The Foley City Council announced it is very close to reaching a final decision and hiring a new city administrator to replace retiring current city administrator Perry Wilbourne. The council whittled the pool of applicants down to six last week and held interviews last Thursday and Friday with the top candidates. Based upon votes, the council announced it had narrowed the field even further on Tuesday night to only two candidates. Both candidates were tied for first place and the council made plans to revote hoping the tie would be broken with only two candidates left in the running instead of the six which were present when the vote took place.

The mayor and council were in agreement that both remaining candidates were exemplary candidates, but the council also expressed concern to find the candidate who “fit Foley best.” The council was also confident both candidates would be able to handle the position, if selected. The two remaining candidates have extensive experience with municipal governments, but some of the council members feel one candidate has the upper hand because of his familiarity with Alabama codes and laws. The other candidate has not worked for a municipality in Alabama.

Mayor John Koniar asked the council to send in their new votes this week so a decision could be made as soon as possible. He wants to make sure whoever the city ends up hiring has ample time to acclimate to the way things are run in Foley before Wilbourne vacates his position permanently in April.

“We can teach anybody the job,” said Koniar. He and the council just want to make sure they pick the right person who fits well with the city.

In other council news:

A $1,473.10 donation from Rep. Steve McMillian was accepted by the council. The donation will be placed in a newly opened account for public relations and community development for the library.

The council also approved $17,255 worth of unexpected expenditures performed by Truck Equipment Sales, Inc. One of the city’s sweeper trucks unexpectedly needed extensive repair. According to Butch Bledsoe, the damaged truck could have caused property damage if not repaired. The repairs were not a budgeted item. The council also approved a request for the city to go to bid for a new trash loader and limb truck to replace a 1991 model. The purchase of a new truck was budgeted for this fiscal year for $125,000.

The council also agreed to purchase three signs from Vulcan Signs for the pedestrian crosswalk the city already put in place as part of the Glenakes Bike Path. The council also accepted the unbudgeted purchase of two new CPUs for the accounts payable to department to replace faulty CPUs.

A request to go to bid on vegetative management services for the street department and the airport was approved by the council.

The next regularly scheduled city council meeting will be Monday, Feb. 7. The city will hold a public meeting on Monday at 5 p.m. to discuss the annexation of properties located on Alabama 59.