[2:58] Good afternoon everybody. >> Welcome to the Gulf Shore City Council

[3:03] work session meeting of April the 6th. We appreciate you being here. Uh this is

[3:08] the meeting where for those of you that are not typically with us, this is where

[3:12] we talk about items that will be on the agenda next Monday for voting. And this

[3:18] is where we get to listen to your questions, your input, and any comments

[3:21] you want us to know as we proceed forward to consider these these

[3:25] different agendas or proclamations or whatever. So, please be uh raise your

[3:31] hand and be anxious to communicate with us. We want to hear from you. This is

[3:35] your opportunity. We're going to start tonight with a presentation. We have

[3:39] here representing GSores in the Miss Senior Alabama Pageant, Miss Cheryl

[3:43] Richie. Cheryl, will you explain to us a little bit about what what you're doing?

[3:48] » Thank you so much for having me today. I truly appreciate it. Um, on March the

[3:53] 17th, I had the distinct pleasure of being crowned Miss Senior Gulf Shores

[3:56] 2026 by the Miss Senior Alabama organization. It is an honor to be here

[4:03] and represent our city throughout the state. This is a pageant that has been

[4:07] in existence since 1987, um, which I wasn't a senior at that

[4:12] point in time. Uh we have two different categories. Uh Miss Senior Alabama and

[4:16] Miss Super Senior Alabama. That's from age 60 to 69 is the senior and from age

[4:21] 70 and above is uh the super seniors. Um our sole purpose is to encourage women

[4:28] over the age of 60 to share their experience and their wisdom within their

[4:32] communities. So many times people hit the age of 60 and they forget that they

[4:37] have purpose and most of the time their purpose is really just now starting. So

[4:41] our organization carries around the state the message of please remember

[4:46] your purpose and remember that you have one and that your experience and wisdom

[4:50] can support that in your community. Each year the winner as Miss Senior Alabama

[4:56] um takes their platform to the state and I'm excited to take our city out to the

[5:03] state and represent you guys. Um I was also many of you know me personally.

[5:08] I've been involved in this community. We have been here since 1992. We've played

[5:11] every sport that there is. I've raised three children here within this

[5:15] community. Love this community and I'm very excited to be representing it. But

[5:20] I wanted to come and share with the city what the pageant was and that we do have

[5:24] an opportunity to shine throughout the city and that I'm looking forward to

[5:28] representing you guys. >> Thank you, Cheryl. Cheryl's father was a

[5:32] coun set up here for a period of time. Mr.

[5:35] » He ran against a couple of you. I don't think he ever got it, but Steve, Steve

[5:39] and Jason know my dad well, >> and I knew him well, too. So,

[5:43] » yes. >> Thank you very much and congratulations.

[5:45] Can we get a photo? >> Yes, I would love a photo. Thank you so

[5:48] much, >> council.

[5:59] » Oh, good. You're great. Marketing guy.

[6:12] I didn't take a picture of this too with her phone.

[6:19] » Three, two, one.

[6:25] » Thank you.

[6:33] Absolutely.

[6:47] » Ready? Huh? >> Yeah.

[6:53] » Next on the agenda, we have a proclamation on sexual assault awareness

[6:58] month for April 2026. And Jennifer, Council of Woman Guthrie is going to

[7:03] read it for us. >> Absolutely.

[7:05] Um, and is Micah with the lighthouse here, too? Oh, there you are, Micah.

[7:09] » Hi. >> Well, I'll read the proclamation and

[7:11] then I'll join me down there. Okay. >> Um, okay. So, whereas according to the

[7:16] Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, RAIN, every 68 seconds, an

[7:21] American is sexually assaulted, and every nine minutes that victim is a

[7:25] child. only 25 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison. And

[7:31] whereas only 310 out of every thousand sexual assaults are reported to police,

[7:37] meaning that more than two out of three go unreported. And whereas the most

[7:42] important thing we can do for our victims is believe them and support

[7:45] them. And whereas National Sexual Assault Awareness Month seeks to raise

[7:50] awareness, find solutions, and foster community involvement, as well as to

[7:55] remember survivors of sexual assault and offer tribute to all victims of sexual

[7:59] assault throughout America each year. And whereas the effects of sexual

[8:04] assault are felt by the entire community, requiring all to join

[8:08] together to take action to create a safer environment for everyone.

[8:12] And whereas the city of Gulf Shores commends the lighthouse for encouraging

[8:17] all citizens to become more aware of sexual assault and for remaining strong

[8:21] and persistent advocates toward the support of all victims of such terrible

[8:25] acts. And now therefore, on behalf of Mayor Craft and the fellow council

[8:30] members of the city of Gulf Shores, I do hereby proclaim April 2026 as sexual

[8:35] assault awareness month in the city of Gulf Shores, Alabama. call upon all

[8:39] residents, businesses, and organizations to join in raising awareness, supporting

[8:44] survivors, and working together to prevent sexual assault in our community.

[8:50] Thank you so much. Um, good evening and thank you for recognizing sexual assault

[8:56] awareness month. Um, the lighthouse is very grateful for this recognition. This

[9:01] proclamation is more than words. It shines a light on a crime that often

[9:05] lives in silence and it sends a powerful message to victims and survivors. You

[9:10] are seen. You are supported. And you are not alone. Through the services provided

[9:15] at the Lighthouse, we stand alongside survivors every step of the way,

[9:18] offering a 24-hour crisis line, hospital accompaniment, counseling, support

[9:24] groups, and court advocacy. We're honored to serve individuals and

[9:28] families across Baldwin and Escambia counties, walking with them on their

[9:32] path towards healing. Thank you for your support and helping us bring awareness,

[9:36] hope, and compassion to our community. >> Micah, can you tell us a little bit

[9:41] about Teal Tuesdays? >> So, um, Teal Tuesday, we are asking for

[9:48] everyone in the community to wear Teal just to help bring awareness to sexual

[9:52] assault and to support those victims. And it's going to be April 7th is the

[9:57] day that we're we're asking everybody to show that support. So tomorrow

[10:04] this to you

[10:50] Thank you, Jim. Next item on the list, uh, Assistant

[10:55] City Administrator Lee Jones has got several issues to go over with us

[10:59] tonight. Mr. Jones, >> good afternoon, Mayor and Council. Um, I

[11:03] have been asked to talk fast given the length of today's agenda, but I I don't

[11:09] really feel like talking fast, but I have consolidated four items into two,

[11:13] so hopefully that will make things move along quickly. Um, the first item on the

[11:19] agenda, the font is really messed up. Um, not sure how that happened, but it's

[11:25] legible. So, um, the first item on the agenda is a request to accept a proposal

[11:31] from Innerboroough Partners LLC, uh, to create a comprehensive plan for the city

[11:36] and to allow the the mayor to negotiate and accept and execute a professional

[11:41] services contract with Inner Bureau, an amount not to exceed $500,000.

[11:47] Your agenda item summary in your packet uh was incorrect. the account where we

[11:52] were pulling this this uh money for the comp plan for. Um John informed me that

[11:58] he actually budgeted $300,000 and uh the capital fund uh fund 38 um

[12:05] for 2026. So it won't be coming from our consulting services. it will be coming

[12:10] from fund 38 um with an additional 200,000 uh in 2027. Since this is

[12:17] spanning uh both 2026 and 2027, uh we're requesting $300,000 this year

[12:24] and then 200,000 in the following year. Uh the comp plan is a long-term policy

[12:30] document. that will serve as a guide for both public and private actions and

[12:35] decisions that will help ensure quality and measured development in line with

[12:39] the community's vision. And uh that was a key component of this was making sure

[12:44] that we had really broad um uh public engagement throughout the life of the

[12:50] plan. Inter Partners is is well known in planning circles for their creative um

[12:57] uh public engagement uh expertise and and the way that they go about getting

[13:03] input from communities. Um so this is not just your typical comp plan in that

[13:09] we we put together a very specific RFP last year before it went out and we

[13:15] asked for these elements that were kind of over and above what you typically

[13:18] find in a comp plan. The first is what's called a public engagement plan or a

[13:22] PEP. Um at the very outset of this project, they will develop a plan for

[13:28] how best to engage our community unique to the city of Gulf Shores. Um we also

[13:34] uh required a market study. So several of the teams didn't have an economist on

[13:39] their team. Innerboroough's team does have an economist. uh he's worked on

[13:43] dozens of of comprehensive plans, but we're going to do a a full-blown

[13:48] citywide uh market study as part of the comprehensive plan. And and while we do

[13:53] have um several elements that make up our current master plan for the city, we

[13:58] don't have a consolidated comprehensive plan. So, this will be the first time

[14:03] for us to develop a baseline assessment of our community, our profile. Um so we

[14:09] wanted to make sure that that was uh the intent of this plan. Also a detailed

[14:14] multimmodal transportation plan. We have a major street plan that is built on

[14:19] federal highway commission um requirements for arterials collectors

[14:24] local roads. It's all uh it's all about moving cars. We have one of those. But

[14:29] the multimmodal transportation plan is all about moving people. So, we wanted

[14:32] to make sure that the the the respondents knew that we wanted

[14:36] something that was more than just about focused on automobiles. Uh, we also

[14:41] included the draft vision 2035 plan in the RFP. So, they knew we weren't

[14:47] starting from ground zero. We've done a lot of community engagement to get the

[14:51] core values and the goals of our 2035 plan set. So, they will be building on

[14:56] that effort as well. and also uh something that we could translate easily

[15:01] into small area plans as well as as zoning. So we don't want this plan to

[15:05] sit on a a shelf. U we want to make sure that it's easily transferable into

[15:11] zoning and other more detailed small area plans. And finally we requested a

[15:16] detailed implementation plan. We don't want it to sit on the shelf. We want to

[15:20] make sure that we can take the recommendations from this plan and

[15:23] implement them over time. Uh just a brief timeline of the process for this

[15:28] decision. In December of 2025, we did put out an RFP across multiple uh

[15:34] national uh channels uh Planet Edison, APA, um several different websites where

[15:42] this RFP went out. We closed acceptance of uh proposals from qualified firms. on

[15:48] February 13th of this year, we received 12 proposals uh from teams across the

[15:54] country and I think it's a testament to and and in the interviews we heard from

[15:59] folks they just people really want to work here in the city of Gulf Shores. I

[16:02] was um I was overwhelmed by the quality of the subittles that we received from

[16:10] nationally recognized firms and teams all who wanted to work here in Gulf

[16:15] Shores because of of what we have to offer. Um the week of February 16th, the

[16:21] the selection committee scored the proposal. You can't see the list of

[16:25] folks on the selection committee, but it's made up of members of the executive

[16:30] department as well as department heads. Uh February 27th, we met and talked

[16:35] through our scores and we selected four of the 12 teams to interview. And then

[16:41] on March 12th and 13th out at the Eco Center, we held interviews for the four

[16:45] selected firms. After all the teams interviewed um we met and unanimously

[16:51] selected Intera Partners team um to uh develop the comprehensive plan for the

[16:56] city. They stood out among the other teams both because they were very

[17:00] personable. They were easy to talk to. They answered our questions really well.

