[0:03] and department head updates and agenda item updates. So,

[0:11] anybody have anything on the agenda tonight?

[0:14] Okay. >> Hey,

[0:18] » figured some people do. Um, number 11, resolution uh for the

[0:24] city council to authorize and approve the addition of one temporary fire

[0:27] station maintenance coordinator, which is the supervisor position for the uh

[0:31] FY26 budget. This is to align with the retirement of our incumbent who will uh

[0:36] hopefully be able to work with and train the replacement. Uh the uh current

[0:40] coordinator retires September 30th. >> Okay.

[0:45] » All right. Thank you. >> That's John. Okay. And this is just to

[0:49] overlap for a little bit and then that one will defund and close out.

[0:53] » Correct. Per usual. >> Thank you,

[0:58] sir. How are you doing? >> Doing okay. How about you?

[1:02] » I'm well, thank you. >> I have item number 18. Uh requesting an

[1:07] unbudgeted expense of $72,900 to replace the uh sand filter tanks for

[1:14] the indoor pool. They are 26 years old and when we fired

[1:20] the pumps back up, they failed. So, I guess they're about due to be

[1:25] replaced. >> Thanks, sir.

[1:27] » Uh, we did move some money or are requesting to move some money within our

[1:31] capital improvements uh budget that was for the press box renovation, repairs,

[1:37] however you want to say that. Um, so we were moving shifting money over from

[1:42] that to cover it. >> All right. Perfect.

[1:45] questions for Pat. >> Thank you. I'm

[1:48] » good.

[1:54] » Good evening, sir. >> Good evening.

[1:56] » How are you? >> Good. How are you?

[1:58] I just have uh number 10. And that is just our uh

[2:03] annual fire extinguisher inspection service.

[2:09] » We good with this one? >> Yep, we finally got one.

[2:11] » This is third time's a charm. Is that right?

[2:13] » Yes. Finally got someone better late than never. Hopefully hopefully they're

[2:17] good. So we haven't worked with them. So >> that's all we got.

[2:21] » Okay, >> perfect. Easy enough.

[2:25] » We're flying through this. >> Oh, it's smooth.

[2:29] » Yes, ma'am. >> I have I have se several I have from 12

[2:33] through 15. Um item number 12. This is authorized to hire Jackson Thornton to

[2:40] do a rate study that will cover um gas, electric, water, and sewer rates um

[2:48] coming up. Do you'all have any questions on that? You selected it last um

[2:52] meeting, and this is to authorize the contract.

[2:55] » And when was the last time we actually did the study? 22.

[2:59] » It was 22's data. And this will use 26's data. So, as soon as we close the year,

[3:05] we'll get them the data they need, and it take them about six months to

[3:08] complete. >> And do they recommend doing this every 3

[3:11] to four years? Is that >> Yes. Yes.

[3:15] Um, and you can really see on some of the budget meetings we've kind of talked

[3:18] about, you can really see the cost of our um, you know, our costs going up

[3:24] from, you know, 22s to current. Um, you have any questions on that,

[3:31] » ma'am? Um the next next one is number 13 and this is where we've we've had a lot

[3:39] of discussion on us we're needing to borrow money for water and sewer. Um if

[3:44] you remember we borrowed two years ago 25 million. Um we did an extension and

[3:50] added additional 5 million. This past year did a six-month extension that is

[3:55] due November 1st. And so we're looking at at the same time is to do an RFP at

[4:02] the banks, local banks to see if we can um what kind of rates we have from the

[4:06] local banks. Um and so this is authorizing um me to advertise to do an

[4:12] RFP with the local banks. And then um number 14 goes along side by side with

[4:18] this. Um it's been since 2007 um since the city has actually done a

[4:25] bond issue to go and they've done ratings

[4:29] um a few ratings throughout the year and I think maybe the last rating was an

[4:33] update I believe it was in 15 um but for us to actually do the bond issue it's

[4:38] been that many years it's just recommended that us look at um

[4:43] competition for underwriters to um do a selection of underwriters for them to

[4:49] come in and give you what their quotes what they would do for a bond issue. Um,

[4:54] » and so council, we're doing simultaneous RFPs, but is it fair to say that we

[5:00] could go either or or some kind of hybrid combination even possibly?

[5:04] » We could. >> That's exactly.

[5:06] » We're just going to see what what they come back with consultant recommends.

[5:10] » Yeah. And you want to compare what the um issuing cost is. You know, comparing

[5:15] rates of a bank and your issuing cost is very minimal. And then compared to a

[5:21] bond issue, you have underwriting cost. Um and then looking looking at those

[5:26] rates. Um also being able to look at what's your call date. You know, a bond

[5:31] issue is 8 to 10 years. Sometimes the bank you can have a call date that's

[5:34] less that if you think that you would want to pay that off early, that's where

[5:39] the difference in the in the call rates going to be. And in council, we just for

[5:44] kind of a background, we we did 25 million on a bank loan. We renewed it

[5:48] and added 5 million, so we're at 30 that's due on the first. We're we're

[5:54] looking at another 50 >> or so. So, we're looking at about 80 80

[5:59] million and and even have more than that in projects in the next several years.

[6:03] So, um I think every little bit will help on on

[6:09] this. So, that's why we're deciding to to um put it out for an RFP and see if

[6:13] we can't get as many um good responses as possible to to and then on the bond

[6:18] we just select somebody to go with on the underwriting that won't necessarily

[6:22] have quotes. Um,

[6:26] but I think it's a good process. We've never borrowed this much money before.

[6:30] So, >> that that that's right. I mean, and it's

[6:32] it's looking at how much money the city's never borrowed this much um

[6:36] money. So, that's that's you're just trying to be good steward to make sure

[6:39] that we're, you know, getting the lowest cost of issuance. We're doing the right

[6:43] thing. >> Any questions for Kim?

[6:48] » And then the next item I have is has our stop loss. So, um you can see with the

[6:55] attachment on the stop-loss, our um Cobbs Allen is our insurance consultant

[7:01] and they put out for um renewal or for bid every year for our stop-loss and um

[7:07] our current provider at our current staying at a $100,000 stop-loss was

[7:12] doing a 60% increase. And um and we had on there is no lasers

[7:18] and lasers are the um high claims and um so Cobbs Allen is recommending um to

[7:25] stay with the same provider but um to increase our stop-loss coverage to 125.

[7:31] So we pay the first 125 and then stop loss would come in and pick up any

[7:37] claims over the 125. And so that would make our difference going up um almost

[7:43] 40% 39% increase. Um and so you know that's the recommendation.

[7:51] If um if y'all see something different you would want to do something different

[7:55] but um you know I'm trusting our consultant and um and then we'll have

[8:00] some other meetings to come back and look at maybe some structures of our

[8:04] plan. Um, right now I have in the budget an 8% increase in health insurance to be

[8:11] able to get um the amount of money that needs to be funded to um offset the

[8:17] claims that's going to be recommended. What we think our future claims are

[8:20] going to be. Um we're, you know, shooting at a number. We're shooting at

[8:24] a number. It's almost um $6.5 million in insurance claims. Um, so we're we're um

[8:31] so I've got that in the I've got that in the budget to um be able to have an

[8:35] amount of claims, but we will have some future meetings with mayor um and the

[8:39] consultant to look at um maybe some plan structures.

[8:43] » Uh so we're going to increase stop loss to 125 and instead of it going up 60%

[8:47] it'll go up 39%. >> Yes.

[8:51] » And we like that better than the 150 option.

[8:56] » Yeah. the risk the unknown. Yeah,

[9:00] » it's it's the risk that's that's going on that you have,

[9:04] » you know, the claims. >> But I mean, how many more

[9:09] » significant claims? Uh I'm just looking at um

[9:15] » so >> we're looking at a 1.1 uh what's the

[9:20] 1.1 the premium? >> Yes, that

[9:23] » versus 970. So that's 130.

[9:29] You'd have to have I guess six >> six claims greater

[9:33] » six maxed out. >> Yes. And I mean in 23 24 um we had two

[9:40] we had six and the 2425 and then this year we had the four. Um, so

[9:50] » a great answer to this question unfortunately because there's just

[9:54] » I mean your

[10:00] cost not just here but in but everywhere have skyrocketed and it's just it it's

[10:05] it's becoming unworkable for for for everybody

[10:10] » and there's just no way of knowing you know

[10:12] » right >> the claims the future of the claims and

[10:15] what you're going to have. >> Um, and I think that's, you know,

[10:17] obviously the hard part. If we had a crystal ball, it'd be easy, but

[10:22] » trying to look at historical data and again recommendations from the

[10:25] consultant and and again trying to I guess trying to balance the risk that

[10:30] we're taking.

[10:35] » It's definitely and I mean and the the question came was do we do we go back

[10:39] fully funded with Blue Cross or do we still stay self-funded? And you know, me

[10:44] analyzing it over the past five years, we actually um bal we were we were

[10:50] balanced, you know, but on those good years, we were able to put that money in

[10:54] the bank account, you know, we we made up that money, but if we were with Blue

[10:59] Cross and we had that good year that there was one year that was $400,000,

[11:05] Blue Cross would have kept that. >> Yeah. you know, and then the next year

[11:08] another 300,000 that was put into the bank account, they would have kept that,

[11:13] but the the bad year would have increased and we wouldn't have been able

[11:17] to get any savings from that. So, so I think the plan has done very well.

[11:21] » Okay. >> Um it's just, you know, we've hit a

[11:25] couple of bad years, >> but you know, I think we've done done

[11:29] well and we just got to get through this.

[11:34] » Okay. And any other questions for for Kim on on a stop loss?

[11:39] » Thank you, Kim. >> Thank you, Kim.

[11:40] » Thank you.

[11:47] » Good evening, sir. >> Yes, sir. We only thing I have is a

[11:50] public hearing. Um, since we had an early meeting, the applicant's actually

[11:54] here. Typically, we wouldn't even talk about that in a work session. And

[11:58] because it's a public hearing, we wouldn't do that until 6 regardless. Uh,

[12:02] » is that still the case or would you like to talk about they might go grab a cup

[12:05] of coffee or something since there's two hours to go?

[12:07] » Yeah, I think I would Larry Larry might treat y'all to dinner. I

[12:12] » I'm going to stay here for the rest of it, but but uh I don't we typically

[12:16] don't talk about those public hearings in a work

[12:19] » until the time. So, okay. So, we're even if we're flying ahead of things, we need

[12:23] to bring that one back to six o'clock. Okay. Is that okay?

[12:27] » All good. All right. Thank you.

[12:38] And sir, >> good evening. If it's allowable, I'll

[12:40] cover my agenda items and also knock out number two on the work session at the

[12:45] same time. >> Why not?

[12:46] » I have items 6, 7, 8, and nine. Uh item number six, we are before you asking for

[12:53] what I consider to be a good change order uh for our uh Julins Plaza

[12:59] project. Um this is brought on by by two things. Uh the project can go forth

[13:04] without the change order, but but a couple things arise. Uh one, uh on the

[13:09] original corner that has been uh demolished and being rebuilt, there did

[13:14] exist 80 of the 12x 12 memorial pavers. And uh I think staff has learned the

[13:21] hard way that you cannot be nonchalant when it comes to the location of

[13:26] memorials that people have given it time. And when we looked at other

[13:30] locations within the city to locate them, let's just say the folks that gave

[13:35] them memorials were not real thrilled with that. Uh this change order allows

[13:39] us to keep the memorial at the same corner. Other than the fact that it

[13:42] doesn't run up fair hope, they would run down bankrooft from that corner and

[13:46] allow us to do that 105 foot sidewalk and the red pavers that we've done many

[13:50] of our sidewalks as opposed to concrete. And we're asking you to consider that

[13:55] and our treasurer has found funds to transfer to cover it. Uh but we would

[14:00] the architect as well as the city and and those that uh gave those memorials

[14:05] would really appreciate this change order. So I'd be glad to answer any

[14:08] questions on it.

[14:12] Item number seven and and I will tell you I want to thank the the city of Fair

[14:17] Hope and you as the council because you have allowed me to expand my horizons as

[14:22] an engineer and uh I can't say that there's many engineers in the in the

[14:27] world of engineering that have a hermit hut on their resume. And uh uh as you

[14:33] know this has been a passion project of many of the stakeholders of the Henry

[14:38] Stewart House. And part of the the process has been the city agreed to

[14:43] accept the Henry Stewart House and relocate it to Flying Creek Nature

[14:48] Preserve and then take care of it in perpetuity. If they raised the money to

[14:52] cover the cost, which they uh have worked very hard to do, we turned it

[14:56] into a public works project, went out for bid. will tell you that we we had a

[15:00] pretty um pretty detailed bid process. One, uh we knew we had to have a local

[15:07] general contractor be the lead, but they had to bring in with them a qualified

[15:11] house mover, and we had a pre-qualification process there uh of

[15:16] the bidding uh contractors. They submitted pre-qualifications for four

[15:20] house movers. Two of them under separately. One moved the Cape Sand

[15:24] Blast Lighthouse and one moved the Cape Hatteris lighthouse which a pretty

[15:29] impressive historic masonry structure and we opened those bids um uh a couple

[15:34] weeks ago and they were competitive. We did receive five qualifying bids and we

[15:40] are asking you to consider the the awarding of the bid uh to Fair Hope

[15:44] Building Company uh at a bid of $421,050.

[15:49] That price does include a pretty large 10% contingency because we've never

[15:54] moved a historic masonry hermit hut. So, we know there's probably going to be

[15:58] some things that we find in this project that we didn't anticipate. As well as

[16:03] $30,000 for mechanical, electric, and plumbing, even though we're only going

[16:08] to run electric to the building because that's all that it has today. and uh

[16:12] including landscape materials because we're moving a building into a park and

[16:18] we've got to restore that whole area that that that move path and everything

[16:21] else. And uh I do want to take time to remind you that the team of DDG and

[16:27] Cypress Coast Consultant basically volunteered their uh architecture and

[16:32] engineering services and the only hard cost that the folks that raised the

[16:36] money was the $3500 for the surveying that had to be done because that was one

[16:40] thing that that design team did not have in house as surveyors. So, it's been a

[16:44] wonderful team. uh just everybody uh kind of rowing in the same direction and

[16:49] we're excited that you're considering this tonight and we are recommending uh

[16:53] you award that contract. I'd be glad to answer any questions.

[16:59] » Well, what is your opinion on the move? Do you think that it's going to

[17:02] withstain? I know you said you have these professional companies that do

[17:06] this for a living. >> I tend to be a riskadverse person in

[17:10] general. Um and but after getting to know these house movers, uh

[17:18] they kind of look at this as a piece of cake, you know, considering the things

[17:22] that they have actually moved that were much larger, much much more complex, the

[17:27] environment much more difficult to work in the distance greater and everything

[17:31] else. They're the subject matter experts and uh the actual uh subcontractor is

[17:38] Hollis Kennedy from Athens, Alabama. They're the one that moved the Cape Sand

[17:42] Blast Lighthouse. And his comment to me was, "This is a piece of cake. It's like

[17:46] eating ice cream. Nothing to it." So, I mean,

[17:48] » I guess they're going to dig around it. >> Yes, they will excavate it, put

[17:53] substructure structural support under it, literally jack it up out of into the

[17:58] air, put dollies under it, and drive it down the road to its new site. So,

[18:03] » that's that's how it's going to go, right?

[18:04] » At at about the speed of a slow person walking. So, um, that's so this is their

[18:09] industry. That's what they do. So, they don't I if you're asking Richard

[18:14] Johnson, do I have reservations? Yes, every day and twice on Sunday. But they

[18:17] seem to be very confident in in their abilities. So,

[18:20] » okay. Thank you. >> And item number eight is also our work

[18:25] session item. As you recall, the state of Alabama passed the Rebuild uh act um

[18:31] uh back in 2019 that uh provided a 1-cent gas tax to go toward road

[18:37] resurfacing and road maintenance projects. Part of that act, we have to

[18:42] adopt an annual transportation plan, which is basically a list of roads that

[18:46] are pre-qualified for that money to be spent on. Uh I do want to cover with you

[18:51] in the in the last year uh which just finished up uh in our 2026 paving

[18:58] package we uh resurfaced 21,000 linear feet of roadway. Uh that works out to be

[19:05] eight lane miles, meaning any mile of two-lane road has two lanes in it. So uh

[19:10] one mile of road gives you two lane miles or four roadway miles of

[19:15] resurfacing. and we've pretty held pretty steady over the last many years.

