City of Fairhope City Council Meeting November 9, 2026

The City of Fairhope City Council’s November 9, 2026 meeting focused substantially on infrastructure financing, grants, and municipal procurements. In the work session, the treasurer reported pre-applications for up to $50 million in state revolving fund loans at an estimated 2.75% rate, compared with recent financing around 4.79%. Proposed projects are wastewater treatment plant upgrades ($24.2 million), the 181 Forest Main and regional lift station ($22.2 million), and a water tank and treatment plant ($20 million). The projects’ estimates exceed the potential loan amount; no loan authorization was voted on at this meeting. Council approved applying for a $2 million transportation grant for improvements at US 98, State Route 104, and Triangle Drive, with an estimated city share of $406,551.71, and a $5,500 grant application for a child-sized off-road wheelchair. It also approved a school-facility lease and improvements supported by the Board of Education’s $3,206,150 guaranteed contribution, and approved a consent agenda of community grants and in-kind donations totaling $235,100.

The Council approved an $91,842 not-to-exceed award to American Asphalt for North Bancroft public parking paving; selected Gresham Smith for engineering services on County Road 13, with the fee to be negotiated, after the city received a $350,000 Rebuild Alabama grant requiring a $100,000 match; and selected GeoCon for annual on-call geotechnical and materials testing services, also with a fee to be negotiated. Other approved spending included $54,000 for Krebs Engineering services on Magnolia Beach lift station improvements, up to $84,480 annually for grease abatement from Enviro Tech of America, up to $34,762 for a fuzzy-filter actuator from Jim House and Associates, $102,275.80 for annual flowers and bulbs plus shipping and tariffs, and $13,650 for the tree-lighting event. Council also authorized credit and debit card convenience fees to be assessed directly by processors, while retaining fee-free payment options. No contract or loan action was taken on the SRF pre-applications.