[17:04] Seemed like a group of folks that we could uh relate to and work with, but

[17:08] also they brought in a team of experts um that focused on each element of the

[17:14] plan. So all of these uh different firms have worked together on plans in the

[17:19] past. Um but they are all nationally recognized experts in their fields uh

[17:24] for these different comprehensive plan elements. Um there's six different

[17:28] elements of the comp plan. I'm I'm skipping task six in Interro's approach.

[17:33] Um the first five ta tasks are inventory and developing the market study, uh the

[17:40] public engagement plan, all those things. I won't go into those in detail,

[17:43] but I did want to focus on the six core plan elements, which are land use,

[17:48] housing, urban design, the mobility plan, environmental resilience, and

[17:52] economic development. Code studio is a team member that will

[17:57] lead uh the land use component of the plan. And again, all of these plans work

[18:03] uh with each other. They're not done in silos. these these firms that are

[18:07] leading these different elements of the plan will be working together so that

[18:12] the land use and mobility or and economic development are all talking to

[18:16] one another and they'll all be interacting as they develop these

[18:19] different elements. But Code Studio is a national leader in zoning and formbbased

[18:26] codes. Um, so seeing them a as one of the uh the leaders of of the the land

[18:33] use element was was great for us. They will set this up to be easily translated

[18:39] into small area plans andor zoning as we move forward from policy to

[18:46] implementation on this. Uh the second element is housing. Inter will be

[18:50] leading this with help from Randy Gross uh economics, you know, looking at where

[18:55] the gaps in our housing market are, locations, different housing types, how

[19:00] much housing, you know, we have um a new school system that we we are very

[19:05] concerned about overburdening as well as our transportation system. So um where

[19:10] where are we going to get the most out of our housing and what types of housing

[19:15] and what's the form of that housing uh will be uh the goal of the housing

[19:19] element. Third is the urban design element. Um so this will be looking at

[19:24] existing conditions for our streets, parks, civic spaces, uh waterfronts and

[19:31] then providing additional opportunities for uh new civic spaces, uh new streets,

[19:39] uh new parks um will all be the the urban design element. Multimodal

[19:44] mobility uh that will be done by Tool Design. Tool is based in Maryland, but

[19:49] they have offices all over the country. they are a leading expert not just in

[19:54] moving cars but moving people. So they'll be focused on um uh we've had a

[20:00] lot uh this year with with ebikes. So they'll be drilling down into what our

[20:06] existing ordinances say, but also what are best practices nationally, what's

[20:11] best for the city of Gulf Shores as far as um policies and regulations for

[20:15] ebikes, golf carts, um our trail networks, you know, missing sidewalk

[20:21] gaps, um transit to school, uh transit to and from the airport. So um they're

[20:27] really going to give us a a deep dive into uh mobility within the community.

[20:33] Wagner and Ball is a multid-disciplinary firm uh based in New Orleans. They're

[20:39] going to be looking at um our uh storm water ordinance um or lack thereof,

[20:45] Jenny. Um uh and um and how we can improve our storm water ordinance, how

[20:52] we can make the most of our parks and open spaces as far as resilience.

[20:56] They'll look at our our um our building codes and and provide some

[21:01] recommendations on how we can build a better, more resilient um development

[21:07] pattern as well as our parks and and public spaces. Uh final element will be

[21:12] economic development. Randy Gross um out of Nashville will be uh looking at the

[21:18] econ economic development component of the plan. And Randy doesn't just look at

[21:23] our current market and and what opportunities we have currently, but he

[21:27] will forecast um out into the future. This the comp plan is a 20-year uh plan.

[21:34] Uh Randy will look 5, 10, 15, 20 years into the future and help us um develop,

[21:41] you know, our small local businesses, workforce development, as well as

[21:45] strategies for uh getting new businesses and um uh folks in into town. Um task

[21:55] eight is going to be the implementation plan. Again, one of the requirements of

[21:59] the uh the RFP was a a robust implementation plan. This is an example

[22:05] from Inner Bureau's St. Louis um project. But we will um develop a very

[22:12] detailed um implementation plan that goes from goals and objectives to tasks

[22:18] to those responsible for those tasks and what time frames um those tasks will be

[22:24] undertaken. Um, and we'll roll that into strategic plans as well. Um, building

[22:29] off of the comp plan. And then finally, the final draft. That is not a a draft

[22:35] of of one of Interro's comp plans. That's actually a a graphic novel that

[22:41] they developed just to help folks understand what zoning and and land use

[22:46] was. Um, but uh the last phase of it will be to develop the final plan and

[22:52] get that plan adopted. Um, so, uh, staff's recommendation is to accept the

[22:59] proposal from Interboro and then allow the mayor to negotiate and execute a

[23:04] contract with inner burough for an amount not to exceed $500,000.

[23:09] I'd be happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you, League Council. Questions,

[23:13] comments? Anybody in the audience questions,

[23:18] comments? I'll just say I'm looking forward to it

[23:22] and I know it's been a ton of work and I think that's one of the exciting parts

[23:27] of it too is all the work that's going into it and everybody coming together.

[23:30] But I think from a a standpoint of the leadership

[23:34] gives give me confidence and trying to know or knowing that what we want we're

[23:40] getting what we want but also knowing where to put it and how that affects our

[23:44] quality of life while we maintain that economic resilience which is what we're

[23:48] always trying to balance. that >> following on directly behind vision 2035

[23:53] and as we finalize that then being able to put that into something that concrete

[23:59] this is what that means and this is what we're looking for. It's a great

[24:02] opportunity for help us do as we did in vision 2025 define our future and work

[24:07] toward a goal and make it happen and don't just sit back and let it or hope

[24:11] it happens. So good good group too. So, any other comments? Council, anybody in

[24:16] the audience? Anything? Lee, you have one more?

[24:23] » Yes, sir. Um, this is uh one that is actually three different resolutions.

[24:28] Um, this is a West Gulf Avenue rightway relocation.

[24:34] Michael, my clicker is not >> Okay, there we go.

[24:40] Um, and here's the font again. But, uh, so, uh, this will not be on your agenda

[24:46] next week. This actually we have to advertise this for 28 days. It's a

[24:50] right-of-way vacation. So, we'll advertise this for 28 days. So, this

[24:54] will be on a council agenda as a public hearing item in May. Um, so the first

[25:00] resolution is to vacate 1.37 acres of West Gulf Avenue. to its unopened ride

[25:08] ofway. Um the second resolution is to establish a vacation fee. All these uh

[25:15] state laws that are referenced here uh the state won't allow us just to give

[25:21] away right away. So we have to establish a fee for that ride ofway. And once that

[25:25] rightway is vacated, it's vacated to the adjacent property owners. But so that

[25:30] second resolution is a resolution to establish that vacation fee. So, what's

[25:35] the property worth? Essentially, what are we getting in exchange for it? The

[25:40] third resolution is authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute a quick

[25:44] claim deed to convey that 1.37 acres of right of way. So,

[25:50] uh council uh agrees to vacate the right of way. They establish a fee for that

[25:54] vacation and they authorize the mayor to actually quit claim that property to the

[25:59] adjacent property owners. This is the right of way in question. The image on

[26:03] the right is First Baptist Church. Um here on the island, that's uh West 22nd

[26:09] Avenue on the north, uh First Street on the west, and then West 20th Avenue on

[26:15] the south. You can see First Baptist Church in their parking lot there. That

[26:20] purple color is the existing West Gulf Avenue that is that we're requesting to

[26:25] vacate. It really doesn't tie into anything. It doesn't tie into West 20th

[26:30] anymore. really just serves as a circulator for the the parking lot for

[26:35] First Baptist Church. First Baptist Church would like to expand their

[26:40] facilities as well as their parking. If you've been by on any Sunday morning,

[26:44] you know that parking there, they're they're in need of additional parking.

[26:49] So, they would like to expand their parking lot into that ride of way. This

[26:55] is something we've been working on for a long time. Um, and it's a matter of uh

[26:59] figuring out the ride ofway vacation fee that we finally have an answer to in

[27:04] order to vacate this ride ofway and allow them to expand their parking lot.

[27:09] Uh, the southern another southern portion of West Gulf Avenue was vacated

[27:14] back in 2018 prior to the construction of the Circle K um there on the corner

[27:20] of 20th and 59 as well. 59 cuts right through what was West Gulf Avenue. So,

[27:27] there is a a portion of what it's east Gulf Avenue on the other side of 59 that

[27:33] provides access to the uh city parking lot there in Waterway Village. And

[27:38] that's the last remnant of Gulf Avenue in this vicinity. That image on the

[27:44] left, the first thing we had to do was uh survey these rights of way and have

[27:50] legal descriptions written. So, that's what the image on the left is. That's a

[27:54] survey and legal for the ride ofway to be vacated with West Gulf Avenue. The

[28:00] second resolution that you'll hear in May is the establishment of a vacation

[28:05] fee. Staff is proposing that uh the vacation fee be the dedication of

[28:12] property in the airport area. Uh this is what we call an inind donation. Um, so

[28:19] the Randy McKenna who's the owner of Equity Builders, you can see on the

[28:23] again the survey and legal to the left there. Equity Builders owns a a parcel

[28:31] at uh in the Aviation and Business Park and DCNR owns a parcel to the south of

[28:37] that. We've been working with DCNR and Randy McKini to reorient these two lots

[28:44] to create this ride ofway so that we can make a connection to the airport that is

[28:50] almost finalized. It's at the Department of Treasury now. DCNR has agreed to

[28:56] everything. There's a um there's actually a fish and wildlife uh deed

[29:02] restriction on the DCNR property that we're working to remove. Uh DC&R tells

[29:07] us that's going to happen in a matter of days. So this has been a long time in

[29:10] the process. Randy is a member of First Baptist Church. He's been wanting to

[29:15] help them uh vacate that ride ofway and we've worked this out um so that he can

[29:21] make an inind donation to the church and then the church will then donate this

[29:26] ride ofway to the city for a connection uh to the airport terminal. They're both

[29:31] pieces of property. Uh just just worked out. They are are the same size. So it's

[29:38] 1.37 acres that we're requesting to be vacated West Gulf. And this donation is

[29:44] 1.37 acres. Uh which provides a very needed secondary access to the terminal.