[19:20] I I probably should send you a report of everything we've paved since 2017. It's

[19:24] a pretty en encompassing list. And um just so you know, the rebuild act

[19:30] produces right around $190,000 a year. So the roads that we have listed here

[19:35] represent over millions of dollars worth of paving. So we any of these roads will

[19:40] qualify and we won't have any problem consuming that in uh this next year's

[19:43] budget. But uh there's a resolution that you have to pass it which is item eight.

[19:48] But this is a housekeeping item. And then the next thing I have to do per the

[19:52] act is we will report where we spent their money uh in FY26 and the

[19:58] contractors that received those contracts. So I'll be glad to answer any

[20:01] questions about that. >> I I have a question. How do you decide

[20:04] which roads are to be repaved? I have citizens asking me to come look at their

[20:10] roads and who makes that decision. So we can answer that question. one u through

[20:16] multiple avenues whether it's a city council member saying can you look at

[20:21] road X or someone does 311 and says I sure would like my road repaved we add

[20:27] it to the list >> and then John Thomas and his team

[20:30] including our inspectors go out every year and evaluate that list and rank the

[20:36] roads based upon their condition and importance and everything else and we

[20:40] try to be kind of systematic in saying Hey, what are the top 10 worst roads

[20:45] that we have right now? How many of those can we get knocked out in the in

[20:48] the coming resurfacing year? >> I think that's good news and we're able

[20:52] to move forward. >> And this list is is ever changing,

[20:55] meaning right now public works and and the construction rightway inspectors are

[21:00] actually doing the evaluations and roads will get added and priorities will

[21:05] change. But basically, the only thing we're doing tonight, we're not approving

[21:08] paving. We're just approving a list of roads that qualify for these funds to be

[21:13] spent on in the next budget year. >> Thank you.

[21:18] » Thank you. >> And uh the last uh uh item is item

[21:22] number nine. We are asking you to approve the selection of Geocon to

[21:27] provide geotechnical testing services for our safe room construction. Uh if

[21:32] the council would be willing, I would love for you to approve the awarding of

[21:38] the contract. It is a on call service meaning that when we need to test the

[21:42] soils they come in do a soil test and and but they they said it would be a not

[21:47] to exceed 30,000 and understand that is a 9010 meaning 90% of it's being paid by

[21:53] the FEMA grant for the professional service. If you can't do that tonight

[21:58] we'll see in two weeks with a not to exceed a 30,000 but we may have a call

[22:02] for some soil testing between now and then. So I I would prefer to have it

[22:06] kind of legitimately in place. You're just saying um just add it to this

[22:10] resolution at approval or do we have to walk on a separate one? Marcus,

[22:14] » this would be authorizing the mayor approve the selection of that

[22:17] professional services division. It would just be add on or not additional just be

[22:22] amended to not to exceed >> not to exceed 30 just add that language

[22:26] to this current resolution. Yeah, I don't see any reason why

[22:29] » modify it just instead of just a not to exceed of 30,000 and be done

[22:34] » and authorize the mayor to execute the contract.

[22:36] » Yeah. >> About the Would they not to exceed

[22:39] » and we'll probably just do it by purchase order if that's because it's

[22:42] just a a services contract for them to come in and test materials. So,

[22:46] » I'll be glad to answer any other questions.

[22:51] » All right. >> Thank you, Richard.

[22:54] » Thank you. >> Thank you, sir.

[23:04] » All right. Is five. Five is done, right?

[23:10] » Found the chief. >> No, you're gonna cover that in a second.

[23:14] » Yeah, I think it's >> chief. Yes, ma'am.

[23:15] » Um, I've got three items. 19, 20, and 21. Uh, 19 is the Bowwin County Humane

[23:21] Society requesting permission to close the streets downtown for the witches

[23:25] ride. And that's on October 29th from 5 to 7.

[23:32] » Questions for Chief

[23:37] It appears to be the same route as last year, so nothing's changed. Um, item 20

[23:41] is an application for retail food store consumable hit products. Uh, that's

[23:46] Kamal Constantine doing business as Piggly Wiggly. Everything checked out

[23:50] fine on that application.

[23:58] And the last item is beer wine on on off premise uh for the club at Fair Hope

[24:04] Golf Works and everything checks were there as well.

[24:12] » Any questions on any of those items from um

[24:15] » where is that place? >> Right across from public works, right?

[24:18] » No, actually this is going to be off of um

[24:20] » I think they have a spot there, but this is this is over by maybe the warehouse

[24:24] » with the warehouse. Yeah. >> Oh, warehouse. Yeah.

[24:28] Sorry, Hannah. I thought you'd have a great five o'clock place.

[24:34] » All right. Thank you. >> Thank you, Chief.

[24:35] » Thank you.

[24:39] » Sorry, Eric. We're trying to steal your thunder there. I was just

[24:41] » You're not stealing. Well, literally. Uh yeah. Um no. Uh it took an interesting

[24:46] turn last week because we uh several folks and I got a lot of texts on Friday

[24:51] afternoon that somebody had just torn the building down. So it is a pile on

[24:56] the on the lot right now. There were no permits issued for that. So I spent time

[25:01] Friday afternoon and today Reverend Cody's going to be here and u so the

[25:07] permit our typical process is if work is done without a permit the first thing we

[25:12] do is determine was the work done in compliance with city codes. If it was,

[25:17] then we will issue an after the-act permit and we double the permit fees is

[25:21] how the ordinance uh penalizes that work. We've got everything we need to

[25:26] issue the permit except some sort of letter or documentation verifying who

[25:31] owns that church because I don't want to issue a legal document that we can that

[25:36] they can tear it down until we have something stating who actually own owns

[25:40] it and yes, they have permission to tear it down. Reverend Cody is going to be

[25:44] here tonight. He said he can present us with some documentation to that effect.

[25:48] So, if he can, then they're welcome to load it up and haul it off and be done

[25:53] with it and we'll we'll all move on to the next project.

[25:57] » Perfect. Okay. >> We need to keep this on the agenda since

[26:00] we don't know about making sure they're hauling it out.

[26:02] » Let's go on ahead. Yeah. That's the one thing in the bids that we got, the one

[26:07] that the church got was like half of what the other three quotes I received

[26:11] was. And my biggest concern and the and what I kept telling the pastor was I

[26:15] want to make sure that they understand that they have to take that debris to

[26:18] Magnolia landfill. They're not going to be allowed to take it to the city

[26:22] landfill. We don't accept CND. And in talking with the other contractors, over

[26:27] half of their bid was loadout and haul off and tipping fees at Magnolia. So it

[26:32] kind of, you know, my radar went up when I saw that bid that was half price

[26:37] trying to make sure that they accounted for the tipping fees and the actual haul

[26:42] off of the debris. So that but really to be honest with you right now it's in the

[26:46] church's hands. We're not going to issue a permit until we have legal

[26:49] documentation that they own it and that they give per they gave permission for

[26:54] it to go down from talking to the pastor. No one at the church ordered him

[26:58] to do it. Apparently the contractor took it upon himself. So it, you know, as it

[27:03] stands, it's through no fault of the church members or Reverend Cody or

[27:07] anyone in that situation. Gotcha. >> Eric, now that it's knocked down though,

[27:11] » it's not a dangerous structure, right? >> Yeah. Still fall under

[27:14] » It's not going to It's not going to fall and hurt somebody. We do want to get rid

[27:17] of the pile of debris because it's an attractive nuisance. We want to go on

[27:21] ahead and get that cleaned up. >> That could still fall under the

[27:23] » It could still fall under this, but as it

[27:26] » table is because we're not gonna demo it, but we

[27:30] still got issues with carrying it off that we don't know what's

[27:34] » I mean, you tell what I'd like to do if it's okay with the council is let

[27:37] Reverend Cody and his folks come tonight and give their accounting of what

[27:40] happened and what they're what they're in the process of doing and then if the

[27:44] council feels that it's appropriate to table at that time, then that would be I

[27:48] would at least give him a chance to tell us, you know, what happened on their end

[27:51] and how they intend to deal with it. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Thank you.

[27:55] » Thank you.

[27:59] All right. I've got 16 and 17, which are both related to the airport. Kind of

[28:04] Councilman Brell's wheelhouse, maybe. >> And what's that?

[28:09] » Yeah, just Grant's and he's already gone through the agenda, I think, with the

[28:12] mayor, so he's he said he's pretty much up to speed on everything when he gets

[28:16] here. Um, I guess we'll go ahead and roll into uh the next item on the agenda

[28:25] I have is uh presentation of the recommendation from the Evergreen

[28:29] Solutions Compensation and Classification Study completed for the

[28:33] city of Air Hope.

[28:44] » So say I'm not presenting on the budget. Well,

[28:48] » um, so this is, uh, not the full report. I'll just start by saying that this is,

[28:53] uh, just kind of an update on how we got to the recommendation for the

[28:57] classification plan, which we are asking the council to adopt with the FY27

[29:01] budget. Uh, the full report, the consultants are still finishing that.

[29:05] They're still on schedule with that. So, when that's completed, we'll schedule

[29:08] for uh, for that presentation to be made. So, just want to let y'all know,

[29:12] we're not going through everything, but uh, just kind of the first few phases.

[29:16] Um so uh study goals uh first assess our current conditions. So this was done um

[29:22] going through focus groups with our employees and the consultants being on

[29:26] site um issuing a citywide survey to our employees and then a thorough review of

[29:31] our pay policies. After that we reviewed our internal equity. So that was going

[29:35] through all of our job descriptions, placement within the pay scale, um going

[29:39] through a job assessment process with the uh both employees and the

[29:42] supervisors, reviewing that data, um and understanding kind of how everything is

[29:46] sitting today. From there, they uh evaluated our external equity, which is

[29:51] going through the labor market and benchmarking job classes against um

[29:55] other municipalities and utilities and then presenting us with recommendations

[29:59] for a pay scale. So um we'll give you some uh information on that. Um starting

[30:04] off you'll see that we have 50 uh 53% of our employees currently sitting above

[30:09] the midpoint of the grade. So all of our grades have a minimum, a midpoint, and a

[30:14] maximum. Uh so the majority of our employees are sitting above that

[30:17] midpoint. Um 15% are in the first quartile. So it's the first 25% of the

[30:22] pay range. Uh 67% of our employees are sitting in the second and third

[30:26] quartile. You're also going to see that our average tenure is 9.2 years for our

[30:31] employees. That's actually higher than a lot of our competitors, but it's not as

[30:35] high as it used to be. Um, it's not quite as surprising to those of us in

[30:38] the industry that uh people aren't sticking around in the public sector

[30:42] quite as long. Um, seeing that 67.4% those are uh our employees, that's 50%

[30:48] of the pay range, the second and third quartiles. Um, that's saying two things.

[30:52] One, we're actually hiring at a competitive market rate regardless of

[30:56] our current grade minimum. Um, so we're bringing people in higher than that

[31:00] minimum set for the grade. Um, you're also seeing that uh current minimums are

[31:04] not competitive and uh that's why we're having to hire in uh bring in employees

[31:08] at a higher rate. Um the let's see what else. So our current hiring practices,

[31:14] this is part of what's pushing so many of our employees into the second third

[31:17] quartile. Um we've made a lot of changes to payroll over the years, some

[31:22] improvements for our employees, um but also having to bring them in at a higher

[31:26] rate in order to stay competitive and in order to retain them. So um kind of

[31:29] operating outside of the norm uh from for industry standards. Um typically if

[31:36] you're hiring somebody in to a position as an external hire with 10 to 15 years

[31:41] of experience, that employee should be brought in closer to the midpoint. But

[31:45] because of the scale that we have today that we're operating in, we're bringing

[31:49] people in with almost no experience in the job close to that midpoint. And

[31:53] that's because that midpoint is the actual competitive pay rate. Um, let's

[31:57] see, a couple of other points. Uh, and I think I kind of covered this. The

[32:02] midpoint of a career is closer to 10 to 15 years. So seeing employees who have

[32:06] been here for nine years being paid closer to the midpoint tells you that

[32:10] our current pay and our pay scale aren't quite matching for

[32:14] » Do that one more time. So where should they be? You're saying at 10 years

[32:18] » lower than the midpoint. >> They should be lower than the midpoint

[32:21] » at at an average of 9.2 years. And because typically you're assuming the

[32:25] midpoint of your career is closer to the midpoint of that range. So a 15-year

[32:30] somebody with 15 years of experience should be sitting closer to the

[32:33] midpoint. But because of our lower rates and having to attract qualified talent,

[32:38] we're bringing employees into the city closer to the midpoint today than we

[32:42] probably should be. But that's due to the ranges that we're having to work

[32:46] with today which is the reason for the study as well.

[32:50] Um so internal review this is the employee outreach. Um it includes some

[32:54] feedback from the focus groups as well. Uh we had 250 survey responses received.

[33:00] Um with 77% of our employees feeling that pay doesn't align with the cost of

[33:04] living. Um of course most of our employees are coming here and staying

[33:08] because of our benefits. Um the majority of our employees do live here in Bowwin

[33:12] County. So that location and that commute makes a pretty big difference to

[33:16] them. Um we talk a lot about our competitors, the county, Daphne, Spanish

[33:21] Fort, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach. Um all of that was taken into account within

[33:25] this study um and paid close attention to as well because they are, you know,

[33:29] who who we compare ourselves to with and and you know, kind of trade employees

[33:33] back and forth with throughout the year. Um additional internal review more

[33:38] specific to compensation. um probably a more negative side. Uh not as many

[33:44] employees feel that our pay is competitive compared to the market. Um

[33:48] they're not sure about our uh pay practices, which we've been working on

[33:52] over the years, and as we adopt a new pay scale, we'll probably have to update

[33:56] our pay practices moving forward anyways. So, that's something that's

[33:59] going to have to be fluid with us. Um they're also wanting pay tied to

[34:03] performance. So they're looking for their pay increases to be tied to their

[34:07] annual performance valuations as opposed to uh just a small bucket that um that

[34:12] they're able to look at. So that's something that we're talking about

[34:15] internally and trying to find ways to improve upon as well. Um and just to

[34:19] make sure that we you know are able to share with our employees that we're

[34:22] hearing them and we're listening to them.

[34:23] » And of of the folks that answered this, how many of them I mean do you know what

[34:30] where they are on the pay scale? I mean, is the person saying anonymative at the

[34:34] top of the pay scale or the bottom of the pay scale?

[34:36] » It was an anonymous survey and that information wasn't correlated.

[34:38] » Okay. >> I know I know we said anonymous, but

[34:42] tell us >> um luckily I didn't conduct any right

[34:47] now. >> Um so moving to the external review. Uh

[34:51] this is something that was included in the RFQ as well. Selecting our peers,

[34:54] collecting data, comparing their pay ranges with ours, then determining our

[34:58] position within the market. Um this is important because when you're doing

[35:02] compensation study, you cannot just do an internal review or just do an

[35:05] external review. You have to do both of those so that you can blend them and um

[35:10] kind of aggregate those results. So um we of course recognized all of our

[35:14] competitors within the county, but we also went throughout the state as well.

[35:18] Um our true labor market is not just what happens in Bowwin County and it's

[35:22] not just what happens in a specific industry. it's what happens across the

[35:26] state with other local and um municipal agencies. So that's who we're talking

[35:31] about when we talk about our labor market. Um so we had 20 peers that was

[35:36] the number that was outlined in the RFQ and we were fortunate enough to receive

[35:40] 100% response rate. So that gave us really really robust data to work with.

