ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — The former home of the Robertsdale Baptist Church on Racine Street was rezoned from R-3, a limited multifamily residential district to an “MU” or multi-use zone. The MU designation was recommended by the Planning Commission.

Two other parcels, both on Racine Street, were included in the zoning change.

The zoning change passed unanimously. Mayor Charles Murphy and Council Member Brent Kendrick abstained from voting on the measure. All Council members were present for the meeting.

“The buyer wanted the property re-zoned,” explained the Rev. Jeff Copeland, pastor of the church. “This is the last hurdle.”

He added that a daycare, perhaps an after school program and a thrift store may be future uses of the property once a sale is concluded.

“This was the last thing she (the buyer) wanted,” said Copeland. “The offices, will be rented for offices, and the sanctuary will be used as a wedding chapel.”

In other action, the Council voted unanimously to participate in the sales tax holiday that will begin 12:01 a.m. on Friday Aug. 1 and will end at midnight on Sunday Aug. 3. This will be the state’s third annual tax holiday and will allow people to buy certain school supplies, computers, and clothing free of state sales or use tax.

The Council also heard a presentation by Faye Sheppard, assistant principal at Central Baldwin Middle School and Ashley Kucera, an educator taking some time to be off with her family, concerning the new Central Baldwin Education Foundation.

“We saw a need for a foundation for our feeder pattern. The schools have experienced funding cuts,” said Sheppard. “The schools don’t have the resources or the teachers to do extra things.”

“We need the money,” said Kucera. “The funding cuts just keep coming. We want to be able to provide teachers with the resources they need to do the extra things. We need extra, we need enrichment.”

To raise money for the foundation, there will be an event either at Robertsdale High or the Loxley Municipal Park later this year, Sheppard said. “It should be a great time to bring all the schools together.”

Sheppard added that the Central Baldwin Chamber of Commerce will donate a portion of the proceeds from “Flavors of the South,” a food and wine showcase slated for Aug. 21 at the Baldwin County Coliseum to fund the organization.

Other school districts in the area have formed education foundations, Sheppard added. They pay for some of the “extras” that the district does not have the ability to pay for.

“When we have the extra money to do things,” said Kucera, “this provides children who have a variety of learning styles, those who are kinesthetic and auditory learners, we are able to reach children with all learning styles when you are able to purchase extra things like this.”

“We are trying to make education better,” said Sheppard.

Some of those “extras” are the lifeblood of a district, Sheppard says, adding that about 60-plus students coming to CBMS have been identified as reading below the seventh-grade level.

The needs of students vary from level to level, added Kucera.

The Council granted La Michoacana store at 22323 Highway 59 an “off premises” license to sell beer. The measure passed unanimously.

The City Council also voted to participate in a state program that gives farmers a refund on gasoline and motor vehicle excise taxes beginning Aug. 6 of this year. According to Murphy, the measure will refund about 12 cents per gallon of fuel of the first $1,000 of fuel purchased.