In response to the rapid expansion of Foley, one of the area's fastest-growing cities, Mayor Ralph Hellmich took the opportunity to update residents on infrastructure and upcoming projects during a discussion at the Foley Senior Center on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

Mayor Hellmich highlighted the substantial growth experienced by Foley since the 2000 census, with the population skyrocketing from 8,727 to approximately 25,000. Addressing the challenges associated with this growth, Hellmich emphasized the city's commitment to enhancing infrastructure standards and the implementation of better developments.

“That growth is something that is on all of our minds on how we address it,” Hellmich said, “We've upped a lot of standards for our infrastructure. We have better developments now coming in, but some of these things that people see that are being built right now were approved four or five years ago. It takes a lot of development time for some of these things to take place.”

Accoording to Hellmich, Foley has allocated $72.8 million for capital projects in the fiscal year 2024, with a primary focus on improving traffic flow. The extension of city streets to provide alternate routes for north-south traffic is a top priority, such as the South Pecan Street extension which Hellmich said is nearing completion and will provide a north-south route from U.S. 98 south to the traffic circle on Pride Drive.

“South Pecan Street could be open any second,” Hellmich said. “The last of the striping, and the signs should have gone up.”

Additionally, progress has been made on extending Juniper Street south and the project is almost complete, pending the installation of mast arms by the Alabama Department of Transportation for the traffic signals at the highway intersection.

Mayor Hellmich shared details about a recently approved state project, the improvement of the intersection of Baldwin County 12 and Alabama 59.

“We received a grant two and a half years ago to enlarge the County Road 12-59 intersection, add turn lanes east and west, and mast arms for resiliency,” Hellmich said. “We were ready to go to bid in January of this past year and they just released us to go to bid this month.”

The city is also awaiting state approval for the repaving and widening of the Foley Beach Express, a project that includes adding a safety shoulder and repaving the entire route through Foley.

Foley has also increased its municipal budget for repaving city streets. Hellmich said that in the past, the city budgeted about $400,000 a year for repaving.

“We started upping our road repaving to $1 million a year,” Hellmich said. “Last year we did $1.5 million because the funds were then available.”

The mayor highlighted other developments, including an expansion of the municipal sidewalk construction program and plans for an indoor aquatics center to replace the swimming pool at Max Griffin Park.

“Our city has progressed from the pool that I grew up in that is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day,” he said. “We need a year-round facility and indoor facility, so we hope to begin construction on that in the year ‘25.”

Hellmich said the city also plans to renovate the former National Guard armory behind City Hall and use some of the space in that building for indoor recreation.

Other recreation improvements extend to the Graham Creek Nature Reserve, where plans are underway to potentially double its size. Other projects include the construction of a new Public Works Department campus and a new library, the latter of which is expected to begin construction this summer.

Foley residents are invited to contribute to the city's strategic plan by taking a survey on the city website at www.cityoffoley.org.

Three public meetings in February will also provide opportunities for discussion and feedback on future plans for Foley's growth:

Graham Creek Nature Preserve Interpretive Center
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 7
Time: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Foley Senior Center
Date: Thursday, Feb. 8
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Foley United Methodist Church (The Well)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 8
Time: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.