[29:50] These are the two surveys side by side. Again, the same acreage, different

[29:55] locations. Sorry about the giant red arrow. Um, but just wanted to show it in

[30:01] context. So that blue circle down the bottom lefthand corner is the West Gulf

[30:06] Avenue that we want to vacate and we're relocating it through the donation from

[30:11] First Baptist Church as a secondary entrance into the airport area. And

[30:17] that's the blue circle up in the upper right hand corner. This is um the uh

[30:23] what we call a road map from the Waterway East project back in 2022.

[30:28] waterway east. You can barely tell on this aerial, but it it's a project

[30:31] that's been underway for a few years now. It connects 59 out to the new 161

[30:37] bridge road. Um you it's it's amazing to look at this from back in 2022. There's

[30:43] there's no um tower at the airport. There's no temporary terminal. It's just

[30:48] amazing to look at how much progress has taken place in the airport area just in

[30:54] a matter of three or four years. Um but that plan included this connection to

[31:00] Commerce Drive, the secondary connection into the the terminal. You can see it

[31:04] outlined there in um red. That's the future terminal location. We have the

[31:10] existing access into the terminal, but this one outlined in red will set up a

[31:15] secondary access into the terminal. This is a zoomed in view of that Commerce

[31:20] Drive connection. It's always been a part of the Waterway East project. We

[31:24] need to go ahead and transfer this right away so ASI while they're out there on

[31:29] site can construct this connection to Commerce Drive.

[31:35] Again, the the airport area uh small area plan highlighted there with the red

[31:41] outline. That's the access we're looking for. Ultimately, we'd like to have three

[31:45] accesses into the airport area, but this is the the secondary one that is much

[31:50] needed as the terminal grows. So, the third resolution here is uh if

[31:57] that um rightway donation of the 1.37 acres at um Commerce Drive into the

[32:04] terminal is made, then this resolution will authorize the mayor to quick claim

[32:10] that the the West Gulf Avenue property, the First Baptist Church, once the fee

[32:16] the fee is paid. So, we think this is a really important connection. We think

[32:20] this serves a much better purpose for the city uh to provide this connection

[32:25] to the airport than the existing West Gulf Avenue does. And we do recommend

[32:30] approval of these three resolutions. Be happy to answer any questions.

[32:34] » Thank you, Lee. Council, any questions, comments?

[32:39] Great opportunity and great generous donation from Randy McKenna. We need to

[32:44] recognize that and and thank him for his commitment to help the airport and also

[32:50] help the church get what they want. So delighted that this came together like

[32:54] it is and so really excited for this opportunity. Anybody in the audience

[32:58] with any questions or comments? >> Thank you, Lee.

[33:02] » Yes, sir. >> Well done.

[33:06] » Next item on the agenda is authorize a contract with FA Engineering for annual

[33:12] beach monitoring. Raymond. Yes sir. If you'll recall in 23 and 24 we did a

[33:16] beach reourishment project where Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, the state of

[33:20] Alabama put approximately 32,000 cubic yards of beach back on or sand back on

[33:25] our beaches. And one of the things that we have to do, we

[33:30] monitor our beach loss and gain each year. And by doing that, we contract

[33:36] with FAT Associates with um Al Browder who's been with us since our first

[33:41] researchment project back in 2006 from Olsen Associates now with FAT. Um been a

[33:47] great partner with us and doing this monitoring each year allows us to

[33:52] maintain good standards with FEMA. So if we have any other storms, then we'll

[33:56] know exactly what how much sound we have or how much to gain or put back. And

[34:00] what this is is just a two-year contract that will allow us to continue to use

[34:04] them and uh updates the pricing that they've given us over the past few

[34:09] years. This is a budgeted item each year and uh $64,400.

[34:15] » Council questions, comments, baseline study so we can prove what we

[34:21] had. The storm comes through, we can prove what we lost. And that's that's

[34:25] how we quantify opportunities for replacement overtime with FEMA. So, any

[34:31] questions or comments from the audience? >> Brandon, thank you.

[34:35] » Thank you, >> Toby.

[34:37] » Yes, sir. >> Got something?

[34:39] » I do. I have a couple things. The first thing I have is a board reappointment.

[34:43] Uh, Frank Holland to be reappointed as municipal court judge and attorney Ken

[34:48] Reigns to be reappointed as the city's prosecutor. both to serve two two-year

[34:53] term. Um, Judge Holland's term will be April 16, 2026 to April 16, 2028. Um,

[35:02] attorney Ken Reigns will be April 23rd, 2026 to April 23rd, 2028. I will be

[35:10] happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you, Toby. Any questions? Anybody?

[35:18] » You got something else? >> I do. Yes, sir. Uh, the next thing I

[35:20] have is a ABC license from Walmart. Uh, Walmart store here in Gulf Shores has

[35:25] applied for a lounge retail liquor license. Um, they currently have a

[35:30] license to sell beer and wine, but they would like to sell liquor as well. Um,

[35:35] it will be scheduled for a public hearing at the April 13th council

[35:39] meeting. I'll be happy to answer any questions.

[35:42] » There'll be any questions? Anybody? Jenny,

[35:53] » my font's messed up, too. Good afternoon, council and mayor. Um, I have

[35:57] a couple items tonight. The first is uh naming Alabama 161 southbound. As you

[36:03] know, ALDOT has been constructing uh a new roadway which will become the

[36:08] extension of Alabama 161 southbound shown here on the left side of the

[36:12] screen in sort of orange. Um this schedule this road is scheduled to open

[36:17] in May. Um they're ten Aldot is tenatively shooting for the week of May

[36:21] 18th to get that road opened. Um and with the opening of that road, Baldwin

[36:26] uh E 911 has asked Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Baldwin County to uh adopt a

[36:34] name for this road. Um they need to have a name to reduce confusion for public

[36:39] safety and for emergency responders. So, we um have all come together on the name

[36:45] Alabama Beaches Parkway. So, this will be before you to vote on next week to

[36:50] name that section of Alabama 161 Alabama Beaches Parkway.

[36:55] » Happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you, Jenny. Questions, comments?

[36:58] Anybody? >> Another one?

[37:02] Uh the next one I have is uh for the engineering design and construction

[37:09] manual professional services contract to be executed by the mayor. Um currently

[37:15] the city does not have a unified engineering design and construction

[37:18] manual. Our existing engineering requirements are dispersed among the

[37:23] subdivision regulations and the city code. Um many of those specifications

[37:27] are were written more than 20 years ago and are significantly outdated. Uh some

[37:32] of them are are lesser standards than ALDOT or our neighboring jurisdictions

[37:36] require. Um so we would like to bring those up to date. Uh additionally with

[37:42] the comprehensive plan um that we are currently undergoing as a city as well

[37:47] as a full rewrite of our subdivision regulations uh by the planning

[37:50] department this year. this is a good timing to really clean up all those

[37:53] codes, get everything in the documents that they should be in. Um, so we put a

[37:59] an RFP, a request for proposals out in February for this and received three

[38:04] proposals. Uh, after reviewing those, we found they were all all good, but um, in

[38:09] in the city's opinion, MP Design Group really stood out among the among those

[38:15] as as a good candidate for the engineering standards. uh they'll help

[38:19] us write the technical details really for everything in our ride ofway as well

[38:24] as storm water regulations that'll they'll carry across the entire city.

[38:28] So, uh we are asking the council to accept the proposal from MP Design Group

[38:35] in an amount not to exceed $144,300

[38:40] uh and allow the mayor to execute that contract. Happy to answer any questions.

[38:45] » Thank you, Jenny. Council, any questions, comments? I have a question.

[38:48] Will this be um in partnership with the comp plan?

[38:53] » Remember mentioned storm water? I didn't know if that's

[38:56] » they will. Yeah. >> Yeah. We're going to work on all all the

[38:58] all all the documents will talk to each other. So the comp plan will provide

[39:02] sort of an overarching concept and then the engineering design manual will

[39:06] provide really the technical details that support the comp plan.

[39:12] » Anybody in the audience questions, comments?

[39:15] » Jenny, one more. uh one last and that is to accept the roadways in the Aventur

[39:22] subdivision um and allow golf carts on those same roadways. So here you see a

[39:27] map on the left showing um the roadways in yellow that are included in this uh

[39:32] as Aventura was constructed in four phases from 2017 to 2022. So the

[39:38] developer has met both the 24-month waiting period as well as 50% lock lot

[39:44] occupancy for all of the phases in Aventura. The developer provided us with

[39:48] letters of credit uh for shity for a maintenance and war warranty period on

[39:53] the roadway and engineering has done in some inspections on those rideways and

[39:57] found several deficiencies within the roadways. We have been working with the

[40:01] developer to make those corrections but there are still some outstanding issues

[40:06] out there. So, um, in working with the developers, 68 Ventures has agreed to

[40:10] pay the city $580,484.50

[40:14] to cover the cost of these repairs, uh, and allow the city to then, uh, take

[40:19] over maintenance of the roads and make those repairs in 2026.

[40:23] So with this acceptance, the city will take on that responsibility, put that in

[40:28] our 2026 roadway repair funds uh and release 68 ventures of their maintenance

[40:33] responsibilities on the roadways as well as the bonds that we are currently

[40:37] holding for them. We believe this amount will cover all the outstanding work that

[40:41] needs completed in those roads. Um Aventur was also marketed as a golf cart

[40:46] friendly subdivision. Um and residents have been using golf carts in this

[40:50] subdivision. So, with the acceptance of the roadways, we also recommend allowing

[40:54] golf carts in the neighborhood. Um, and with all of this, engineering has

[40:58] coordinated very closely with the police department and public works department

[41:02] on the outstanding items that need done as well as enforcement on these

[41:05] roadways. Happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you, Jenny. Council, any questions

[41:10] from audience? Anybody? Yes, sir.

[41:17] » Good afternoon, Ray Moore. Uh, talking about the golf carts and and y'all are

[41:24] going to be considering adding the golf carts to Aventura.

[41:28] There's about 18 business owners or managers in Pelican Place and two down

[41:34] at Lulu's that have been working with me on proposal that I did email to y'all.

