FAIRHOPE, Ala. — In Fairhope, what happens at City Council meetings is not always certain months or years later, because a taped recording of the meeting  has not been maintained to compare with the official minutes.

At Monday’s council meeting, Councilman Rick Kingrea said he planned to introduce a resolution within the next month and hoped to receive the support of a majority of council members to vote in favor of recording not only council meetings, but also at Planning and Zoning Commission meetings.

The council considered a similar proposal earlier this year when introduced by Councilwoman Debbie Quinn, but it failed to pass after several council members, including Kingrea, raised questions about how long the tapes should be maintained and other technical issues.

“Given some recent activity at the planning and zoning meeting, I have been giving this more consideration and I want to revisit it,” Kingrea said Monday. “I think we need to have a record that is accurate that we can go back to and refer to and see what we’ve done or not done and what was said or not said. I bring this up directly in response to some of the activities that I understand happened over the last several Planning and Zoning Commission meetings.”

The issue erupted at last Monday’s commission meeting over the commitment some residents said Arthur Corte made at an October 2006 council meeting regarding whether he would follow subsequent land-use regulations adopted after that meeting in developing property he owns along Fly Creek, but that were not included in the minutes of the meeting.

“This was much too important an issue,” wrote Jackie Wavrunek, president of the Fly Creek Preservation Association, in an e-mail sent to council members prior to Monday’s council meeting.

“(Former council president) Bob Gentle’s very direct question to Arthur  Corte, ‘Do you understand that you must abide by the subdivision

regulations that are in place when you submit plans for your PUD,’ was

crucial, and Corte’s reply, ‘Yes, I understand that,’ was crucial,”

Wavrunek’s e-mail stated. “That is why so many of us who were there

remember this exchange so clearly.”

At the Dec. 7 commission meeting, the commission’s attorney referred to

the minutes of that 2006 council meeting in advising the commission to

approve Corte’s application to develop the property without having to

follow the new regulations. He stated that the minutes did not include

that purported conversation, and that the only pertinent written

document regarding what happened at that meeting was the PUD ordinance

itself that referred to the use of setbacks and not the more

environmentally protective wetland buffers, which are now required by

subdivision regulations adopted after the PUD ordinance was passed at

that October 2006 meeting.

The commission followed his advice and approved Corte’s 38-acre

residential development without requiring the use of wetland buffers

along Fly Creek.

Several efforts to reach Corte during the past few weeks have been

unsuccessful.

“I will be making a resolution in two weeks to start recording the

meetings in some way so that we can avoid some of the problems that we

seem to have had about what actually transpired at the meetings,”

Kingrea said.

Council President Lonnie Mixon recommended that the issue be included

on the work session prior to the Dec. 28 council meeting, which the

council approved.

“That was also on my list,” Councilwoman Debbie Quinn said about the

issue of recording council meetings. “Thank you, Rick.”

In other business, the council:

* Commended the service performed by the Fairhope Police Department and

those agencies who assisted in the standoff at a local business that

closed off a number of city streets for six hours on Nov. 24. “The FPD

acted in a very professional manner resolving this situation and

bringing it to a peaceful end without harm being inflicted to any

individual involved,” the proclamation stated. Some residents have

criticized how the incident was handled, which included canceling of a

performance that day at the Civic Center across the street from where

the incident took place.

* Passed a resolution requiring the mayor and city administrator to

prepare within 90 days a five-year projection of all anticipated major

long-term capital requirements for infrastructure improvements and

additions.

* Adopted an ordinance establishing that no pay raises, promotions or

non-budgeted new hires shall be allowed without the approval of the

council.