Orange Beach Roundabout Agreement With Gulf Shores Under Council Review

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — When a crash happens at the new Orange Beach roundabout on State Route 161, which police department should respond? The City Council took up that question Tuesday, Nov. 3, reviewing a proposed memorandum of understanding with Gulf Shores to sort out who handles calls at an intersection that falls inside both cities’ jurisdictions.

The roundabout, where SR-161 meets Alabama Beaches Parkway, was reviewed during the nonvoting committee of the whole portion of a joint council session scheduled for 5 p.m. at City Hall. That means the proposal was up for discussion and not a final decision. It is expected to come up for a vote at the council’s next regular session later this month.

Sorting out who responds at the roundabout

The Alabama Department of Transportation opened the SR-161 North Roundabout near County Road 8 and Gulf Shores High School on Oct. 20, calling it the final installment of the Waterway Bridge project. ALDOT said it gives drivers better access to SR-161, Roscoe Road and County Road 4.

That new junction left an open question for local law enforcement, according to Orange Beach Police Chief Trent Johnson.

“The northern roundabout of State Route 161 falls within the jurisdiction of both municipal police departments,” Johnson wrote in a memo to the council, adding that the agreement is meant to make responses more efficient for incidents on the approach to, inside and leaving the roundabout.

The proposed resolution says the overlap creates potential uncertainty over which department handles crashes, calls for service and other police matters. It says Orange Beach wants to “eliminate confusion” and promote public safety by coordinating boundaries with Gulf Shores near the intersection. The available documents did not spell out how the two cities would divide those calls.

Regular session items

The meeting’s agenda listed several items for formal action during the voting portion of the session. A separate account of the meeting describes the council as having taken these actions, though South AL News has not reviewed official minutes, which are typically approved at a later meeting. According to that account, the council:

• Paid $1.4 million for goods and services.
• Adopted the 2026 Baldwin County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which must be updated every five years under Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements.
• Approved a $274,000 agreement with Lose of Tennessee for Phase I of the Orange Beach Aquatics Center renovation. The agenda describes this as a construction administration agreement.
• Approved an agreement with the Garner C. Tampary Memorial Foundation for the fourth annual Merry Memories Tinsel Trail at Waterfront Park.
• Approved an auditing services agreement with Rivertree Systems.
• Approved a task order of up to $8,695 with GeoCon Engineering & Materials Testing for testing and engineering related to three new traffic signals at Canal Road, Wharf Parkway East and Money Bayou Drive.
• Awarded a $54,612.39 bid to Patterson Veterinary Supply for medical equipment at the Coastal Alabama Sea Turtle Facility, located near the Cotton Bayou Trailhead of the Backcountry Trail on SR-161. Bids were opened Oct. 29.

Several of these items were previewed at the council’s Oct. 20 work session, as South AL News reported at the time. Other area governments have also been taking up the hazard mitigation plan, with Gulf Shores and Foley both listing it on their Nov. 2 agendas.

Items discussed but not yet voted on

The rest of the docket was reviewed in the committee of the whole, where the council does not vote. These items were discussed only, and any of them could change before reaching a vote.

The largest is a purchase of self-contained breathing apparatus for Orange Beach Fire and Rescue from SunbeltFire of Fairhope, listed at $795,597. City officials say the current gear is at “the end of life.” A Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters grant would pay $757,711, with the city’s match at $37,885. The council accepted that grant Oct. 20. The purchase includes 75 units, each with a harness, a facepiece and two air tanks, plus 21 extra facepieces and six rapid intervention team packs.

Also on the discussion list:

• Police vests: ballistic vests from Angel Armor for $67,180.80.
• Employee payment: a one-time payment to city workers, effectively an annual bonus. Full-time workers would get $500, while part-time or temporary workers hired as of Nov. 17 would get $250.
• Wildlife control: a $12,000 cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for five years, through Sept. 30, 2031. The agenda says the city uses the contract to manage nuisance wildlife such as beavers and coyotes and for calls on rabies vector species the wildlife center is not permitted to handle.
• Budget: an amendment to the 2026 budget that would raise overall revenue projections by $1 million. Orange Beach operates on a calendar-year budget.
• Performing Arts Center: a bid award for LED panels, with bids to be opened Nov. 12.
• Technology: an agreement with CDW Government for NinjaOne IT management software, intended to set up a work order ticketing system.
• Recreation contracts: agreements with Anne Gajda for golf instruction, Brett Blevins for tennis racket stringing and an instructor for line dancing.
• Event Center: a request from the Mystics of Pleasure for a reduced rental rate.
• Ordinances: a proposed new article regulating garage sales and an extension of the planned unit development for Sea Salt Village, also known as Jones Duplexes, east of Turquoise Place.

The council also planned a 9 a.m. informal work session that day in the south conference room at City Hall to discuss the 2027 budget and capital requests and to review items on upcoming agendas.