[41:42] uh when y'all are thinking about adding the golf carts, if y'all could look at

[41:45] that and maybe maybe add that, look at it, it would it would add connectivity

[41:51] for the residents that are north of the inter coastal so that we could get to

[41:56] restaurants, uh shopping areas and also to Lulu's. And the pedestrian bridge

[42:01] hopefully is going to be fixed, not fixed, completed end of the year,

[42:06] beginning of next year. that would also give us access to the waterway village

[42:11] down there. It's it's a it's a ways off before it is done. But if y'all would it

[42:18] at least look at adding those six roads and those other two subdivisions, that

[42:25] would do a lot for the community that's north of the inter coastal to let us get

[42:29] around on other ways other than uh driving our cars. But if y'all just

[42:34] consider that, we'd appreciate it. Thanks.

[42:36] » Thank you, Rick. We'll do anybody else questions, comments.

[42:41] » Just want to clarify. So for the um police enforcement for everyone. So once

[42:47] this is passed or accepted then now we can enforce speeding any kind of traffic

[42:54] violations which was one of the biggest concerns with the residents in Aventura.

[42:59] » That's correct. So, um, this will be before you next week to vote on and then

[43:03] once it's passed, then yes, police will be able to enforce on those roadways.

[43:10] Anything else? Thank you, Jenny. Marco.

[43:23] » Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. We have a uh request to authorize

[43:26] acceptance of an Alabama state and local cyber security grant program award

[43:30] providing $165,000 worth of hardware and licensing which we applied for to

[43:35] upgrade our traffic system. This is not a reimbursement grant and requires no

[43:40] matching funds. All necessary hardware, software, and licensing will be provided

[43:45] directly by the Alabama state and local cyber security grant provider and no

[43:49] city funds are required for project completion.

[43:53] I'm happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you, Marco. Anybody

[43:58] any questions or comments? Like those kind.

[44:02] » Well done. Next, uh Anna

[44:07] » got a couple for us. >> Yes, sir. Good afternoon. Uh before you

[44:12] was a request to make two amendments to two existing loans with the airport

[44:16] authority. If you recall, you'd previously uh allowed us to extend a

[44:20] $1.1 million operating line of credit for operating expenses with the airport

[44:25] authority uh following the completion of terminal 1.0. That line of credit was

[44:30] intended to cover expenses through 2025 and 2026. uh we are asking to increase

[44:36] that cap from 1.1 million to 2.3 million and that will extend through 2026 and

[44:43] cover operational expenses estimated through September 30th of 2027. That is

[44:48] when their fiscal year ends and at that time uh the line of credit for

[44:52] operational expenses shall be repaid. Uh we did work very closely with Jesse

[44:56] Fosnau, the airport director, to uh estimate these expenses to the best of

[45:00] our ability and I'm happy to answer any questions or I can move on to the next

[45:05] request. >> Thank you, Annie. Any questions or

[45:07] comments? >> Okay, you can go.

[45:10] » Yes, sir. Within the same uh agenda item summary, we also discovered an error in

[45:16] a previously adopted uh amortization schedule. Just a little history. Uh you

[45:21] all extended a $3 million loan to construct terminal 1.0 and it was later

[45:28] increased to 3,815,000. Unfortunately, the amortization schedule

[45:33] which was adopted as exhibit A uh was never fully advertised to the additional

[45:39] $815,000. So, we are asking to adopt the corrected

[45:42] amortization schedule for $3,815,000. And none of the terms of loan will

[45:49] change. It will remain an 11-year payback at 6% interest, interest free

[45:53] for the first three years, interest only for the next three and fully advertised

[45:58] um following those first six years. Happy to answer any questions if you

[46:02] have them and apologize for the oversight.

[46:04] » Thank you, Anna. Questions, comments, anybody?

[46:08] Thank you, Anna. Alex.

[46:17] » Good afternoon, Mayor and Council members. Uh, I'm here to present a

[46:21] recommended update to the city's list of designated financial institutions for

[46:25] public funds. The purpose of this request is to expand our pool of

[46:29] qualified banking partners so the city can have more options for depositing and

[46:35] investing public funds while maintaining the highest level of security. All

[46:40] institutions on our list must participate in Alabama's safe program

[46:45] security for Alabama funds enhancement which provides collateral protection for

[46:50] municipal deposits. Every bank we recommend today meets this

[46:54] requirement. Specifically, we're asking council to

[46:57] approve the addition of uh three institutions.

[47:01] Ransen bank uh they have formally requested to be added uh to our list of

[47:06] approved banking service providers. The finance committee has already reviewed

[47:11] and approved their addition. For reference, Ransen Bank recently provided

[47:16] the city with a $20 million loan for a airport terminal 1.5 expansion through

[47:23] the serious 2026b general obligation warrant de

[47:27] demonstrating their willingness uh to support important city projects.

[47:32] The next bank uh is Pinnacle Bank. This is a Tennessee based bank that has

[47:38] requested to be cons considered for future investment opportunities and hope

[47:42] to have a brick and mortar bank in the future. And the last one on the list is

[47:48] Huntington Bank, formerly Cadence Bank or Bank Corp South. Following their

[47:53] merger, we're requesting to add Huntington Bank to our approved list

[47:58] contingent upon their successful acceptance

[48:01] uh into this safe program. We expect this process to be completed by

[48:06] approximately April 30th, 2026, and they're currently covered under

[48:11] Cadence's safe program umbrella for 90 days. We believe that adding these

[48:16] institutions will give the city greater flexibility and competitive options when

[48:21] managing our banking and investment relationships. Uh staff recommends

[48:26] approval of the additional bank depository institutions and I'm happy to

[48:29] answer any questions. >> Thank you, Alex. Any questions? anybody.

[48:35] » Alex, why don't you introduce yourself and tell us what your job is? This your

[48:39] first time at the microphone, so say hello to everybody.

[48:42] » Hi, my name is Alex Chyavi. Uh, I'm a county supervisor. So, I'm originally

[48:46] from Northwest Mississippi, as you can tell by my accent.

[48:51] » I apologize. So,

[48:54] » thank you, Alex. You're welcome. Good job.

[49:01] Uh Andy, planning and zoning.

[49:09] » Good afternoon, mayor and city council. We have a one item before you. It's a

[49:14] pre-zone and annexation request uh for Riviera Properties.

[49:20] Uh the applicant seeks to uh prezone and annex a 40 acre tract of property. uh

[49:28] they want to pre-zone 36 acres to R13 and the remainder to general business.

[49:35] The code of Alabama allows municipalities to pre-zone and annex

[49:38] properties and it shall uh this type this process follows the same as a

[49:43] reszoning process goes to planning commission and then to the city council

[49:47] for public hearings. With that being said, this applica this application will

[49:51] not be presented next week. It'll have to be advertised and will be on the

[49:55] future city council agenda. The property is located at the northwest

[50:02] corner of the intersection of Highway 59 and County Road 8 West. It's highlighted

[50:08] in red. Currently, the property is not located

[50:12] in the city of G Shores. It's in a portion of unzoneed Bowwin County. Uh

[50:19] and it's currently vacant uh and vacant wooded

[50:25] with it being unzone. There is really no uh uh oversight by Bowwin County or

[50:30] obviously the city of Gulf Shores or because it's in an unzoneed piece of

[50:34] part of Bowwin County. Future land use plan uh has designates this property

[50:40] with three different future land uses. The corner which abuts uh state highway

[50:46] 59 is designated commercial and mixed use with the remainder of the property a

[50:51] combination of residential low and residential medium future land use

[50:55] designations. Again the applicant proposes to prezone

[51:00] the corner to general business. It's a 3.6 acre piece of property. You all are

[51:06] aware of uh general business. It allows a mix of mixture of uh business type and

[51:11] commercial type uses. and the remainder of the property is

[51:16] proposed to be reszoned to R13. R133 is a single family zoning district.

[51:22] Right now, I believe the only area of the city that's zoned R13

[51:26] is located on West Beach. Um it requires a larger lot size than a lot of our

[51:33] existing zoning. I think the minimum lot width is 85 ft with a minimum lot size

[51:37] of 15,000 square feet which is greater than the R14 and the R15 zoning that's

[51:42] kind of predominates throughout the city.

[51:45] We did analyze this request against the future land use plan. Uh a goal of the

[51:50] future land use plan is to regularize the city's boundaries. Also again

[51:56] annexing this property will provide the city control over any future

[52:00] development. um BG the commercial mixeduse is

[52:05] supported by the proposed BG zoning and the uh proposed R13

[52:11] uh zoning complies with the future land use plan of medium and low density

[52:16] residential uses. We also analyzed it versus the zoning.

[52:20] Again, the BG zoning district is appropriate for the 3.6 acre piece of

[52:25] property located at the corner of Highway 59 and County Road 8 West. And

[52:30] then the R13 is also appropriate um for the remainder of the property. It will

[52:36] allow will provide some larger lot size and estate type lots that we really have

[52:42] not uh really seen any subdivi subdivision or reasonzoning to this type

[52:47] of uh larger lot size in the recent uh past.

[52:52] And here is a conceptual subdivision plat that was that showing what the 30

[52:58] the 36 acres divided into 26 lots. They have submitted this to uh the planning

[53:05] and zoning department. I think this is tracking to for a May uh planning

[53:10] commission meeting.

[53:13] And with that staff and the planning commission recommend the city council

[53:16] approve the prezoning and annexation of the subject properties.

[53:20] Happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you, Andy. Council, any questions,

[53:24] comments, audience, anybody?

[53:29] » Andy, thank you.

[53:34] Chief Netdermire,

[53:40] sir. Good afternoon, everyone. No issues with the font here because I don't have

[53:43] a slide deck. This should be pretty quick. Um, we took a look at had us some

[53:49] residents ask some questions about the current golf cart ordinance here in Gulf

[53:53] Shores and they asked why we restricted usage to 18 and above and I didn't

[54:00] really have a good answer for it. So, I'm uh coming forward with a proposal to

[54:05] change the limit for golf cart operators on the street on city approved streets

[54:11] to any licensed driver or somebody who has a would be a learning permit

[54:16] situation also with a licensed driver with them.

[54:20] Just a simple little change of the ordinance there. Some wordage verbiage.

[54:25] » Thank you, Chief. Any questions? Anybody?

