Pleasant Grove

City of Pleasant Grove
Incorporated	1937
Population	10,177
Mayor	Jerry Brasseale
School district	Jefferson County Schools
Government	Pleasant Grove City Council Pleasant Grove Department of Public Safety Pleasant Grove Department of Public Safety
Web site	cityofpg.com
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Pleasant Grove (incorporated in January 1937) is a city of 10,177 on 9.9 square miles in western Jefferson County, north of Hueytown. The community was originally known as Frog Pond, and was renamed for Pleasant Grove Baptist Church before 1884.

The community incorporated in order to be able to apply for federal funding for a municipal water system and many wells had been drained as a result of coal mining operations in the area. The first mayor, W. P. Stone was appointed.

Its post office (35127) was established in 1949. The Pleasant Grove Library opened in 1973. The city is served by Jefferson County Schools and helped fund the construction of Pleasant Grove Elementary School, Pleasant Grove Junior High School, and Pleasant Grove High School.

In 1969 Pleasant Grove petitioned to split its schools out of the Jefferson County Schools system. U.S. District Court Judge Sam Pointer Jr ruled that the city would be required to bus black children in to achieve federal mandates for racial integration. The city refused the order and Pointer abolished the nascent Pleasant Grove School System in 1971.

That same year, Pleasant Grove denied requests for annexation of the predominantly African-American community surrounding the Woodward School, and in 1979 also denied requests from Pleasant Grove Highlands and Dolomite.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 10,110 people residing in the city's 3,946 housing units, for an average household of 2.56 persons. The population density was 1,022.0/mi², with housing units at an average density of 398.9/mi².

The racial makeup of the city has changed markedly since the 1980s, when it could still be described in a federal court filing as an "all white enclave". The 1990 census counted 152 African Americans among the city's 8,458 residents. That number grew to 1,442 in 2000 and 4,534 in 2010. In that census, Pleasant Grove was 54% White and 45% African American with less than 1% of the population describing themselves as Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000, there were 3,570 households, of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.7% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 17.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $52,776, and the median income for a family was $59,132. Males had a median income of $38,544 versus $28,519 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,774. About 3.2% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

The Jefferson County Board of Equalization evaluated 3,697 homes in Pleasant Grove and determined that their average market value for 2007 was $141,450, a 4.6% increase since 2006.

Government

The city is governed by a Mayor, currently Jerry Brasseale, and five-member City Council. All city officials are elected at-large to four-year terms on leap years. The council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at Pleasant Grove City Hall. Council members as of the 2016 election are Phillip Houston, James Crumpton, Kenneth Hatfield, Paula Johnson, and William Bullion.

Karen Duncan is the City Clerk. Danny Reid succeeded Robert "Corky" Knight as the city's Director of Public Safety in February 2023.

In 2018 the NAACP Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit challenging Pleasant Grove's at-large elections. Judge Judge Scott Coogler dismissed the plaintiffs' 15th amendment claims and referred the case to mediation. The approved settlement, which required legislative approval, changed the city's election method to "cumulative voting" beginning with the August 25 municipal election. Under that system, each voter has a total of five votes which they can distribute among the at-large candidates. Multiple votes for a single candidate are allowed, and the top five vote-getters win seats on the City Council. Tie votes would be broken by a vote of the Mayor and remaining council members.

External links

• City of Pleasant Grove official website

References

• "Pleasant Grove, Alabama" (April 29, 2007) Wikipedia - accessed April 30, 2007
• Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081730410X
• Beahm, Anna (July 28, 2019) "Pleasant Grove: A story of change at the hand of Mother Nature and the judge’s gavel." The Birmingham News
• Beahm, Anna (October 13, 2019) "Pleasant Grove voting method changed to cumulative voting, according to approved settlement." The Birmingham News