Foley mayor says growth presents challenges while also providing benefits

Foley mayor says growth presents challenges while also providing benefits

In the annual State of the City address, Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich said major projects to provide additional services are nearing completion.
Work on the Public Works Campus on North Poplar Street is scheduled to be completely finished in the spring. Some parts of the facility will be completed by January.
The project will provide additional space and facilities for several city departments. The current Public Works facility will be renovated for other uses.
“Once we move over there this spring, we will refurbish the old Public Works campus,” Hellmich said. “That will give our Parks and Recreation D
partment a new home, which will be more modern. We’re moving 150 people to this campus. This will be vastly expanded with modern technology, which will meet our needs for the next 30 or 40 years.”
Soon after the Public Works campus opens, the new library and community center will be completed on East Orange Avenue. The 40,000-square-foot facility will have twice the space of the current facility when it is completed in the spring.
Hellmich said the building will provide more than just books.
“A lot of people ask why we are building a public library,” Hellmich said. “It’s because of the programs that our library hosts. There are thousands of children who go through programs in our public library every year. That’s outside the normal balance of education. We have other participants that work there. We have computer labs, genealogy research, that’s what this new library will be, a focus for the programs that support our community and the library group.”
The city completed additional projects in the last year.
Foley extended Jessamine Avenue east of Heritage Park and built a new park gateway at the site.
“We closed the gap on Jessamine Street and finished the grand entrance, which we’re going to continue around downtown,” Hellmich said.
The city is now working on similar improvements on South Chicago Street south of Heritage Park.
Foley also continues to add sidewalks to improve pedestrian access around the city. Some of the newest walkways have been added on North Cedar Street. The City Council approved $1 million in roadway repaving and improvements. Other improvements include work on the Mills Community Park and the Pecan Street Crosswalk.
In the upcoming year, Foley will also start work on a new fire station in the northeast area of the city, build a new access road for the Industrial Park and work with the county to extend James Road to the south.
The city is also developing plans for a new Civic Center and an Aquatic Center, Hellmich said. Another project in the next year is a new Senior Center.
The mayor said the city will continue to work to meet the need for more services as Foley grows. Some projects have been funded with money created by growth.
Impact fees, which are paid by developers, have provided funds for projects such as the city’s recently completed pickleball and sand volleyball complex and the new soccer fields in west Foley.
Hellmich said the interest in Foley as a sports destination continues to help the city and economy as well.
Foley Sports Tourism has hosted 85 events, which brought more than 250,000 visitors to the city. Benefits from the events included $44.5 million in business sales, $11 million in food and beverage sales, $5.5 million in lodging sales and $2.5 million in local tax revenue.
Hellmich said growth presents challenges, which the city is working to meet. Development has also brought benefits, such as the new hospital expansion at Baldwin Health.
“Without that growth, you would not have a new $300 million hospital complex,” he said. “Without those hospitals to meet our needs, especially doctors, we would still have to go to Pensacola, Fairhope, Mobile, or even farther. With this expansion of medical parks and with these hospitals, we hope that we can keep meeting the needs of our citizens.”
The mayor said the work done by city employees is one reason for the city’s growth.
Hellmich said growth will continue to increase the need for city services.
“When you grow, you need more fire trucks. You need more police. You need more garbage trucks, you name it. You need more people,” Hellmich said. “We’re growing, and we probably will be the largest city in Baldwin County within the next 10 years. We’re not trying to do that. It’s just a great place to live.”
Pictured: Mayor Ralph Hellmich delivers the State of the City address in the Foley Civic Center. )