Librarian Lindsy Gardner was briefing the Mountain City Council on the O’Neal Library’s summer reading program when Lloyd Shelton asked a question.

“Mayor, did you get your pages?”

When Mayor Stewart Welch III said no, Shelton had a quick response. “I didn’t talk to you,” he said. “I talked to the mayor.”

Monday was a special day at City Hall as the city had two senior officials as Brookwood Forest Elementary second-grader Witten Woodruff served as mayor for the day.

Before the presidency and council meetings at City Hall, Witten and his parents, Jackson and Hailey Woodruff, were around the corner with Welch and the council in a joint meeting with the Mountain Brook Board of Education.

“It’s a great introduction for him to see how things work,” Hailey Woodruff said. “He’s a student at Mountain Brook, of course, but seeing how much work it takes to make the schools run so well has been really cool for him.”

The father said he had noticed his son’s interest in public service earlier, particularly through the work of the elder Woodruff.

“I’m a civil engineer, so he hears that I come to the city council meetings and he wants to learn more about it and see who all is involved,” Jackson Woodruff said. “It worked out and he even got to see parts that I hadn’t seen before. He got to attend the school board meetings and then sit in the mayor’s chair as well. He got to experience things that I didn’t get to experience and that’s really cool for him.”

Cool, yes, but maybe not very interesting.

“In a way,” said the eldest of the four Woodruff children, embarrassed, “but in a way not.”

Aside from banging the gavel to open the council’s preparatory and regular meetings, Witten’s greatest contribution as mayor for one day was signing the proclamation for Lulu Gribbin, the Mountain Brook teenager who was critically injured in a shark attack on a Florida beach on June 7.

Several members of the Gribbin family were in the Sam S. Gaston council chamber. Lulu watched the meeting via Zoom with her mother, Ann Blair Gribbin.

“This is an incredible act of love and we really, really, really appreciate it,” said grandmother Jane Gribbin. “It really warms our hearts and has helped us get through everything we’ve been through.”

Lulu had to undergo nine operations and was in hospital for ten weeks, but her granddaughter has made wonderful progress, said Jane Gribbin.

“The doctors are amazed at her progress and she has amazed us all just with her determination,” said Jane Gribbin. “It’s uplifting to see someone get so much love and support from the community and from her family and her friends and everyone. I think that’s helped her a lot.”

After receiving the proclamation, the Gribbin family left the building. The mayor also left the building for a day.

“He has to go to school tomorrow (Tuesday),” Hailey Woodruff said. “First day.”

After the Woodruffs’ departure Woodruff told the council:

• Liquor license granted to Surf Hound, a new restaurant concept in Mountain Brook Village from Chef Abhi Sainju and partner/operator Ashish Pradhan. The venue is scheduled to open in late August to early September.
• Repairs to the lighting system in the council chambers were approved. Finance Director Steve Boone said the project will cost $38,000 and the current budget allocates $30,000. Boone said he will place the order but does not know if the project will be completed in the current fiscal year.
• A resolution was passed authorizing an Eagle Scout project by Hooker Cook for two small libraries in the commercial villages. Council members advised the scout that librarian Lindsy Gardner could be of great assistance in making his project a reality.
• Accepted an easement and approved an agreement for 2842 Hastings Road. “It’s a drainage project,” said City Manager Sam Gaston. “We’re laying – I forget how many feet of pipe – to take the water from under this person’s house directly to the creek or drainage area behind the house.”
• Passed a resolution to execute a contract with JD Morris Construction for emergency pipe replacement at Riverview Circle. The cost – $228,450 – is not included in the budget, but “we have no choice,” Boone said. “We have to do it.”

When Gardner presented her report on the summer reading program during the council’s pre-meeting, she said it would be “an unabashed love fest for reading.” The theme was “You Choose Your Adventure.” The statistics were:

Children’s program: Pages read: 1,821,964; badges received: 18,967; active readers: 848.

Xtreme program: 2,218 books read, 252 active readers.

Youth program: Pages read: 321,139; 222; badges received: 222; active readers: 79.

The next regular meeting of the Mountain Brook City Council will be held on August 26th at 7:00 p.m.