FAIRHOPE — Officials held their annual State of the City expo on Thursday, Jan. 29, looking back on the city’s accomplishments last year and what the future holds

All departments of the municipal government were on site at the Fairhope Civic Center. They discussed their services and answered questions. Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan also gave her annual State of the City address while thanking the people who work behind the scenes along with the residents of Fairhope.

“How does all of this happen? It happens because of the people in this room at these tables here,” Sullivan said. “Certainly, I could not do this myself. We have a great team. We have a great city council, great volunteers and the people, the citizens who stay engaged. I tell people all the time, it truly takes a village to make Fairhope the special place that is.”

In her address, Sullivan looked back on 2025, which included infrastructure and recreational additions and improvements, and she also went into detail on what the city has planned for 2026 and beyond.

Sullivan said the city has around $62 million in utility system improvements planned for 2026, which includes continued work on its 46 KV Project, which intends to enhance the city’s preexisting electrical infrastructure, and its Cast Iron Replacement Project, which will replace the city’s aging cast iron gas pipeline within downtown Fairhope. Other planned projects include traffic light upgrades, new LED lights and poles for the city’s ballparks, the addition of new bucket trucks for the electric department and the widening of County Road 64.

Other projects mentioned include work at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, which will undergo five phases of upgrades. Sullivan also said there are plans for a new water tower that will come in 2027, along with the addition of new wells and upgrades to existing wells. Two new waterlines are also under construction under Gayfer and Fairhope Avenue. Sullivan said the new additions and improvements will help increase the city’s water capacity up to 14 million gallons.

“We’ll have plenty of capacity, so hopefully we won’t have a drought,” Sullivan said. “Hopefully it won’t be too hot, but again, we are preparing for the future.”

For public safety, Sullivan said the city will complete a design for a new police precinct near Highway 181 and will relocate dispatch for reconfiguration in addition to adding five new police vehicles and three new fire trucks. Sullivan also said the city has secured property near Highway 181 for a new fire station for the volunteer fire department.

In recreation, new additions and improvements planned or in the works include renovations at the Barnwell Football Fields, a new pavilion at Manley Road Soccer Complex, a new baseball dugout at Fairhope High School, resurfacing of the walking track at the Mike Ford Tennis Center, equipment upgrades at Fairhope Recreation Center, Municipal Pool renovations and a new restroom at Volanta Youth Baseball Park. Renovations are also currently underway at Community Park.

In public works, the city will add new sidewalks to areas such as Rock Creek and County Road 13. Other additions and improvements include new recycling cans, new sanitation trucks, traffic improvements on Volanta Avenue and Highway 98, drainage improvements on Pecan Avenue, Morphy Avenue and County Road 13 and $650,000 in resurfacing within the city.

In what Sullivan called the “fun stuff,” the pocket park located in the northwest corner of Fairhope and Bancroft Avenues next to Julwin’s Restaurant will get a complete makeover with new pavers and landscaping. In addition, Flying Creek Nature Preserve will undergo Phase II of the city’s ongoing project for the preserve this year. Sullivan also said that the city is working on building a safe room near Pecan Avenue that will house the city’s employees in the event of a natural disaster. The safe room will hold around 100 employees and include kitchen, laundry and shower facilities.

Sullivan said the majority of construction on the city’s K1 Center project is aiming to be completed by the end of the year. The dedication of the city’s Working Waterfront project will also take place this year, in addition to the expansion of the city’s speaker throughout downtown and renovations to the Welcome Center.