• Meet the Police Chef event planned for June 30 at Silverhill Community Center

SILVERHILL, Alabama — The Town of Silverhill has a new top cop after the Silverhill Town Council confirmed Kevin Neal Brock as the town’s new police chief Monday night.

“He was everyone’s first choice and he accepted the position for what we were able to pay,” said Silverhill Mayor Tim Wilson.

Following the town council meeting on June 6, Wilson said the town would increase the salary for the new chief from $46,000 to $50,000 per year.

Wilson and the town council will host a “Meet the Police Chief” event from 5:30 to 7 p.m. June 30 at the Silverhill Community Center, 16111 South Ave. The public is invited to come, meet with Brock and to address whatever concerns they might have, Wilson said.

Brock was one of three candidates interviewed during two special work sessions in May at town hall.

Marcus Green, a deputy with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department; and Phillip Robinette, an assistant chief in Mt. Carmel, Tennessee, also made the town’s short list.

Brock, a resident of Silverhill and a 1984 graduate of Robertsdale High School, served with the Foley and Loxley police departments and has taught criminal justice part-time and as a temporary full-time adjunct professor at Faulkner State University.

“This is a great opportunity to be able to serve in my hometown,” Brock said. “I know there is a lot of healing to be done and we’re also going to be getting to work building up the department to where it needs to be.”

During Monday night’s meeting Wilson and Brock talked with council members about plans to purchase new uniforms for the police department and painting and striping the town’s patrol cars. There was also discussion about getting a computer for Brock.

“I am a firm believer in everyone having the same uniform and presenting a public presence with marked patrol cars,” Brock said, adding that he was working with Bishop State Community College in Mobile to have the cars painted and striped at no cost to the town.

The town will also begin advertising to fill a full-time patrol officer’s position, Wilson said.

The town has been contracting with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department to assist with police protection since voting to terminate Police Chief Kim Wasdin in January. In April, the council voted to extend its contract through the end of July, but Wilson said Monday he was contacted by Sheriff Hoss Mack about ending the contract June 30. The Sheriff’s Department will continue to assist the town in emergency situations.