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SPANISH FORT, Alabama — A proposed first-responders evacuation shelter has been dropped from a planned community center but will likely be incorporated into a later project, city leaders said.

Meanwhile, a transportation hub will likely remain part of the central Spanish Fort project despite rejection by the county of a grant to help pay for it, the mayor said.

Residents crowded into the conference room at City Hall on Wednesday along with members of the community center advisory committee to hear an update on the $8 million project.

The City Council at its next meeting on Tuesday is expected to introduce a measure to change the property from R-1 residential to a B-2 local business zoning, to which the Planning Commission has already given a favorable recommendation.

Officials plan to construct a 29,000-square-foot facility on 18 acres of city land on the northwest corner of Spanish Fort Boulevard/U.S. 31 and Blakeley Way/Baldwin County 72. The center, which would help to create a downtown area for the city, would include administrative offices; a multi-purpose room for city meetings, court and other activities; a library; and a senior citizens center.

But a timing issue with one grant source prompted officials to drop the shelter from this phase of the project — a move that would lower the estimated cost of the center by about $2 million, according to Mayor Joe Bonner. The city has already saved a little more than $2.4 million toward the project, he said.

Waiting for shelter funding ‘would have held up whole project’

Bonner said the city still intends to apply for grant made available to the state from the federal government in the wake of April’s deadly tornadoes that tore through northern Alabama. Those funds are available to municipalities statewide and a portion of the money must go toward projects such as the proposed shelter, according to Bonner and City Councilman Mike McMillan.

But money for the shelter wouldn’t actually become available for a couple of years, McMillan said. “That would have held up this whole project. That’s why that decision has been made” to remove the shelter component from the center, he said.

If awarded, the grant can be used to incorporate the shelter within a public works facility the city plans to build in the second phase a few years down the road, Bonner said. That option offers the opportunity for a bigger, more open building, making it more versatile as a shelter, he said later.

Meanwhile, Bonner said he has learned that that Baldwin County Commission chose not to accept a federal grant for the Baldwin Rural Area Transportation System that could have helped pay for a planned hub at the community center. The grant would have provided $200,000 to pay for a BRATS building and parking area.

The county rejected the federal funds because too many restrictions and stipulations were attached, Bonner said. But the commission is still willing to look at funding the hub through other means, he said.

Bonner said he supports keeping the hub in the plans. “We think it’s a good amenity to have. We might get money later down the road,” he said.

While the city hasn’t yet secured any grants to help pay for the community center, it continues to look for potential funding sources, Bonner said, including an $80,000 grant for a planned walking trail on the center’s grounds.

At a work session last week, the Planning Commission discussed the land use and site plan applications for the center. Topics addressed included lighting, landscaping, drainage, parking and widening of a drive on the property around the complex. A public hearing on the land use application is scheduled at the commission’s next regular meeting July 11, when the panel could vote on both items.

Bonner said that once the site plan is approved he expects the city to seek bids within about 2 months. Once a winning bid is accepted, a public hearing will be held and the City Council will decide whether Spanish Fort can afford to proceed with the project.

“A firm decision has not been made to build what we’re fixing to advertise for. We’re going to make a business decision when the price comes in,” he said.

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