After six years on the Demopolis City Council, Ronnie O’Neal has decided he won’t seek re-election.

O’Neal served out the term of the late Henry Trottman in the southern District 3 and then was elected for his own four-year term for a total of six years on the council.

Municipal elections will be held August 24.

The council needs some new blood, he said Monday. "I don’t want to stay too long."

Although he works in the CVS Pharmacy, O’Neal describes himself as semi-retired. "I stay so busy," he said, working on renovating houses. "I have a lot of irons in the fire."

Among the accomplishments of the council while he was in office, O’Neal listed:

the High Tech Center now under construction at the SportsPlex;

the completion of public gold course also at the SportsPlex;

the new personnel manual that had not been revised for 25 years;

the plan to renovate the old fire station for a new council chambers;

and the establishment of a separate individual (Jay Shows) for economic development. "I didn’t do this myself," he said. "I had a part in all that."

O’Neal is also proud that the council now has a different philosophy toward paving city streets. Previously, a paving project would include work in every district. "My idea was to do the worst streets first, no matter whose district they are in," he said.

It will cost less to repair a street early before major damage is done over time.

Qualifying for the municipal elections runs from July 1-July 20.