshop session to set goals for the current quadrennium, and asked department heads to discuss anticipated needs.
Hudson expressed his appreciation for the investments made in equipment for the department, and especially for additional cameras.
“Y’all approved our camera system in December of 2024, and it is now all installed,” he said. “Since it’s been installed, we’ve made five cases using them. It’s been very useful in just a short period of time.”
Hudson said he currently is researching the issuing of photo tickets, and using AI to help analyze traffic footage.
“We’re not trying to be a speed trap,” he said, adding that at the busiest times, making traffic stops on the bypass could make it less safe.
He said a system he’s investigating to help analyze traffic data could save officers hours of time.
“Right now, if we’re looking for a certain color and style of a vehicle in relation to a crime, we have to watch footage from numerous cameras, and that takes a a lot of time,” he said. “If we can implement this system, it could help us solve crimes more quickly.”
Hudson said he also is researching the possibility of asking the council to address a new ordinance addressing the feral cat population, an issue Councilman Terry Powell has put on the table for discussion numerous times. He said one of his constituents has a serious problem in his yard because his neighbor feeds a large number of feral cats.
Hudson said one possible solution is to fine anyone caught feeding a feral colony, as they are potentially helping create a nuisance.