[35:44] Um we identified 129 job classifications. Um that's not the total

[35:49] number of classifications because we do have rank structures within our larger

[35:53] departments. So for those classifications, we either chose an

[35:56] entry- level rank or more of a ceiling rank and knew that we could kind of

[36:00] build up or down on that. Um if uh we did not have an agency who had enough

[36:06] information, then maybe we weren't able to include them or um the consultants

[36:10] sometimes were able to go find some uh independent data through some uh federal

[36:15] labor market databases. um with these uh 129 classifications and the matches um

[36:23] antitrust law requires that the consultants have five or more exact

[36:28] matches in order for that to be considered um an accurate data point

[36:32] that they can use. So because of that we had almost 1,200 uh peer matches that

[36:36] they were able to work with which gave us a lot of information. Um the other

[36:40] thing is that they were not looking at just a job title or just a minimum

[36:45] qualification. they were really looking at the essential functions of a job. Um

[36:48] because from one agency to another they're everybody titles things

[36:51] differently. So we're looking at what the actual job does and then what that

[36:55] job pays from one agency to the next. Uh so what they found uh was that our

[37:02] market position was around the 50th percentile. Um our minimums were 15%

[37:07] below uh the market average. Our midpoint was about 9 and a half% below

[37:12] the market average. And generally our maximums of our grades were pretty

[37:16] competitive. Uh the range spread is probably the biggest point to note on

[37:21] this slide. Um the city's range from minimum to maximum was about 85.6%.

[37:28] But what our peers are are doing are closer to 55%. So that uh kind of

[37:33] tightens up that scale for an employee, but it brings those minimums way up to

[37:37] make them more competitive while still leaving plenty of room for employees to

[37:41] grow within their range or within their assigned grade.

[37:45] Um going back to that slide five, we we brought those minimums up closer to that

[37:50] second quartile to make it make a little bit more sense for our employees. And

[37:54] then um of course they've got some recommendations, you know, individually

[37:58] from there. Um so what they recommended were um two

[38:02] different market align plans. One is for um typical our typical uh 40hour week

[38:09] employee or 280 hours a year and the other one is a separate public safety

[38:13] plan. If you look at our pay scale now it's separated. Public safety is below.

[38:17] That's because they've got a different rank structure and of course they've got

[38:20] different annual hours. So it's basically mirroring what we have now. Um

[38:24] they then uh worked with us and we slotted all the classifications into the

[38:28] new scale and then uh gave us some um recommendations for administering the

[38:34] new plan. So 30 30 grades as opposed to our

[38:39] existing 16 which also gives us more room within the city to have um more

[38:44] growth for our employees especially as they move up within promotions. We found

[38:47] a lot of jobs are existing in the same grade when they're actually different

[38:51] ranks. So, it was not a true promotion for the employees. So, we made sure that

[38:55] every job is separated so that there's uh no none of those compression issues.

[39:01] And then this is the public safety scale. So, they're going to have 14

[39:04] grades in total. And these are based on the 2,184 hours per year that they work.

[39:13] » Questions? >> Tons.

[39:16] » Thank you for taking this on. I know I know that's a heavy lift and it's you've

[39:20] been working on it a long time and I I would just say some responses to some of

[39:25] the data put out by here. I mean unfortunately inflation's just been a a

[39:30] beast and and there's no way we can keep up with the cost of living

[39:35] uh versus what inflation's done the last three or four years. It's just it would

[39:40] it would probably bankrupt the city if we try to keep up with that true cost.

[39:44] Um, but looking at that, it it seems like what it's saying is we're going to

[39:48] have to raise some of that entry level >> pay to be competitive. Um, I mean, I

[39:54] agree with that. We want to attract top talent here. We want to keep them here.

[39:57] I also feel like sometimes >> it's very hard to

[40:02] to kind of navigate the raising the entry level and recruitment pay scale.

[40:07] And then it seems sometimes like you wind up almost penalizing people for

[40:11] being loyal and staying here a long time. and that, you know, I don't know

[40:15] how you thread the needle on that, but I certainly don't want the the longtime

[40:20] employees to be overlooked just for the hey, we're going

[40:24] to raise all the costs for recruiting new people. And

[40:28] » part of the RFQ and what they've also provided us, which is subject to budget,

[40:31] is um some options on how to administer current salaries within the new pay

[40:37] plan. So that's something that working closely with mayor and department heads

[40:41] on to make sure that there is some equity with that so that we're not

[40:45] punishing somebody who's been here for a long time or you know we're not keeping

[40:48] somebody outside of a range because of where their pay is. So um they did give

[40:52] us a lot of those options. It's not something I can present

[40:56] » right. >> But um but y'all you know that

[40:58] information we can dive into if y'all have questions about it. But I think,

[41:01] you know, when you get into salaries with budget conversations, it's been

[41:05] wrapped up in there >> and and that's the challenge. We we've

[41:07] had multiple conversations about that already is we want to raise salaries.

[41:12] We've just got to do it in a sustainable kind of manner. Um so we we just need

[41:18] everybody to do two jobs and we get everybody really good raise. But um does

[41:24] anyone have any questions for Hannah on the survey?

[41:26] » I do. Hannah, thank you. I've been waiting for this. It's been uh one of

[41:32] the lot a lot of data. Um when when first I want to ask some questions about

[41:37] the actual survey that was done, there were comments that the colas were not as

[41:41] close to our peers, but what's is that a reality

[41:46] » what I'm talking to compare that data set the 20 or just our Baldwin County

[41:50] peers? >> The survey is

[41:53] perceptions, right? So, they're given a list of questions and and these are

[41:58] consultants who do statistics and that's not me. Um, so this is how employees are

[42:02] perceiving our pay rates or perceiving our benefits or perceiving our cost of

[42:05] living adjustments. Um, I personally don't know what other agencies in Bowwin

[42:09] County are doing as far as cost of living adjustments. So, I don't think I

[42:12] could speak on that. >> But just in the pay range comparison,

[42:15] we're starting 15% average below >> what other places.

[42:20] » Well, we're the 50th percentile. We're right we're right there. I mean, we're

[42:24] sort of like, right, 50% 50 is above us, 50 is below us, right?

[42:30] » I mean, like, yes and no. So, what the one of the perceptions that they have is

[42:33] that we don't have competitive pay. And that's because when we talk about hiring

[42:36] an employee or moving an employee, >> everybody thinks that everywhere.

[42:39] » Yeah. I mean, get in line with an employer. They'll tell you that.

[42:42] » But what they're seeing is what they're seeing is the low minimums, right?

[42:46] they're saying it that, you know, I I have to start at $13 an hour when that's

[42:51] not the reality because we've worked so hard to bring entry level pay up. So, I

[42:55] think that's kind of a hard question to ask. The survey wasn't

[42:58] » Well, I think to to me it's important because we need to know if it's a

[43:03] reality or is it bad communication on our end? Is Daphne really raising cost

[43:08] of living by 5% every year and we're only doing two or is Daphne actually

[43:11] doing three and we're doing four but the board is not getting out. That's, you

[43:15] know, that that's that's a key differentiator if if if that's the case.

[43:20] » Yeah. I think the other thing too is over the past 5 years, I mean, we've

[43:24] done an across the board increase and I think almost every municipality in

[43:27] Baldwin County has done an across the board increase more significant than

[43:31] just the cola throughout the past 5 years. And I think that has varied like

[43:35] we might have done it one year and then Daphne raised 5% and then we did a cola

[43:40] of 2% and they might have done 3% or we did a 10% adjustment across the board.

[43:44] So, um I think we can probably get you those comparisons, but I think that

[43:48] everybody has done significant increases trying to get pay to where it where we

[43:53] could all be competitive because we were losing employees to each other. So, it's

[43:56] a constant back and forth. >> I would just love to know if it's a poor

[43:59] perception, but the reality is different or if the reality is true. Hey, yeah,

[44:02] over the last 5 years we've done 10% of COLA adjustments and Daphne, which has a

[44:07] higher starting point, has done 15%. Well, that's stuff we need to know. But

[44:11] if it's reverse then okay well we might just need to be communicating that more

[44:15] clearly. >> I think you even find other

[44:16] municipalities in Bowwin County who haven't done a cola at all in 2 to 3

[44:19] years and that would be something to talk about able to maintain that.

[44:22] » And the the second thing is it's we talked a lot about salary but is that

[44:26] total compensation or is that strictly the paycheck that they're taking home.

[44:30] » They're probably looking at the paycheck that

[44:32] » just the paycheck because that the other thing we need to look at is

[44:34] » yeah the benefits package is is how that compares because that's that's a huge

[44:38] right >> that can be very big.

[44:40] » Yes. And so there and that comes in the full report is kind of how our benefits

[44:45] are comparing to other agencies. That's not what I have for y'all today, but the

[44:48] full report will have that information, kind of how we're doing competitively.

[44:52] » Um it might not have everybody's individual rates, but it'll tell you it.

[44:55] It'll be much more informative than what I can give you right this second.

[44:58] » Uh >> we do give that to the employees once a

[45:01] year at the benefit. >> Yes.

[45:04] » They get a statement that shows their salary

[45:08] total value. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My wife's job does

[45:11] that, too. It's a good shows like the total value of your compensation, right?

[45:14] Which is which is a good thing. Okay. That's all I have.

[45:17] » I just have something quick. Um, so didn't you say at the meeting that we

[45:22] were at recently that actually the employees that begin working for Fair

[45:27] Hope can look and see as time progresses how their pay scale is going to

[45:32] increase? >> Um, no. Because we have we're moving

[45:37] we're sticking with an open range plan. So, one option in compensation is a step

[45:43] plan where you can see 25 steps and that gives you 25 exact hourly rates or

[45:48] annual rates. And so, somebody could say, "Oh, well, if I get one step every

[45:51] year for 25 years, I know what my final salary would be." But, we're doing an

[45:55] open range plan, so there are no set figures within that minimum to maximum

[46:00] range. Um, some employees like that option. It's not uncommon in the public

[46:05] sector, but that's the only way that they would be able to actually track and

[46:09] and >> still know that each step that they take

[46:12] that they're going to have be rewarded. >> No, not not quite. Not not with the

[46:17] open. >> How do they know that they're going to

[46:19] get a pay increase? >> Right. We have mer.

[46:21] » Yes. So that that would be performance based. Um so with the colas that's

[46:25] obviously subject to budget but our performance-based system um typically

[46:29] that's based on their evaluation and that's something that they're looking

[46:32] for as well more of is a better performance management plan where they

[46:36] can see you know if I do you know so well on my evaluation this year this

[46:40] would be a designated amount that I would get but that's not something we

[46:43] have today but it's something that according to the surveys they're

[46:46] interested in. Yeah, I think so. Definitely

[46:50] » people are motivated by money.

[46:54] » All right. Any other >> Not me. Not me.

[46:56] » Any other questions for Hannah on this? All right. Thank you very much.

[47:00] » Thank you. >> Appreciate it.

[47:03] All right, Kim. Here we go.

[47:19] Good evening. Um you you have a copy of the um the presentation also.

[47:26] Um you have for the um wastewater we have a summary you have a summary of the

[47:33] um utilities that's the utility cash flow requirements. And then for

[47:38] wastewater wastewater is one that when we've had these budget we've had budget

[47:42] multiple budget meetings. wastewater is one that we just haven't completely gone

[47:47] through. And so what you have um tonight is a detail of their um department and

[47:55] then um wastewater's five-year plan um for capital plan and then you'll have um

[48:02] detail of equipment capital improvements and system improvements. And on that it

[48:08] gives a little justification. So that gives you a little bit more detail of um

[48:13] of the wastewater and then at this um PowerPoint presentation that I'm going

[48:17] to go through this is all the utilities um capital infrastructure and then at

[48:22] the end we'll just have any questions if you have more in-depth questions um for

[48:27] the um wastewater or any of the utilities we can talk about.

[48:32] So we're going to um start with gas department. Um if you can you can see

[48:38] that um on vehicles and equipment um there's a an increase for this year and

[48:45] um so the equipment here um you you'll see that there's multiple

[48:51] pieces of equipment caterpillar um some mapping equipment a new vehicle

[48:58] um do you have any questions on and if you need some specific on what a piece

[49:03] of equipment um does that would be Yes. To answer that question, um, do you see

[49:10] » aren't a couple of these be to help reduce our cost from contracting out

[49:15] things? Is that right, >> or am I mistaken?

[49:18] » That was the calibration um the calibration machine, the smart

[49:21] calibration machine. So, the electrofusion machines, that's actually

[49:25] eight machines. So, they're $7,000 a piece. And then they're having to send

[49:28] those out for 45 days for calibration. And this allows us to calibrate them

[49:32] ourselves. Okay. >> Yeah. It's going to save some time.

[49:34] » Yeah. Um the capital improvements. Um this is

[49:39] for an additional bathroom facilities in the um utilities um public works

[49:44] building. Um it's there's I believe my understanding is there's one female

[49:49] bathroom and so um we're going to be adding on in the backside or the

[49:54] recommendation is to add a bathroom in the back side of that building and

[49:58] additional office spaces. Um, and I think they were going to do some

[50:02] improvements to the other bathrooms that are existing in with this. Um,

[50:07] » the ones off the break. >> Yes. Off the break room. And um, the gas

[50:11] department actually that is that building is their asset. It's it's on

[50:15] their on the books says the gas department. And so this asset would be

[50:19] on the um, gas department, but I also have a transfer in from the other

[50:24] utilities to help offset um, that building holds a lot of departments in

[50:28] there. So, we're share we're actually be sharing some cost. It's just the asset

[50:32] has to be booked on um the gas department.

[50:36] » Have any questions? >> No, ma'am.

[50:40] » Um the next system improvements, we're going to do 7.3 um million. Um as you

[50:47] are aware, the um cast iron replacement, that has been a a um sixphase plan. So,

[50:53] we're continuing to work on that plan. And so you can see on there um

[50:58] engineering for phase four. At the same time, we're working on phase three. So

[51:03] it' be the the goal would be to finish up phase three. At the same time, we'll

[51:08] be working on getting that phase 4 engineer to have it ready to be able to

[51:13] go out to bid for in 28. >> And that's the biggest ticket item. And

[51:18] Wes has been working on at least submitting grants trying to capture

[51:22] funding for that. May or may not be successful, but

[51:25] » yeah. And we h we hope by November that we will know um if we're awarded um the

[51:31] grant to help to help cover the cost of that cast iron replacement. But there is

[51:35] money in the federal government for um the cast iron replacement.

[51:40] Um and you'll see like the I10 um that 800,000 the I10 um gas is going to be to

[51:48] move that gas line for the bridge. um that will be reimbursed by by the state

[51:54] and we have another the county road 64 relocation

[51:58] um that is a reimbursement from the county. So we'll have that money coming

[52:02] in to offset the um set that pro project.

[52:06] » Any of this rollover >> um

[52:11] » oh

[52:14] » just have to read and it says rollover. >> Yeah.

[52:17] » Yeah. Yeah. >> We were almost there. You you figured it

[52:20] out. to roll over. So, y'all have any questions on that? That I know that's a

[52:24] lot, but um cast iron is the biggest um project

[52:28] » on that cast iron. Mayor, is that something

[52:30] » until you get it done? So, >> do we solicit Dne's help on that? Is

[52:34] » so we we've already done that and we've gotten letters of support from our

[52:37] federal delegation. Actually, I just talked to Dne this morning again to

[52:40] remind him um to to make a a few additional calls knowing that in October

[52:45] that's going to be awarded. So, he he said that he would do that. But again,

[52:49] that's $14 million, which will cover the remainder of the phases. So, I told him,

[52:54] I said, you know, if we make it to a second or third round, however they're

[52:57] doing that, I said, I just want to make sure that we're communicating that we're

[53:01] willing to do 50/50. We're willing to, you know, work with them. We, you know,

[53:05] we'd love the whole grant, but we also are willing to take 50 cents on a dollar

[53:08] if we can get >> because we have to do the work. So, it's

[53:11] not an all or nothing. >> Correct. I said if we can get part of it

[53:14] this year and have to wait another year as additional funding becomes available,

[53:17] whatever we have to do to get some of that money that we're willing to work

[53:20] with them. So >> hoping that will work. Fingers crossed.

[53:24] » Everybody cross your fingers, >> your toes, everything.

[53:28] » Yes. Do y'all have any questions on the gas department?

[53:34] » Um >> Wes, I've already asked you, but I mean

[53:36] look at you disappointed. You really did a good job, Kim and the

[53:42] mayor and Wes on this >> um electric department.

[53:48] Um as you can see on vehicles and equipment, it's $821,000.

[53:55] Um there's a couple of those trucks there. We're actually budgeting half.

[53:59] Those trucks will take um two years to come in. Um so that's what you're seeing

[54:05] that we're budgeting half the boom truck for this year and then next year we'll

[54:08] budget the other half. Um and that way we can go ahead and order those trucks.

