ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — If the congregation of the First Assembly of God can work up plans acceptable to the Robertsdale City Council, a portion of Holland Street will become a part of the church’s parking lot.

According to the Rev. Michael Lynn, First Assembly of God pastor, the church owns the land on both sides of the street near the church.

The plan would close Holland from Michigan Street to Wisconsin Street. And while preliminary plans call for a covered area for older or disabled churchgoers to leave their cars for other members of the congregation to park, and some other improvements, Lynn cites safety as the church’s primary reason for wanting the change. The church also has plans to expand the sanctuary area.

“We are doing this for safety reasons, for the kids,” said Lynn, adding that the church has not seen any accidents but has has had “some close calls” over the years.

“We want to create a design where traffic slows down,” said Lynn.

Lynn and Mayor Charles Murphy added that the current plan will eventually create additional parking for the town.

While the idea was interesting to the council and Murphy, it was clear that some members did not want to simply cede that portion of Holland Street to the church.

“Is the street still going to be city property?” asked City Councilor Paul Hollingsworth, who also wanted to know that connecting streets would not be blocked by the proposed change.

Murphy and Lynn were quick to reassure Hollingsworth and other council members that connecting streets would not be left stranded, saying that there were other connecting streets in the area.

Lynn also vowed that the church did not plan to build over the water main that runs through the property, giving the city access to the line.

“This seems to be a more workable solution,” said Murphy. “This enables us to retain the right of way and not have to move the water line.”

“The one thing we would like is to let us design the street, but the existing street will be part of our parking set-up,” Lynn said.

City Councilor Joseph Kitchens, while generally in favor of the proposal, also asked if Robertsdale could retain all its rights to Holland Street while allowing the church to expand its parking lot.

“I hate to say, ‘Give him the roadway,’ and discover we need it back 50 years from now. But, as long as he owns the property on both sides, the plan seems OK,” said Kitchens.

Because Lynn did not have firm plans for the parking lot design or improvements, Murphy proposed that Lynn get pans drawn up and come back to the council for approval when they are ready. To get a sense of the council’s sentiment on the matter, he asked for a voice vote.

The vote was 5-0 in favor of the proposal.

Another proposal before the council was participating in a proposed new Baldwin County Animal Shelter. According to Rachel Beck, a senior public health environmentalist with the Baldwin County health department, the health department took over operation of the shelter in 2003, and the current shelter is past capacity with 80 dogs and 70 cats in residence as of this writing.

“The shelter was built in the 1970s,” Beck said, “and is badly overcrowded. We viewed newer facilities, and this is the plan we came up with.”

The plan, based on a hub-and-spoke design, is slated to have more than 120 dog runs, and double the room for cats. The shelter will be designed to be able to expand to 240 dog runs. Warm water piped under the concrete runs will ensure that the floors dry quickly after a cleaning, and that pets can stay warm during cold weather.

Plans call for moving the shelter to a nearby 10-acre site, using 5 acres for the shelter and creating a dog park adjacent to the proposed facility.

It will cost about $285,000 per year, says Michael Thompson, a county administrator, to pay for the new shelter and the financial expenses associated with a 20-year bond.

Part of that money, Thompson says, can come from pet licensing fees.

“The (fee) structure is designed to get citizens to alter their pets,” said Thompson. “That’s what causes problems, unaltered animals.”

The proposal calls for a licensing fee of $10 per altered per and $35 for an intact animal. While plans are not set in concrete for collecting the fees, Thompson says the county has some innovative ways to get pet owners to pay up.

The problem is a growing one. As the human population in Baldwin County increases, so does the pet population, Thompson said.

Thompson explained that current law does not allow the county to impose a licensing fee, but individual municipalities may do so. He estimated Robertsdale could recoup about 60 percent of its costs for the new shelter through the new fees.

“I believe that by working jointly, we can keep costs down,” Thompson said.

“It will take a few years,” cautioned Thompson, speaking to local compliance with the proposed new ordinance.

Thompson said that cities with a population of less than 5,000 have no requirement to build a shelter, but Murphy revealed that he thought Robertsdale’s population has passed that mark.

“We will be over 5,000 at the next census, and we don’t want to build a shelter,” Murphy said.

The council voted 5-0 to approve a non-binding motion joining the county shelter’s efforts.

In other action:

— The council voted to approve the transfer of a retail beer license to the CVS located at 2195 Highway 59, Robertsdale. Hollingsworth abstained from voting.

— Ordinance 03-08, the annexation of the land Central Baldwin County Middle School is on passed uniamiously.

— Resolutions approving the expenses for police officers Michael Baggett and Fernando Lopes to attend the Alabama Advanced Criminal Justice Academy Refresher Course also received uniamious approval.

— Resolution 06-06, supporting the Air Force’s decision to award the KC-45 tanker to Northrop Grumman and EADS also passed uniamously.

— The donation of a surplus truck to Robertsdale High also received uniamious approval.

— The city employee picnic will be held at Garrett Park April 18 at noon.