FOLEY — It’s a dozen miles or so from Foley to the blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico, but city leaders here are playing the same waiting game that leaders in sister cities to the south are forced to play.

“We are very concerned about it,” Foley City Administrator Perry Wilbourne said last week concerning the oil crisis looming off coastal Alabama.

“Anything that could cause damage from Fort Morgan to Alabama Point is serious for Foley.”

Indeed, Mayor John Koniar said city fathers have met with city department supervisors and the message was clear.

“We want to redouble efforts to keep costs contained,” Koniar said on Monday.

The mayor said the city can expect another good month where revenues are concerned, but it’s hard to look beyond that since no one can say where the oil will go and what damage it could do. On Monday, the oil slick appeared to be moving more westward, Koniar said, and that could spare coastal Alabama at this point.

“But there is a lot of perception by the public that the beaches are closed,” the mayor said, and that will lead to “negative economic impact” in the short term.

Koniar said he has left messages with mayors Robert Craft of Gulf Shores and Tony Kennon of Orange Beach telling them the City of Foley stands ready to provide any support they require where the oil spill crisis is concerned.

Koniar also said BP officials are in Foley and looking to rent space for a year in connection with the oil spill crisis.

“It’s kind of like recovery after a hurricane - kind of a mixed bag,” Koniar said of the oil crisis.

“Motels and hotels are picking up business from people coming in to help with the cleanup.”