ROBERTSDALE, Ala. -- The wheels were set in motion at Monday night’s Robertsdale City Council meeting for a new Walmart SuperCenter to be located at Highway 59 and the north intersection of County Road 48.

The city council voted unanimously Monday to approve a resolution authorizing the use of services in aid of Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust.

According to the resolution, in order to help make expansion of Walmart feasible, and to help plan for the continued and expected growth of other businesses and individuals within the city, the city plans to construct a lift station, sewer lines and/or water lines, obtain and place traffic signal, construct intersection roadway improvements and conduct any other work needed.

Walmart plans to reimburse the city for the use of personnel, equipment and material, according to the resolution.

The resolution was passed in accordance with Amendment 772 to the Alabama Constitution of 1901 to approve and authorize the use of the city’s personnel and equipment in aid to a private entity.

“We’re just covering all of our bases,” said Robertsdale’s city attorney Ken Raines. “I really don’t think this is absolutely necessary since Walmart plans to reimburse the city for all services rendered.”

The improvements to the intersection are also part of a $1.2 million ATRIP grant project, which was recently approved by Gov. Robert Bentley. The state will provide $958,577.60 in funds with a $239,644.40 match by the city with plans to connect the intersection with the Baldwin Beach Express.

According to city officials, preliminary approval was given by the Robertsdale Planning Commission earlier this year for 20 acres at the intersection with plans to construct a 127,000-square-foot-facility. Walmart has yet to purchase the property, said Jay O’Brien with J.L. O’Brien Associates, who handles purchasing for Walmart in South Alabama.

O’Brien could not confirm any additional information in regard to the property and inquiries to Walmart’s public relations department have yet to be returned.

City officials said Monday they were told that plans are to construct a Walmart SuperCenter with a full retail center, grocery, garden center and pharmacy, but will not include a full service automotive center. Plans also call for three 1-acre out parcels located on Highway 59 which can be used for further development.

It was reported at Monday’s meeting that plans are to have the facility open by July of 2014. For that to happen, construction would need to begin sometime in October.

The facility should include about 130 employees with an approximate annual payroll of over $4 million, said Mayor Charles Murphy.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., founded by Sam Walton in Rogers, Ark., in 1962, now based in Bentonville, Ark., boasts nearly 9,000 stores in 15 countries under 55 different names.

The new store in Robertsdale will join five other Walmart SuperStore locations in Baldwin County – Bay Minette, Daphne, Fairhope, Foley and Gulf Shores -- along with a Walmart Marketplace store located in Orange Beach.

The grant for the intersection improvements is one of four grants received this year under the state’s ARTRIP program, officials said Monday.

In July it was announced that Baldwin County received a total of just under $13 million from the ATRIP Round III awards, bringing the county’s total to just over $34 million in ATRIP awards.

The city also received a $253,646,40 grant for drainage improvements on U.S. Highway 90 between Rochell Loop and South Francis Street, which includes a $63,411.60 match by the city bringing the total project to $317,058.

Earlier this year, the city was awarded two additional ATRIP grants, including a $1.1 million project to fund an extension on Wilters Street to the Baldwin Beach Express, with a cost ot the city of $433,000. The city was also awarded a grant to construct a concrete bridge across Rock Creek on College Avenue with a cost to the city of $124,000 and a total project cost of $362,800.