ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — The Robertsdale City Council voted Monday, Dec. 7 to approve a letter of consent with Southern Company for the city’s electric needs. Rates will remain constant until Sept. 30, 2010. They will then go up an unspecified amount, but Mayor Charles Murphy told the council that the increase would be around 10 percent. All council members were present.

The contract will eventually move to a market-rate contract after that. The council agreed to accept the new rates.

The council also heard a presentation from Brian Wozniak of Honeywell concerning plans to bring Wi-Fi access to the city.

The plan has been discussed before, but according to Wozniak, the city, like a number of other municipalities, did not qualify for the first round of federal “Stimulus Money.”

“There’s still upheaval” over that,” said Wozniak.

What Honeywell is proposing is to develop a wireless “infrastructure” that will tie many of the city's systems together One example Wozniak presented was electric meter reading.

“This creates a ‘smart grid,’ said Wozniak. The two-way communication between the meters and the rest of the electric grid allows utility workers to spot outages quickly. In the case of water meters, the system will allow technicians to spot “drips and leaks” creating savings in water use.

The main problem Wozniak said, “You don’t think you have the money to do this.” He cited a case in Tucson, Az. that saved that community about $200,000.

Wozniak was asking for a “letter of intent” from the city to continue exploring a “smart grid” for the city. Mayor Charles Murphy and the rest of the council agreed to take the issue up during their January meeting.

The council also heard a presentation from Cheryl Pischek, the secretary of the Central Baldwin Education Foundation. Pischek gave the council a brief presentation on the work the foundation was doing, and asked “for your consideration” to award the group the same money it had last year.

The council voted unanimously, with Sue Cooper (she’s a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors) abstaining, to award $2,500 to the group. Pischek also asked for the use of the city’s illuminated sign to promote a project the Foundation has coming in January. That request was also approved, with Cooper abstaining.

In other council business:

— The council approved a new fee schedule for copies of city documents and maps.

— Renewed sponsorship of a Robertsdale High Golden Lady Bears softball sign.

— Approved a half-day off for city employees on New Year’s Eve. Murphy abstained from voting.

— Accepted railroad property for the eventual extension of the bike/walking track to the city’s border with Summerdale.

— Rescheduled the Jan. 18 meeting to Jan. 19 due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.