DAPHNE, Ala. — Daphne has been asked to help pay for a service road that is needed if an Interstate 10 interchange comes.

Alan Cox, developer of the TimberCreek subdivision, addressed city council members at the Wednesday work session, explaining that he and his partners would like the city to pay $1 million of the project’s overall cost — $14 million.

The service road will be built only if the interchange comes. The state would spend $35 million on the interchange.

Other contributions for the service road are as follows:

•Cypress Equity — $7 million

•Baldwin County — $4 million

•TimberCreek — $2 million

“Baldwin County has already spent $650,000 on the environmental study,” Cox said, “and Daphne would get 90 percent of the benefit from this service road.”

Cox suggested that the road would generate revenue for the city and the $1 million should return in construction fees of future developments.

“Do you have a timeline of when you will need the money?” Councilman Ron Scott asked.

Cox said the minimum time before construction could start would be one 1/2 to two years. The construction will take 16 to 18 months.

Scott suggested that the council put aside capitol from 2008 and 2009 to cover the cost.

Councilman John Lake agreed that the service road would benefit the city but said he wants to consider future problems, such as the burden it may have on County Road 13.

Impact fees

Also Wednesday, Jim Lawson, director of Community Development in Orange Beach, explained how that city has dealt with impact fees, that is, the percentage of new developments that goes toward city infrastructure. By the end of this year, he said the city of Orange Beach will have collected around $350,000 in such fees. Daphne city leaders have been looking at the issue and may charge the fee.

One issue that Lawson discussed is the law that requires impact fees to be spent within two years — or be given back.

He said that Orange Beach safeguards against this by taking money from the general fund to pay for fire trucks, transportation needs, etc. This debt is continually paid back, which insures that the money is spent as it is received.

Lawson also discussed how they used an ordinance to establish the impact fees and a resolution to set up the fee structure.

No smoking ordinance

Another ordinance under discussion was a proposed no smoking ordinance.

Council members said they’ve studied other city’s ordinances to understand the measure’s pros and cons. In the process, they said, several questions came up.

For instance, if the council passed an ordinance that banned smoking within city limits, with an exemption for bars, just what constitutes a bar? Also, if a private entity rented a facility on city property where smoking were prohibited, would the ban be in effect?

The council agreed for each member to send their likes and dislikes of the ordinance to Councilman August Palumbo.

District lines

In other business, City Clerk David Cohen suggested changing some of the district lines.

“We want to get voting distribution so that population and land mass are equal,” Cohen said. The 2008 municipal election will be held Aug. 26, 2008 and the city must submit its district lines for the election by the second council meeting in February.

Under the regular schedule — council meetings are held the first and third Mondays each month — that would be Feb. 18.

Cohen suggested giving District 5 some area from District 7 to help make areas equal. He suggested leaving Disticts 1, 2, and 6 alone.

Cohen also sees benefit in changing District 4’s boundaries to Park Drive and Pollard Drive so that District 3 will have more residential area.

Nicholson for BRAG

Ed Nelson, Recreation Board chairman, suggested using the Nicholson Center — located on Captain O’Neal Drive — as an art center for Bay Rivers Art Guild. BRAG — currently headquartered in a small building behind City Hall — should move to the much larger building, he said.

“The BRAG program is great and they need a worthy facility,” Nelson need.