FOLEY, Ala. — Public hearings on grass and weeds; voting to set public hearings on grass and weeds; resolutions declaring grass and weeds a nuisance; and a Champion Tree Award presentation for a world-class fringe tree: Of late, Foley City Council meetings have gone green, and Monday’s meeting was no different.

A number of public hearings were held and resolutions were approved regarding properties across the city that have been declared a nuisance due to weeds and grass issues.

Seven public hearings were held prior to the council meeting regarding properties that are in violation of the City’s Grass and Weed Abatement Ordinance. As it turned out, five of the properties in question had been abated. Those that remained in violation were 1815 Candlestick Ct. West and 613 W. Orchid Ave. No one rose to speak in any of the public hearings.

During the council meeting itself, council members set public hearings for Dec. 7, 2009, declaring weeds to be a nuisance and ordering abatement for 404 W. Orchid Ave.; vacant lots in Plantation at Magnolia River on Shakespeare Drive and Othello Lane; and Lots 16-19 and the south ditch common area in Waterford Subdivision.

The council also approved resolutions declaring the properties at 1815 Candlestick Ct. West and 613 W. Orchid Ave. a public nuisance.

Weeds weren’t the only attention grabbers. Fred Nation and Pat Waldrop of the Alabama Forestry Commission were on hand to present the city a Champion Tree Award for the largest fringe tree in Alabama. The tree in question is in the Graham Creek Nature Preserve.

“A remarkable site,” is the way Nation described the Preserve in his comments. He said AFC has found over 700 plant species - including rare orchids - in the Preserve during an ecological survey and offered congratulations to the mayor and city council for setting aside the Preserve for the public.

Waldrop presented Mayor John Koniar a certificate and a sign that will be placed in front of the tree. While Waldrop said the tree in question isn’t a giant tree, “for a fringe tree it’s a large tree,” he said. He also noted the fringe tree is typically planted as an ornamental tree.

The fringe tree is in the olive family, and Waldrop said a set formula was used to determine that the tree is the largest of its type in the state.

In other council business on Monday, a public hearing was held to consider passage of an ordinance to establish additional regulations in the Zoning Ordinance regarding unrelated people living in single dwelling units in the city. No comments were made. Later, the council approved a second reading of the amendment to the Zoning Ordinance.

The council also approved a second reading of an ordinance creating a Fire Code Board of Appeals.

A resolution was approved de-annexing the property known as Flamingos. The property had changed hands prior to the de-annexation’s finalization.

Approval was given for City of Foley employees to receive a full day off with pay on Christmas Eve instead of half a day.

The council also voted to endorse the Baldwin County Commission’s choice of County Road 83 as the thoroughfare between I-10 and I-65 as opposed to the route proposed by the Alabama Department of Transportation.

A resolution was approved authorizing the mayor to negotiate obtaining the right-of-way for the Graham Creek Nature Preserve access road.

A year-long recycling contract was approved with Sumrall Recycling Services and council members entered into an agreement with Fincher Timber Co. to grind and remove vegetative debris twice a year for $13,500.

The mayor read a proclamation declaring November “National Hospice Month.” Judy Schwartz and Melanie Lomax were on hand for Covenant Hospice, along with Hospice volunteers, for the proclamation’s reading.