SPANISH FORT, Ala. — The City Council said Monday they strongly feel that the Baldwin County Board of Education will fund the Spanish Fort High School athletic facilities from an enhancement fund.

City Councilman Mike McMillan said Monday during a work session this could bring the SFHS’s athletic facilities almost to completion.

The school board’s District 7 Vice-President Tracy Roberts said Tuesday the proposal is set up to look at any surplus money at the end of the school board’s budget year, and if there is money available, to allocate it to each feeder pattern in the county based on the number of students in that feeder pattern. A feeder pattern is a series of schools a student takes from kindergarten through 12th grade, according to school board spokesman Terry Wilhite.

“For Spanish Fort specifially, because we have an immediate need, the proposal would be to front the money so we could do our project, and that surplus money that would be available at the end of each year would be spoken for until that debt is fulfilled,” Roberts said.

Since the school board just heard the proposal last week, Roberts anticipates at the next work session, which will be held on Dec. 10, Superintendent Dr. Faron Hollinger will discuss whether or not it will be on the agenda for the December board meeting, which will be held Dec. 13.

Roberts said she believes the $1.5 million that is needed to complete the project at SFHS would be given first consideration. For example, after taxes, if the school board has a surplus of $7 million then it would be split between the seven feeder patterns, not on an equal basis, but based on the number of students in each feeder pattern.

“We are in a unique situation of not having home facilities, and I think the school board is willing to give us first shot,” Roberts said.

Though the school board may be willing to front the money to the high school, the school won’t have any further money available until the debt is zero, said Roberts. McMillan said this may “handcuff the high school for ten years.”

Roberts said that receiving $1.5 million would leave SFHS somewhat short because $400,000 is needed for lights on the baseball field. Roberts said she is going to ask the school board to fund that as well.

“The field house, concessions, restrooms and basic facilities ought to be included in whatever money the school board is willing to loan us. I think we need to consider $1.5 million to complete the football facilities and $400,000 or cost of lights for spring sports,” Roberts said.

In other city council news:

• City officials gave unanimous approval to enter into an agreement with the Baldwin County Commission for extraterritorial planning jurisdiction over subdivisions within the unincorporated areas of Baldwin County.

• Council reached an unanimous decision to give city employees a one time salary adjustment. Employees with 12 month or longer employment will receive $500, while employees with less than 12 months will receive $300.

• Hawthorne Properties requested that certain property be annexed into the corporate limits of Spanish Fort. It is approximately 760 acres and is

adjacent to The Highlands of Spanish Fort. The developer will submit a planned unit development plan.

• The order of business at city council members was amended to have announcements after the reports of committees and officers and before public participation.

• City council met behind closed doors for approximately 30 minutes after Mayor Joe Bonner called for an executive session. This was to discuss the “good name and character of a certain individual, City Attorney David J. Conner said.

• Bonner invited Spanish Fort residents to attend Fireside for the city’s first annual reading of “The Night Before Christmas” by author Clement Clarke Moore on Thursday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. It will be held at the Five Rivers Delta Resource Center. Children are invited to attend in their pajamas with their favorite blanket.

• Boy Scout Troop 109 will be sponsoring a fundraiser for their troop activities by gathering used Christmas trees for recycling with curbside pickup on Dec. 29 and Jan. 5. The City Council gave them approval to place flyers at city hall and to post banners with dates about the event on the information boards in the city.

• The next city council meeting will be held on Monday, Dec. 17. City hall will be closed on Monday, Dec. 24 and Tuesday, Dec. 25 in observance of Christmas.