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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 MarchCity Sketches March 2021 Did you know that there is way to help your neighbors when you pay your utility bills? The City’s Utility Relief Fund, which is administered by Ecumenical Ministries, offers a way for customers to contribute to an emergency relief fund originally estab- lished to assist those in need with the payment of their Fairhope utility bills. “We get a lot of requests for utility assistance at Ec- umenical,” said Sally Deane, Director. “If someone comes in and needs help on a utility bill as a City of Fairhope customer, EMI does the paperwork and vet-ting.” The fund allows for a once-a-year payment of $100 to customers in need. If additional assistance is needed, Ecumenical steps in to help. “Once we notify the City to take $100 out of their fund, EMI will then resend a check for the other portion of it,” Deane said. “We try to make sure it is evenly spread among customers. If we have repeat customers, we’ll pay it out of their funding and not request it from the City. We’re trying to be good stewards of the money that has been so generously donated.” In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, an uptick of re- quests has happened due to higher bills and the City’s deferment of fees. “Part of the problem right now is that people thought putting a moratorium on fees meant forgiving those fees,” said Deane. “As things are going back to normal, they have higher bills because of the deferment. People still owe that money.” On your utility bill, you can find the space to denote a donation to the Relief Fund directly under the Current Bill Due Date and the Amount Due in the upper right- hand corner. “It’s a wonderful way for people to be part of helping members of the community that are less fortunate for us,” said Deane. FairhopeAL.gov Help your neighbors with the Utility Relief Fund All contributions are strictly voluntary. For more information, call Jason Jarvis at 251-990-0121. For bill assistance, call Ecumenical Ministries at 251-928-3430. Water flushing to begin in March, continue through May Easter bunny hops into Fairhope The City of Fairhope will begin routine flushing of its water distribution service beginning Monday, March 1st, through the end of May. The Water Department will start flushing at 7 a.m. and continue through 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Flushing of areas in down- town Fairhope will not begin until after 6 p.m. During this time, residents and businesses may experience temporary low water pressure and discoloration of water. Residents and business owners are encouraged to check water prior to washing clothing as staining may occur. For questions or concerns, call Jason Langley with the City of Fairhope Water & Sewer Department at 251-928-8003. The Easter bunny will visit Fairhope from 10 a.m. to Noon Sat- urday, March 27th, in front of the Fairhope Welcome Center. Children will be able to visit the bunny in a socially distant setup. Parents are welcome to bring their cameras to take Easter bunny photos. The Fairhope Museum of History will open a new exhibit to the public on March 18th. “Dogwoods: more than external beauty” will feature the origin and history of the Dogwood Trail Court on the museum’s second floor. “Everyone local is familiar with the Dogwood Court’s cos-tumes and appearances at events, but few people know the greater depth in the Court’s story,” said Museum Director Ga-briel Gold-Vukson. “Since the history of the Court is so closely tied to the history of Fairhope, it is a perfect time to create an exhibit showcasing it.” The Dogwood Trail Court has been an Eastern Shore tradition for 61 years. The Court is named after a planned walking trail that stretched from Spanish Fort to Magnolia Beach, showcas-ing the beauty of the dogwood tree. In 1960, the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce named a queen of the Dogwood Trail and, accompanied by her court, she reigned over that year’s Fairhope Arts and Craft Festival and Old-World Street Cel-ebration. While the walking trail never came to fruition, the Dogwood Trail Court has been a success every year since. Just as the dogwood tree is most recognized for its large, beau-tiful lowers, the Dogwood Trail Court is most recognized for their large, beautiful costumes – but just as there is much more to the dogwood tree than its beautiful flowers, there is more to the Dogwood Trail Court than their beautiful costumes. “Female leadership in Fairhope dates back to the start of the Fairhope Single Tax Corporation, so we felt it was only fitting to focus our Spring exhibit on the Dogwood Court, which em-bodies female leadership and civic engagement,” said Court-ney McDonald, the Museum’s Special Projects employee. The exhibit will focus on the impact and symbolism of the dog-wood tree through history and how the Dogwood Trail Court, too, is more than external beauty. Among items in the exhibit, six Dogwood Trail Court dresses will be on display while the history of Native American uses for the dogwood tree will be featured. The Fairhope Museum of History is open from 9am to 5pm Tuesday-Saturday at 24 North Section Street. Admission is free. For more information, call 251-929-1471 or follow @fairhopehistorymuseum on Facebook or Instagram. Fairhope Museum