[54:30] » Okay. Next one, also no issues with font. Um,

[54:36] with growth, with growth comes growth. Uh, as you all know, the the Gulf Shores

[54:41] International Airport has expanded to 13 destinations and those 13 destinations

[54:46] are in obviously in addition to the six that we already have. Uh, I got together

[54:51] with Jesse with the airport and we took a look at the scheduling that is going

[54:54] to begin this May and we cannot cover the airport anymore with just two

[54:59] officers. Uh we took a you know that the there were some days where the earliest

[55:05] the officers would have to be there in order to conduct the sweep of the

[55:09] airport and when the last plane came in would go beyond a typical 12-h hour

[55:14] shift which would automatically place officers in an overtime situation which

[55:18] is no big deal but there is also a need around the airport to on those busy days

[55:24] to adjust the traffic flow. We need an officer out there to keep the traffic

[55:28] moving when when passengers are coming in and passengers are picked people are

[55:33] being picked up. So we need an officer out there. It's just additional flights,

[55:37] additional resources are needed. So we're proposing for the remainder of

[55:40] this year to add one officer to the airport, which would be an additional

[55:44] staffing of our current levels.

[55:48] » Thank you, Chief. questions, comments, council,

[55:54] audience, anybody. >> Thank you, sir.

[55:57] » Thank you.

[56:07] » I use the same font as chief did. So, uh, the first item I have before you

[56:12] today is, uh, the replacement of two UTVs to be used by our beach enforcement

[56:17] unit. Um early March we advertised for bids for for the replacement of those

[56:22] two UTVs. Uh the bids were open March 26 with four conforming bids. Lowest bid

[56:30] being received from Gulf Shores Powersports. So we are asking that you

[56:35] award the bid for the purchase of two UTVs to Gulf Shores Powersports in an

[56:39] amount not to exceed $47,15660.

[56:45] I'll be happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Joe. Council, any questions,

[56:49] comments, audience, anybody?

[56:53] » Thank you, D. Chief, you got no? >> Yes, sir. Asking for more money. Um the

[56:58] uh what we have before you here is a contract Motorola Solutions to provide

[57:03] an overall digital evidence management system. If this sounds familiar, we did

[57:07] present in the 26 budget package and it was approved then. Um, this is for our

[57:12] body warn camera storage, our mobile video camera storage, and all digital

[57:16] evidence storage. There's a lot of other components that will help share with the

[57:20] community, have the community share with us videos of of potential crimes and

[57:25] things like that. Uh, this, as I said before, this was approved in the 26

[57:30] budget package. However, there was some wording in the contract that had to be

[57:33] re uh redone to adhere to purchasing agreement. So, what we're asking for is

[57:39] to enter into a contract with Motorola Solutions in amount not to exceed

[57:44] 329,875.89

[57:48] and that will be spread over three budget years. The first one is already

[57:53] budgeted in its account item for that. I'll be happy to answer any questions.

[57:59] » Thank you, DC. Any questions or comments?

[58:02] Council, audience, anybody?

[58:07] Thank you, sir. Public engagement manager Lindsay.

[58:18] Good evening, mayor and council. Tonight, I'm pre presenting the

[58:22] recommended funding allocations for the city's 2026 spring nonprofit grant

[58:26] program cycle. As a reminder, the nonprofit grant program was launched

[58:31] last year to support local nonprofit organizations that provide a direct

[58:35] impact to the residents of Gulf Shores. For the spring 2026 cycle, where we're

[58:40] recommending a total allocation of $6,000,

[58:44] these funds will be distributed evenly among three nonprofit organizations,

[58:48] each receiving $2,000 grants. The organizations recommended for this

[58:53] funding cycle are the Little Lagoon Preservation Society, South Baldwin

[58:57] Community Theater, and the Junior Women's Club of Gulf Shores. Um, just to

[59:02] summarize what the money will be going towards, uh, the Little Lagoon

[59:07] Preservation Society will be utilizing this funding for its oyster gardening

[59:12] program. The Little Lagoon Preservation Society engages more than a hundred

[59:16] volunteers, including Gulf Shores Middle and High School students, in hands-on

[59:21] oyster gardening to support ecological restoration in Little Lagoon. The grant

[59:26] will support the purchase of replacement oyster cages, an oyster spat, and basic

[59:31] program supplies such as nylon rope and cleats. And last year, their program

[59:36] produced more than 92,000 oysters to build a new sanctuary reef. Um, the

[59:41] South Baldwin Community Theater will be utilizing the grant funding for a

[59:46] facility expansion. This theater is the oldest continuously operating theater in

[59:51] Baldwin County, and they've reached the limits of their existing facility. Um,

[59:56] so this $2,000 allocation will co cover initial site preparation, specifically

[1:00:01] clearing dense brush, so surveyors can complete assessments required before

[1:00:06] architectural planning. Um, the last organization, the Junior Women's Club of

[1:00:11] Gulf Shores, is going to utilize grant funding for the Clothe the Children

[1:00:15] program. This initiative provides essential clothing to Gulf Shore City

[1:00:19] School students experiencing clothing in insecurity. Teachers and counselors

[1:00:24] identify students in need and volunteers from the Junior Women's Club shop

[1:00:29] discreetly for each child spending a minimum of $250 per students. Items

[1:00:34] include shoes, socks, underwear, shirts, pants, and seasonally appropriate items

[1:00:39] such as coats. All items are delivered privately to the school to maintain each

[1:00:44] child's dignity. So, in summary, these three organizations demonstrate

[1:00:48] measurable community- centered outcomes in environmental stewardship, arts

[1:00:52] access, and just general youth well-being. Our staff recommends council

[1:00:57] approves the allocation of $6,000 for the 2026 spring nonprofit grant program

[1:01:03] with $2,000 dollars awarded to each of the three organizations. And I'll answer

[1:01:07] any questions. >> Thank you, Nancy. Council

[1:01:11] questions, comments, anybody? >> Thank you very much.

[1:01:17] » Next, uh Mr. Han, you've got four things it looks like.

[1:01:22] » Yes, sir. Thank you. So, our first item is award

[1:01:28] the bid for our VMS, which is our variable message board that we have

[1:01:32] throughout the city that we can be able to display messages for traffic or any

[1:01:36] type of emergencies. Um, so we went to bid March 12th. U we opened bids and um

[1:01:43] for two VMS boards which we budgeted for for 2026. Our lowest bib was Armasco,

[1:01:50] but they didn't meet the specifications. there's things that the guys need in the

[1:01:54] field with it. So, they uh we have we're dropping that bid and awarding the bid

[1:02:01] to ProLogics IT for 39,76122.

[1:02:07] So, that is that's for two boards. And so, the beauty on this is if they need

[1:02:12] the police department or fire department needs a message changed or traffic

[1:02:17] condition change or the uh it's been remedied, you can turn it off by your

[1:02:21] phone. you can just you type a different message. So it's it can be handled

[1:02:25] remotely and that keeps anybody having to go back in traffic, sit in traffic to

[1:02:29] be able to go turn the message board off for um just so it's a whole lot more

[1:02:35] streamlined. It's worth it for us. So um so that's that's all I have for that

[1:02:42] that item, but it is a budgeted item. >> Questions, comments? Anybody? Okay. No.

[1:02:48] » Okay. Okay. So our next item

[1:02:54] is high school G's high school uh change order number four. So we have um

[1:03:03] this this change order involves uh proposed enhancements for the new high

[1:03:07] school project. This change order focus on bringing the facility to a full

[1:03:12] operational condition. Uh and we kind of categorize uh this change order into

[1:03:17] three main categories and that was owner initiated items

[1:03:21] items that the owner needed which the school needed to be able to open up the

[1:03:25] school. We have some error in emissions, some errors in the plans that we were

[1:03:29] having to to address and now we're in the process this past month really been

[1:03:34] hitting hard on our code inspections with the Department of Construction

[1:03:39] Management. DCM has been running their inspections every day and so with our

[1:03:44] fire department. So there are some code requirements that's that's having to uh

[1:03:50] now involved with this. So I just kind of described those three items how

[1:03:55] they're categorized. So just kind of a little bit of a history. Uh if y'all

[1:03:59] remember practice pavilion, we we uh 6.8 million that we did for change order

[1:04:05] number one. Uh the school paid us back for that practice pavilion. So that's

[1:04:10] covered. Change order number two, we had the low voltage issue and some roadway

[1:04:15] work. Uh that was a 1.5. Then we have miscellaneous change orders recently on

[1:04:21] change order number three at 750,000. Uh and then change order four which is

[1:04:26] before you is 1.9 million. So I just kind of if you look below it where I had

[1:04:32] change order impacts. So normally it's a a project this size industry standards

[1:04:39] is right around 7 to 10% of your original contract. We're running at a

[1:04:44] three and a quarter 3.25% for it. So we've been working very diligently. We

[1:04:50] know somewhere the industry standards is 7 to 10%. I think that was just kind of

[1:04:54] really critical and like everybody to see. I mean, what's I know that when

[1:04:57] we're coming with the change orders, it seems like it is and it is a lot, but

[1:05:01] also we're very diligent in this process. So, I just wanted just to to

[1:05:06] let y'all know that's where we were. So, this is what was submitted to the

[1:05:10] council um when we're doing the change order. So, you have the items totaling

[1:05:16] up to 1.9 million. And so, if you notice that the owner contingency allowance

[1:05:22] replenishment is 1.5 1.4 45 million. So what I want to be able to describe on

[1:05:31] this on the next one uh is this top section is what the change orders that

[1:05:38] the architect Vulkart and the city we have all approved that work was

[1:05:44] completed and that's what the money's owed.

