Baldwin County Commission Regular Meeting – August 18, 2026
Baldwin County Commission Regular Meeting – August 18, 2026
The Baldwin County Commission held a pre-meeting work session at 9:00 AM and the regular meeting at 10:00 AM on August 18, 2026, at the Fairhope Satellite Courthouse. Commissioners present: James E. Ball (District 1), Matthew P. McKenzie (District 2), Billie Jo Underwood (District 3) – absent due to planned trip, and Charles F. Gruber (District 4). The work session set the consent agenda, received a detailed update on the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, and moved into executive session to discuss pending litigation. The regular meeting adopted minutes, approved consent items, recognized six Employees of the Quarter, and handled three rezoning cases that were all withdrawn by the applicants.
Consent Calendar
- Administration: Resolution #2026-138 – Funding Contribution to University of South Alabama Blankenship Scholars Program.
- Animal Control: Spay/Neuter Agreement for Baldwin County Animal Shelter.
- Budget/Purchasing (9 items): Competitive bids for industrial fittings, construction of DA building, HVAC maintenance, concrete sidewalk repair, mosquito management, inmate phone/video services, outdoor atrium construction, Central Annex II renovations, water cooler rental.
- Building Inspection: FY 2026-2027 Coastal Area Program Contractual Agreement with ADEM.
- Elected Officials: Sheriff’s Office contracts for law enforcement services (Town of Magnolia Springs), tri-party prisoner housing agreement (City of Loxley), transfer of four vehicles for sale on GovDeals.
- EMA: Disaster assistance agreements with volunteer fire departments and search & rescue squads.
- Environmental Management: Correction to previous agenda item regarding Solid Waste Residential Garbage Service Rates and Late Fees (Policy 7.6).
- Grants (5 items): CDBG-DR Homeownership Assistance Program (HAP) policies and procedures; HAP homebuyer services provider agreement with Family Promise of Baldwin County; Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant acceptance; extension of professional services for ventilation system improvements; FY 2026 COPS Technology and Equipment Program grant application.
- Highway: Release of maintenance bond (Fairhope Falls Phase 4); Rebuild Alabama FY 2027 County Transportation Plan.
- Personnel: Employment of two Animal Control Technicians; position change in CIS Department.
- Planning & Zoning: Acceptance of Notice of Intent to request Planning and Zoning Referendum (District 18).
The consent agenda was adopted unanimously by voice vote.
Presentations
- Employees of the Quarter (2nd Quarter 2026): Six employees recognized for going above and beyond: Crystal Richardson (Council on Aging, 21 years of service), Wendy Bryant Sellers (Citizen Service Center – received eight nominations, completed 200+ hours of training on new contact center software), Derrica James (Highway Department, Area 300 barn – Operations Support Specialist), Gerald Wilson (Highway Department, Paving Supervisor – improved quality and morale, works with 280°F asphalt), Rhonda Riles (Custodial Department – handled changes and in-house carpet cleaning), Melissa Adams (Probate Office Lobby Clerk – processes ~100 transactions daily). Commissioners praised their dedication and teamwork.
Discussion Items
- CDBG-DR Program Update (Work Session): Katrina (Senior Staff) provided an update. Baldwin County was identified as a most impacted area from 2020 hurricanes and awarded $43.3 million through ADECA. Three programs: (1) Homeownership Assistance Program ($19M) – launching September 21, 2026; policies and procedures on consent agenda. (2) Local Government Recovery Infrastructure Program ($13.3M) – 10 projects approved, construction expected spring 2027. (3) County Priority Infrastructure Program ($10.7M) – County Road 65 Corridor Extension: Phase 1 bid awarded below estimate allowing addition of traffic signal; Phase 2 environmental review approved and bid package being drafted. Commissioners thanked staff for managing the complex grant.
- Executive Session: The commission voted to enter executive session to discuss pending litigation with the county attorney. The work session was not reconvened.
- Public Hearings – Rezoning Cases: Three rezoning requests were all withdrawn by the applicants before the public hearing began. Commissioners voted unanimously to accept each withdrawal. County Attorney Frank explained that applicants may reapply in the future, which would require a full new public hearing process and advertisement.
Key Outcomes
- Adoption of Minutes: Approved minutes of August 3, 2026 (Special Budget Deliberations) and August 4, 2026 (Regular Meeting) by voice vote.
- Payment of Bills: Approved payment of $18,573,049.13 for 645 invoices.
- Ratification of Interim Payments: Ratified $4,766,182.08 for 71 interim payments per Policy 8.1.
- Consent Agenda: Adopted as presented (all items listed above) unanimously.
- Rezoning Withdrawals: Case Z26-26 (Gulf Coast Farm LLC), Z26-27 (MLI – Coopers Lake), Z26-28 (Carlton Fine Properties LLC) – all withdrawn by applicant vote of the commission.
- Executive Session: Motion to enter executive session carried; no further public action.
- Next Steps: CDBG-DR public meetings scheduled for September 15 (Foley) and September 16 (Fairhope); program launch September 21. Rezoning applicants may reinitiate process.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good morning. And uh we're gonna get this uh August 18th, uh Tuesday, August 18th pre-mitting work session underway. Uh minus one today uh due to previous planned trip. So the three of us fortunate to be here today so we can have this meeting, and um I've got to pick a couple. I'll pick uh Commissioner Gruber to uh lead us in an invocation and Commissioner McKenzie to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Please rise. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for allowing us to be here today as we can do conduct the business of Bowling County Commission. We ask that you guide us and help us as we go through the agenda so that we can make the right decisions and to support what the citizens like and we also uh want to uh ask you to please protect our first responders, all of our men and we men and we women who um are in our armed forces uh defending our nation in God's name we pray, amen. Please join me in a pledge of belief. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. We're gonna have to do it today. Okay, we're not coming. All right, good morning, everyone. Uh welcome to our work session. That's exciting time that we have here where the meeting could go by 50 minutes or five minutes. So we will see which one we have today. Um but we got to get done before uh 10 o'clock, regardless. Uh I do notice we have a few what I call distinguished guests in our audience today. We got uh Sheriff Anthony Lowry here with us today with DA Wilters is here, and also we got Commissioner Elect Tater Harris joining us today. So we appreciate y'all being present at our work session because we know how exciting this is for y'all to come. Um all right. So um let's let's uh set our consent agenda, Commissioners, and we go over to administration. We have a one item. I'm good with that. I'm good. Yep, absolutely. All right, uh we have an animal control item. Good to go. Yep. Okay. We got uh budget and purchasing on our screen here. It looks like uh I'm looking at something on the um tic-tac-toe or whatever you used to call that show. Um Brady Bunch um thing or whatever. The the three y'all don't see it, but we uh we on three split screens here. Wanda's on the screen, and everybody's else is on screens. How y'all doing? Uh y'all have any questions for the ladies on the screen? Nope. Nope. I'm gonna be good to go. All right. Thank you guys. Glad we can make y'all's life easier. All right, item CF1. Build an inspection. I'm good with that. Good. Uh we got three items. The sheriff's office looks looks pretty cut and dry.
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