SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Grant funding presents a viable option for Spanish Fort city leaders to finance infrastructure improvements without breaking the bank, but timely action will determine how quickly such projects could progress.

Christopher Baker, director of planning for Hutchinson Moore and Rauch LLC, has been in discussions with building official Bruce Renkert regarding the potential application of grant funding toward revision of the city’s subdivision regulations, a key component to controlling Spanish Fort’s anticipated growth over the next several decades.

“We’re trying to wrap up the Comprehensive Plan and get it approved, and part of moving forward with that is that we need to modernize our subdivision regulations,” Renkert said during Monday’s informal City Council work session.

Renkert said the idea of securing grant funding seems a financially responsible way to proceed, so he initiated informal discussions with Baker, whose firm has experience with infrastructure improvements and the incorporation of grant funding in the process.

Baker deferred details of possible grant sources to contract grant writer Stacy McKean, who said the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources distributes planning grants for which revising subdivision regulations would be eligible each year.

The deadline to apply for the next round of department funding, however, is March 4, and Baker said any approved funds would not be available for use until the start of fiscal year 2012 on Oct. 1.

The grants are actually funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but McKean said the department of conservation administers the funds and it’s “right here in your own backyard, and they really work hand-in-hand with you to implement the project if they choose you.”

She also explained that should NOAA accept the city’s grant request, the program carries a one-to-one grant match, which would seem steep except in-kind contributions are allowed to count toward the city’s matching funds. Any time city planners and other staff members use working on the project as well as any costs associated with the use of city facilities for such work would be considered in-kind services, she said.

Baker explained that if the city provided $5,000 cash and $15,000 in in-kind services, the amounts would be matched, resulting in completion of a $40,000 project. And while the grants are competitive, he said only municipalities within Baldwin and Mobile counties are eligible to receive these particular funds, “so that does increase your chances of getting funding.”

Mayor Joe Bonner said he would like to see Baker’s proposed “complete scope of work” for the request. McKean said given the tight application deadline, it would help considerably if the council considered a draft resolution on the matter during its regularly scheduled Feb. 21 meeting.