[54:14] We can go ahead and um put those um get those POS done for those trucks and get

[54:18] those in line. Um and then you can see there there is a rollover truck that

[54:25] we've already ordered and we're waiting on that truck to come in.

[54:29] » Y'all say um the other day that these are two to threeyear orders. Are they

[54:33] that far out? >> 289

[54:37] » they'll come in. and Ben is out working on power outages.

[54:42] So, y'all have any questions?

[54:46] » Yeah. Um, next, um, capital improvements. Um, looking at a gate for

[54:53] the, um, pole barn or the pole yard. Um, it's 30,000.

[55:01] And then, um, system system improvements. Um, it's just a a variety

[55:05] of stuff that we're going to be doing. um you know poles and reconnectors on um

[55:13] section street. Um

[55:16] we've already ordered this under is is under residential distribution metering

[55:22] cabinet. Um that one y'all have already approved to order that but that was a

[55:26] lead time that it's going to come in in um in 27's budget.

[55:32] And um it's just a you have also some traffic signals. So you'll see that the

[55:39] big ticket item is Vana and section street signal improvements. That's

[55:43] 400,000. And when we the next next meeting we'll

[55:48] talk about on the general government side. And so you'll see there's a

[55:51] project on the general government side that's going to be improvements to that

[55:55] intersection. So, at the same time, we'll be um you know, putting up the

[55:58] traffic lights and doing some um additional improvements, drainage in

[56:02] that um area. But do you all have any questions on any of the um system

[56:07] improvements for electric? >> I did just want to remind everybody that

[56:12] $750,000 expenditure when we had the study done of our system, that's one of

[56:16] the weak areas in our system. There's copper lines there. Um so, we know we

[56:20] need to replace those. So, that's that's what that project is. Um, and it's

[56:24] actually splits two years. So, it's we'll start part of the project and then

[56:28] we'll go into the next budget year as well.

[56:33] » I wanted to ask you about the Volanta project. There seems to be

[56:39] high traffic, driving too fast. What are we What were we talking about doing with

[56:43] that >> on Atlanta?

[56:45] » Vena. >> Um, the only thing that's come up on

[56:47] Well, there's there's a couple projects on Vena. There's Atlanta at 98, which is

[56:51] an ATIP 2 project, which will add turn signals, we'll add signals, we'll add

[56:56] turn lanes at 98. Um, and then on the other side of Atlanta is a public works

[57:01] project will be drainage and repaving. And then the intersection bin and then

[57:06] we'll at that time change out the lights and change out the cabinet for the

[57:10] traffic signals. Um, as far as speeding on there, that's been to the traffic

[57:13] committee. Y'all correct me if I'm wrong. The only thing we've really

[57:16] talked about is at Val and Bond Secure. Um the we put the um electronic metering

[57:22] there for our speed trap, the speed sign there for the police department, but

[57:25] we've also um looked at a four-way stop or at that intersection, but that's

[57:30] really it on Balena. >> Okay. I just getting a lot of stuff from

[57:34] that area. >> You want to be specific? Um just that

[57:40] the the traffic is so fast that the people in Banta are really upset because

[57:46] they can't pull in and out of their driveway. Just traffic's going too fast.

[57:51] I I live near there. Jimmy lives near there. I haven't any problems.

[57:55] » I think the the challenge that I I know you already mentioned is that Valent 98

[58:00] trying to take a left. >> That's an awful intersection.

[58:02] » A left on Valanta up 98. They come so fast around the curve you can't really

[58:06] see them. Well, this is more towards the the new restaurant they're putting in

[58:10] » closer to that. >> Yeah. Well, that's that's right. Yeah,

[58:13] that's right there at Bon Secure and um Vanna. Um we have talked about in the

[58:17] traffic committee. That may be something that we can evaluate again, but I do

[58:19] know the chief and them. They did a traffic study there. So, they probably

[58:23] can address some speeding information for you if you want to see that.

[58:26] » And that intersection is tab for improvements in fact on here.

[58:30] » Yeah, >> quite quite a bit of improvements.

[58:36] Any other questions? Ma'am, >> I'm going to shoot the light out with a

[58:38] shotgun one day if they stop me. I was five minutes later because nobody there

[58:42] and I had to stop for five minutes. >> Run the light.

[58:46] » Shabb city council run it. >> Would be good.

[58:51] » I'll shoot the light out, but I won't run it.

[58:54] » I'm kidding. >> Yes, ma'am.

[58:57] » Um, >> water now.

[58:59] » Yeah, water. And now you can you can actually see that in

[59:03] 27 you know we we're getting a lot done in 26 and then in 20 27 um it is reduced

[59:10] a little bit um for the water department but it still is a lot. Um starting out

[59:16] with their equipment um which is reduction from what we've done last this

[59:21] past year is um $290,000. Um, you can see there's a a submersible

[59:27] pump that keeps a pump available for if a well does go down. They're able to

[59:32] grab a a pump versus us renting a pump. Um, a dump truck. This dump truck is um

[59:39] if approved will be shared um with public works because public works as

[59:44] times that needs an extra truck. Um and then there's replacement of some trucks

[59:51] and some equipment. Do you have any questions on that?

[59:56] And then the capital improvements. Um, as you can you can see there,

[1:00:02] there's for the um water treatment plant. We're looking at some roof

[1:00:05] replacement, um, a booster station,

[1:00:09] um, some building improvements, um, some asphalt at the treatment plant one.

[1:00:19] And then next we'll go to um, as you'll see, upgrade to the SCADA. So the SCADA

[1:00:24] is the, you know, communication um of what's going on at those treatment

[1:00:28] plants. And so this would be for us to do improvements for that um software or

[1:00:34] actually the equipment at um treatment plants 2, four, five, and six. You have

[1:00:40] any questions on that? And then um $17.7

[1:00:47] million in um improvements. Um you'll see that you know we do meters

[1:00:54] every year having to add the new meters. Um what you'll you'll see there is um

[1:01:02] a lot of projects but let's let's just be able to hit some of the high ones. A

[1:01:05] 12-in uh water man replacement on 98 between 34 and 32. And that is the area

[1:01:12] that they continue to have um breaks in. And so to be able to replace that whole

[1:01:18] area um would save on when they happen to

[1:01:21] have to shut keep shutting the water off because we keep on having breaks is to

[1:01:24] replace that whole line there. Um you'll see another you know 1.5 million for 12

[1:01:31] in on old Pierce um to 181. And then the big project here

[1:01:38] is a um a 2 milliongal tank that's going to we're going to spread that over

[1:01:43] multiple years, but we've budgeted for this year is 9 million. Um so that is a

[1:01:48] multi-year project. Um right now it's being engineered. So um you'll be seeing

[1:01:54] this come soon. Um and then

[1:01:58] well number four is to drill a new well new um treatment plant. That's the 1 um

[1:02:04] 2 million Um, and you can see just some other

[1:02:09] upgrades. Is there any questions on those? I know it's a lot. Chairman,

[1:02:13] » I have a question. >> Yes, sir. Please.

[1:02:15] » You know, obviously the $9 million water tank jumps off the page. Um, it used to

[1:02:21] be about a million dollars for a million gallons, and so let's just say

[1:02:26] it used to be $2 million for two million gallons. So, we're at four and a half

[1:02:32] times that. and inflation. I know I've been on this council a long time. I

[1:02:36] don't think it's 450% in that time. >> Is there anything that we can do about

[1:02:42] that? I mean, this is this is highway robbery. I mean, this is highway

[1:02:46] robbery. >> And and I I mean, I'm um know somebody

[1:02:50] that's at G Shores utility and I mean, when he told me the number of what

[1:02:55] they're they just did the same same tank. Believe me, I was I was on

[1:03:00] vacation texting mayor like let me tell you what G shores the what it just came

[1:03:03] in. I'm like we don't have enough in the budget.

[1:03:06] » Well, they know that we're growing and they know we have to have it and they

[1:03:09] know that you know our citizens demand us to say yes to this. But I don't know

[1:03:13] if there's a way to say no to this. >> It's really

[1:03:16] » so that they get a message that they're not going to make $9 million.

[1:03:19] » It's really not 9 million. It's 12 million split over two years. So it's 9

[1:03:23] million then plus three million. And um to be honest, I mean, if you it's not

[1:03:28] only here in Baldwin County, across the state, if you're in utility meetings,

[1:03:32] this is what a 2 million gallon tank is running, unfortunately, because I'm like

[1:03:36] you. I've been around long enough where it was basically a million dollars a per

[1:03:41] million gallons. >> And yeah, and now we're are

[1:03:45] » I hope when we bid it, it comes in less, but I mean, obviously, we'll do

[1:03:48] competitive bids, but I mean, >> right now, that's what we're seeing in

[1:03:53] the industry. >> Well, what did it cost? Crazy to paint

[1:03:55] that tank. It >> cost a million. Yeah, it cost a million

[1:03:58] dollars to paint the tank right now. Just to paint it, to drain it and paint

[1:04:01] it. >> Yeah.

[1:04:04] » I bought my first house in Fair $55,000. >> I'd like to maybe look a committee of

[1:04:11] experts that can go all over this country. I mean, you could pay people to

[1:04:14] live here for a year and build it. I mean, it's still I mean, it's crazy.

[1:04:18] » It's expensive. I agree. >> I have no interest in hiring a local

[1:04:21] company if that's what it cost. >> Yeah. And again, we've had, you know,

[1:04:25] folks reaching out and we want to make sure we get the best price possible. So,

[1:04:28] I'm hoping that we get a lot of bids, but there are not local contractors to

[1:04:32] be honest. They're out of Texas and other places that are that are looking

[1:04:34] at these. >> Got to be somewhere in this country that

[1:04:36] people need work. I mean, got to be. >> But we've looked at North Ballin just

[1:04:40] put a >> Yeah, North Ballin just did one at

[1:04:42] » NLIS. >> I mean, so we we've been looking around

[1:04:45] and this is basically the going cost of them.

[1:04:50] Any

[1:04:53] other questions? It's a lot. Um, wastewater. Um, again, we, as y'all

[1:05:01] can see around town, we've been continuing to do work. Um, so what we're

[1:05:06] asking for in 27 is a little bit less than what we've done. Um, but it's still

[1:05:12] it's still a lot. um vehicles and equipment. You can see they're wanting a

[1:05:16] side by side for the um wastewater treatment plant. Another new vehicle.

[1:05:21] And then the big ticket item is a um camera van.

[1:05:27] If you um have any detailed questions on the camera van, um Darl or mayor can be

[1:05:33] able to answer a little bit more. But the van we currently have is nine years

[1:05:37] old. >> Nine years old.

[1:05:38] » Nine years old. Yes. Um and capital improvement. You'll see

[1:05:44] that the concrete apron at the wastewater treatment plant of 30,000

[1:05:50] and then um 17.6 million um INI um mitigation and y'all

[1:05:58] just approved um last meeting the $500,000 on that contract.

[1:06:04] um Valley Force um lift station um or main is 200,000.

[1:06:12] The 181 main and um force main and um two regional lift station is 5 million

[1:06:19] in this budget that is a multi-year project. Um so that will that is looking

[1:06:26] at the really the 15 million going over and then um hot taps of force man of

[1:06:32] 80,000. You have any questions before we go to the next page?

[1:06:35] » I've got a couple questions on um on these. So

[1:06:41] well and I'll start on this page. the sewer camera van 450,000

[1:06:46] I feel like and and I know it said it on here is outdated but didn't we just do a

[1:06:51] pretty extensive outsourcing of that if we have this kind of equipment do we are

[1:06:56] we not able to handle more of that kind of sewer line filming inhouse or is this

[1:07:02] only for smaller projects is I feel like we just did a very large

[1:07:08] outsource job to to have somebody come in and film home our lines. Am I am I

[1:07:14] not remembering that correctly? >> So So that that was a contract we had

[1:07:17] through our INI mitigation. That was the CIP and manhole restoration. Um and

[1:07:22] that's kind of an annual thing we're doing as part of the INI,

[1:07:25] » right? I guess that's my question. We have a almost a half a million dollar

[1:07:30] camera van. Is that not something we would do with this?

[1:07:33] » It it is in addition to I mean that our current van van goes out every single

[1:07:38] day. Okay. Um, it goes out every day. And, um,

[1:07:43] one of the a lot of the issues with our current camera van is it's old, it's

[1:07:48] outdated, the software is hard to get, the parts are damn near uh, obsolete.

[1:07:52] Um, there's long lead times, and our support for that van is in Jackson,

[1:07:58] Mississippi. So, anytime we have to take the van, we

[1:08:02] have to drive it all the way to Mississippi, get it worked on for a

[1:08:05] couple days, and then bring it back. the current van we want to get um kind of

[1:08:09] mirrors DAP util that Daphne utilities van they they just got a brand new one.

[1:08:13] I've sent guys over there. They're looking at it. They're they're putting

[1:08:16] their hands on it. They're they're getting to use a little bit and um it it

[1:08:21] the and the local support is in Mobile. It's not in Mississippi.

[1:08:25] » Hey Darl, I think too his question is couldn't we not do the INI camera

[1:08:30] instead of doing a $500,000 contract? And I think probably the answer

[1:08:34] » or vice versa. We're we're using our our sewer.

[1:08:38] » I didn't realize we were using it every single day. Yeah. So, I I didn't know

[1:08:41] that there. I did not realize it was in you couldn't do a project like that

[1:08:46] because you'd have to continually pull it and it would cut into operations

[1:08:49] basically. >> And we we we don't have the personnel to

[1:08:51] do that. >> Yeah. I really didn't know y'all use it

[1:08:53] that frequently. So, >> Mr. Chairman, I'm going to ask Darl,

[1:08:56] what makes that van cost what makes that camera van450,000?

[1:09:01] » Uh, it's the technology in it. Um those cameras are that that that that sewer

[1:09:06] camera the one that actually goes is very expensive. Um just the technology

[1:09:11] in it alone is is state-of-the-art and that and we mirrored that price off of

[1:09:16] what Daphne Utilities paid for theirs. >> Well, the van is what kind of the van

[1:09:19] can't be more than the shell of a van, right? I mean, is it What kind of van?

[1:09:22] » Well, it is it's it's outfitted with with the camera and and

[1:09:26] » what kind of van is it, please? >> It's a Ford or or a

[1:09:29] » line, something like that. >> Yeah. So, it's a $50,000 van and

[1:09:32] $400,000 worth of equipment on it. >> Yeah.

[1:09:35] » And those cameras and the technology is 400 grand.

[1:09:38] » Yes. It's expensive.

[1:09:44] » Build water towers. >> Jack, you're not liking the paradox of

[1:09:48] inflation.

[1:09:52] » Like I said, we we we me and and and my guys, we've done our research on it and

[1:09:57] we're, you know, we're we try to get the best bang for our buck.

[1:10:03] Yeah, it's going to save a lot of money not having to drive it at Jackson,

[1:10:06] Mississippi. >> And then we're out of a camera van for a

[1:10:09] week, week and a half. >> Yeah, that's a big pain.

[1:10:11] » So, um, >> look at the positives.

[1:10:18] » All right, y'all ready for page number two?

[1:10:22] » Yeah.

[1:10:26] Um, page number number two. um insertion valves. Um and that is not just one

[1:10:33] valve. That's that could be up to about six. I mean, depends on the number of

[1:10:37] inches. Make sure it's right. The number of inches that um those valves are put

[1:10:41] in. But those valves do save um when they have to um cut off some water. They

[1:10:46] have areas that they can just cut a section off. And so inserting these

[1:10:50] valves um actually help um this ain't necessarily water. This is a sewer. So,

[1:10:55] um those valves do help in those areas. >> Um relocating a force man on scene at 98

[1:11:03] of 400,000. Um our on call contractor of 200,000 and

[1:11:09] you have seen that on water and on sewer. We have the on call contractors

[1:11:14] and those are for um areas or times when they don't have the equipment or the

[1:11:19] availability to get into some breaks that may happen. um that it could be a

[1:11:24] time that it's too deep that um they'll have those on call on on call

[1:11:29] contractors come in. Um some of our larger larger projects here we're um 2.8

[1:11:38] million it is a rollover um but that is going to be for rehab of the Grand Hotel

[1:11:44] lift station. We have this in combination that we have um the regional

[1:11:48] lift station and um then once the regional lift station that's the 2.8 and

[1:11:54] then it's the Grand Hotel at the 750 and then we also have in there that's the

[1:11:58] engineering that's still part of um that project.

