Good day everyone. The fall weather is beautiful and many things are happening in Foley. I encourage each of you to get out and visit our city parks and walking trails.
A big shout-out to our downtown merchants and the work that the Main Street group is doing. Sixteen new businesses have opened in downtown Foley already this year with several more to come.
Foley Main Street, local businesses and the city continue to combine efforts to keep downtown moving forward. The Main Street Cat Alley project is now complete. It is located off Alston and the alley behind the Hotel Magnolia. Also, the city is in the process of lighting the beautiful oak trees in several downtown areas.
City Council has approved the Jessamine Street extension that includes Heritage Park upgrades. The work on East Verbena Avenue is continuing and finishing touches are being made on the new restroom building in the John Foley Park.
Other projects are in the works around town. The pickleball and sand volleyball complex near the farmer’s market is under construction. Restroom upgrades in several parks continue to move forward and, of course, road projects continue. The Foley Beach Express repaving upgrades will soon be completed. The Alabama 59-County Road 12 intersection upgrade with funding from an ATRIP grant is underway. I understand our county partners are working on the County Road 65 corridor with more improvements to come. We continue to expand our sidewalk system. We have completed the $1.2-million TAP grant extension on 9th Avenue and Hickory Street.
Earlier this year Foley received a high honor by being selected as Alabama’s World War II Heritage City. We received this because of Barin Field, Foley’s airport that was leased by the Navy in the 1940s. It was used to train Navy aviators in gunnery and to land on aircraft carriers. Barin Field was reactivated in the 1950s to again train Navy aviators. We are working to create an exhibit that will be located in the Railroad Museum to honor this history. The city has also recently purchased a historically significant biplane, called an N3N, which is one of the types of planes used at Barin Field in the ’40s. Working with our team and volunteers, the plane was flown from New York and arrived at the Foley Airport on Oct 24. The plane was greeted by the media, retired pilots and area residents.
Our plan is to acquire other airplanes that flew at Barin during its many years and house them in a museum to be enjoyed by all. It is a beautiful plane and one of the few in existence that is still airworthy. Its owner told me that he wants the plane to have a place of honor in a location where those aircraft served to train pilots.
It’s soon to be our holiday season. At Thanksgiving we will celebrate the many blessings bestowed on us all. Our Christmas celebrations will follow in Heritage Park the first weekend in December. From the arrival of Santa Claus to our parade the next day, it will be a fun season. Please remember to shop locally and support your neighborhood businesses.
I encourage everyone to get out and enjoy the decorations across the city. Enjoy your family. Remember our fellow man. Be safe.