Jerry Willis wants to see a plan for Wetumpka through.
It’s the reason he is seeking another term as mayor after 17 years in the position and another four as a city councilmember.
“We made a tremendous amount of progress here in the City of Wetumpka,” Willis said. “It is not just in one spot or two spots. The entire city of Wetumpka has been affected. We are very excited about where we are.”
Willis’ history in Wetumpka starts as a young adult. He moved to town and tried to buy a business. He eventually did purchase the business.
“We ran a very successful business here,” Willis said. “We did a lot of things with the profession that I was in. I also learned a lot about those people who came ahead of me. People who served on the council. People who served as mayor.”
In his first term as mayor, Willis sought to improve education through a $1.4 million investment in three Elmore County schools in Wetumpka.
“We were the group who put technology into the schools,” Willis said. “The Elmore County Board of Education has that technology in every school throughout the county, but we were the ones who set that pace for this.”
The 2019 tornado changed Wetumpka. It destroyed portions of two churches, homes, the Wetumpka Police Department and the Wetumpka Senior Center.
“It changed a lot of the development plans that we had,” Willis said. “There's still more to do and we're excited about that. We've done a lot, but we haven't finished the job. We want to finish that job”
Willis said a deal was negotiated with Wells Fargo for the city to purchase the bank’s building for $500,000 to move the police department out on U.S. Highway 231. HGTV highlighted Wetumpka through the inaugural season of Hometown Takeover.
Willis said through partnerships downtown Wetumpka is thriving. It grew from about 50% occupancy about seven years ago to above 90% today.
Willis and the city partnered with the Elmore County Commission at the Wetumpka Sports Complex. There are now turf fields on the baseball and softball fields thanks to funding from the commission. There is a new rodeo arena permanently installed.
Last summer Willis helped break ground on River Town Center, a City of Wetumpka development aimed at generating tax revenue. This summer Tractor Supply, The GOAT Bar and Grill, Guthries and an indoor children’s venue are under construction.
Willis said growth in Wetumpka has come through grocery stores such as ALDI and Publix.
“We have better health care today and we are looking at expanding that,” Willis said. “There's so many areas that we are expanding.”
Willis noted several housing developments in various stages of development. He said 268 homes are coming to the area just off Holtville Road and another 300 acres off Highway 9 have been purchased for a housing development.
Willis believes the city can do more with the Humane Society of Elmore County. He wants to help them with the stray pet problem in Wetumpka.
“We are rampant with stray cats in certain areas of town,” Willis said. “The animal shelter needs to be there. It needs to be updated.”
Willis Wetumpka has seen lots of good changes over the years with a lot of progress made.
“It’s thanks to a lot of groundwork already done and working our plan,” Willis said. “There is still more to do working the plan. I would like to continue doing that.”
