MAYOR ON THE MOVE

STORY BY BREANNA MANLEY PHOTO BY KENNETH BOONE

Growth and infrastructure are high up on the radar for newly appointed Tallassee mayor, Sarah Morgan Hill. With a bright future in mind for Tallassee, Hill hopes to improve and build upon the commerce without losing the smalltown charm the city’s known for.

Hill has been part of the Tallassee community since she was 14 years old, only ever moving away when it came time to attend college. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in political science and a management master’s degree from Troy University before moving back to Tallassee.

“I actually live in the house that my dad bought in 2007. After he passed away, we inherited the house, and we still live there, in the middle of town,” Hill said.

Hill is now married to her husband of eight years, Jake, and they have two daughters, Meredith and Cadence. Hill and her family love the Tallassee and Lake Martin area. Spending time with her family has always been important to Hill, and she believes there’s no better way than the lake.

“We love to spend time on our boat at Lake Martin. We actually have a boat there, and we’ve had it for several years. We also bought our girls a Sea-Doo. When we have free time, we go around and do things they want to do,” she said.

When Hill isn’t spending time with her family or tending to her mayoral duties, she’s working on projects for her other job, event and project management for out-of-state clients. Before taking on the position of Tallassee’s mayor, Hill was elected to a six-year term on the Tallassee City Council, from 2016 to 2022.

“I chose to run for city council in 2016 to help the City redevelop its infrastructure and put itself on the path to grow, so the citizens could enjoy more recreational opportunities, be safe and also have their properties be worth more,” Hill explained.

She is thankful for the opportunity to serve her community in a new way, and she never dreamed her career path would lead to this position. Now that it has, she’s excited to bring more to the Tallassee community.

“I believe we are a small town on the move. We have a lot of projects that are going on currently that are going to place us in a similar growth pattern to Wetumpka’s scene in the last few years. With this mill project, with the downtown streetscape project and some of our utilities projects, we’re setting ourselves up for success,” she said.

Hill’s vision for Tallassee includes structured growth, and with a number of projects already in full swing, Tallassee could see some exciting changes over the next few years.

“I’d like to have structured growth. We certainly don’t want to grow in a way that is not smart. We do have a lot of potential; I mean, we are the infrastructure hub of Elmore County. Based on our location to the lake and with the river, we have a lot of recreational opportunities afforded to us,” Hill explained.

She’s excited about how far the city has come and how many changes have already happened under her direction.

“Our downtown, we’re actually about to let out the bid for the streetscape project and, hopefully, have it opened in December so that they can start working on that first quarter. ALDOT has approved a contract for repainting the Fitzpatrick Bridge. We are also really excited about the work and the progress that’s been done at the old mill site, Mount Vernon Mills. Seeing progress every day is great,” she said.

Bringing more opportunity to Tallassee residents is high on Hill’s priority list, and with time, she hopes to see a positive change in growth and infrastructure around the city. One of Hill’s most treasured accomplishments to date is the mill property improvement project. An investment firm is taking over the project to clean up the hefty rubble that was left after a 2016 fire.

“We have a lot of hardworking, industrious people here. We have a lot of ways that we can focus our growth, so focused, sustainable growth is my No. 1 priority for Tallassee,” Hill said.

Tallassee’s new mayor is looking forward to serving the people of Tallassee, and hopefully, bringing even more opportunities and growth to this charming Southern town. For more information about upcoming Tallassee projects and events, visit the city’s website at tallassee.gov.

Structuring Growth Toward Goals

Sarah Morgan Hill is excited about a new streetscape project, progress at Mount Vernon Mills, repainting the Fitzpatrick Bridge and more revitalization projects under way in Tallassee.