ROBERTSDALE, Alabama -- The City of Robertsdale will hold a public hearing on Thursday, May 23 to discuss possible locations for the construction of new tennis courts within the city limits.

At its meeting Monday, May 6, Mayor Charles Murphy said he had received word from Robertsdale High School that they would be unable to place the proposed four tennis courts at Robertsdale High School and would not be able to help financially with the project.

Murphy said several alternative locations were available and they would need to get public input regarding those possible locations.

Included among the locations was property located on East Silverhill Avenue. In April of last year, the council voted to purchase approximately 9/10 of an acre on East Silverhill Avenue at a cost of $100,000. The council also voted at the meeting to accept a donation of approximately 2.1 acres on East Silverhill Avenue from the Middleton family.

Council member Paul Hollingsworth asked Monday if the council would consider the property where the current tennis courts are located as a possible location.

The city currently operates four courts at Garrett Park. If it is decided to build the new courts at a different location, plans are to tear down the current courts to be replaced by additional baseball fields at the complex.

The project was part of the city’s 2012-13 budget which was unanimously passed at its Sept. 17 meeting. Plans were to fund a joint project with the Baldwin County Board of Education with the city’s part of the agreement totaling $100,000, part of which would be purchased with $35,000 in grant funds.

At its March 18 meeting, the council voted to refinance part of a general obligation warrant from 2006, which would allow the city to borrow an additional $1.5 million, listing the tennis court project as one of six proposed projects to be financed by the warrant.

Additional projects include:

• Wilters Street Extension project. The $1.1 million project will be funded in part by an ARTRIP grant with a cost to the city of $433,000.

• College Street Bridge project. The $362,800 project will be funded by a matching grant with a total cost to the city of $`124,000.

• Traffic light at County Road 48 and Highway 59, total cost to the city of $613,000.

• PZK renovations. The $400,000 project includes a projected cost to the city of $300,000.

• The purchase of two lots in Palmer Place 2 for drainage purposes at a total cost of $32,000. The Council voted unanimously to approve the purchase at Monday’s meeting, and plans are to use the lots for access in a cleaning operation on the detention pond that borders the complex.

The projects will bring a total cost to the city of $1,602,000, minus remaining general obligation warrant funds of $131,000 for a total cost to the city of $1,471,000.

Smith said bids have been received for the project, including a base bid of $72,000 which includes asphalt, surfacing and nets; a bid of $28,000 for fencing and a bid of $72,500 for lights for a total cost of $143,000.

The bids are good for 90 days and the council can either accept or reject the bids within that time.

Murphy said in addition to the $100,000 budgeted for the project, the city also has a budget surplus of $50,000.

Once constructed the courts would be open for public use, officials said.

Following the May 23 public hearing, the Council would decide on a location for the project and vote whether or not to accept the bids at its next meeting June 3.