FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The long-running saga of the dispute between Green Nurseries and Landscape Design Inc. and the city apparently ended last week when Mayor Tim Kant signed a settlement agreement to build a northern entrance into that business from Hoyle Avenue.

The main northbound access to the Greeno Road business had been closed by a city construction project in July.

“My husband and I got fed up with the city, and so went straight to the Alabama Department of Transportation,” said Debra Green, owner with husband, Bobby, of Green Nurseries. “It should never have come to this. What was accomplished in 45 minutes or less (last Friday) could have been accomplished months ago. We are very ashamed at the city’s behavior. All the time and effort spent on this issue could have been dedicated to other, more important problems. The ALDOT representatives made it clear they were not leaving (Friday) until the issue was resolved.”

Since early summer, The Greens have objected loudly in council meetings, the media and online to that part of the project to build a tree-lined median on Greeno Road that closed easy access to their business from that road for the large commercial vehicles upon which they said their business depends.

The approximately $1 million, federally funded project was temporarily halted by the council at one point in July, and negotiations seemed to be in the works for a compromise solution to provide access via Hoyle Avenue, which is now a dirt road intersecting Greeno Road on the north side of their business.

But those negotiations fell through, the project started up again, and the Greens ultimately ended up hiring two attorneys to make their case.

“We made a claim based on inverse condemnation,” said Jim Sweet, attorney for Green Nurseries, referring to a letter sent to the city by the Greens objecting to the loss of their road access.

The position of Green Nurseries was enhanced by an Aug. 25 letter from the ALDOT director in which he threatened to freeze the federal funding if the issues were not resolved to that agency’s satisfaction.

By the close of the Friday meeting at City Attorney Marion “Tut” Wynne’s office, a settlement agreement had been signed between Green Nurseries and the city of Fairhope, according to the document and several parties who were at the meeting.

“We’re just glad we could make a satisfactory resolution,” Sweet said Monday. “The construction is to start no later than Oct. 3. We hope they can start sooner. But we have to give them reasonable time to get started.”

Sweet said the agreement was signed in exchange for releasing the city from any possible liabilities caused by closing the Greeno Road access. The agreement sets out in detail how the construction will be performed to provide an entrance from Hoyle Avenue into that northern entrance of the business.

Although the City Council had earlier given Mayor Tim Kant authorization to sign an agreement on behalf of the city with Green Nurseries (see related story), the Friday meeting involved more than just a signing ceremony, Debra Green said.

“(The city) kept coming up with reasons it couldn’t be done,” she said. “At one point, (Vince) Calametti, (ALDOT engineer for this geographic region), banged his fist down on the table and said this work will be done.”

Tony Harris, special assistant to the ALDOT director, who was also at the Friday meeting, said his agency’s interest included maintaining public safety on U.S. 98, a federal highway they are charged with managing and maintaining. There were also practical concerns, he said.

“We didn’t need to be named in a lawsuit against the city,” Harris said Monday. “In our assessment, this is a reasonable and satisfactory resolution to the problem.”

During Monday’s council meeting, Council President Bob Gentle, who was also at the Friday meeting, said that the additional work should not add any additional cost to the city because the overall project is coming in under budget. However, the city is obligated to pay any cost overruns, according to the agreement.

One cost the city will not bear is the approximately $5,000 in attorney’s fees Green Nurseries expended to arrive at Friday’s settlement agreement, Debra Green said.