Foley wins award for downtown improvements – Here’s how they won

BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. ( WKRG ) — Improvements made to downtown Foley received state recognition in the form of an award, according to city officials.

Foley Main Street, the downtown improvement organization for the city, received the Main Street Alabama Award of Excellence at the annual meeting.

According to a city news release, the Main Street Alabama Award of Excellence recognizes recent projects that help to improve downtown areas. Foley has recently completed projects, including the addition to the Perry Wilbourne Antique Rose Trail.

That latest project is what won the city the award, according to officials.

“Because of your completion of the Willbourne Rose Trail and all the work that the city has done, we were able to get this award,” said Executive Director of Foley Main Street, Darrelyn Dunmore. “So we’re presenting it to the city, because the city is the lead on this. They are the ones that did the work.”

Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the award was made possible by the partnerships in the city.

“It’s the businesses and the owners downtown. They are as important a partner as the city is,” Mayor Hellmich said. ”Our City Council fully supports Main Street, but I think that we need to make sure that you get credit for being the driving force behind a lot of it.”

Dunmore said Foley has received 11 awards in the past five years for improvements downtown.

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