[1:12:03] Um there's several um lift stations on here. Magnolia Beach Apartments for

[1:12:08] 660,000 East of the Sun lift station 1.2.

[1:12:13] Um we have some air scrubbers for the um lift station 100,000 Twin Beach um

[1:12:21] bypass pump 200,000 some um a half a you know half a million

[1:12:26] for just some general lift station upgrades and these are some stations

[1:12:30] that they end up failing um that they were unknown and so that pot of money is

[1:12:36] for that. Um and then we have for the um wastewater treatment plan expansion

[1:12:43] phase two the engineering and design of 1.6 million and then um being able to

[1:12:50] put a million dollars of um blowers at the treatment plant. Do you'all have any

[1:12:54] questions? That's a lot going on. >> Got a question. Are the rollovers

[1:12:57] captured in the system improvements for 26 and 27?

[1:13:02] » Yes. >> Okay. So we're So if you look at that

[1:13:04] number and you add the two together, that's being some of those numbers are

[1:13:08] being double. >> That's right. Okay. That's right. And so

[1:13:10] when I'm trying to look at look at cash needs,

[1:13:14] » you need to know what's still coming. >> Yeah. I still need to know what's

[1:13:17] coming. I have to look at projects that are or contracts I've already approved

[1:13:22] and they're they're still coming. And then if there's anything new, I've got

[1:13:26] to add those together. >> And then random question for Darl, East

[1:13:30] of the Sun lift station. And I hadn't heard that name yet. Where where exactly

[1:13:33] is that? >> Yeah, we've got we've got some unique

[1:13:35] names. We don't know where they came from,

[1:13:37] » but um that's over by Spring Run. It's kind of tucked away back in there, but

[1:13:41] it's a it's a high volume station and a lot of that cost

[1:13:45] » um a lot of that cost is going to be getting that force mane off of doghouse,

[1:13:50] which is another >> Now, that one I've heard of for years.

[1:13:53] So, um, and that's, um, you know, during during significant rain events that that

[1:14:00] do house lid lift station gets a lot of use.

[1:14:03] » So, we're trying to take we want to remove some of that flow. Also, East of

[1:14:07] the Sun lift station needs it just needs a whole new rehab. It's a very, very old

[1:14:11] station. >> Council, any questions for Daryl or Kim?

[1:14:14] » I want to follow up with your question. I think I understood it. I think I

[1:14:17] understood. Kim, you're u you said that those rollovers were included in both.

[1:14:23] So, if we had spent that I got roughly I was doing some really quick math about

[1:14:27] 4.8 million. Does that sound about right? About 4.8 million. So, if we had

[1:14:33] spent it all in 2026, that number wouldn't have changed because that's

[1:14:36] what was budgeted. Right. >> Right.

[1:14:38] » In 2027 would have been reduced by 4.8 million and that number would be 12.8

[1:14:45] roughly instead of 17.6 and so the reduction would have been significantly

[1:14:50] less. Yes, it would be >> like 50% reduction almost and some 40 40

[1:14:56] to 50% reduction. So that's >> because when you look at those two

[1:14:59] numbers >> that makes it look a lot better if you

[1:15:00] look at it as if it had been spent then. >> Okay.

[1:15:04] » I was looking at that across the board for all of all of them. I thought oh my

[1:15:07] gosh >> there's no way we've spent that much

[1:15:10] money and we still spent a lot of money but

[1:15:13] » makes me feel better spend it and then it would made this year's number a lot

[1:15:16] less anyway. >> Yeah. And we budget we budgeted to

[1:15:19] borrow 40 million this year. So that kind of gives you an idea that we've

[1:15:22] been, you know, um, we borrowed an additional five and so we've been what I

[1:15:28] call limping along. Some of these contracts haven't, you know, gone out to

[1:15:32] bid. You know, engineering is still working on some things. I know like the

[1:15:36] um the regional the force main and the regional lift station that's been in the

[1:15:40] works for a couple of years. Um, so you know, some of these, you know, we we

[1:15:46] haven't, you know, got there yet. >> Council President, I have a question.

[1:15:50] And Kim, you and Kim and council, you can help me. Um, I haven't done a deep

[1:15:55] dive. I'm I'm going to take water and sewer sort of out of it because we know

[1:15:57] there's some significant challenges and and upgrades and stuff that we have

[1:16:00] planned, but for gas and electric, we're operating at a significant deficit um to

[1:16:07] to income. And how I mean, obviously, you can't do that sustainably forever.

[1:16:12] So, how common has it been in the last few years to

[1:16:16] to operate at this level of because I see it's a reduction. So, it's I mean

[1:16:21] last year we spent even more but does this

[1:16:23] » I only see one year here, right? If there was five years maybe it'd be

[1:16:26] easier to tell. >> Well, on the um when we got the rate

[1:16:28] study that was based on 22's number for gas. So, at gas we were at 78 78%

[1:16:37] recovery. So, not at 100%, you know, recovery. Um, but we really focused on

[1:16:43] water and sewer, you know, water and sewer. And I know it's very hard for

[1:16:47] y'all to come in and, you know, do rate increases. You get a lot of phone calls,

[1:16:51] but, um, that is that is one that I' I've looked at, you know, a lot today.

[1:16:56] Um, looking at our rates, looking at some other rates, looking back at that

[1:16:59] study. Um, so for gas, we're going to have to increase those rates. Um, I just

[1:17:05] know when that rate study comes back, we'll even be further down that down the

[1:17:09] hole really. Um, and so on gas, the last time the rates were increased, it looks

[1:17:15] like around 1516 was the last time rates were increased

[1:17:19] on there. We do add a labor cost adjustment every year. I calculate that

[1:17:23] after the budgets pass. I look at actual, look at um what we're budgeting

[1:17:27] and so we put in the labor cost adjustment. So that's really the only

[1:17:31] thing that's been going in the base rate is the labor cost adjustment, but the

[1:17:35] actual per cubic feet, am I saying that right? Swiss um cubic feet rate has not

[1:17:42] changed. And so actually looking at a competitor um our our rate is 148 and a

[1:17:51] competitor um utility is $210. So that really shows you that, you know,

[1:17:58] but we haven't we haven't really focused on gas. Um electric, we looked at their

[1:18:02] rates in 23 before the um study came out. The study

[1:18:07] came out and showed electric electric looked good. It was at 100% capacity

[1:18:13] recovery. But in 2018, it was even it was even better. So you can tell like

[1:18:19] it's gone down. I can see from looking and you the charts I've showed y'all is

[1:18:24] from 23 to 27's budget. You can see like on electric the cost is just doing this

[1:18:30] but our but our rates is is you know revenues are staying flat. So there is

[1:18:36] some adjustments that um I'm going to recommend you know as part of this

[1:18:39] budget especially for the gas and the water and the sanitation that we need to

[1:18:44] increase rates. >> Oh and can I address that a little bit

[1:18:47] too? >> Yes sir please. You mind chairman?

[1:18:49] » Of course not. >> Uh so you know on the on the gas

[1:18:53] especially if if you look to me if you look at the net operating of the gas it

[1:18:57] looks good and you know we have finally gotten into this cast iron replacement

[1:19:04] that was has been you know we've known about this for 20 years and so we're

[1:19:07] finally getting in the meat of it. If you took away that $5 million a year

[1:19:11] that we're having to put into it every year and you get past that once we get

[1:19:15] past that as well. I'm not saying we don't need to look at rates because we

[1:19:18] absolutely need to look at rates and keep up with inflation makes some more

[1:19:21] sense after that. But with but but gas is like really performing well if you

[1:19:26] just look at a net operating um balance sheet and then you look at electric I

[1:19:31] think it's starting to fall behind but something that Kim has said to me before

[1:19:36] she's correctly recognized is that we keep adding customers which means we

[1:19:40] keep having to add infrastructure and we have to have reliability and we put a

[1:19:44] lot of of investment into that but just due to the efficiencies of appliances

[1:19:49] and lights and things like that our revenues are pretty flat.

[1:19:53] you know, people using LED lights and people have, you know, 181 19 SER air

[1:19:59] conditioning units and so all of that, you know, is kind of is is kind of

[1:20:04] dampening our income as well. So, you know, one one of these days that

[1:20:09] that'll, you know, maybe they won't, but the efficiencies probably will slow down

[1:20:14] a little bit. We may catch up, but our rates have to catch up as well. And in

[1:20:18] electric too because of the territory laws, we're not adding a ton of

[1:20:22] customers. Um, and we're not going to, but you're adding efficiencies. Um, you

[1:20:26] know, where you may have had a house that was on two lots, somebody will tear

[1:20:30] it down and they'll build two houses, but again, you're building in

[1:20:33] efficiencies. So, um, that's where the change in that is. In gas, we are adding

[1:20:37] additional customers. We're adding, I think it was about 200 a year. Isn't

[1:20:40] that right, Wes? About 200 customers a year in gas. So that that will be

[1:20:44] significant, but electric is one of those ones that's going to, you know,

[1:20:47] continue, I think, to be a little bit of a challenge with the cost of

[1:20:50] infrastructure. >> Yeah. I mean, at that rate, electric, we

[1:20:53] won't even be able to do it right >> the same amount next year.

[1:20:56] » And we've built two substations, you know, two substations plus the 44 KV

[1:21:01] loop, which we've talked about for years. So there's been a lot of things

[1:21:03] that we have paid for using cash reserves or are using revenues that are

[1:21:09] 50-year, you know, infrastructure. So we have used a lot of our reserves in doing

[1:21:14] that. >> And I think if you look at those

[1:21:17] balances in in gas and electric as well, we still have some reserves left. So we

[1:21:22] had saved up for this time that we figured we were going to do a cash burn.

[1:21:26] So we've been doing a cash burn for several years, but we still are in the

[1:21:30] black. >> Yeah. Yeah.

[1:21:33] » Yeah. Do you have any questions? >> Okay. Thanks.

[1:21:35] » Um just just to tell you what our our plan is. the next meeting on the 14th,

[1:21:40] I'll go over general funds um capital and um our capital projects fund go over

[1:21:47] those projects and then for the last meeting of September would be a whole

[1:21:52] overview of the budget and um you know be a recommendation on the the passing

[1:21:58] of passing of the budget. um plan is on the week of the um September 7th is to

[1:22:04] give you your budget books a complete for the budget. And so that gives y'all

[1:22:08] opportunity um to be able to review it. If y'all need additional meetings,

[1:22:12] additional questions, please get with mayor or me. Um and we'll be happy to

[1:22:18] answer any more questions. >> Thank you, Kim.

[1:22:21] » Thanks, Kim. >> Did a good job.

[1:22:23] » And has everybody had several meetings already with you, Kim?

[1:22:27] » Everybody's done all meetings. >> Okay. Excellent. Good job, everybody.

[1:22:32] Um, let's see. Next item up is committee updates. Council member Brell

[1:22:40] » given a report on the airport authority. Uh, we do have airport authority has a

[1:22:45] couple of uh resolutions. >> Those are the only two support some

[1:22:48] grant applications >> tonight. kind of routine stuff for us is

[1:22:53] to just get the the city to sponsor the grant application. And uh

[1:22:58] » we have a streets and traffic committee meeting

[1:23:04] coming up in week or so, right? >> Is that this week or next week?

[1:23:10] » September day. >> Couple of weeks. Okay. All right. That

[1:23:12] that's it. >> All right. Councilman Gamon. Uh, I

[1:23:16] haven't had any, but I'll have tree committee this week and um FIFA and not

[1:23:20] FIFA Fair Environmental Advisory Board. FIEA FIAB doesn't really roll like FE,

[1:23:25] but uh they'll be >> thief would be a correct correct

[1:23:29] pronunciation. >> Yeah. Yeah.

[1:23:31] » Uh, Councilman Robinson. >> Yeah. Rec board met um Wednesday of last

[1:23:37] week. uh variety of topics discussed, but but one of the things that they're

[1:23:41] still working on kind of finalizing is revising some of the uh rental uh rental

[1:23:49] terms for each and every facility uh around around the city. Um once we kind

[1:23:55] of get that ironed out, I'll bring it back and show you guys.

[1:24:00] » Um I had >> Are you ready? I had a library meeting

[1:24:03] and just basically the library is very healthy and happy at the present and

[1:24:08] they have their plans for the future year and we went over all the plans and

[1:24:14] some really good stuff coming your way. >> All right. And I had a mi unfortunately

[1:24:19] missed a parking authority meeting due to a work conflict but had met with the

[1:24:24] chairman the day day or so before that. So, they were mostly going over um kind

[1:24:29] of the parking study recommendations we had and trying to determine how they

[1:24:34] could best help or or best um fit in with with next steps and kind of

[1:24:40] engaging on that. I've got a couple meetings coming up in the next few weeks

[1:24:44] and I think that's it. So, um at this time, council, if if y'all like, let's

[1:24:50] take about a 10-minute break and plan on starting back around 5:40. Yeah, sounds

[1:24:56] good. >> All right.

[1:38:15] We're going to go ahead and get started tonight.

[1:38:19] Um, welcome to the August 24th city council meeting. Um, first item is to

[1:38:25] have my good friend, Reverend Ellen Huckabe,

[1:38:29] lead us in the prayer followed by the pledge.

[1:38:33] » Thank you for being here. >> Thank you. Let us pray. Almighty God,

[1:38:38] our creator, redeemer, and sustainer, we give you thanks for the abundant gifts

[1:38:43] you have entrusted to the people of Fair Hope. We give you thanks for our mayor,

[1:38:48] city council members, police officers, first responders, and municipal

[1:38:52] employees. We lift up their service to you today, asking you to make them wise

[1:38:58] and discerning leaders. Give them the grace for their eyes to

[1:39:02] remain open to see your hand at work in the world around them as they work for

[1:39:08] justice, peace, and the common good. Loving God, give us all the humility to

[1:39:14] recognize that every neighbor we encounter, whether they sit beside us or

[1:39:19] across the table, is a sibling in Christ, created in your image. All this

[1:39:26] we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen. >> Amen.

[1:39:32] To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it

[1:39:37] stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice

[1:39:42] for all. >> Thank you. Thank you, Ellen. All right,

[1:39:48] council. Uh, first item on tonight's agenda is to approve the minutes of the

[1:39:52] August 10th regular city council meeting and the minutes of the August 10th work

[1:39:57] session. >> So moved.

[1:39:58] » Got a motion. Second >> and a second. Any changes,

[1:40:01] modifications? >> All right, hearing none. All in favor,

[1:40:05] please say I. >> I.

[1:40:06] » I. >> All right, minutes pass. Mayor, your

[1:40:09] report. >> Thank you. Um, I really don't have much

[1:40:12] of a report tonight. I just really want to thank our staff and thank the city

[1:40:15] council. We've been working hard on the budget and we had our first budget

[1:40:18] presentation tonight. Um, I just want to thank all the leadership in particular

[1:40:22] for um, being real timely and working on the budget this year. And again, thank

[1:40:26] you to all the council members for um making time to come to those budget

[1:40:29] meetings. I know they are not fun and they last a long time, but it's

[1:40:32] important that we're all there working together as a team. And really want to

[1:40:36] thank Kim and her staff who've worked really hard on the budget as well. Um we

[1:40:40] also tonight in the work session had a presentation from um Hannah Non, our HR

[1:40:44] director, about the compensation study. And again, thank you to Hannah and her

[1:40:47] team um for for taking on that. That's a huge undertaking and it's really

[1:40:51] important to our employees and important to um being able to retain staff. So,

[1:40:55] um, appreciate her and her all her efforts. Thank you.

[1:40:59] » You. >> All right, that's it. That was that was

[1:41:01] short. Okay. Um, next item up is public participation. And this is going to be

[1:41:08] for agenda items 5 through 21. We'll skip agenda item four because that's a

[1:41:14] public hearing. And in fact, guys, we're going to skip that up until the point at

[1:41:18] 6:00. And um, just since that's when we would have advertised for that to start.

[1:41:22] So, um, at this time the floor is open. You've got up to 3 minutes to cover

[1:41:27] anything on items 5 through 21. You'll have another opportunity at the end of

[1:41:32] the meeting to address public participation items that are not covered

[1:41:35] on the agenda. So, floor is open.