[1:05:47] The next batch below it, we're all agreeance with the work, but the

[1:05:51] architect has not fully approved that work where it doesn't have a designated

[1:05:57] where when the state receives this change order, it is um it didn't really

[1:06:01] have the number attached, but they can pay it through a um through the

[1:06:06] allocation of the replenishment of those funds. The state can be able to reach in

[1:06:10] that pocket and to be the contractor can charge to that fund. So with the

[1:06:14] remainder of that, the third item, theoretically we have about $300,000

[1:06:20] left in contingency funds that if something happens between now and the

[1:06:25] actual end of project of the cert certificate of occupancy, the CO, we

[1:06:31] have a mechanism to be able to pay the subs, pay the contractor a lot quicker

[1:06:36] than coming back with a change order. So hopefully right now we have captured

[1:06:40] everything and we can come back with you with change order number five which is

[1:06:45] called a deductive change order that we'll be be able the project gives the

[1:06:48] money back to the owner said we didn't use these funds. So I just kind of

[1:06:53] wanted just to show you where we fail in this this alignment where we are. So

[1:06:58] here's kind of some examples of some change orders that are on here. I mean I

[1:07:03] can go through all these change orders but there's 40 of them. So, I don't know

[1:07:06] if anybody here want to go through every single one of them. Uh, but I would, but

[1:07:10] I will. Uh, but change 47. So, I know in the beginning when we were touring the

[1:07:16] school, I mean, some of y'all have been when you could walk by the restroom and

[1:07:19] you can kind of see uh into the bathrooms. So, some schools do have this

[1:07:25] so you can be able to keep maybe some mischief down or or if anybody's vaping,

[1:07:30] whatever they're doing right now in the bathroom. But I don't believe they

[1:07:34] really want that the intent to be able to see anybody at the you know at the at

[1:07:38] the bathroom at the mirror. So we built those walls that you see on the right

[1:07:43] hand side to be able to shield and it still has the intent to be able to have

[1:07:48] open air so you don't have to open doors going to the bathroom. So that's an

[1:07:52] example of that. Another example, and this is owner initiated, is that uh the

[1:07:57] locker rooms inside the fieldhouse. Uh there's a there was curbing that was

[1:08:02] called out that the lockers sat on top of the curbing and it was about 6 in

[1:08:07] high. And if you see coach HUD uh standing right there and the shoulder

[1:08:12] pads are sitting on top of the um the locker and the helmet, they couldn't

[1:08:17] reach to the top. So we we had them remove all that concrete for the curving

[1:08:22] and drop that down 6 in to be able to have that. That's kind of that was like

[1:08:26] a cop which is um change order proposal is what that means. So that's 116 and

[1:08:33] that is the examples of what we go through pretty much on a daily basis of

[1:08:38] a change and if we agree with that change then they move on then the

[1:08:43] architect approves the actual price of it. So it goes through multiple hands.

[1:08:48] There's RFIs, ASIS, there's everything that you go through to be able to make

[1:08:52] sure that all this is done in compliance.

[1:08:56] So, this is what we're in front of you now recommending the 1.9 million and

[1:09:01] change order number four. There's a uh kind of a breakdown between the between

[1:09:06] these items. Um, you know, you have the the owner initiated which was 484. You

[1:09:12] have DCM issues are really high. Now, keep in mind this is that the whole

[1:09:16] thing, the total of that 1.9 million. That's kind of the makeup and the

[1:09:21] percentages or the cost that goes into each of those buckets.

[1:09:26] Uh so, um that's overall, but I can answer any questions if you have any.

[1:09:32] Sorry if I got too into detail with it or I can get in more, but I can answer

[1:09:37] any questions if you like. >> Thank you. No council, any questions or

[1:09:41] comments? Audience? Anybody uh want more

[1:09:45] information or any questions about what he's what he what you've received?

[1:09:51] » If not, no, you can move on. >> Okay. So, we do have two more items and

[1:09:56] they're they kind of run hand in hand, but the Gulf Shores High School

[1:10:00] subdivision. So, we had uh GMC did a subdivision plat to be able to um

[1:10:09] incorporate the the the entire site of the high school onto one piece of

[1:10:14] property. The prior property this it was called Green Acres was 40 acres of land

[1:10:20] that that that was on, but eight of that acres there was still missing of the

[1:10:24] infrastructure that the school sat on. So, we had to redo a subdivision plat.

[1:10:29] So, we needed to authorize uh the mayor to be able to sign the plat and have it

[1:10:35] recorded with the probates court and then turn around to be able to uh after

[1:10:42] that's been recorded and it has the slide number on it. We can then convey

[1:10:46] uh which is the next resolution is convey that piece of property to the

[1:10:51] board of education so they can be able to accept that property. So when they

[1:10:56] get a when we get the certificate of occupancy for the school, they own the

[1:11:00] property and they can then uh get insurance on the facility so we can

[1:11:05] streamline it. But so it's two resolutions in one, but it's the same

[1:11:10] it's a thing same thing of property per se.

[1:11:15] » So the first one is the for the mayor to execute to sign the final plat of the

[1:11:19] subdivision and >> Yep. Yes, sir. The sec second one is

[1:11:22] donating the real property to the from the city to the school.

[1:11:25] » Yes, sir. >> Any questions or comments on any of

[1:11:29] those council audience? Anybody? >> I believe that's a wrap for me.

[1:11:35] » Thank you.

[1:11:40] Grant, you got the end of the show, but you got five things to do.

[1:11:46] » Yes. I'm anxious to see what fonts show up for our presentation tonight.

[1:11:51] Um, Michael, this is not the correct first slide. This is later into the

[1:11:56] presentation. Want to do the school one first,

[1:12:00] which is the sportslex improvements. Is that possible?

[1:12:08] It's not possible. >> Well, we we can do it in whatever order

[1:12:12] you choose. >> Okay.

[1:12:15] Well, then let's go ahead and start with our first large group activity permit

[1:12:18] application, which this one is uh um no surprise to any of us here. Uh since

[1:12:26] 2016, uh 10 years, we have been the host city along with our partners with our

[1:12:32] Alabama um beaches, sports, and events hosting the NCAA National Beach

[1:12:37] Volleyball Championship. So, it is that time of the year again to get the permit

[1:12:43] uh through the mayor and council. This uh this year's date of May 1st through

[1:12:48] 3rd location is G Place Public Beach. We will begin setup on April the 20th. Uh

[1:12:55] and the main Gulf Place area south of Highway 59 around uh the the hangout

[1:13:00] will close to the public on April the 22nd. And that's so that we may start

[1:13:05] bringing in the heavy scaffolding and the large tenting and start creating the

[1:13:10] the site. This is a controlled site where they charge an admission fee for

[1:13:14] this tournament. So, we have to put up the fencing and the trust work to get

[1:13:18] ready for ESPN to come to town to do uh to do the the television. Um the East

[1:13:24] Golf Place parking lot um will not close. This is the wrong slide. Um so,

[1:13:30] do not worry about the East Golf Place. That's the resident parking lot that

[1:13:32] remains open for this entire championship. So, um we don't have to

[1:13:36] worry about that. And um the site will return back to the

[1:13:42] public's use after the completion of the event and the cleanup on May the 6th.

[1:13:48] So, uh this is a a blowup of the site plan that gets created um south of the

[1:13:54] hangout restaurant along the boardwalk. Uh large uh scaffolding goes up for the

[1:13:59] TV towers. The blue or purple squares are for jib cameras for the television

[1:14:05] broadcasting. New this year, if you look to the left and the right, uh you'll see

[1:14:10] some hash some purple hash marks. Those are the large bleachers. You'll recall

[1:14:16] about eight months ago, uh you approved a grant receipt from the the state to

[1:14:22] enhance this event in the amount of $200,000 and we purchased those

[1:14:26] bleachers. There are 330 seats each. So, we've added 600 seats to the

[1:14:32] championship site. Uh, public works was able to take the once of the bleachers

[1:14:36] down to the beach to make sure that we can uh get them out there on the sand

[1:14:40] and they can be deployed safely. So, that will uh that will work. The rest of

[1:14:45] the site is very similar to what has been in the past years and um looking

[1:14:50] forward to a a real good event uh this coming year. So, this is the schedule of

[1:14:55] events. Um May the 1st, Friday. ESPN 2 will cover

[1:15:00] the matches. They start at 9:00 and the final match uh is over at 4 or or starts

[1:15:05] u being played at 4:00. Saturday, May the 2nd, uh once again 9:00, a little

[1:15:10] earlier um completion after the 2:00 match. And then Sunday, we have one

[1:15:15] championship match at 11:30 a.m. and that will be on ESPN's

[1:15:21] um national channel. Um, parking as always is a question when

[1:15:26] you get large events such as this and that will feed into the the next

[1:15:29] application that is also taking place at the beach this particular weekend. But

[1:15:34] in addition to this u the public parking locations we have worked with Ron Durham

[1:15:39] to be able to utilize the site just to the west of the embassy seat suites. So

[1:15:45] we have uh worked a memorandum of understanding with him. We'll have

[1:15:48] insurance to protect both him and the city. And uh we'll have that lot

[1:15:52] controlled with security guard to make sure that um people that are in town for

[1:15:56] volleyball spectating and volleyball uh participation are able to use that lot.

[1:16:02] And so tickets are now available. If anybody would like to purchase tickets

[1:16:07] to um to spectate at this event, we encourage you to go online and do so.

[1:16:12] And as I mentioned, um, Michelle Russ is here and Sarah Cooper with the Alabama's

[1:16:18] Beaches and, uh, they'd like to step up and say a couple words about the

[1:16:21] partnership that we've had over the years.

[1:16:32] » Thank you, Grant. Michelle Russ with um Guff Shores and Orange Beach Tourism

[1:16:36] Sports and Events and we're excited to continue the successful partnership that

[1:16:40] we've had since 2016. Not only does this event bring tourism, economic

[1:16:44] development and impact to our area, it also aligns with our brand of Alabama's

[1:16:49] beaches and big beach um small town big beach. So, it aligns with our brand and

[1:16:54] it also really brings some pride to our community. a lot of our young athletes

[1:16:58] in the community get to come out and volunteer or they play with the youth

[1:17:02] event that's taking place in conjunction. So, we appreciate the

[1:17:05] partnership. It's more than just great beach volleyball that's televised

[1:17:09] nationally. It's a lot of other things for our community. So, thank you.

[1:17:13] » And as a quick reminder, we're um this year 2026 as well as last year 2025 were

[1:17:19] two years that the national championship was supposed to be in Long Beach, uh

[1:17:23] California. And so we've had them back here and y'all have already approved uh

[1:17:28] hosting this event until 2031. So we're gonna we're going to have had the beach

[1:17:33] volleyball championship here for quite a long period of time. Um and look forward

[1:17:37] to its continuation even into the future. So be happy to answer any

[1:17:42] questions. >> Grant, is there fencing on the east and

[1:17:45] west? >> Fencing on the east and west of the

[1:17:49] volleyball site. Yes, it is a completely fenced in closed offsite ticketed access

[1:17:55] that you enter through the main gate which will be down main highway 59 uh

[1:18:00] near the public restroom. Yeah, there sure is.

[1:18:06] » Any questions audience or council on beach volleyball

[1:18:13] for the CVB or for us for the operator? If not.

