FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Yellow booms might start protecting the Fairhope coastline this week from future effects of BP’s oil spill — or maybe not.

“We still don’t have any booms on the Eastern Shore,” said Mayor Tim Kant at the start of Monday’s City Council meeting. “I’ve been told they’re going to start (Tuesday), but I’ve been promised that before.”

The city’s incident commander for the oil spill, Assistant Public Works Director Ken Eslava, said Tuesday morning that Mobile officials said booms would start deployment last Friday in Fairhope.

“I guess that means to them that they would send a plane to fly over the area,” Eslava said, noting that BP was principally in charge of the booming operation along the Eastern Shore.

“We are at their mercy.”

No boom-related work had started as of Tuesday morning, he added

During Kant’s report to the council, he said oil from the spill is at least 100 miles away and that “the best scenario is that it’s between five and six days before it actually reaches the Alabama coastline.”

A BP center to process damage claims caused by the spill opened Monday in Baldwin County in Foley, Kant said.

“I’ve been told the (Alabama) Attorney General will have some staff there to answer some questions, so (residents) don’t have to hire their own attorneys,” he said.

Kant confirmed that BP had committed $650,000 to the Fairhope area for oil spill response efforts.

He said $450,000 of that amount would be used for the Fairhope coastline and $200,000 for Point Clear.

“We’re supposed to get a check for $650,000 by this Friday,” he said.

In other business, the council:

• Refused to pass a resolution sponsored by Councilman Mike Ford, which would have instructed the Fairhope Police Department to continue providing funeral escort services in the city “as it has been done for prior years.” His motion to have the council consider the resolution failed for lack of a second. A standing-room-only audience attended Monday’s meeting, many of whom supported Ford’s resolution. Police Chief Bill Press recently announced changes in how his department will handle funeral escorts. Council President Lonnie Mixon organized an ad hoc committee to meet this week to seek a compromise on the issue. He said if no compromise was reached, the issue would be placed on the May 24 council agenda.

• Adopted an ordinance to rezone a current residential property at 860 Edwards Ave. to a business and professional district. On Councilwoman Debbie Quinn’s suggestion, a 30-foot buffer zone that the applicant had voluntarily committed to installing on the west side of the property was included in the ordinance.

• Delayed consideration of several appointments to the recreation board, in order to allow more people to apply. Quinn noted that no women or minorities were included among the three set for appointment Monday and encouraged others to apply before the next council meeting in two weeks when the issue would be taken up again.

FYI

Oil spill claims center opened Monday in Foley:

BP Claims Center

1506 N. McKenzie St., Suite 104

Foley, Ala.

Open seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For information, call 1-800-440-0858