to unveil new exhibit March 18th 33rd Annual FEEF Mayor’s Golf Tournament set for March 26th Arts and Crafts Festival postponed to April 30th, May 1st and May 2nd The 33rd Annual Mayor’s Golf Tournament to benefit Fair-hope Educational Enrichment Foundation (FEEF) is set for March 26th at Quail Creek Golf Course. Proceeds from the tournament are distributed by FEEF di-rectly back into Fairhope’s five public schools. Funds pro-vide students and teachers programs and equipment that are not made possible through traditional funding. For more information, visit www.feefonline.org and search for Annual Mayor’s Golf Tournament under the Events tab. The annual Arts and Crafts Festival has been postponed from its tradi-tional March date to April 30th, May 1st and May 2nd. A Gulf Coast staple for more than 60 years, the 2021 event will feature only Alabama artists ex-hibiting their best works. All current COVID-19 mandates will be ob-served, and artists will be set up so social-distancing is possible. Hand-washing stations will be set up throughout the festival’s footprint, as well as se-curity to monitor and hand out masks. Hours for the free festival will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. For more information, fairhopeartsandcraftsfestival.com or see Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival on Facebook. RSVP (South Alabama Retired Senior Volunteer Program) is offering free tax preparation at the James P. Nix Center through a partnership with the IRS, focused on senior citizens and low income tax-payers. Appointments are necessary. Please call 251-279-0624, or email fairhopesvp@gmail.com for more information. Work underway on extensive Church Street drainage, utility improvement Work is currently under way on an extensive drainage and utility improvement project on Church Street. The project, which started in Fall 2020, has an estimated completion date by mid-2022. To minimize disruption to residents, businesses and general traffic, construction will take place in a block-by-block fashion from Oak to Fels. Currently work is being done on Church from Magnolia to Oak which is also affecting Oak from Section to Summit. It is important to understand the project is phased block-by-block and there will be times when the project is suspended for special events. When those conclude, work will resume in the same block-by-block fashion. Thank you for your patience as our crews and contractors work to improve the health of the City! We will continue to update throughout the duration of the project. What’s Happening at the Nix Center Longtime Fairhope resident Kim Ryland has been named the new manager of the James P. Nix Center. She accepted the position after 21 years of co-owning an un-derground utility construction company in Baldwin County. Previously she was an educator. She and her husband, Earl, also a Fairhope employee, have one son, William. She and her staff at Nix have been working diligently to get the facility spruced up for when reopening is allowed. In the meantime, they have increased virtual activities through the James P. Nix Center Facebook page. If you have suggestions for virtual programming or questions, email her at Kim.Ryland@FairhopeAL.gov or call the Center at 251-928-2835. Rebecca Bryant, Planning Commission Member Contact your elected officials “Why do I volunteer my time on the planning commission? I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I ask myself that same question after almost every meeting! The short answer is that I serve on the planning commission be-cause I love Fairhope, not just the beauty of the bay, and this place, but the beauty of the idea of Fairhope, the dream and the commitment to create a unique community, to dream of some-thing better. Like many people, I want to make sure that we don’t love Fairhope to death, and that both the landscape and that unique vision of community are pre- served. My professional experi-ence in sustainable design gives me a perspective that I feel is important to have represented on the planning commission. I’m not always satisfied with our decisions as a commission, and I’m not satisfied with our current regulatory framework, but because of that I think it’s important to show up and work towards improving it. It’s easy, particularly in our electronic age, to be a sideline critic, but the only way to make a difference is to be involved. Participating on the planning commission forces you to think about how growth impacts all of Fairhope, not just your imme- diate backyard, and not just the people who are able to come to public meetings and speak up. I’d really like to see more people involved in that bigger picture, planning for the future that we want to see, rather than playing whack a mole with the developments that we don’t like.” Public Meetings Listing The Fairhope Planning Commission meets at 5 p.m. in City Council chambers on the first Monday of each month. The Fairhope City Council meets at 6 p.m. the second and fourth Mondays in City Council chambers. VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: For more information, visit www.FairhopeAL.gov or call 251-928-2136. Sherry Sullivan, Mayor Sherry.Sullivan@FairhopeAL.gov Jack Burrell, City Council President Jack.Burrell@FairhopeAL.gov Corey Martin, City Councilmember Corey.Martin@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