[1:41:42] All right. Seeing no one, we'll close the floor and council comments. Uh,

[1:41:48] Councilman Brell, >> I have none.

[1:41:49] » Oh, I thought we were doing that at the end. Never mind. Oh, well, we're we're

[1:41:52] moving it up to >> Councilman Gam.

[1:41:55] » Uh, yeah. Um, he threw me off. I thought we're doing

[1:42:01] the end. >> I'm sorry. Yeah, that that was just a

[1:42:04] typo. We always do it right afteration. >> Um, no, I mean, obviously, uh, it's been

[1:42:11] the last time we were in this chambers was in for a very, uh, spirited

[1:42:15] discussion over city schools and, uh, the this county school system. and want

[1:42:19] to thank everybody that came out and thank you for the um the feedback that

[1:42:22] we received. Obviously, there was a lot of u misinformation on there that we had

[1:42:26] already made up our minds or that a decision had already been made which

[1:42:29] couldn't be further from the truth. But um I guess the apologies to anybody if

[1:42:34] if we didn't communicate that clearly enough uh where in my day job uh we say

[1:42:40] perception is reality. So um if we made an error obviously we did. So, apologize

[1:42:45] to the citizens if anybody was concerned or thought that we were taking a vote

[1:42:48] that night or the night after to remove kids from schools. That certainly wasn't

[1:42:52] it. I don't think that um that conversation, even though we've we've

[1:42:56] suspended it for now, uh doesn't mean there's any valid points or invalid

[1:43:00] points on either side. I think that there's many benefits to staying inside

[1:43:03] of the county. Um we've seen that US News and World Report that just came

[1:43:07] out. We're in the top, I'll say 4% of all high schools in the nation. Um which

[1:43:12] is a pretty amazing feat. Um, and there's, you know, all the benefits and

[1:43:16] all the every all the talking points. A lot of the students and stuff came up

[1:43:19] really talk about that how great of a school system that we have and how um

[1:43:23] beneficial it is to stay in the county. But I think it's also important to point

[1:43:27] out that there are some benefits to leaving this uh the county and having a

[1:43:31] city school system. You know, the proponents talked about uh potentially,

[1:43:35] right, devil's in the details and the numbers, but potentially having more

[1:43:38] money to spend per pupil. That's disputed depending upon which study you

[1:43:41] look at. um having greater local control and um you know a number of other items

[1:43:47] but uh it's it's a good thing for us to have these discussions and for us to

[1:43:52] figure out uh is the status quo correct or should we investigate something

[1:43:57] different and so I always encourage folks to to come to me with those

[1:44:00] questions and I think it was a great conversation for us to have about this

[1:44:03] and about anything you know we should always be looking forward to the future

[1:44:06] and saying what could we possibly be as opposed to what are we today um so thank

[1:44:11] you everybody that came out and looking forward to talking through other things,

[1:44:16] » sir. All right, Councilman Robinson, >> I do not currently have any comment.

[1:44:21] Councilman B. >> No, I do not.

[1:44:24] » Okay. Well, I guess I will uh try to try to keep it short and sweet. Then I I

[1:44:29] just would would echo Councilman Gammon, thank you to everyone who came out,

[1:44:34] participated, completed a survey online. Um, you know, we were asking for input

[1:44:38] and and I think we we got it. We heard it. I think um maybe I you know

[1:44:44] communication on my side maybe what was missed was um somehow I think the the

[1:44:51] expectation was that we had this looming pending vote that we were about to take

[1:44:55] in any minute. And the reality is all we were asking is tell us what you want us

[1:45:00] to pursue. Pursue or not pursue. We're just looking for feedback. And the good

[1:45:05] news is we did get feedback. So, we got some clear direction and and I

[1:45:09] appreciate people being involved and um we do need to have difficult

[1:45:13] conversations about education and many other topics uh during our time here.

[1:45:18] So, um, we do like having an engaged, uh, community and and I think that we're

[1:45:24] in a special place and, you know, the fact that some of the issues we're

[1:45:28] trying to weigh are, you know, can we be better than the third or the sixth best

[1:45:33] school in the state, you know, we we have so many people coming downtown that

[1:45:37] we can't find places to park during lunchtime and, you know, the issues we

[1:45:41] have in Fair Hope, I think a lot of uh a lot of places would love to have. So,

[1:45:46] we're very fortunate, very blessed, and um special community, and I just

[1:45:51] appreciate everyone being out there and being engaged. So,

[1:45:56] moving on, uh public hearing. We still got to wait 10 or 12 minutes for you

[1:45:59] guys. So, >> um Eric,

[1:46:03] » we wait on your two for a little bit. So, we're going to come back to the top

[1:46:07] of the order in a little bit, and we will move on to um item number six,

[1:46:12] which is a resolution that Mayor Sherry Sullivan is hereby authorized to execute

[1:46:16] change order number one for Julins Plaza Project with a cost of 17,975.72

[1:46:24] to award change order number one to RHD's Building Company LLC. The new

[1:46:29] total contract will be $450,373.86.

[1:46:34] Authorized treasur to transfer 1797572

[1:46:38] in the fiscal year budget from general fund to capital projects fund.

[1:46:43] » Motion to approve. >> Got a motion and a second.

[1:46:46] » Any further discussion? And we covered in the work session. This is just to

[1:46:50] move the pavers basically on on that project from around

[1:46:55] the corner so that we uh are still having the memorialized pavers for

[1:46:59] people in place. >> The memorialized pavers or what that was

[1:47:02] concerned. So yes, we're going to move them properly.

[1:47:06] » Yes. So any motion? Second. Any questions? All right. All in favor,

[1:47:11] please say I. >> I.

[1:47:13] » All right. Motion passes. Item number seven is a resolution to

[1:47:18] award a bid to Fair Hope Building Company for the re for the relocation of

[1:47:22] the Henry Stewart House from 22787US98 to Flying Creek Nature Preserve with a

[1:47:28] bid proposal not to exceed $421,50 which includes a project contingency of

[1:47:35] 10% and a $30,000 contingency for MEP and landscape materials. This project is

[1:47:42] 100% funded by donations. >> May I speak before sir motion for that?

[1:47:48] Yeah. I uh I spoke to Mr. Sunonny Brewer last week and he just wanted to send his

[1:47:54] deep regrets to to everyone for not being able to attend

[1:47:58] » uh tonight. he had an emergency and had to be out of town and uh anyway, but

[1:48:02] that he he just wanted to, you know, let everybody know what a big deal it is and

[1:48:08] let everybody know that, you know, how the rest of the country is watching

[1:48:11] this. This is a piece of of history. So, I think that that all the citizens owe a

[1:48:15] a debt of gratitude to Mr. Sunny Brewer. Um we thank him a lot and and everybody

[1:48:20] that worked with him. you know, he's not only an author, now he's a

[1:48:24] philanthropist and an activist and and they raised a 100% of the the the

[1:48:28] private funds needed to to move this. So, uh you know, he put his heart and

[1:48:32] soul into it and I just wanted to make uh you know, make it known during this

[1:48:36] meeting that he he's really sad that he couldn't be here. So, uh you know, we we

[1:48:41] miss him and we thank him for all that he did. And mayor, do you want to add on

[1:48:44] to that? I know he spoke to you and shared his sentiments.

[1:48:47] » No. Um, you you summed it up great, Jack, but there is also several people

[1:48:50] here in the audience who've been instrumental in that. Dick Scott's here,

[1:48:53] also Katherine King, I think Savan Wilson. So, there's been several several

[1:48:57] folks working on this. Um, Fairup Single Tax has been instrumental in this

[1:49:02] project. So, again, thank you to everybody that's been involved. I'm

[1:49:05] really excited to see at, you know, the Henry Stewart house at their permanent

[1:49:09] home at the Flying Creek Nature Preserve. And, um, again, we'll see that

[1:49:13] hopefully sometime around the first of the year. You know, I want to add just a

[1:49:16] personal thought on that is that I'm really happy that we are we're able to

[1:49:20] move it to a location that that he actually would have, you know, walked in

[1:49:25] in his lifetime, you know, that the area between Flying Creek and Rock Creek, you

[1:49:30] know, and uh you know, he knew that area. That was that was where he lived.

[1:49:33] And so we're we're able to move it. It's not going to be on the site that he

[1:49:37] built it on, but it's going to be within walking distance and certainly land that

[1:49:41] he would have traversed in his lifetime. So,

[1:49:43] » it's going to be much more visible. I think it's a great location. And also,

[1:49:47] we want to thank Richard for doing such a gut good job as well.

[1:49:51] » I I'll just add that I gave him a shout out on the radio this morning because

[1:49:56] when the price practically doubled to 421,000,

[1:50:01] I didn't really think they would be able to raise all of that money

[1:50:04] independently. I thought they would come back to the city and ask for more. and

[1:50:08] and I was thrilled to give them the land to put it on, but I kind of felt like

[1:50:12] the money needed to be raised through private donations. And you know, they

[1:50:16] certainly he certainly showed me they they raised every bit of it through

[1:50:20] private donations and tells me that we have some incredibly generous donors um

[1:50:26] out there in this community, but also people that really value preserving

[1:50:30] history and and I think it's fantastic that we're keeping it and keeping it in

[1:50:34] a as you said a very similar type of location. It's not like we're moving it

[1:50:39] to some completely unrelatable property. It's moving to places very similar to

[1:50:45] what he would have been uh living on back in the day. So, congratulations,

[1:50:50] Sunny. Everybody else that was involved. Very well done.

[1:50:53] » And I think it's going to make a great VBO myself.

[1:50:56] » I I think that'll be it would be fun to be

[1:51:00] out there and watch them when they actually are bringing it down the

[1:51:03] street. That'll be >> Well, they're worth watching. I get a

[1:51:06] good view of it. Councilman. Yes, sir. President Conurs, I I'd also like to say

[1:51:11] that there were some some anonymous donors that that that that donated very

[1:51:16] large sums of money for this and they remain anonymous and so that you know,

[1:51:20] God, you got to love an anonymous donor that just gives, you know, tens of

[1:51:23] thousands of dollars. So, thank you to those unnamed people.

[1:51:27] » I was going to say over $150,000, one private individual donor. So, I'm

[1:51:32] hoping at some point they will allow us to recognize them, but that's a huge

[1:51:35] contribution. Well, and if they won't, they're hopefully watching. Thank you

[1:51:40] » very much. Um, on that note, would anybody like to make a motion on this?

[1:51:44] » Motion. >> All right, we've got a motion.

[1:51:47] » Second and two seconds. Lisa, who got it?

[1:51:51] » Ladies first. >> Okay.

[1:51:54] » Motion and two seconds. All in favor of the resolution, please say I.

[1:51:58] » I. >> Any opposed? All right. Motion passes.

[1:52:02] Congratulations. Well done. Um, item number eight is a resolution to adopt a

[1:52:07] transportation plan pursuant to the Rebuild Alabama Act for fiscal year

[1:52:11] 2027. >> So moved.

[1:52:13] » Got a motion and a second. And this is relative to the 1-cent gas tax. Any

[1:52:18] further discussion? >> Great details there.

[1:52:21] » All right. Hearing none. All in favor, please say I.

[1:52:24] » I. >> I. Any opposed? All right. Motion

[1:52:27] passes. Um, item number nine is a resolution

[1:52:32] that the city council approves the selection of Mayor Sher Sullivan for

[1:52:36] professional engineering services for the construction of materials and

[1:52:40] special inspections for the first responders safe room project to Geocon,

[1:52:44] Inc. and hereby authorize Mayor Sher Sullivan to negotiate

[1:52:49] um to execute the contract and and for a not to exceed amount of $30,000.

[1:52:57] » Move. I'll second. >> Got a motion and a second. And this is

[1:53:00] 90% reimburseable through FEMA grant. So, um, any further discussion?

[1:53:07] » All right. Hearing none. All in favor, please say I.

[1:53:09] » I. >> I.

[1:53:11] » All right. Motion passes. Item 10 is a resolution to award a bid to Larsson

[1:53:16] Meridian Group LLC for fire extinguisher inspection services annual contract in

[1:53:21] the amount of 55,000. If y'all recall, it's the third time we've put this out

[1:53:26] of bid and Y'all are good with this one? >> Motion to approve.

[1:53:30] » Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion.

[1:53:35] All right. Hearing none. All in favor, please say I.

[1:53:37] » I. >> I.

[1:53:38] » Any opposed? All right. Motion passes. Item number 11 is a resolution that the

[1:53:44] city council authorizes and approves the addition of one temporary fire station

[1:53:49] maintenance coordinator position to the fiscal year 2026 budget to align with

[1:53:53] the retirement of the incumbent who will work with and train their replacement.

[1:53:57] This will be beneficial to the city as well as the new employee and Mr.

[1:54:00] Sarosino is scheduled to retire September 30th and after which this

[1:54:05] position would uh be defunded, roll off and the new employee would assume

[1:54:11] that position >> and we've done this several other times

[1:54:15] and it's been very helpful to >> to have have somebody shadow for a

[1:54:19] couple months >> approve

[1:54:21] » motion. Did y motion?

[1:54:25] » Oh, you did you already motion? >> Second.

[1:54:26] » Oh, you you motion? >> Yeah. Yeah.

[1:54:28] » All right. And we got a second. All right. You got a motion and a second.

[1:54:30] Any further discussion? All right, hearing none. All in favor, please say

[1:54:34] I. >> I.

[1:54:35] » I. >> Any opposed?

[1:54:38] All right. Motion passes. Item number 12 is a resolution that Mayor Sherry

[1:54:42] Sullivan is hereby authorized to execute a contract with Jackson Thornton

[1:54:46] Advisors LLC for revenue requirements analysis and utility cost of service

[1:54:51] study uh and rate study with a not to exceed amount of $86,800.

[1:54:57] This is going to cover gas, electric, water, and sewer.

[1:55:01] » A motion to approve. >> Got a motion.

[1:55:03] » Second, >> and a second. Any further discussion.

[1:55:07] » All right. >> When will we hear back?

[1:55:10] » Yeah. >> Six months from the time they start.

[1:55:13] » Six months from Yeah. >> Thank you.

[1:55:15] » And it's been about four years since we we did this. So, all right.

[1:55:20] All in favor of the resolution, please say I. I.

[1:55:23] » I. Any opposed? >> All right. Motion passes. Item number 13

[1:55:29] is a resolution that the city council authorizes city treasurer to advertise a

[1:55:33] request for proposals for a bank loan for water and wastewater.

[1:55:39] » So moved. >> Second.

[1:55:40] » We've got a motion and a second. Any further discussion?

[1:55:44] » Thank you. >> All right. Hearing none. All in favor,

[1:55:47] please say I. >> I.

[1:55:50] » All right. Motion passes. Item number 14 is a resolution that the city council

[1:55:55] authorizes city treasur to advertise a request for proposals for bond

[1:55:59] underwriting services. Move >> second.

[1:56:01] » Motion and a second. Any further discussion?

[1:56:05] » All right. Left side of the dash.

[1:56:09] » All right. Hearing none. All in favor, please say I.

[1:56:12] » I. >> I. All right.

[1:56:15] » Motion passes. Item 15 is a resolution that the city council approves and

[1:56:19] authorizes city treasurer to execute a medical stoploss proposal with Symmetra

[1:56:24] Life Insurance Company for specific and aggregate stop-loss insurance to be

[1:56:28] effective October 1st, 2026. >> Motion to approve.

[1:56:32] » Got a motion. >> Second

[1:56:35] » and a second. All right. Um we did go over this in detail in the work session

[1:56:40] just talking through this and um this is the the option that's been recommended

[1:56:44] by Coben and had some good thorough discussion on that. So any further

[1:56:49] discussion on this item? Miss is the 125. Okay.

[1:56:52] » Yes, sir. 125,000. >> Yep.

[1:56:57] » All right. All in favor of the resolution, please say I.

[1:57:00] » I. >> I.