[1:18:20] » All right. So then, as I mentioned, in conjunction with the national

[1:18:23] championship on the eastern edge of our public beach area, we have received

[1:18:28] another large group activity application for Beachfest. Beachfest USA volleyball

[1:18:33] is a beach qualifier. This is the junior event that takes place uh over the same

[1:18:38] weekend uh on the West Golf Place beach area uh south of the town green and and

[1:18:44] the rest the rest of that West Beach area. So, from 7:00 to 5:00 on the um

[1:18:51] April 30th through May the 3, we'll have the the uh Beachfest tournament setup

[1:18:56] will begin on April the 24th, and they will actually um finish their

[1:19:02] tournaments on May the 4th, which is the Sunday following the National

[1:19:05] Championship. So, this is a big event. It they put 64 nets and courts out on

[1:19:10] the beach. It's a free event open to the public. 16 years. Each of the year that

[1:19:15] we've had the NCAA National Championship, we've also hosted this

[1:19:18] Beachfest uh event. This brings in uh youth uh beach volleyball teams from all

[1:19:25] over the country um from Texas, from California, from everywhere. Uh people

[1:19:30] and families are coming in for their children to participate in this event.

[1:19:33] It's a huge economic impact weekend u from this uh from this large number of

[1:19:38] teams. This year they'll have music uh on the uh town green shade sale uh only

[1:19:45] on Saturday night from 5:30 to 8 o'clock in the evening. They'll be having live

[1:19:48] music. They'll bring food trucks in to be able to support the e extra people

[1:19:53] that are in town for this this event. They will also have vendors um selling

[1:19:57] wares uh within the the tournament footprint.

[1:20:02] Um the parking for this in previous years

[1:20:07] when we've hosted Hangout Music Festival, this um West Golf Place

[1:20:12] parking lot has been unaccessible to volleyball parkers, people parking their

[1:20:17] vehicles there because the hangout had started building their um cabanas and

[1:20:22] other infrastructure necessary for the music festival. And they would have put

[1:20:25] large plastic mats out on the sand to create additional parking. This year

[1:20:29] with no music festival, there will be no construction going on in our West Golf

[1:20:33] Place public parking lot. So that will now open up all those spaces for the

[1:20:38] general volleyball participants. They will also be welcome to park across the

[1:20:41] street in that lot next Embassy Suites and all the other on street parking uh

[1:20:47] locations within this area. But it will be a big weekend and a lot of lot of

[1:20:51] people, a lot of spectators in town for this for this event.

[1:20:55] um mentioned the format, the three-day tournament, the two divisions. We

[1:20:59] recommend approval of this event in conjunction with the national

[1:21:03] championship. They do have one contingency. They do have food vendors

[1:21:06] involved, uh food, uh trucks and vendors involved. So, we'll need to make sure

[1:21:10] that those are inspected and approved um prior to them setting up and we'll make

[1:21:15] sure that that's part of this. With that, I'll be happy to answer any

[1:21:18] questions. >> Just not a question, but a comment. Uh

[1:21:21] with the addition of the Durham lot, it will allow some public parking in one of

[1:21:26] the two spaces. Either on the Durham lot, you don't have to be a volleyball.

[1:21:30] The public can still go and park in the beach area. If you get there early

[1:21:33] enough, you can park in a normal parking area. If not, you can park in the Durham

[1:21:37] lot and walk over. So, we will have residential parking that we've had in

[1:21:42] the past, but in a different location, different than we've had before. So very

[1:21:46] gracious of Ron Durham to allow us to use that for all these events that's

[1:21:50] going on within this time frame. So >> yes sir

[1:21:53] » noticing that any any other questions or comments council or audience? Anybody?

[1:21:59] » Anything? >> Thank you Grant. You got more?

[1:22:03] » Not sure what's next. Michael, what's next? Okay, so I'm gonna step aside and

[1:22:07] let Laura step up for a moment. >> Gota be a little nimble. Grant,

[1:22:13] » good afternoon. Um before you we have a application for

[1:22:17] approval for the worship on the green May 16th.

[1:22:21] It's Saturday, May 16th. This is going to be at the town green from 10:00 a.m.

[1:22:25] to 400 p.m. Um they'll begin setting up at 7:00 a.m. and uh we'll break down

[1:22:30] immediately following the event. Um this is a community worship gathering um put

[1:22:36] together by multiple local churches here in the area. It's a family-friendly

[1:22:40] event. um going to be filled with food trucks, music, um you know, uh ministry

[1:22:46] throughout the day. Um it is a free event and it is open to the public. Uh

[1:22:52] just real quick on the site, there will be a bike rack that uh is surrounded the

[1:22:57] perimeter of town green with two entrances on the east and the west side.

[1:23:01] Um as far as parking goes, general public parking is available for this

[1:23:06] event.

[1:23:11] This has been routed in through the department for uh department head

[1:23:15] approval. Recommendation is to approve contingent upon the food vendor um

[1:23:19] inspections and approvals. Uh with us today is Blair and Jenny

[1:23:25] Hoggood from the Methodist Church. And I believe do you guys would you like to

[1:23:30] say a few words? Sure.

[1:23:40] So, I'm hop Jenny. Uh, we live on First Avenue uh right in the heart what's

[1:23:45] usually Hangout Fest or Stand My Boots Weekend. And, uh, we've been here since

[1:23:49] 2018. I'm also on the bicycle pedestrian committee and just joined that committee

[1:23:54] this past year. And so we thought this' be a great opportunity with the hangout

[1:23:58] fest not happening this year to do something for the community based that's

[1:24:02] not in revenue based and actually really focus on worship and basically giving

[1:24:07] back to the community. So kind of a grass grassroots effort here. Um it's

[1:24:12] actually a really good weekend though because the same weekend is we're

[1:24:14] rededicating the nation under one nation under God again. Uh there's other

[1:24:18] churches having comm community uh religious events in the community as

[1:24:21] well. Uh Oyster Bay Baptist Baptist Church is having a blasting cast event

[1:24:25] for men. Uh Island Church is having a golf tournament that same weekend. So we

[1:24:29] thought it'd be a great opportunity for us to bring the community together in a

[1:24:34] very uh healing event. And um Laura's been great, Gran's been great, Chief

[1:24:39] Nemar's been great giving us guidance on how to kind of bring this community

[1:24:42] together for this event. And we appreciate your consideration um in

[1:24:46] putting this on. So any questions do you have for us? question but a comment.

[1:24:51] Thank you. >> Thank you. I think you'll be a great

[1:24:54] addition to our community. So, >> we appreciate it. It's very special

[1:24:58] place to live and we're very proud to be a member in this community. So, thank

[1:25:02] you all. >> Thank you.

[1:25:04] » Any questions or comments? >> You did all the work. I just

[1:25:08] » We knew that. >> Thank you.

[1:25:11] » Thank you. >> Any questions or comments from the

[1:25:14] audience or from the council about this application for approval?

[1:25:19] Okay, Lauren. >> Um,

[1:25:21] » you have one more. >> One more. Yes. This is the United States

[1:25:24] Life-Saving Association Southeast Regional Championship. It'll be held

[1:25:28] here at Gulf Place July 13th through the 15th um 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. uh daily

[1:25:34] for this schedule. Uh they'll begin set up on um July 12th and everything should

[1:25:39] be back in order by 10:00 a.m. on the 16th. Um for this event there will be

[1:25:44] about 150 participants per day um competing um in competitions that

[1:25:49] consist of swimming, board paddling, and running. It is a free event. It is open

[1:25:55] to the public. Uh just a real quick overview here. There will be barricades

[1:26:00] on the east and west sides. Um bike rack, again, open to the public. Um

[1:26:06] spectators can watch from anywhere outside of the back uh the barricades.

[1:26:11] They'll be through access on the north side. Um again, it's been routed through

[1:26:16] department heads for approval. Recommendation is to approve um

[1:26:19] contingent upon an updated uh COI. Um with us this afternoon is Melvin Shepard

[1:26:26] from Fire and Rescue um to answer any questions.

[1:26:31] If there are any questions, >> any questions or comments? And this is

[1:26:34] competition we will be competing in also our our team.

[1:26:37] » Yes, sir. >> Fantastic.

[1:26:40] home field advantage. I hope >> any com any comments by anybody,

[1:26:47] » Laura. Thank you. >> Thank you.

[1:26:51] » And believe it or not, >> there's one more item.

[1:26:53] » I got one more, >> but I'm not sure if we have a

[1:26:55] presentation or not. >> So, we don't have a presentation. So,

[1:26:58] I'll just uh I'll go through my notes. How about that? So, uh also on your

[1:27:02] agenda for next Monday is uh an item that's being brought to us at the

[1:27:06] request of the Gulf Shore City Schools. they for quite a long time has been

[1:27:10] working to um to help expand and to create some additional space at the Gulf

[1:27:16] Shores Sportslex. So before us is a um proposal from the Gulf Shore City

[1:27:21] Schools to expand and improve some of the area at the Sportslex and these

[1:27:26] improvements include uh two separate one baseball, one softball, a 9,000 square

[1:27:32] foot clubhouse and that would be uh an indoor hitting facility, indoor locker

[1:27:38] rooms, um coach's office and storage for the softball team. and then the same

[1:27:45] type of facility for the baseball team. And in addition to those two constructed

[1:27:51] buildings, in addition to the existing fieldhouse, we're trying to add square

[1:27:56] footage to the current fieldhouse, which is significantly undersized. It would be

[1:28:00] a 2100 square foot um expansion to the fieldhouse, and that would be the locker

[1:28:05] rooms for the soccer teams and for the track team. and it would be

[1:28:10] appropriately in size for the growth and the growing portion of our football

[1:28:15] team. Um, also replacing the existing homeside dugout and visitor side dugout.

[1:28:22] So, if you envision on the screen that we don't have for you, which I do have

[1:28:27] the presentation, which I can show next week. um the hitting facility. If you're

[1:28:32] inside the softball hitting facility in the locker room area, you will go

[1:28:35] directly from your building into your homeside dugout. And then the dugout on

[1:28:40] the visitor side will be shifted um and moved slightly further away from the

[1:28:45] bleachers to eventually allow for additional seating capacity for the um

[1:28:51] for the for the uh future. And the same with the baseball. So in the baseball,

[1:28:55] the existing batting cages that are between the softball field and the

[1:29:00] varsity baseball field, those go away and are replaced with a building that

[1:29:04] would have indoor cages and their locker rooms and their coaches offices and some

[1:29:10] additional storage. And then the visiting teams dugout would get slid and

[1:29:15] redone as well to match everything else. Uh in addition to the building

[1:29:21] facilities, it will work to create sidewalking and some additional um

[1:29:27] common space in between all these buildings to to to finish out to finish

[1:29:30] out that area that's really never been completely finished out. The additions

[1:29:34] will match the existing exterior of the current uh constructed buildings, which

[1:29:39] is CMU block with some split face and the same type of metal standing seam

[1:29:44] roof. So um this proposal was brought before

[1:29:49] our recreation committee and the recreation committee at that time

[1:29:53] unanimously recommended the approval of this project and that now is moving to

[1:29:57] the went to the planning commission. And the planning commission had a cursory

[1:30:00] review of this project because it's uh on city property being constructed which

[1:30:06] needed to go before planning commission and the city as the owner of the

[1:30:10] property the city council must approve before we um move forward and take this

[1:30:15] project out for bid. There is some time constraint on this project. The goal

[1:30:19] will be to try to um start construction just as soon as possible so that in the

[1:30:23] spring of 2027 when next year's seasons arrive that these facilities will be

[1:30:30] ready and up and usable. Uh financial impact for the city there is none. The

[1:30:35] city school system will be funding this through grants and through uh program

[1:30:41] fees that are generated by the sports programs. Um, so recommendation is to uh

[1:30:47] pass a resolution authorizing and allowing the Gulf Shore City Schools to

[1:30:50] make improvements to the city-owned sports flex facilities as presented. And

[1:30:55] I'll try to answer questions and I know that Dr. Aken is in the audience and so

[1:30:58] is Kevin Corkran. Happy to uh to try to work together to answer any of the

[1:31:03] questions you might have. I'm >> assuming these are conditioned spaces

[1:31:06] with the with the heating inside and dug up.

