FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Without any public discussion among City Council members prior to its Monday vote, the council unanimously approved a settlement agreement in a 2008 lawsuit brought against the city of Fairhope by the Baldwin County Electric Membership Corp. for alleged violations of a 1985 state law pertaining to service territories for electric suppliers.

Council President Lonnie Mixon did preface the vote with a brief statement that the settlement agreement required that Baldwin EMC now provide electric service to some residents in Quail Creek subdivision currently being provided by Fairhope’s city-owned electric department.

Following the approval of the settlement, the council also adopted an ordinance “declaring certain real property no longer needed for municipal purposes and authorizing the sale of (the property)” to Baldwin EMC.

“He recommended that we settle,” Mixon said after the Monday meeting, referring to Hand Arendall attorney Norman Stockman, who represented the city in the lawsuit.

That recommendation came, Mixon said, during a closed-door executive session at the end of the Feb. 8 council meeting. The council, Stockman, Mayor Tim Kant and others met for about 15 minutes in private, pursuant to a provision in the state Open Meetings Act that allows closed-door meetings to discuss pending litigation.

However, that same act does not allow “deliberation” in private on issues to be voted on in public; those deliberative discussions must occur in open session, the Alabama law states.

When the council reconvened following the executive session, no statements were made by any members about what occurred in the executive session. Immediately after the Feb. 8 meeting, Mixon said, when asked, “No, we’re not going to settle.”

The council packet for the Feb. 8 meeting did include a copy of a resolution authorizing a settlement agreement, which seemed to indicate that a settlement was set to occur that night.

Mixon said after the Feb. 22 meeting that no deliberations about whether to settle the case occurred during the Feb. 8 executive session.

“There is circumstantial evidence of an open meetings violation in this case,” said Dennis Bailey, a Montgomery attorney for the Alabama Press Association, after hearing the facts relating to the Feb. 8 meeting.

In other business, the council:

• Passed a resolution placing a hiring freeze for all departments until the next fiscal year, and all city job vacancies to be filled permanently must first be approved by the council;

• Approved a motion made by Councilman Rick Kingrea to obtain competitive bid documents, building plans and numerous other public records regarding the multimillion dollar recreation center completed last year. Kingrea said that recent complaints of a leaking roof in the area of the sauna prompted the request for the records.

“This is the first I’ve heard of this,” said Councilman Mike Ford, the longstanding council liaison to the recreation board.