The Fairhope Civic Center was lively with activity Thursday, Jan. 25, for the State of the City Expo.

The main hall of the civic center was lined with tables representing each department within the city government, from public works to the library. Staff and city leaders were on hand to answer resident questions and hand out goodies like bags of tulip bulbs. The city also provided a free dinner of Conecuh dogs, which was a hit with the crowd.

The event began at 5 p.m., and Mayor Sherry Sullivan took the stage at 5:30 p.m. to give residents an overview of 2023 and what to expect in 2024.

Sullivan's recap of 2023 gave residents a picture of the projects completed in 2023. Many of the 2023 highlights fell under the quality-of-life category for residents. They included:

• Completion of the Morphy Avenue electrical substation;
• Resurfacing of 3.5 miles of roads;
• Completion of Gaston Plaza (Clock Corner);
• Progress of 88% on the water well and 24-inch water line;
• Opening of a substation for the Fairhope Police Department on Greeno Road;
• Upgrades to lift stations and water lines;
• Renovation completion of The Haven;
• Installation of an Electric Vehicle Super Charging Station at Plantation Pointe Shopping Center;
• Drainage improvements on half of the Quail Creek Golf Course;
• Opening of an 18-hole disc golf course at Colony Nature Park; and
• Completion of new bathrooms at Founders Park.

One item from 2023 that interested the crowd when mentioned was the number of building permits issued and their value. In 2023, the city issued 2,289 building permits with a value of $294,761,262. Of the 2,289 building permits, Sullivan said that 185 were commercial building permits and 1,549 were residential.

When it comes to 2024, Sullivan went through infrastructure upgrades planned for 2024, the budget and new personnel positions.

2024 highlights include:

• $42.6 million for utility system improvements, covering underground lines in downtown, additional water wells, continued cast iron replacement and upgrades to natural gas infrastructure;
• $2.3 million for road resurfacing, on-street parking and drainage projects;
• $1.8 million for traffic improvement projects;
• $2.6 million for sidewalk construction projects; and
• $6.1 million for parks and recreation facility improvements, encompassing the development of Flying Creek Nature Preserve, new pickleball and tennis courts at Mike Ford Tennis Center, shade structures on all bleachers, a master plan for recreation property at Highway 13 and Highway 32, completion of the track and field complex at Founders Park and new LED lights at the Fairhope High School baseball field and W.C. Majors Field.
  The city has added the following positions throughout the city:
• Three police positions;
• Three public works positions;
• Three administrative positions in treasury and revenue;
• Two positions in building inspection;
• Park ranger and youth sports program coordinator; and
• Eight seasonal or intern positions spread throughout recreation, public works, utilities and police.

At the end of her presentation, Sullivan opened the floor to questions, and the only question was regarding sewage overflows and how the city has been able to control them.

"One of the RESTORE projects is one of those projects that is lining those sewer lines to stop infiltrations. One of the biggest culprits of that (sanitary sewage overflows), too, is lift stations and putting generators on the lift stations so when you lose power you don't have overflows," Sullivan said. "We continue to add generators to our lift stations to make sure that doesn't happen. But the rehab projects you see us doing that is helping with that. You probably heard a whole lot less sanitary sewage overflows than you did in the past. I think you will continue to see that because we continue to make improvements to make sure that is not happening."