GULF SHORES, Ala. – The Gulf Shores City Council passed a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute an agreement with the state for certain improvements to be made on Little Lagoon.

In other action at the Aug. 13 meeting, the city agreed to a new cell phone contract, entered a four-year contract for mowers for the golf course, OK’d a liquor license for the Flyin Harpoon restaurant, gave approval for two Shrimp Festival permits and finalized a beach renourishment project.

The state has been working on plans for a new bridge over Little Lagoon Pass for more than a year. Besides a new bridge, the work will include improvements designed to make keeping the pass open easier and require less maintenance.

A court order from a 1991 lawsuit requires the state to keep the pass flowing to allow circulation in the lagoon.

A temporary bridge will be built first to allow continuous access to the west end of the island. Work is slated to begin in October.

For golf course maintenance and mowing, the city will pay Jerry Pate Turf and Irrigation just more than $29,000 a year to lease three mowers. Initially the city was going to go with Golf Ventures for Jacobsen mowers.

“We reviewed and the actual first recommendation was to proceed with a lease for Jacobsen contingent upon a field trial set up for last week,” Director of Recreation and Cultural Affairs Grant Brown told the council. “Unfortunately the units that were delivered and demonstrated did not meet the bid specifications, they did not have the dual-point adjustable reel system and they were overweight.”

Brown recommended the city go with Toro mowers which meet the specifications and have been used in the past. The Toros are more than $1,600 higher apiece, but they have all the necessary equipment.

“The tried and true users and the units we’ve been using for the past four years,” he said.

Mayor Robert Craft added a late item to the agenda to change the city’s cell phone carrier.

“We thought it was urgent enough for us to consider,” Craft said. “We’ve been evaluating changing cell phones from AT&T to something that worked a little better particularly when we have crowds in town. We have bids from a couple of different vendors and an analysis by Wanda Brantley and she’s made the recommendation, and I concur and present this memo for consideration and this resolution for consideration and adoption.”

Verizon phones would cost the city about $5,000, but the “e-cycle” of current phones will net the city $2,300 making the final cost about $2,700. Craft said the contract is also cheaper.

“There is no exit fee from AT&T and the contract is $960 per month less expensive than what we’re paying now.

Craft said in the past the AT&T service didn’t work as well when big crowds were in town for events.

“We’ve seen in major crowd situations like the music festival that those that had Verizon seemed to perform a lot better than AT&T,” Craft said. “The recommendation by the executive department is that we go ahead and start this process because we can get it done pretty quickly if we move now.”

The council also approved the contract for Manson Construction Company to conduct the beach renourishment project with a projected start date of Oct. 1. Of the $13 million project, Gulf Shores’ portion will be just more than $1 million in matching funds. Orange Beach’s portion is $650,000.

In other business, the council OK’d a special events license for the 41st Annual National Shrimp Festival and also approved one for the Pink Pony Pub for the event.

The Flyin Harpoon restaurant, owned by Farina Food Services, has won approval for a liquor license. The restaurant will operate on Windmill Road in Gulf Shores in the area behind the Original Oyster House.