GULF SHORES, Ala. – An addition to the ordinance on swimming flags has been expanded to cover the entire city limits.

In the wake of increased rescues in both Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, both cities have stepped up measures to keep swimmers safer. In Gulf Shores on June 7 alone 20 people were rescued from the surf. In the same weekend in Orange Beach at least 11 were pulled from the surf and two were airlifted to hospitals in Pensacola.

Each city has had at least four drown since April when two teenagers drowned on the same day in Gulf Shores.

“Many years ago the city enacted an ordinance that does close waters to swimming when the mayor proclaims it is a risk to health and safety and to protect people who go out in the water,” Director of Recreation and Cultural Affairs Grant Brown said. “It’s also for our public safety personnel that have to go out after people. It only encompassed the swimming areas that are owned by the city.”

The Gulf Shores City Council suspended the rules in order to consider the expanded ordinance immediately without the usual public hearings. It was passed unanimously.

“What we’re doing now is expanding the ordinance to include the entire corporate limits of our city from the state park line to Laguna Key to the west,” Brown said. “It’s not a new ordinance, it’s just an added expanded location.”

Brown also said that condo complexes, hotels and beach services that fly beach condition flags must match what the city is flying for that day. In Orange Beach a similar ordinance was enacted July 5, also passed immediately by suspending the rules. The Orange beach ordinance contains no provisions for rental properties and complexes.

Gulf Shores has seven public locations where it flies beach warning flags.

“If a lodging establishment elects to fly a flag, if they decide that flying a flag is important to them, and it should be to all of them, it is required that they fly the same flags as city is flying,” Brown said. “They can’t fly a red flag when we’re flying a double red. They have to have the same flag as we have or nothing.”

In another issue aimed at beach safety, the council OK’d $49,000 to buy hand-held radios for beach patrol personnel.

“These are lifeguard radios so they can now communicate with fire and police departments on the new radio system that they moved to within the last 18 months,” Brown said.

Fire Chief Hartly Brokenshaw said the new safety efforts at the beach were necessary and he feels they are working.

“I think we’re doing everything we can by issuing these radios, the way we work together,” Brokenshaw said.

In other action on Monday, the council voted to borrow $4 million to buy houses in a flood prone neighborhood in east Gulf Shores, as ordered after a lawsuit by homeowners.

“It will be repaid from the proceeds when the houses are sold,” Finance Director Cindy King said. Again, the rules were suspended to consider the ordinance and it passed unanimously.

On the traffic front, the council approved a $9,000 contract to Skipper Consulting for a four-week study counting traffic into and out of the city on main thoroughfares.

Also, three new traffic cameras were also approved to add to the existing system. The whole system won’t be completely up and running until after the first of the year.

“We’ve got two months of work to go through before we can even go out to bid on these cameras,” Public Works Director Mark Acreman said.

The money will be allocated out of the $1 million grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation Signalization Improvement grant to upgrade equipment at Alabama 59 and Alabama 182, commonly known as the ‘T,’ Alabama 59 at County Road 4 and at Alabama 59 at Alabama 180 or Fort Morgan Road