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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 JanuaryNews Highlights Join the Recreation Center What’s Blooming? City Resurfacing Projects City of Fairhope App Easy Ways to Pay your Utility Bill Sherry Sullivan, Mayor Sherry.Sullivan@FairhopeAL.gov Jack Burrell, City Council President Jack.Burrell@FairhopeAL.gov Corey Martin, City Councilmember Corey.Martin@FairhopeAL.gov Robert Brown, City Councilmember Robert.Brown@FairhopeAL.gov Jimmy Conyers, City Councilmember Jimmy.Conyers@FairhopeAL.gov Kevin Boone, City Councilmember Kevin.Boone@FairhopeAL.gov Mayor & City Council Mailing Address: City of Fairhope P.O. Drawer 429 Fairhope, AL 36533 For more information, visit fairhopeal.gov or call 251.928.2136. City Sketches Letter from The Mayor As the new year begins, I am always excited for the possibilities that lie ahead. This year, I am excited to begin my first full year as Mayor of Fairhope. The beginning of the year will be challenging but I hope the second half of 2021 will bring new hope for a normal year. This year, residents will see the beginning of many Restore grant projects. The Restore Act of 2012 was a direct result of the BP Oil Spill and allocates grants and resources for ecosystem sustainability, tourist opportunities and revived economies. We will begin a $10 million upgrade to the sewer system and improvements will begin on the Pier and beachfront park. With the passing of the budget, residents will also see a new fire truck, upgrades to electric substations, upgrades at Volanta Park, new police vehicles, improvements at Rotary Youth and Young Street Community Park and much more! I look forward to working with the City Council and employees to continue making Fairhope a great place to live or visit. I hope you and your family have a great start to 2021. Happy New Year, —Mayor Sherry Sullivan Use your bank’s online bill pay system Choose City of Fairhope or Fairhope Public Utilities as “Payee” Enter in your Account Number-Customer Number in the Account Field Make sure you have a Bill Pay setup for each account you have with Fairhope using the correct Account Number-Customer Number combination for each account Drop your payment off at City Hall, (161 N Section St, Fairhope, Alabama 36532) The drive-through can be accessed from Church Street; a drop box is located at this window A drop box is also located on side of building to the left of the main entrance Your payment can be taken inside to the Customer Service Counter Kick off 2021 in a healthy way at the Fairhope Recreation Center. Take a look into the winter plantings you can see on the streets of Fairhope right now. Streets across Fairhope are being spruced up as part of a resurfacing project. The City of Fairhope now has an app available for download on Apple and Android devices. Read about the four different ways you can easily pay your utility bill. January 2021 FEEF Celebrates 25 Years F or 25 years now the Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation (FEEF) has been pouring much-appreciated support into the Fairhope feeder pattern schools. Vickie Watterson Bailey, a former principal and co-founder of the powerful foundation, said the creation was an example of “one good idea comes from another good idea.” In this case, the impact of FEEF is directly related to the creation of the Pelican’s Nest. “I wanted the children at the K-1 Center to have access to learning about many environmental issues by establishing a great science lab that totally had to do with the bay,” she said. “The actual Pelican’s Nest itself was the reason FEEF was created: I sought out a way to fund the Pelican’s Nest, to build it to get a lot of people involved in the community.” Through her work as a principal, Bailey was exposed to a foundation in Hoover that used funds to provide grants to the district’s schools. The discovery of this funding source, not just for the property at the K-1 Center but also for all Fairhope schools, was the catalyst for creation of the FEEF. (story continued on page 2) Use our Citizen Self-Service Web Portal From Fairhopeal.gov, click on the “Pay Your Bill” button, then Register or Sign In; click on Utility Billing from the menu on the right, then enter in your Account Number and Customer ID; click on the blue “Manage Bills Link” For automatic EFT payments: Choose “Automatic EFT Payments” from the menu or blue link in top right of screen; Enter in the required fields and click continue. For manual credit card payments: Add bill to Cart, select “My Cart” and Checkout in top right hand corner; click “Continue” when the option to enroll in automatic credit card payments is displayed; Enter in the amount you would like to pay if it is different from bill amount, click on “Continue;” enter in required Payment Processing Values and select “Make Payment” For automatic credit card payments each month: follow manual credit card payments instructions; choose the blue “Enroll” link when given the option and continue to make a manual payment. Automatic payment will start on the following due date. Mail your payment in with the US Postal Service Mail payment stub and check to address provided on bill Four Easy Ways to Payyour Utility Bill • • • • • • • • • • • 1. 4. 2. 