ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — A contract to draw up renovation plans for the PZK Civic Center in Robertsdale by Hatch Mott McDonald, a consulting engineering firm out of Daphne, was approved by a unanimous motion at the Robertsdale City Council Meeting on Monday morning.

With an hourly fee of no more than $48,000, HMM will consult on plans originally submitted back in 2001 by the City to add 3,000 square feet to the back of the building that would include bathrooms and a rear entrance.

In a memo to the council, Mayor Charles Murphy explained they needed to do some renovations to the building to come into compliance with the ADA (American Disabilities Act) for handicap accessibility and sent plans to the U.S. Department of Justice over five years ago. Because of changing administrations and delays, the process has been slowed but now things are moving forward.

“Greg and I went to Washington, D.C. last March and took the plans Hatch McDonald drew up and they have been back in touch with us approving the plans and now we need to get moving forward on this to avoid future litigation in federal court,” Murphy said.

According to the contract, the $48,000 fee, broken down, would cover the principal architect/engineer ($175 hr), project manager ($135 hr), project engineer ($125 hr), draftsman ($78 hr.) and administration ($58 hr.) and would provide for architectural, mechanical, electrical and structural engineering professional services.

“We applied for a $100,000 grant to cover this renovation and it was approved but we are waiting for the Justice Department to approve the plans so we can move forward. We may not have to spend all the $48,000 but that’s the maximum it would cost for the plans,” said City Engineer Greg Smith.

Smith is hoping they will be able to start the building process within the next year.

The council also passed a motion to approve a lease for the Children’s Learning Center, Inc., located at 22305 Palmer Street in Robertsdale for $1,350 a month for 10 years beginning on June 1. This lease covers the recently built addition to the day car center.

Costing $103,000, Murphy said he calculated the rent by amortizing the base ($103,000) over a 10 year payback of five percent, then applied three percent for maintenance. There is also a 36 month extension option after the 10 year period expires that would be $1,600 a month, a 20 percent increase.

Resolution No. 004-11 was passed authorizing the pre-application for an ADECA (Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs) FY 2011 Recreational Trails Program. This grant application deadline is May 2 and has a $100,000 limit.

According to the resolution, the purpose of the project is to construct an extension of the bike, walking and equestrian trail to enhance non-motorized transportation within the city and the city would provide a 20 percent match to the federal grant’s 80 percent share if approved.

In other council business, a motion was passed to reappoint Amanda Brill to the Park, Street and Tree Committee and service awards were also give out to city employees.

School Resource Officer and Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Jeff Spaller made a presentation to the council about the 3rd Annual Shining Star Camp held at on June 1-4 at Baldwin County High School, July 13-16 at Central Baldwin Middle School and August 3-6 at Fairhope Intermediate School.

Designed for eight -13 year olds to promote a positive interaction between them and the sheriff’s department, this camp will build life-skills, instill confidence and develop self-esteem. Running from Wednesday-Saturday, the camp starts at 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for family fun day and a graduation and award ceremony with Baldwin County Sheriff Hoss Mack.

Sponsorships are available for $250. $500 and $1,000 and will provide for three t-shirts for each camper. Proceeds from the camp will fund department resources for county schools and applications are available at www.sheriffofbaldwin.com.

“We take the first 100 kids and it cost $30 a child to attend. We work closely with the school counselors to determine which kids would benefit the most from the camp. We also give out scholarships for those with financial hardships. It’s a great camp for the kids and we try to have a motivational speaker come every year,” Spaller said.

For more information, contact Spaller at (251) 802-1115 or Tammy Rider at (251) 580-1677.