If there’s an accident at the recently opened roundabout at the intersection of the Foley Beach Express and the new spur road leading up to the state’s new bridge, also called State Route 161, what law enforcement agency is expected to respond?

Orange Beach City Council considered a memorandum of understanding with Gulf Shores to help sort out responses in the area of overlapping jurisdictions.

“The northern roundabout of State Route 161 falls within the jurisdiction of both municipal police departments,” a memo from Police Chief Trent Johnson states. “This MOU is designed and requested to increase efficiency of response to incidents occurring on approach, within and egress of the roundabout.”

Council considered the memo during its nonvoting committee of the whole portion of a joint meeting on Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. at city hall. A regular voting meeting is also planned.

Road crews recently opened the intersection to include access south to and from the intersection of the Foley Beach Express and Roscoe Road.

“This creates potential uncertainty regarding which city’s police department is responsible for traffic crashes, calls for service and other police matters occurring within and around the roundabout,” the resolution states. “Orange Beach wishes to eliminate confusion, enhance operational clarity and promote public safety by coordinating jurisdictional boundaries with Gulf Shores near the subject roundabout.”

The resolution will likely come up for a vote at the Nov. 16 regular session.

Council also met in an informal work session at 9 a.m. on Nov. 3 in the south conference room at city hall to discuss the 2027 budget, capital requests and to review any items on upcoming council agendas.

During the regular session, council:

Paid $1.4 million for goods and services for Oct. 21-Nov. 4;

Adopted the 2026 Baldwin County hazard mitigation plan to follow federal statutes. The plan must be updated every five years per FEMA requirements;

Approved a contract with Lose of Tennessee for construction services for renovations at the Orange Beach Aquatic Center for $274,000;

Approved an agreement with the Garner C. Tampary Memorial Foundation for the Fourth Annual Merry Memories Tinsel Trail event at Waterfront Park;

Approved an agreement with Rivertree Systems for auditing services;

Approved a contract with GeoCon Engineering and Materials Testing for services related to three new traffic signals at the intersection of Canal Road and Wharf Parkway East on the north and Money Bayou Drive on the south for $8,695; and

Awarded the bid for medical equipment for the Coastal Alabama Sea Turtle Facility to Patterson Veterinary Supply for $54,612. The facility is located near the Cotton Bayou Trailhead of the Backcountry Trail on State Route 161. Bids were opened on Oct. 29.

During the committee of the whole meeting, council discussed:

A request from the Mystics of Pleasure for a reduced rate for the Event Center;

A software agreement with CDW Government for IT management of Ninja One software “to implement a work order ticketing system”;

Authorizing the purchase of self-contained breathing equipment from SunbeltFire of Fairhope mostly paid for with a Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters grant. Officials say the breathing devices currently being used are at “the end of life” for use, and the grant will pay $757,711 toward the $795,597 cost with the city’s 5% match costing just $37,885. Included with the 75 units are harnesses, facepieces, two air tanks per unit, 21 additional facepieces and six complete “rapid intervention team packs”:

Buying ballistic vests for the police department from Angel Armor for $67,180;

A one-time payment to city employees for future services or basically an annual bonus for workers. Full-time workers will receive $500, and part-time or temporary workers hired as of Nov. 17 will receive $250;

Contracts with Anne Gajda for golf instruction services and Brett Blevins for tennis racket stringing services;

Authorizing a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to supplement nuisance wildlife control services for five years through Sept. 30, 2031. The agreement is for $12,000. “The city utilizes this contract to manage nuisance wildlife, such as beavers and coyotes. Additionally, the USDA handles calls for rabies vector species that the wildlife center is not permitted to handle,” the agenda states;

Awarding the bid for LED panels for the Performing Arts Center. Bids will be opened on Nov. 12;

An amendment to the 2026 budget to increase the city’s overall revenue projections by $1 million because of expense adjustments throughout the year;

Authorizing a contract with Deborah Washington for line dancing instruction services;

An ordinance regulating garage sales; and

An ordinance to extend the planned unit development for Sea Salt Village east of Turquoise Place.