3. What’s Blooming? Streets across Fairhope are being spruced up as part of a resurfacing project. On this list this year are: Patlynn Drive & Circle; Marsim Drive, Municipal Track Stadium; Bellangee, Call and Young streets; Mershon Street; Woodgrove Circle; Brown Street; Equality Street; Jubilee Lane and Rock Creek Drive; Alley’s East and West; Kirkman Lane with side streets; Kirkman Alley; Johnson Ave.; Pier Ave.; and Point Clear Court. January City Schedule At-A-Glance Planning Commission January 4 | 5pm • Fairhope City Council Chambers Fairhope City Council January 11 | 6pm • Fairhope City Council Chambers Fairhope City Council January 25 | 6pm • Fairhope City Council Chambers The original board was created in a thoughtful way to include representatives who were architects, accountants and volunteers with the common denominator being that they were also all parents. Each of the board members put up $1,000 of their own money to show they were committed to the cause, and before long a capital campaign was created that not only funded the Pelican’s Nest but also began to fund classroom and school grants as well. “So many people in this community came together to make it a reality,” Bailey said. “That’s why families come here: they seethe caring individuals; they see the neighborhoods and how giving people are and they see the strength of our schools as a result of that.” As Fairhope has grown over the past 25 years, so has FEEF and its impact on schools. The foundation’s annual giving goal to Fairhope schools include $100,000 for Master Plan Grants to be used on STEAM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) enrichment; $20,000 Annual Classroom Grants for teachers to fund STEAM-based enrichment programs and materials; and $22,000 annual distributions from the Weise Endowment to Fairhope West and Fairhope East. “We have generous supporters in our community,” said Stephen Searcy, the current FEEF president. “We hold fundraising-type events each year to be able to bring these funds in and turn around and put them back into the schools. We’re blessed with a great community that sees the value of education and the value of not wanting to settle with being average.” Resurfacing projects happening throughout the City MLK Holiday Closing City of Fairhope buildings will be closed Monday, January, 18th, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. No garbage, trash or recycling services will run that day. All services will resume the next scheduled pickup day. The City of Fairhope: there’s now an app for that Thanks to CARES Act Funding, the City of Fairhope now has an app available for download on Apple and Android devices. With nearly 81 percent of people reported nationwide as using smartphones as their main means of communication, this app has been designed to make accessing City information as easy as the touch of a button for smartphone users City-wide. Downloading the app will give you immediate access to resources, bill pay, maps, news and press releases, push notifications and alerts, integrations with the National Weather Service and the City’s 311 service and more. It will also make it much easier to get in contact with elected leaders and City officials. Available by searching for City of Fairhope in the Apple and Google Play stores, this free app is sure to make communicating with your City – and allowing your City to communicate with you – much easier. Download the app today! Kick off 2021 in a healthy way at the Fairhope Recreation Center. In addition to pickleball and so many other features you know and love, the Rec Center has expanded its group classes for the new year to include Barre along with spinning, yoga and more. Group fitness classes have so many benefits for members: helping find motivation, being part of a community, adding variety to a workout and finding new ways to hold yourself accountable. Searcy got involved with FEEF through the Annual Mayor’s Golf Tournament seven years ago andhas been involved with FEEF for seven years and been a FEEF board member for the past six. Throughthat period he has been able to see the significance of FEEF’s impact in the community and has helped hone in on what makes the biggest difference. “We want to continue to focus on enrichment,” he said. “Our view of enrichment is being able to do a little bit more and extra, to go above and beyond traditional classroom learning so that the Fairhope students can learn by trying new things and develop new interests.” To make the most impact for our community is to focus on those STEAM initiatives so we can prepare students today for jobs that are being created and will be coming out.” As the foundation looks toward the next 25 years, they have their sights set on a collaboration with the City at the K-1 Center site to greater affect more students. “We’re looking to expand off the success we have with the Pelican’s Nest to utilize additional classrooms at the historic K-1 campus so that FEEF can provide additional learning opportunities within the STEAM focus,” Searcy said. “All the stars are starting to align for it to come to fruition. Pelican’s Nest has historically focused on the K-6 grades. Being able to offer additional opportunities for that age group while also moving into middle and high school as well is something I would love to see.” (story continued from page 1) Join the RecreationCenter for a healthy 2021 Fairhope’s flowers have been delighting residents and visitors for generations, but have you ever wondered what is blooming? Here is a look at the winter plantings you can see on the streets right now, thanks to the hardworking employees in our Horticulture Department: Dusty Miller Cirrus Poppies C-Bubble White and Scarlet Dianthus Telstar Scarlet, White and Picotee Viola Colormax Rose BL, Yellow, Lemon Berry Pie, Citrus Mix, Lemon Splash, Popcorn, Mix and Yellow • • • • 2021 Rec Membership Rates Membership Rates inside the Corporate City Limits Category Single Couple Immediate Family Senior Single (60+) Senior Couple (60+) Walking Track Only memberships for Fairhope Residents are $120 yearly Pickleball passes are $35 per person monthly Monthly Quarterly Yearly $45 $120 $360 $60 $165 $450 $70 $195 $500 $40 $115 $320 $50 $145 $375 Staff are taking extra precautions in cleaning and disinfecting the facility and appreciate the mindful and considerate members who help maintain a high level of cleanliness for the health and safety of all. The Rec Center is open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Make this the year you try something new and join the Fairhope Recreation Center!