Foley State Of The City Highlights Growth, Projects

Mayor Ralph Hellmich has announced that the City of Foley is now the second-largest city in Baldwin County with a population of approximately 25,000. It also has the fastest growth rate in the area. To accommodate that growth, the city is increasing its staffing and equipment for emergency services. The city added 10 new police officer positions in the last year and is adding new technology and equipment. Ground has been broken on the $17-million Public Works Campus, and Foley is to use grants from the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) to more than double the size of the Graham Creek Nature Preserve, which is already the largest municipal nature reserve in Alabama. “We’re in the process with GOMESA grants that we have accumulated of adding 900 more acres, which will take us to roughly 1,600 acres, plus or minus, that will make it humongous, from Wolf Bay all the way to the Beach Express,” Hellmich said. The city is also working with the school system on other projects, such as the Foley Sister Cities program, in which students from Foley will visit Foley’s sister city of Hennef, Germany, in 2024, and German students will visit Foley afterward. Other improvements made in 2023 and planned for 2024 include road and other infrastructure additions, including a $1-million budget for sidewalk projects to supplement state funding. “We also have one that we’re working on that will tie in the Mel Roberts Park on Cedar Street north to Peachtree and all the way to Pecan Street,” Hellmich added. Others include those near Mathis Elementary School, on Koniar Way, on Stabler Avenue and on Pride Boulevard.