Gordon Stone is the Mayor of Pike Road, AL which is one of the best places in Alabama to live, work and raise a family.
Pike Road: In the News
Pike Road mayor shares outlook for 2025
PIKE ROAD, Ala. (WSFA) – Pike Road Mayor Gordon Stone is sharing details about what the town is looking forward to in 2025.
“You look back at the year of 2024 and you’re just so thankful for the progress that our community has had the opportunity to make,” said Stone.
For only being around 27 years, the town is booming. It’s one of the fastest growing cities in the state and closing in on becoming the third-largest city in the River Region.
The mayor says the community was excited to welcome a new tennis court in 2024, it’s ninth overall. There was work on the outer loop of Interstate 85 at exit 16, and the approval of developments that will go into effect this year.
“We unveiled in 2024 our ONWARD Pike Road initiative, which has 20-plus projects scattered across the whole town and touching every demographic and every geographic part of Pike Road,” said Stone.
Some projects include a new economic development park, upgrading the fire department and providing more ambulances. Just this Thursday, the state approved the development of trails.
While Stone is blessed to see this town flourish, he says nothing would be possible without its residents.
“Pike Road can do the things we can do and have the projects we can have because Pike Road citizens are involved,” the mayor said. What a blessing it is to be the mayor of a community where people say ‘yes’ to quality of life programs or they participate in planning or they go to the school and support all those activities,” he added.
While Pike Road is booming, the mayor emphasized how the town is closely following a strategic plan to make sure it can handle the growth.
Original article posted at Pike Road mayor shares outlook for 2025
Pike Road superintendent delivers State of the Schools address highlighting state report card grades
The Pike Road School System is looking to grow, and Superintendent Dr. Keith Lankford explained why the district is becoming an increasingly popular choice for families. During the last school board meeting of the year, Dr. Lankford delivered his State of our Schools address, highlighting the district’s recent achievements and plans for the future.
The address comes just weeks after Pike Road Schools earned high marks on the state’s report card. For the third consecutive year, the district received an “A” grade, a recognition Lankford says plays a crucial role in the area’s growth.
“When you’re looking at an A on a report card, that’s big for your community,” Lankford said. “When you look at property values and how many people are moving in, Pike Road is a very desirable area, and that’s why people want to move here.”
Despite its high academic scores, the district is focusing on areas for improvement. Specifically, Lankford pointed to a rise in student incident reports, particularly at the elementary and intermediate levels. According to data that was presented, at Pike Road Elementary and Intermediate Schools, these incidents have increased by more than 50% combined in the 2023-24 year compared to the 2022-23 year.
“A lot of those things, I think, go from a non-structured environment to a structured environment,” Lankford explained. “One of the things I would like to implement is a kindergarten camp, where the kids can come in a couple weeks early to get to know their teachers and the facilities—where’s the lunchroom? How do you go to the bathroom?”
Looking ahead, Pike Road Schools is planning a new 240,000-square-foot high school. The facility, which is tentatively expected to open in August 2026, will be a major addition. The district is set to approve a general contractor bid by late January 2025.
“We’re ready to bid that next phase, which will be that building, that stadium, all the things that are connected to it going vertical,” Lankford shared.
In terms of finances, Pike Road Schools is stable. The district’s projected financial statement for fiscal year 2024 shows an excess revenue of over $3.2 million. About 21% of the district’s funding comes from local sources, but Lankford hopes to increase this percentage in the future.
While there are no plans for additional property taxes due to recent increases and renewals, the superintendent is looking to boost local funding through other means, such as sales taxes or other appropriations.
Original Article Posted at Pike Road superintendent delivers State of the Schools address highlighting state report card grades
Pike Road Town Council moves forward to establish first economic development park
The big topic at the Pike Road Town Council meeting tonight – economic development. The majority of people who live in Pike Road work elsewhere, and town leaders would like to change that. A decision by the Pike Road Town Council tonight moves plans for a new economic development park forward.
The council unanimously approved the annexation of about 36 acres on Troy Highway into Pike Road, and it will now become a complex where businesses can locate. This will be the town’s first economic development park, and tonight was about the procedural aspect of moving forward with the land and getting the land in Pike Road’s name. Right now the town’s biggest employers are the Pike Road School System and TK Electric.
Mayor Gordon Stone tells Action 8 News that this economic development park has been in the works for about two years. He says right now they’re focused on recruiting smaller industrial projects, but that could change in the future.
“Pike Road’s vision from the first day was not to be just a bedroom community. Our vision has always been holistic. It has been about trying to put together a plan that provides services that people need, that provides quality of life that people want, that provides jobs that people can be fulfilled with, and that provides education in a way that people can see their dreams come true. This opportunity that we’re seeing with this economic development park is another step forward in that holistic approach that makes a town its own,” said Mayor Stone.
According to Mayor Stone, they already have their first tenant. The types of businesses they’re expecting will locate there could range from real estate agencies to professional and support services or even tech businesses. More information about the exact plans for the complex will be presented in the coming weeks.
Original article posted at Pike Road Town Council moves forward to establish first economic development park – WAKA 8
Meet Gordon Stone
Gordon Stone is mayor of the Town of Pike Road. He has served in this role since 2004 when the town had 350 residents and covered only a two mile area. Pike Road now has more than 8,000 citizens and covers a 16 mile-wide area. Mayor Stone has been a champion of municipal planning and vision, educational opportunities helping all citizens succeed, efficient services and innovative quality of life programs.
Mayor Stone also serves as executive director of the Higher Education Partnership. Mayor Stone is known for his energetic leadership of the Partnership, an advocacy organization that works to strengthen the standing of Alabama’s four-year, public universities and communicate the critical role higher education plays in the economic well-being of the state. An agricultural economics graduate of Auburn University with an MBA from Auburn University Montgomery, Mayor Stone is a former walk-on and letterman on the Auburn football team. He also serves as Executive Vice President of the National Young Farmer Educational Association and assists them with educational and meeting planning services. For many years, he served as an active participant in his family’s’ cattle farm in Wilcox County.
Despite many professional and volunteer duties, Mayor Stone lists his family and faith as the two priorities about which he is most passionate. He and his wife, Ellen, have two daughters and are members of Montgomery’s First Baptist Church, for which the couple organize and host family mission experiences.
