The Mobile City Council on Jan. 13 adopted its meeting agenda and approved a slate of consent items and capital improvements, introduced ordinances for first reading and authorized a major grant application for street improvements.

The meeting opened with announcements from Mayor Chiragadas, who promoted the Parks & Recreation winter/spring 2026 activity guide, detailed partnerships with Mobile County and the Emergency Management Agency on cold-weather shelters (call 2-1-1 for help), and previewed Dolphin Street safety and infrastructure upgrades in coordination with ALDOT and Mobile County. The mayor also noted Mardi Gras schedules and said resources and a dashboard were available at the city website.

Council formally recognized Aaron Washington of the Mobile Tennis Center as employee of the month; staff said Washington painted 40 courts in the past year and his work provides substantial cost savings.

On the consent agenda, council members voted to approve purchase orders and contract amendments including ammunition and medical supplies purchases, a contract amendment for Bayfront resurfacing, authorization for cloud-based software/hardware installation services, and CIP reallocations to fund security-camera purchases at Copeland Cox Tennis Center. The council also reappointed William Guest to the Board of Adjustment and approved appropriations to local nonprofits including Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Gulf Coast and MEMS Park Baseball.

Council introduced ordinances (cited as 64-0001 through 64-0003) on first reading; per council rules, these will be laid over for one week. The council moved and passed a motion to waive rules to consider several consent resolutions immediately and then approved them by vote.

The council introduced a resolution authorizing the mayor to apply for and accept up to $25,000,000 in U.S. Department of Transportation funds for the Water Street Complete Streets corridor project, with no local match required. The resolution authorizes staff to pursue leveraged development grant funding for corridor improvements.

Other business included calls for public hearings on multiple planning matters and a Feb. 18 hearing for a planned-unit-development modification; the council set a Jan. 27 public hearing for an application by Zed LLC to operate a golf cart service. The application for Acadian Ambulance Service's certificate of public convenience and necessity was postponed one week.

Votes at a glance: approval of minutes for Dec. 30 and Jan. 6 (passed); adoption of the Jan. 13 agenda (passed); multiple consent agenda purchase orders and contract amendments (passed); waiver to consider resolutions immediately (passed); reappointment of William Guest to the Board of Adjustment (passed); rules waived for certain resolutions and those resolutions passed (passed); authorization for the mayor to apply for USDOT Water Street grant up to $25,000,000 (introduced/laid over per council process).

Next steps: ordinances introduced will be held one week for second reading; specific grant applications and contract amendments will proceed through administrative processes as authorized by the resolutions passed at the meeting.