SPANISH FORT, Ala.—Spanish Fort could see itself on the small screen—actually, its own public access channel—soon if a telecommunications deal goes through.

At Monday’s City Council meeting, the council announced a pubic hearing for the Jan. 26 meeting for an ordinance to authorize Mayor Joe Bonner to enter into an agreement with Bellsouth Telecommunications Inc., doing business as AT&T Alabama.

AT&T Alabama is in the process of upgrading its existing telecommunications network to allow Internet protocol ‘IP’ enabled broadcasts of video, voice and data services.

The IP-enabled video service runs two-way point-to-point video services through the existing wireline network, according to city documents.

The service will allow the city to request its own public educational television station, which could be used to broadcast City Council meetings.

During the term of the agreement, if Bonner is authorized to enter into it, AT&T Alabama would pay the city 5 percent of the gross revenue that comes from the IP-enabled video service and will be paid quarterly.

The public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 26 at The Gathering Place, at the intersection of highways 98 and 31 in the Prodisee Center.

Also Monday, the council unanimously voted to adopt an  ordinance to amend the design standards and conceptual master plan for The Highlands of Spanish Fort, a large-scale planned unit development that will comprise communities, schools and homes.

A public hearing was held on this ordinance but no one spoke.

A calculation formula for mitigation trees was amended in the planned unit development and says mitigation trees should have a height of 10 feet with a minimum diameter breast height of 2.5 inches, according to the  design standards for the planning unit development.

Changes to the planned unit development also mentioned was the realignment of Redmond Road, which will affect fewer wetlands, according to Tony Monk, a landscape architect at Hatch Mott MacDonald.

“We have saved some wetlands and cut some costs for the bridge,” Monk has said.

The change will also bring in 13 more multi-family units, bringing to total to 1,150 units, Monk has said.

Monk said that during the 30-year plan for The Highlands, about 60,000 people are expected to come into Spanish Fort once the development is complete.

The Planning Commission Nov. 10 gave a positive recommendation to the City Council for the amendments to the design standards.

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