[1:57:02] » All right. Resolution passes. Item 16 is a resolution to approve the fiscal year

[1:57:07] 2026 AIP grant application for land reimbursement and that the mayor is

[1:57:12] hereby authorized to sign and execute any necessary and appropriate documents

[1:57:16] including grant applications and grant agreements so that the city of Fair Hope

[1:57:20] and the Fair Airport Authority can receive funding under the FAA airport

[1:57:25] improvement program at AIP for grant funding in the amount of $285,339

[1:57:31] for land reimbursement. The matching funds, if any, required for this AIP

[1:57:36] grant should be the responsibility of the Fair Hope Airport Authority and not

[1:57:39] the city of Fair Hope. Council member Bell, we did not address these two items

[1:57:44] really in work session since you weren't here.

[1:57:46] » So, um, yeah, these these these grants can be used for anything uh on the

[1:57:55] property for for which we already have in our master plan. And it it doesn't

[1:58:00] specifically have to be for land reimbursement, although if you go back

[1:58:04] many years, historically, we had used some of these grant monies to to pay off

[1:58:09] some of the principle on the loan. Uh it hasn't been used for that so much

[1:58:15] lately, but there are some needs that the airport authority has, such as we

[1:58:21] need access roads. We need we need more access on the east side so that that we

[1:58:25] can we can lease the additional land that we have over there. Now there

[1:58:30] there's basically one u one road that runs east west on the east side where

[1:58:35] there's a lot of new hangers and we need a road open to the south of that.

[1:58:39] There's other needs. Uh I I um I was struggling with it for a while that they

[1:58:44] weren't using that to pay down their principal, but if it will help them

[1:58:48] increase their revenues and and they'll agree to that land transfer on the east

[1:58:54] or the west side, I'm sorry. We were talking about the values of those lands

[1:58:57] once we get that road built uh on the west side and and they're going to

[1:59:01] they're going to seed all of that land to us, which they should since we've

[1:59:06] been paying for it since seemed like, you know, I was a kid. But um anyway, um

[1:59:12] that land will be, you know, valuable. I I' I'd put the value of that land

[1:59:16] somewhere, you know, between 10 and 15 million dollars once we get it improved

[1:59:20] and and we'll we will start seeing all of our returns for the investment then.

[1:59:24] And I think that land to go quick once we get that developed. So

[1:59:30] » with that in mind, let them spend it to improve the east side, you know. I think

[1:59:35] » Okay. Thank you. >> And I'll make the motion to approve the

[1:59:37] grant application. >> Second. Got a motion and a second. Any

[1:59:40] further discussion? >> All right. Well, thank you for the

[1:59:43] explanation and update on that. Um, all in favor of the resolution, please say

[1:59:47] I. >> I.

[1:59:48] » All right. Any opposed? All right. Motion passes. Item number 17 is a

[1:59:53] resolution to approve the fiscal year 2026 AIP grant application for fencing

[1:59:58] project at the HL Sunny Callahan Airport and the mayor is hereby authorized to

[2:00:03] sign and execute any necessary and appropriate documents including grant

[2:00:07] applications grant agreement so that the city of Fair Hope and the Fair Airport

[2:00:11] Authority can receive the grant funding acting acting for and in behalf of the

[2:00:16] airport in Fairip, Alabama so that the grant applications for this AIP funding

[2:00:21] opportunity may be finalized, approved, and accepted in accordance with

[2:00:25] applicable law and procedures. >> So, um, council president, I think, uh,

[2:00:31] everybody would realize that security is paramount

[2:00:35] » at an airport and, uh, we need to make some improvements to our fencing there,

[2:00:40] » about 114,000 and, uh, the airport authority will only be responsible for

[2:00:45] about $5,700 of that uh, which which they can afford. So, uh, I think we

[2:00:50] should, uh, uh, submit this grant and, uh, move forward with this fencing.

[2:00:56] » All right. Anyone like to make an official motion on that?

[2:00:59] » I will do that. >> Got a motion.

[2:01:01] » I'll second >> and a second. Any further discussion?

[2:01:05] » All right. Hearing none. All in favor, please say I.

[2:01:07] » I. >> All right. Motion passes. Item 18 is a

[2:01:11] resolution that the city of Fairhip approves the award for the request for

[2:01:15] quotes and labor and materials for the installation of sand filters at the

[2:01:19] indoor pool to classic pools and patio center inc for the not to exceed project

[2:01:24] cost of $72,900. This public works project will be less

[2:01:29] than 100,000 and therefore does not need to be formally bid out. authorizes

[2:01:33] treasurer to transfer funds in the amount of 72,900 from savings on press

[2:01:38] box at project at major field to municipal pool project in the 2026

[2:01:44] budget with rec within recreation capital improvements and authorized

[2:01:48] treasurer to pay the 50% vendor upfront. >> Get it done. Make a motion to approve.

[2:01:54] » Second. >> Motion and a second. Any further

[2:01:56] discussion? How close are we to having the pool

[2:02:00] open? Approximately 10 days.

[2:02:03] » Okay. 10 days. So I've had people asking. So right after Labor Day, I

[2:02:07] guess. Okay. Around there. >> Close. Or right before Labor Day. All

[2:02:12] right. >> All right. All in favor, please say I.

[2:02:15] » I. >> I.

[2:02:16] » All right. Motion passes. Item 19 is a request from Leslie Edgeman, uh,

[2:02:21] chairperson of the Fair Hope Witches Ride, Ballwin County Humane Society,

[2:02:25] requesting permission to close the streets in downtown Fair Hope on

[2:02:29] Thursday, October 29th, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for the

[2:02:34] Fair Hope Witches Ride 2026 and for the city to provide barricades and two power

[2:02:39] boxes. The ride will begin at Coastal Alabama Community College Amphitheater.

[2:02:44] This whimsical bike ride benefits local animal rescue and helps animals

[2:02:48] throughout our area. >> A motion to approve.

[2:02:51] » Got a motion. >> Second.

[2:02:52] » And a second. Any discussion? I'll just say um kind of downtown on

[2:02:58] that route. It's always interesting to see somebody from out of town who has no

[2:03:03] idea what's going on when this comes by. So, um always a good event. So, um we

[2:03:11] got a motion and a second. All in favor, please say I. I. Any opposed?

[2:03:16] All right. Motion passes. Item 20 is an application for retail food store

[2:03:22] consumable hemp products by Kamal Constantine Manning Inc. doing business

[2:03:27] as Piggly Wiggly 100 Plantation Point Road, Fair Hope, Alabama 36532.

[2:03:32] Chief said everything was in line. She's back there. Would anyone like to

[2:03:38] make a motion? >> Chief, has anybody began selling those

[2:03:41] yet? because I know that I had heard the first two that we approved weren't

[2:03:44] actually selling them yet. >> You haven't seen any?

[2:03:49] » Yeah. >> Yeah. I was just curious because the

[2:03:52] other two obviously besides Greers were liquor stores which are naturally

[2:03:56] restricted by ages, but this one and the Greers there's pretty strict um retail

[2:04:02] display rules. So, I've just I've yet to see those in place. So,

[2:04:11] been looking for them. >> You know me.

[2:04:21] » All right. >> A motion to approve.

[2:04:22] » We've got a motion. >> Second.

[2:04:24] » And a second. Any further discussion? >> Yes, if you don't mind. I just uh you

[2:04:28] know, I want to put a warning out. Don't break the rules on this or you will lose

[2:04:32] your business license. You won't lose your license to sell these products. You

[2:04:35] will lose your business license. So, you've been warned.

[2:04:39] » There you go. >> Absolutely.

[2:04:40] » Fair enough. All right. All in favor of the application, please say I.

[2:04:45] » I. Any opposed? >> Nay.

[2:04:47] » All right. We've got one nay. But motion passes. Item 21 is an application for

[2:04:52] beer and wine on and off premises licensed by John Parin. Um, the club at

[2:04:57] Fair Hope Golf Works LLC doing business as the club at Fair Hope Golf Works, 363

[2:05:03] Commercial Park Drive, Fair Hope, Alabama. Chief said everything was in

[2:05:06] line with this application. >> I make a motion to approve.

[2:05:09] » We got a motion and a second. Any further discussion?

[2:05:13] » All right. Hearing none. All in favor, please say I. I.

[2:05:16] » I. >> All right. Motion passes. Now we're

[2:05:20] coming back to the top of the order. And item number four is going to be a public

[2:05:25] hearing for an ordinance to amend zoning ordinance number 1253. public hearing to

[2:05:31] consider the request of the applicant SEC Civil LLC on behalf of the owner Kut

[2:05:37] Kut Enterprises LLC for conditional annexation to R1 lowdensity single

[2:05:43] family residential district. The property is located at the southeast

[2:05:46] corner of County Road 13 and Mosley Road and is 43.6

[2:05:52] acres. Would somebody like to introduce the ordinance?

[2:05:55] » I'll introduce the ordinance. >> Thank you, sir.

[2:05:57] » Hunter. >> Council President.

[2:05:59] » Yes, sir. You're right. >> Um, so we'll jump right into kind of

[2:06:03] showing the property. Um, this is the acreage that you refer to. Uh, the

[2:06:07] aerial on the right shows the current, uh, conditions of the property. It is a

[2:06:12] large track, so what you might not be able to see is the house uh, facing 13.

[2:06:17] Uh, that is currently within the, uh, county, not within the city of Fair

[2:06:23] Hope. It is zoned R at the moment. Um this is survey. I'll kind of jump jump

[2:06:31] through. Um there's ne never been any application for this particular property

[2:06:36] with the city. Um it's currently ab budding this property. Uh within the

[2:06:42] city is RSR2. That's PON Ridge subdivision. To the south is within the

[2:06:48] city is R1. And to the west is the county rural agriculture.

[2:06:53] um RSF which I believe is 80,000 square foot

[2:06:58] lots and RSF2 which is 1200 12,500 foot lots in the county are also nearby on to

[2:07:08] the north. Um I'll kind of go through go back to the

[2:07:13] zoning map here that shows the existing zoning in the county on the left and

[2:07:18] then on the right uh where you see the yellow and brown that is brown is R2 U

[2:07:25] and yellow is R1 that are in the city limits.

[2:07:31] R1 is our lower density uh single family residential developments. Um it requires

[2:07:38] a minimum of 15,000 square foot lots 100 foot wide and has a gross density of 2.9

[2:07:45] units an acre. Um a as some of the conversation sorry this is a list of

[2:07:51] kind of the uses that allowed there. For the most part those are single family

[2:07:55] homes. Um there there is a component of this when

[2:08:00] we started looking at the the uh first conversations and what can be done on

[2:08:05] the property and certainly staff was uh recommending kind of keeping working

[2:08:10] with the trees, working with the land. Uh that evolved to the applicant

[2:08:14] actually voluntarily restricting the density of this property to 1.4 units an

[2:08:19] acre as opposed and that's the gross density as opposed to the two uh.9

[2:08:24] allowed. That's just a number right now, but as it moves forward, if approved to

[2:08:30] a preliminary plat, they would have to meet that density instead of the 2.9.

[2:08:34] So, that's a self-restrictive um uh and and this would be a part of the

[2:08:40] ordinance, Lisa, what we would request um that this form be included in the

[2:08:45] ordinance if the council so uh chose to adopt. This is a conditional annexation.

[2:08:51] So the request for zoning is absolutely tied to the annexation. Um

[2:08:57] if the zoning is given the property would annex into the city. Uh there was

[2:09:02] a few comments at the planning commission. Um one of those was uh there

[2:09:07] was rumor that the land was in a trust and a conservation easement and

[2:09:11] something like that that protected it that there is no uh trust on this

[2:09:16] property. They did uh actually check that and then there were some other

[2:09:20] comments but for the most part those are related to drainage and traffic. That is

[2:09:25] not something we review in a straight zoning request as this. Those would

[2:09:29] certainly come up if it were to move forward, get approved and go to uh a

[2:09:33] preliminary plat application. We review those details within that application.

[2:09:39] So with that said, staff does recommend approval with that one condition. Sub

[2:09:44] site shall be restricted to a maximum density of 1.4 four units an acre. Um

[2:09:49] that is being gross density. The planning commission also recommends

[2:09:53] approval. Um and they did recommend that unanimously with a vote of 8 to zero. Uh

[2:10:00] tower homes Price and Will High Tower here as well as representatives from SC

[2:10:04] Civil. If there's questions, uh certainly I'm here if you have any of

[2:10:08] staff or um anything I can do to help. >> What's the minimum and maximum lot size

[2:10:13] for R1's? R1 is 15,000 square feet >> total square feet um and 100 foot wide

[2:10:23] at the front setback. >> Yeah.

[2:10:26] » So effectively if they're going from 2.9 would be allowable to 1.4.

[2:10:31] They're basically and I'm they're not saying that they're all going to be

[2:10:34] 30,000, but they're going to >> limit it to that equivalent of that

[2:10:40] number. And really and and >> we haven't had really too many

[2:10:44] conversations about what the layout looks like, you know, had a very high

[2:10:48] level. But what that would allow to do with the 15,000 square foot lots is kind

[2:10:53] of move around, keep the same number of house of of of lots than the 30,000 if

[2:10:58] you will, but work with the trees, you know, you know, instead of having to

[2:11:02] carve out for 30,000 square foot lots. You can kind of work around the trees.

[2:11:08] You may have a 20, you may have a 40, you may just kind of

[2:11:12] » may all be 15,000 and half the lot of common area common area and and green

[2:11:17] space and preserved uh that >> that as we move forward, we'll we'll see

[2:11:22] what but it gives that flexibility, I believe.

[2:11:25] » All right. Well, >> I have a few questions.

[2:11:27] » Yeah. Would y'all like to ask questions first or hear from the public? I say go

[2:11:31] ahead and ask them if you got some. >> Yeah, I'll ask may make spark more

[2:11:34] questions. Um, can you go back to the original

[2:11:38] » uh where you showed the lodge as the squares? I was a little bit confused.

[2:11:43] So, >> which this one or that one?

[2:11:46] » I go back to that. What was the one with all the parcels right here? Oh, that

[2:11:49] one. >> Yep.

[2:11:50] » So, are all of those parcels uh A and E, B, C, and D, and F. Are all those

[2:11:56] included in this annexation? >> Yes, that's

[2:11:59] » They're not excluded. Okay. The way it was cut up, I didn't know if something

[2:12:01] was being excluded or not. And this one might be easier to see.

[2:12:05] » Yeah, the one on the right. So, is everything

[2:12:08] » everything in yellow? >> Nothing's being carved out there, right?

[2:12:11] » Okay. >> All right. Um, that was the first

[2:12:14] question. Thank you for that. Um, I had a local resident uh that is uh in the

[2:12:22] watershed of this area. I'll just call it that for lack of a better word. And

[2:12:26] and they were concerned that they may get runoff. And I I I did tell them I

[2:12:30] hopefully rightfully so that you know if it if the development's done right, it

[2:12:35] could actually help your property as opposed to hurt. Larry, is that would

[2:12:39] that be a true statement? Could you give them confidence that the water

[2:12:43] management would probably be better now or once developed than it because you

[2:12:48] guys have obligations to to contain that as opposed to vacant land that may not,

[2:12:54] right? >> Yes. Um just direct Larry Smith Essie

[2:12:58] Civil um you're absolutely right. Um that was one of the one of the many

[2:13:03] reasons when we started looking at this that density is going to be reduced to

[2:13:07] make sure that we have adequate common area so we can manage and maintain the

[2:13:11] storm water runoff while also protecting some of the trees that are in these low

[2:13:15] areas. Um you know our our client has now a history with Fair Hope of wanting

[2:13:21] to protect trees. um Hunter can attest. We worked through on Stone Veil um

[2:13:26] subdivision regrading the entire site after we had totally done the design to

[2:13:30] help protect and we relayed some of the lots out to help protect trees um and

[2:13:35] save trees so that they can um be enjoyed by the future homeowners. So

[2:13:39] yes, we will have to look at the downstream. We'll have to um make sure

[2:13:44] that we're not hurting it, but we also will in that process try to make it

[2:13:49] better for anybody downstream of us. this um property takes on runoff from

[2:13:54] the subdivision to the south. Um it comes through and flows through this

[2:13:57] site. So, we'll take that into account as well.

[2:14:00] » And I think this gets challenging when you're when you're talking to

[2:14:03] constituents because right now all that's really before us and and granted

[2:14:08] they're looking down the road to how many houses could be there, but right

[2:14:12] now all that we're considering is just a reszone.

[2:14:15] » So that we don't have the a layout to see where water would or wouldn't flow,

[2:14:19] » but it wouldn't be worse. by law they they can't make it any worse.

