ROBERTSDALE, Alabama --- By early next year, the Robertsdale Police Department and others like it in Baldwin County, will be going all-digital.

At its regular meeting held Monday morning, the Robertsdale City Council approved the purchase of an all-digital radio system for the Department from Hurricane Electric in Mobile at a cost of just under $85,000.

That is more than $20,000 less than the original state bid, said Police Chief Brad Kendrick, and $30,000 less than the other bidder on the project, Motorola, who came in at around $115,000.

“What we’re talking about is essentially the same system,” he said. “I guess you could say (Motorola) is the Cadillac of digital systems and as long as we get from ‘Point A’ to ‘Point B’ and it meets all the regulations, we don’t need a Cadillac.”

To meet an unfunded mandate by the FCC to “narrowband” radio systems by Jan. 1, 2013, Baldwin County’s E-911 system, which links all of the county’s first responders, has moved to an all-digital system and is requiring all police and fire departments in Baldwin County to follow suit, Kendrick said in a meeting earlier this year.

The expense was placed in the budget for 2012-13 and will be done in three phases, Kendrick said. There will be an initial cost of $5,000 with the first phase costing a total of about $10,000, he said. The system should be in place and fully operational by February.

The Council voted unanimously Monday to approve the expense. Council member Paul Hollingsworth was not present at Monday’s meeting.

In other business, the Council voted on several appointments to various Boards within the city.

Most of the appointments, said Mayor Charles Murphy, were to reappoint to Boards members who were already serving, but it was found that their terms had expired and needed to be updated.

The Council voted unanimously to reappoint Bob Sanders to the Industrial Development Board and to reappoint Teresa Bryant and Kenny King to the Library Board.

The Council also voted to appoint Nick Cillo and Jason Ship to fill vacancies on the Industrial Development Board and voted to appoint Betty Gwaltney to fill a vacancy on the Park & Street Tree Committee.

Council member Sue Cooper also expressed gratitude during Monday’s meeting to Flowerwood Nursery, who donated 3,000 azaleas to be placed at various locations around the city.

“This is a major donation for us and I think it’s good because it will add a lot of color around the city,” she said. “Our city crews are doing a great job getting the azaleas out and will continue to do so over the coming weeks. They are going to require a lot more maintenance but it will be worth it.”

In other business Monday the Council:

• Approved the use of Goodwyn Mills & Cawood as an electrical engineering consultant for a grant project at the city’s waterworks and pump stations at a cost of $35,000. The grant allows for only a $16,000 reimbursement for an electrical engineering consultant for the project.
• Heard a presentation by Lenora Kendrick on Central Baldwin Education Foundation’s Honeybee Festival and Run which was held last month. Kendrick said the event was a success with 32 vendors and 224 run participants.
• Agreed to set aside Jan. 16 and 17 for use of the Baldwin County Coliseum by the Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Banquet.