[1:31:09] » They are conditioned spaces. >> Conditioned spaces that be necessary.

[1:31:12] Any other questions or comments? Anybody? I

[1:31:15] » have a couple questions. So, will this be like a land lease or how how do we

[1:31:21] » manage that? >> So, the current the current thought is

[1:31:23] the land will still remain city land. The buildings will be owned by the city.

[1:31:27] We'll lease the facilities to the school system. We'll come up with an

[1:31:30] understanding with the school system so that they will um similar maybe to um

[1:31:36] the volleyball facility that was recently uh built at the uh sports flex

[1:31:41] where the operator leases the facility from the city and they're responsible

[1:31:44] for the the power bills and for any of the maintenance and upkeep and insurance

[1:31:47] related to those facilities. >> Do we have a timeline for that lease?

[1:31:52] » We do not have a timeline. I mean once we get the buildings first thing that

[1:31:56] has to happen is the buildings need to get bid out to make sure that the dollar

[1:32:00] amount that is being anticipated meets the budget that is been set aside for

[1:32:05] this. So that'll be the first step and once that is done then we'll work on

[1:32:08] getting all the legal um leases drawn up and all that information.

[1:32:13] » I just have a couple questions. The um you said the existing batting cages will

[1:32:18] go away. >> Yes. So

[1:32:21] my question for the for the land lease and just kind of in general is

[1:32:26] understanding the terms of using our public space

[1:32:33] for our city schools and how we're going to share that and are we clearly defined

[1:32:38] so that the schools understand and the public understands so that we're in

[1:32:43] alignment with that. I just I don't I haven't I don't understand

[1:32:48] I don't see the clear clear definition between how that relationship's going to

[1:32:53] work or outlined. So that's that's my question on that. And then specifically

[1:32:57] if our existing batting cages are going away,

[1:33:02] where does the public use? I don't think they're going to be allowed to use these

[1:33:06] new batting cages. Right. >> So a couple things. The the current

[1:33:08] batting cages are the softball varsity softball batting cages that are at the

[1:33:14] softball field. Those are not used by our wreck sports programs. The batting

[1:33:20] cages that are in the center, which is between the varsity field and the

[1:33:24] softball field, they're generally not programmed for wreck. Doesn't mean that

[1:33:28] if they're not open that they couldn't jump in there, but the seasons between

[1:33:32] recreation sports and school sports are almost identical. So when the high

[1:33:38] school athletes are out there using their batting cages, the rec sports kids

[1:33:42] wouldn't be using them anyway. So really the batting cages that we're removing

[1:33:46] and replacing with the building are are truly varsity sports batting cages

[1:33:52] primarily. And then off season, we would be maybe able to work out anou with the

[1:33:58] school system to let them and their uh coaches um have some time for the the

[1:34:04] wreck uh sports kids to use those cages, but we'd have to work that out in some

[1:34:08] of the ou

[1:34:12] looking for >> like to see that laid out before

[1:34:16] granting permission of our public space when I know that we're and we've talked

[1:34:20] about this a lot about that we we're tight on space and we're growing for our

[1:34:26] wreck programs. Yeah. So, >> if this is going to be a less of a

[1:34:31] public space, that's okay. But I just want to know that that's clearly fine so

[1:34:36] that our expectations for our wreck people know because I our wreck does use

[1:34:40] those batting cages. those those >> not they're not supposed to, but

[1:34:45] » those primary fields have been really placed for school baseball and softball

[1:34:52] primarily. When the Sports Flex was initially built way back in the 2000s in

[1:34:58] that first phase, the our relationship we had with Baldin County School System

[1:35:02] was we the city would purchase and build the sports facilities for the school if

[1:35:09] the county at that time would build a high school. that way they didn't have

[1:35:12] to put additional athletic facilities on school campus because there wasn't

[1:35:16] enough room, etc., etc. So, we um really for the past seven or eight years

[1:35:24] stopped even renting those two fields out for summer travel ball tournament

[1:35:30] play where they come and rent fields and use those because baseball and softball

[1:35:34] have now become year- round sports for our schools. And so there's really not

[1:35:40] very many times or too many opportunities for for non school-related

[1:35:44] activity to participate in either those fields or in those batting cages. So if

[1:35:50] we need additional batting cages, we have other locations that we can build

[1:35:53] recreation batting cages that might be more appropriate. Either expand at SIMS

[1:35:57] or add some more at the fiveplex, which I know the rec sports kids are using

[1:36:02] that now for some of their practices. that might be a more appropriate use,

[1:36:07] but I don't see this facility being opened up to just general recreation.

[1:36:12] And I might be wrong. Maybe Dr. Aken wants to chime in on this, but I think

[1:36:16] this the goal of this is the schools facilities primarily, and that's what

[1:36:21] this is the request is for. >> I I would like to comment on that as

[1:36:25] well. I mean, it's not dissimilar to how we operate our football stadium. I mean,

[1:36:30] that football stadium isn't open for public use on the football field.

[1:36:34] typically. Um, and I also don't really see the differentiation between our high

[1:36:41] school students and the general public. I mean, our high school is a city high

[1:36:45] school and the students at our school system are citizens of Gulf Shores. So,

[1:36:50] that is a public. So, I mean, as a city, we're supporting the school system,

[1:36:54] which is supporting residents of the count of the city. So, I really don't

[1:36:57] see it as a big differentiation between uh public use or school use. It's really

[1:37:02] one and the same because our school system is our public.

[1:37:06] » Well, it's the I agree with you overall, but it's when you're trying to book a

[1:37:11] field, that's where the difference is is whether you're a coach trying to book a

[1:37:15] field or you're a wreck. So, that's so that's the use difference. We're all

[1:37:20] part of the same system, >> but I think both those both those fields

[1:37:22] are predominantly for varsity athletic use and and so they typically have not

[1:37:27] been rented out as far as I know. >> Is that correct?

[1:37:30] » That is correct. Yes, sir. >> I think Jennifer's point is I I agree

[1:37:37] with one of her points and that is we're woefully short of fields available for

[1:37:42] our youth sports to play on and for our public. That's a fact and and this is

[1:37:48] not the answer for that. But there needs to be we need to find an answer. We

[1:37:53] don't have enough fields for our kids to play in.

[1:37:58] Any other comments or questions or anything?

[1:38:05] Are you through now? I don't think you have any more slides

[1:38:09] anyway. So, uh, that's that's all we have here. Uh, Dr. Aken, schools,

[1:38:16] anything to add? Any good news to share? Y'all want

[1:38:22] anything? Y'all want anything else? I hadn't we had heard from you winning

[1:38:25] anything in a while. >> I always have good news to share. So, um

[1:38:29] first, our director of exceptional education, that's Dr. Sonia Price, just

[1:38:33] uh wrote some grants. And so, we got a $100,000 grant to support our existing

[1:38:38] specialed prek class. So, right now we have four prek classes. We've just also

[1:38:43] applied for three additional prek classes now that we the new high school

[1:38:47] will open and we can expand. Um and that's a big need of this community. We

[1:38:52] have about I don't know 60 kids on a waiting list right now for next year.

[1:38:56] So, um hoping that that comes through and excited about the possibility. Um

[1:39:01] Dr. Price has written almost $600,000 in grants that are supporting existing

[1:39:06] programs. So, that that really really helps our budget. Um the other thing I

[1:39:11] talk about um technology a lot and if I can get this to open um using

[1:39:16] technology, >> you better take your spotlight.

[1:39:18] » Uh we we recently We recently sent our technology teams

[1:39:23] from the middle school and and high school to Birming or Montgomery for a

[1:39:27] technology competition, coding, robotics, all those things. And um we

[1:39:33] sent 21 kids. We have 12 first place

[1:39:37] finishes, five, second, and and third, fourth. So they all they all play. So

[1:39:41] really pleased with how that technology department is is growing and how

[1:39:45] successful they are. So that's all I got.

[1:39:48] » Thank you. Anybody with anything else they'd like to

[1:39:53] discuss tonight? >> Anything on your mind?

[1:39:57] » Council, I have an update. >> I have an update.

[1:40:00] » Okay. >> Uh this weekend, I want to remind

[1:40:02] everyone that the Love Our Locals LOL Festival will be taking place in

[1:40:05] Waterway Village. Last year, that event was plagued by inclement weather down at

[1:40:09] Lake Shelby. So, hopefully this move to the Waterway Village will help that.

[1:40:12] Great weather's forecast. And again, this is supposed to be a family-friendly

[1:40:15] 3-day celebration uh that brings the Gulf City of Gulf Shores and the region

[1:40:20] together for a weekend of music, food, and pride. One of our partners is the

[1:40:23] Seagalass Initiative. They'll be operating a bicycle ballet. Uh and all

[1:40:27] proceeds that we raise from beverage sales and what will also be helping

[1:40:30] assist the homelessness uh problem that the Seaglass Initiative serves to feed.

[1:40:34] Uh we are grateful for that partnership and we hope we'll have great weather and

[1:40:38] if you possibly can make it out during one of the three days Friday, Saturday

[1:40:41] or Sunday and support this event because it is all about our locals. Thank you.

[1:40:46] » Thank you. If there's no one else have anything on

[1:40:51] their mind, I will ask for a motion to adjurnn. Move to

[1:40:54] » adjourn. Second we here next Monday we vote on

[1:41:00] these things.

City of Gulf Shores - Council Work Session Meeting 04/06/2026

Transcript