[2:14:22] » Correct. >> Correct.

[2:14:23] » So, and then one last question I had and I'm looking at the the aerial map and I

[2:14:29] mean it's not a topo but it it's a you know it's kind of showing the landscape

[2:14:34] there. Appreciate you voluntarily uh agreeing to lower the density to 1.4.

[2:14:41] But you always have to ask the question if 50% of the land wasn't usable then

[2:14:46] you're at 1.4 4 and everything's just crammed on half of it. I don't really

[2:14:52] see that here. So, I just want to ask that question. You're not just, you

[2:14:57] know, voluntarily making it 1.4 cuz realistically that's all you could get

[2:15:01] on there anyway. >> I I don't believe that's the case. And

[2:15:05] we've done several layouts, some of them with higher density, some of them with

[2:15:09] lower density, and this is kind of where we landed. Um, obviously, we haven't

[2:15:13] done a full drainage design that will come with the subdivision. um component

[2:15:18] of it, but it it's not that they could only get 1.4. So, we're acting like

[2:15:22] we're giving you something. >> Exactly. You know, we've had a lot of

[2:15:25] people come in here and go, we're going to have this great amenity

[2:15:28] » and it's, >> you know, 20 acres is completely

[2:15:31] unusable land, and they call it a 20 hour a 20 acre green space, which was

[2:15:35] » Yeah. >> undevelopable to begin with. So,

[2:15:38] » I I believe the first time we sat down with staff, and you correct me if I'm

[2:15:41] wrong, we we had a layout that was denser than 1.4 units per acre.

[2:15:45] » Thank you, sir. And to to be candid, there is we don't

[2:15:50] know exact boundaries, but there is a natural creek kind of coming through,

[2:15:55] but it doesn't encompass 50% of >> it. I mean, that's why I said runs north

[2:16:00] to south approximately through here. >> Would likely have a 50ft buffer on

[2:16:05] either side of that, >> but you're you're not talking about 50%

[2:16:08] of the acreage. How how many of the or what percentage would you say of the

[2:16:12] trees and the natural forestation is there are you planning on keeping and or

[2:16:18] eliminating? However you however you figure that out.

[2:16:21] » Um >> because I've seen your property that

[2:16:22] you're developing over on uh 181 and I can see you have lots of tree protection

[2:16:27] that's noticeable. Unfortunately, I can't answer that yet

[2:16:31] because our next step will be to do a full tree survey um so that we can

[2:16:36] figure out how to orient the roads um to best protect the trees similar to what

[2:16:42] we had to do the last time. >> Is it fair to say you're not going to

[2:16:45] clear cut? >> Yes. Well, is that fair to say?

[2:16:51] » Yes, that that's fair to say. >> Feel free to take out all the camper

[2:16:54] trees and all the popcorn trees in the popcorn. No, no worries. We'll try.

[2:17:01] » All right. Um, at this time, I guess we'll go ahead and open the floor for

[2:17:05] the public hearing if anybody um from the audience would like to speak to

[2:17:09] this.

[2:17:14] Good evening. >> Hi, I'm Will High Tower with Tower

[2:17:18] Homes. Um, we got we came before you guys about nine months ago for the

[2:17:22] property that uh you referenced on Highway 181, and we're super happy to be

[2:17:27] back here. Um, so as a quick refresher on who we are and what we do because I

[2:17:31] know you guys have been in this room for a while this afternoon, so I will make

[2:17:34] it pretty quick, but we are a family-owned and operated home building

[2:17:38] company. We're based in Birmingham and we've been building here for about three

[2:17:42] years. Uh, my dad is here with me and we we have the privilege to build houses

[2:17:46] together and we think this site is super special. Um, we really think Fair Hope

[2:17:50] is super special and it's a place that we saw uh a few years ago. We kind of

[2:17:56] thought that there was not um someone building the kind of houses that we

[2:17:59] really like to build. There was the national builders at the lower end.

[2:18:03] There's the custom guys that do the super nice $2 million homes and there

[2:18:06] was a gap in between those two. And so that's really what we aim to fill and

[2:18:11] that's what we envision on this site. We've been building uh we're building

[2:18:15] North Hills right now, Rock Creek, the Meadows, some of the communities that

[2:18:20] really fit that product in your city. And when we met with Hunter and city

[2:18:25] staff about this site, we outlined that vision. We talked through the density.

[2:18:29] Um there are wetlands running kind of there's a running north south through

[2:18:33] the property. And so um to to the questions about the trees, hard to say

[2:18:38] today exactly how many, but there will be a natural tree buffer around those

[2:18:42] wetlands. So it will be uh I think the site will lay out really neatly. uh and

[2:18:48] and it will not look nearly as dense as um many developments that you picture

[2:18:52] when you hear production home building. This also aligns with the comprehensive

[2:18:57] plan. So the comprehensive plan describes this site as being within the

[2:19:01] suburban residential classification. Some quotes from that are lot widths are

[2:19:06] 75 to 100 ft. We're talking about 100 foot lots here. Uh generous setbacks and

[2:19:13] preservation of sensitive natural features. We like preservation of

[2:19:17] sensitive natural features because our home buyers like preservation of

[2:19:20] sensitive natural features and so that is a win for us. I think it's a win for

[2:19:24] the city and it's certainly a win for the future homeowners.

[2:19:29] We think it'll be about 50 lots. That's actually even less than 1.4 per acre,

[2:19:33] but just as we've worked on it with engineers and the site design that we

[2:19:36] like, we think it's going to be about 50 lots. Um, and we really think it's

[2:19:41] something that we can be proud of and I hope it's something that each of you can

[2:19:45] be proud of as well as you drive past it. So, I'm happy to answer any

[2:19:48] questions you may have. >> I've been sitting here looking at your

[2:19:51] twin daddy over there. Y'all look so much like all the meeting I've been

[2:19:54] drawing going, they look just alike. But, no, it it sounds great. I remember

[2:19:57] you. You were one of my first when I first became council, you came up and

[2:20:02] spoke and I remember you. You did a great job. I'm excited for you guys.

[2:20:06] » Thank you. >> Thank you, council. Any questions? Yeah,

[2:20:09] Jay, I got a couple questions. Um, first off, you got a great YouTube program

[2:20:14] going on because I see y'all like every other day on my YouTube account.

[2:20:18] » They charge us for that. So, I'm glad someone seeing it.

[2:20:20] » Your dad, I'm getting to know you real well. Um, but uh, no, I I I just some

[2:20:26] general comments and then overall, I mean, I think number one, you know,

[2:20:29] we're coming from an agricultural designation in the county, but we're

[2:20:32] we're building it in a lot of city property surrounding it. I think it's a

[2:20:36] little bit more unique. Um, the last time you came up to here, I voted

[2:20:39] against you the that reasonzoning. I wasn't too thrilled with it. But this

[2:20:44] one, I think for staff and anybody else that's listening, I think this density

[2:20:49] makes so much more sense as an R1, you know, you're talking 50 lots and really

[2:20:55] 61 units if you if you really got to the 1.4 versus a total that could possibly

[2:21:00] be of 130. To me, a 50 lot neighborhood is a heck of a lot different than a 130

[2:21:07] unit lot on the same on that same track of land. So, I think long term, I just

[2:21:11] think that's something that we got to look at. There's that to me is a good in

[2:21:15] between from agricultural and so-called low density. I don't consider 130 units

[2:21:20] um on that acreage low density, but I digress. I I I do think it's um it's a

[2:21:27] great thing that y'all are doing. I've noticed the work, like I said, on 181.

[2:21:31] um I don't see a lot of that. So, it's it it makes a difference. I appreciate

[2:21:35] you all protecting those live oaks and I get that there's probably um some

[2:21:39] economic advantage to doing that, right? Your your customers want it. Um it's

[2:21:43] good PR, but it doesn't mean that it's not also beneficial to the community.

[2:21:46] Two things can be true at once. So, I thank you all for doing that. Um and I

[2:21:50] also like the u the optional the the carryon is saying, "Look, we're not

[2:21:56] going to go higher than 1.4." Um that gives me a lot more um good feelings

[2:22:01] about this because again it it doesn't look like you're just simply trying to

[2:22:05] squeeze every penny that you can out. Um you're trying to match the the

[2:22:08] neighboring facilities a little bit. I actually live right around the corner on

[2:22:11] a little bit denser properties than uh than this one. Um but uh it it it

[2:22:16] definitely looks like it'd be good. And um you know this is one that I think is

[2:22:20] a little bit little bit different when you talk about conditional annexation.

[2:22:23] They're not coming to us asking for, hey, we're going to put an apartment

[2:22:26] tower here and or we're going to stay in the county. So, um I I feel much better

[2:22:31] about this and thank you all for what you've been doing on the other property

[2:22:34] as well. >> Thank you.

[2:22:36] » Thank you. Any any comments? Yeah, I'm always in favor of somebody that wants

[2:22:41] to uh be more self-restrictive on what they can develop instead of just trying

[2:22:45] to maximize it out, flip it to a pud, see if they can squeeze a few more units

[2:22:50] in it. So, thank you for that. But um would anyone in the audience like to

[2:22:55] speak to this?

[2:23:00] All right. Well, seeing no one, um we'll let this lay over and be taken up for

[2:23:06] final adoption at the next council hearing. So, thank you guys.

[2:23:09] » Thank you. >> Thank you.

[2:23:10] » Thank you all. >> And Larry, I'm sure took y'all somewhere

[2:23:12] nice during your break. Um, Eric, item number five is a

[2:23:18] resolution that the city council authorizes and approves a contract

[2:23:22] between the city of Fair Hope and Children's Site Works, Inc. for the

[2:23:25] demolition of the dangerous building on the Fair Hope Church of God in Christ

[2:23:29] property and the total amount not to exceed 22,500 and that the mayor, the

[2:23:34] building official, the city attorney, and any other officials or employees

[2:23:38] acting under the direction of the mayor are empowered to do such things as are

[2:23:43] necessary to carry out emergency demolition on the property and otherwise

[2:23:47] carry out purposes of this resolution. >> Okay.

[2:23:50] » Yes, sir. You gave us a little bit of background. Maybe

[2:23:53] » I gave you a little bit of background. Um uh yes and and the river just gave me

[2:23:56] some information. So okay, haul out and dump uh fee is listed

[2:24:03] on the contract that they have with the gentleman who already tore the building

[2:24:08] down. So we're good with that. Um as I mentioned to the re everything is good

[2:24:12] that really this is a contractual issue now between the church and the

[2:24:16] contractor. The contractor needs to he has submitted for his permit. I need

[2:24:21] some kind of documentation >> saying who owns the building

[2:24:24] » rising because what we don't want is the city to issue a permit there is unclear

[2:24:29] title or unclear ownership and then we've given permission to tear it down

[2:24:35] and there be a dispute later on by someone who is an owner of a grandson of

[2:24:40] an owner down the line. So some sort of documentation letting us know we have uh

[2:24:45] one of the legal owners of the property or legal ownership of the property

[2:24:49] giving permission for that and then we can issue the permit. I will deal with

[2:24:53] uh the contractor directly and talk to them about permitting and the

[2:24:58] requirements for permitting. One of the things that as I mentioned uh you know

[2:25:02] the permit fee per our ordinance for working without a permit. We verify

[2:25:06] first if the work is in compliance. If it is, then the fee that is charged uh

[2:25:11] is increased as part of a as as part of an assessment or a fine for that. And

[2:25:16] I'll work that with the contractor directly.

[2:25:19] » Yes. >> Okay.

[2:25:20] » But but do do we need to vote on this in any way at this point?

[2:25:26] » Remove it from the agenda. >> Yeah. I just wanted to give y'all an

[2:25:29] update because we've been up in front of you now four times. Yeah.

[2:25:32] » And uh I know everybody kind of wants to know what's going on and I got bombarded

[2:25:36] with phone calls late for or not phone call. Well, phone calls and photos late

[2:25:39] Friday afternoon and so we're keeping you informed as to what happened and I'm

[2:25:43] going to let the Is there anything else, sir?

[2:25:46] » Well, I did not give him permission to start. I told him he could start anytime

[2:25:50] after Monday after we meet. Praise God. But we we we did get what we needed to

[2:25:56] get the bill. Now, we have another issue. Um, this building was has been in

[2:26:02] the city of Fair Hope for since 1931. the pillar states 1931. Um, uh, it's

[2:26:12] been torn down. I'm I'm I just have a question for Eric and maybe I don't know

[2:26:16] if the council because like I say, I'm just I'm just asking a question. Why is

[2:26:20] it not that he can dump in the city of Mobile? Why do he have to

[2:26:25] » I mean the city of I'm from Mobile. I'm sorry. That's okay.

[2:26:29] in the city of no take that he can't typo

[2:26:36] » uh because it's just rubble it's bricks and wood so that's my question

[2:26:41] » and I will uh I will answer that even though that is kind of outside my

[2:26:44] wheelhouse I know that we have we do not accept C and D at our landfill unless it

[2:26:49] is generated by citizens because of limitations on what our landfill can

[2:26:55] accept and I may ask for some backup from John on that just to make sure I am

[2:26:59] not speaking incorrectly. >> Yeah, our our CN landfill is and I

[2:27:06] talked to Murray Lawrence about that, >> but it it's it just can't handle the

[2:27:11] volume y'all got over there and we just take residential garbage. We sort it and

[2:27:15] we don't have all the bricks. We keep all that stuff separate. So, with it

[2:27:19] being just a big mix match of stuff, we just we just can't take it there.

[2:27:24] » Okay. But then the reason I asked because he's come back to me now saying

[2:27:27] that he had talked to someone at the city uh dump and they told him that he

[2:27:32] could and now he can't. So now he's asking for more money which I told him

[2:27:36] we have a contract >> because uh you know the the dump was so

[2:27:41] I just need to know why. Why? >> What do y'all from the city perspective

[2:27:46] at this point? >> Are we removing it completely?

[2:27:49] » Remove it this right now >> and we don't need to put it back on.

[2:27:52] It's not table. Just remove it. We're not going to hire children to do the

[2:27:55] work. Uh they have their contract with with recovery or asphalt ser asphalt

[2:28:01] paving. >> Uh so this is done as far as I believe

[2:28:04] this council is concerned. >> Do we need to motion to amend the agenda

[2:28:08] to remove item five? >> Second.

[2:28:10] » We got a motion in a second to remove item five. I just wanted to say that I

[2:28:14] want to do a shout out to Hope Community and Susan Godwin because she came

[2:28:19] together for Barry and she >> and several of our pastors and our

[2:28:24] community came to a round table and before we left the meeting there was

[2:28:28] $8,000 collected. By the time I got back to my shop, another 2,000 came in from

[2:28:32] the Baptist church and then two more thousand came in. So, our community has

[2:28:37] been extremely giving, compassionate, and that's what Fair Hope's all about.

[2:28:42] » Yes. And I did I did want to thank them for I didn't know if I could do it here.

[2:28:46] I ain't want to get nobody, >> but I do want to thank them. They came

[2:28:50] together in less than five minutes. We had

[2:28:52] » Oh, wow. >> half of what we needed. And And it was

[2:28:55] just so awesome. We could only cry, my wife and I, because

[2:29:00] » it's good. It's good stuff. >> That's great. Well, sound like we've got

[2:29:03] this kind of wrapped up from our perspective.

[2:29:05] » I appreciate the council's working with us on it.

[2:29:08] » Well, thank you, Eric, for helping us. Thank you so much.

[2:29:11] » Thank you. >> Thank you guys. We appreciate you.

[2:29:15] » Yep. We got a motion and a second. All in favor of amending the agenda to

[2:29:20] remove that item, please say I. >> I.

[2:29:22] » All right. Any opposed? All right. Motion passes. Item 23. Now, we'll jump

[2:29:28] back over here. Is uh public participation.

[2:29:31] You are free to address the council on any topic you wish. You've got up to

[2:29:35] three minutes and just need to give your name and address to the city clerk. So,

[2:29:40] the floor is open.

[2:29:47] All right. Seeing no one, we will go ahead and close the floor and entertain

[2:29:51] a motion to adjurnn. So, move. So, move second.

[2:29:54] » Motion second. All in favor? All right. >> Bye.

City of Fairhope City Council Meeting August 24th, 2026

Transcript