Editing Gardendale, Alabama (section)

==Government==
Gardendale uses the mayor/council form of government. Past mayors include J.I. Pesnell, Gilbert Jacks, James Yarbrough, Horace Parker, G. William Noble, Kenny Clemons, and Othell Phillips. Stan Hogeland is the current mayor.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cityofgardendale.com/mayor-council/page/mayor-stan-hogeland | title=Mayor Stan Hogeland &#124; Gardendale Alabama }}</ref>

The city council consists of five members. The city is divided into five geographic districts with each one electing a council member to represent it on the city council. The election cycle for the mayor and council members is every four years during the same years as presidential elections. The mayoral position became a full-time paid position following the 2008 elections. The city council chooses a member to become council president, who presides over the council meetings. The current council consists of: Bryan Knox (District 1), Adam Berendt (District 2), Alvin Currington (District 3, council president), Greg Colvert (District 4), and Will Hardman (District 5).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cityofgardendale.com/mayor-council/page/council-members|publisher=City of Gardendale|title=Gardendale City Council Members|access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref>

Gardendale has a full-time Police Department (Chief Scott Banks) and Fire Department (Chief Joe Thomas). The Fire & Rescue Department has three stations with station 1 located on Decatur Highway and station 2 located on Fieldstown Road and station 3 located on Tarrant Road. Fieldstown Volunteers, which is located in the western portion of the city, is a combination emergency response/disaster relief squad that mainly responds to large emergencies and provides support to other agencies.

Gardendale has a new City Hall that opened in 2015 on Main Street near the Civic Center. The previous city hall has been demolished and the property was sold to CVS for use as a pharmacy. The new Gardendale Civic Center is located on Main Street across from Gardendale High School. The Gardendale Public Library is located on Mt. Olive Road just south of the intersection of Mt. Olive Road and Fieldstown Road. A new municipal justice complex including court, police department, and jail has been located within the former Food World building facing US 31 just north of the city center area.  Gardendale has several parks and athletic facilities. G. William Noble Park (formerly known as Moncrief Park) contains 6 baseball fields, 8 tennis courts, a football field, and 3 playgrounds as well as picnic and party facilities. It is located just off Moncrief Road on the northside of the city. The tennis courts are well maintained, and host many different events as do the baseball fields. G. William Noble Park is well kept and gets new playground equipment periodically. Luman Harris Park is a girls softball facility located just off Pineywood Road in the southeast part of the city. Also located there is the Miracle Park which is used for mentally and physically handicapped children. Mini Park, consisting of a playground for smaller children is located on Keith Circle, just north of Tarrant Road, four tenths of a mile east of US 31. Celebration Park is located on Fieldstown Road on the western edge of the city and contains two soccer fields and a walking track, a "splash pad" water park for children. Memorial Park is located between Main Street and US 31 in the north central part of the city and honors those who have served in the US Armed Forces. Past park facilities included two tennis courts and the old civic center which were located adjacent to city hall in the center of the city, two tennis courts located on Tarrant Road in the eastern edge of the city, a mini park located at the corner of Peterson Drive and Tarrant Road which contained an asphalt basketball court, and a softball field that was located behind the south end of Bragg Middle School.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}