DAPHNE, Ala. — The Daphne City Council voted 7-0 on Monday to set the process in motion to acquire additional land west of the city’s Campbell’s Swamp property. Council members also discussed looking into acquiring additional property owned by Baldwin County.

“As we all know, the (Daphne) Utilities Board has 18 acres in Campbell Swamp that they are donating with a property swap to the City of Daphne. (City clerk David) Cohen had met with members of the NRDA (Natural Resource Damage Assessment, an organization that distribute BP funds from the Gulf Coast oil spill), and they implied that there might be some possibility for us to actually acquire this property and restore it, which is suitable to the BP funds and the NRDA process,” said Council President Cathy Barnette.

The additional property the city is considering acquiring will make 25 contiguous acres that adjoin the bay. The property will be provided at no cost to the city through a swap with Daphne Utilities. 

“If this is something the city would like to do, Congressman Jo Bonner’s office would like to see a commitment letter from our body stating that we have this 19 acres that is here; we would like to pursue the 4 and ½ acres as well,” Barnette said. “This property will be provided at a zero match and we wanted to jump on it.”

Councilman John Lake has said the property has historical value as well, since a plantation home is believed to have been located on the property.

“This property will not be developable property. It will be forever preserved; that is one of the conditions on the property,” Barnette said.

The resolution stated that the city “determined that it would be in the best interest of the citizens of Daphne to acquire additional bayfront property for public use to benefit the community in many ways for years to come.”

The city intends to purchase the property with NRDA funds, but must send a letter to Bonner.

“This would be one of the few ways we could get a benefit out of BP funds,” Councilman Ron Scott said.

Also, Monday, the council:

• Voted 6-1 to authorize the Utilities Board to contract with a collections agency to collect bad garbage debt. The collections agency will add a 30 percent fee to the amount collected. The board will contract with Direct Management Inc. to collect the debt. During a previous finance committee meeting, members agreed it would be better to get 70 percent of what was owed instead of nothing. Lake voted against the motion, stating he had “no faith in the compassion” of the Utilities Board to collect the bad debts properly. “I think this is going to give us a black eye in the future,” Lake said.
• Voted 7-0 to approve a $600,000 loan from the city to the volunteer fire department to build a burn training facility and purchase a new fire truck and equipment.

The department’s most immediate need, however, is $375,000 to build a training facility. The new facility reportedly will save the department money usually spent sending new members of the force to neighboring cities for training. The fire department has also begun the process to be a training facility affiliated with the Alabama Fire College, which will bring additional revenue into the city.

Trainees coming into Daphne will have to pay for the training as well as generate revenue through hotel rooms and food purchased in the city.

The fire department currently uses a fire tower, which requires new tile to be placed on each floor every two or three years, which costs $50,000 each floor.

• Voted 6-1 to reject a bid from a local dealer and instead go with the state bid list for the purchase of an extended-cab pickup truck for the recreation department. The bid from a local dealer was higher than the state bid list.
• Voted 6-1 to reject the low bid and accept the state bid for the purchase of five new police vehicles. The low bid came from a dealer in Georgia, and the finance committee recommended the council opt to stay within the state. Local dealerships did not present a bid that was within the 3 percent variance allowed for local vendors.

• Voted 7-0 to authorize funds to be transferred from the training accounts of district 1 and 5 to District 3 and 6. The transfer will total $600, with $300 coming from each district. The transferred funds will be used to send a representative to the League of Municipalities.
• Voted 7-0 to contribute $500 to the Lake Forest Yacht Club’s 2011 sailboat race on April 29 and 30. The city has funded this event in the past every four years when the race is hosted by the Lake Forest Yacht Club.The money allocated will come from the community contributions item in the fiscal year budget.

• Voted 7-0 to award a bid for a used wheel loader. The wheel loader will be purchased from Caterpillar Financial Services. The city is currently leasing the wheel loader from Caterpillar and the total cost to purchase the equipment will be $60,165.
• Voted 7-0 to award a bid for concrete pipe to Hanson Pipe and Precast. Hanson Pipe and Precast was the low bidder for various sizes of concrete pipe the city will need throughout the year.
• Voted 7-0 to award a bid for a skid steel loader to Thompson Tractor Company. The skid steel loader will cost the city $39,900.
• Voted 7-0 to enter into an agreement with Hancock Bank to finance the leasing of the city’s garbage trucks. Finance department director Kim Briley presented this financing agreement as the most sensible option for the city.
• Voted 7-0 to approve an off-premises-only retail liquor license for Dollar General.
• Voted 7-0 to approve an on or off premises liquor license for Champy Famous Fried Chicken.
• Voted 7-0 to approve a parade permit for Bayside Medical Missions 5K-10K and 1 mile fun run to be held on Sept. 24 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Voted 6-1 to declare 31 library chairs as surplus and allow the mayor to sell the chairs by accepting bids through govdeals.com and deposit any proceeds into the general fund.