Save TimberCreek

New Web Site

Ian Walters — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 02:57:00 GMT

There is just too much going on in Baldwin County for one person to cover, and this web site just isn't big enough...

This site will remain open as an archive for the events surrounding the I-10 Service Road but for more current news on this and many other issues in Baldwin County please visit...

The Baldwin Watchdog

From the Desk of John Steadman P.E., Ph.D.

Ian Walters — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 03:40:00 GMT

The following was received by me from John Steadman and is reproduced here unedited...

Where is the Traffic Study for the Proposed I-10 Service Road?

A previous article on the blog titled “Commissioners Play Dirty Pool” notes that there is an agenda item requesting that the County Attorney make inquiries and consider actions against me because I submitted a request to Mr. Markert for a copy of the “Traffic Study” using University of South Alabama letterhead. At the end of this post is a copy of an email message I sent to Commissioner Gruber in which I apologize for any misunderstanding that may have been caused by my use of USA letterhead in my email message to Mr. Markert. While I regret that I used my normal letterhead, I certainly do not think the letter in any way implied that the University of South Alabama had any position on this project or was requesting the information.

I thank Mr. Walters, Mr. McConnell, and Mr. Traum for their defense of me and my efforts to obtain a copy of the traffic study. The clearly threatening nature of the agenda item is disturbing and the support of others is appreciated.

But the real question all of us should consider is why this was done. Regardless of whether the request had to do with my personal interest or that of the University of South Alabama, the study should be a public document and readily available. I know several people who have made this request and none of them has received a copy of the study. Instead, we all received some version of a reply stating that staff is “gathering the information requested” and will eventually provide it. This leads me to question why it would take any significant amount of time to locate and transmit this information, which has repeatedly been used to justify the road. While my request is recent, others occurred months ago.

The threatening response and the failure to provide any traffic study in a timely manner certainly make me question whether any traffic study actually exists that relates to the situation existing today, that is, without any plan for a hospital near Bass Pro. If the traffic study has been done, why hasn’t it been produced? If not, why is the Commission going forward with planning for the road? These are reasonable questions and we deserve reasonable answers.

John Steadman

Message sent to Commissioner Gruber

Dear Mr. Gruber:

It was a pleasure to visit with you briefly this morning regarding the upcoming Baldwin County Commission meeting. I have reviewed the letter I sent to Mr. Markert requesting a copy of the traffic study supporting construction of an I-10 service road. I do not believe that I implied in any way that there is an official University of South Alabama position with reference to this project. If Mr. Market infers this because I printed the letter using the same template on my computer that I use daily, then I apologize for failing to make it clear that this request is simply an Open Records Act request because of my interest in the road, not the University's interest.

I note agenda item HA3 is associated with this issue. It is not possible for me to attend the meeting next Tuesday, as I will be at work. However, if it is appropriate, I would appreciate it if you would convey this response to Mr. Markert and the other Commissioners. I have copied Mr. Markert. I also request that this message be read at the commission meeting so that it becomes a part of the record.

As a note to this issue, it is accurate to state that I am the Dean of Engineering at the University of South Alabama and I believe that it is appropriate to identify my occupation, just as others who address issues with the Commission identify that they own a business, are retired from some company, etc. In the comments that I made to the Daphne City Council, I made it clear that I am an electrical engineer and checked on some of the issues with civil engineers before arriving at conclusions. I live in Baldwin County, pay taxes in Baldwin County, and have an interest in the road. Being the Dean of Engineering should not preclude having an opportunity to see the traffic study, which to my understanding is a public record, or to express concern about this project.

Regards,

John Steadman

Commissioners Play Dirty Pool

Ian Walters — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 15:25:00 GMT

Not content with blocking free speech during the December 10^th Commission meeting it now seems that our beloved Commissioners are resorting to attacking opponents of the road through any means possible.

Dr. Steadman, a resident of Timbercreek, spoke at the recent Daphne Council meeting on the subject of the suitability (lack thereof) of the dredgings from Lake Forest to be used in a road project.

As a good neighbor and Baldwin County tax payer he is obviously concerned about the criminal waste of tax dollars that building the I-10 Service Road would represent and he had written to County Engineer Cal Markert to request a copy of the traffic study that is supposed to justify $9million of your tax money being spent on Richard Miller’s private road scheme.

The Commission’s response?

To get the County Attorney to approach Dr. Steadman’s employer and to consult with the Alabama Ethics Commission. (See agenda item below)

Where are the goalposts?

So, let’s see if I’ve got the rules of this game straight.

If we, the taxpaying public of Baldwin County ask questions about the source of political funds and why an unbudgeted $9million is going to be spent on a road that only a handful of special interest people want – we get threatened with expulsion from the County Commission Chambers.

If the County Engineer deliberately disobeys his boss’s orders for 6 months by not withdrawing permit applications, actively working against their directions by pursuing traffic studies for a cancelled road and steadfastly refuses to issue timely information to the public under the Freedom of Information act – he gets rewarded with a new contract.

But if a concerned member of the public voices an opinion they get threatened with action that could potentially end their career.

Dirty, dirty pool.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone

Who hasn’t used their company email to send a personal letter?

Who hasn’t “accidently” left a Post-It pad and a couple of highlight pens in their briefcase when they left the office for the day?

Who hasn’t taken thousands of dollars in “political contributions” and then re-paid that in spades by hiring the law form that gave you money or by reducing the building and permit fees for your buddies in the trade?

Who hasn’t fed on the guile and financial support of an old politician to get elected and then feel obliged to do his dirty work for him?

Who hasn’t spent $190.34 on paint (plus $200 for labor) for his office before he even took the Commissioner’s oath? Seriously Mr. Dorsey, how big is that office of yours? However big it is, don’t get too comfy in it if this is the way you are going to treat your constituents.

Neighbors need good neighbors

I understand that Dr. Steadman is unable to attend the Commission meeting next week to defend his good name; I would urge all TimberCreek residents to show their support, either through emails to the Commissioners or by attending the meeting.

Commission President Frank Burt: FBURT@baldwincountyal.gov

Assistant County Administrator: DBREWER@baldwincountyal.gov

If you do send an email, please make sure it isn’t from your company account..!

Civic Group Opposes County Fee Suspensions & I-10 Service Road

Ian Walters — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 02:52:00 GMT

The Citizens for Responsible Government (CFRG) organization, a non-profit non-partisan group based in Fairhope, announced its opposition to the proposed suspension of subdivision & construction fees in Baldwin County to be voted on by the Baldwin County Commission at their December 7 meeting. The CFRG organization also announced its opposition to the construction of the proposed I-10 service road that would link the Bass Pro Shops and the Eastern Shore Centre.

CFRG Vice President Phillip A. Brady Jr. said that it was inappropriate for the County to be reducing taxes and fees on developers and home builders at a time when the County is firing employees and cutting services in order to save money.

The fees proposed to be suspended for three months include service fees for subdivisions; planning, zoning and mapping; building inspection permit fees; and Planning, Zoning and Highway Department fees. These are fees that would be paid by real estate developers and contractors. County income lost from just building inspection fees alone would amount to $87,000, if the three month suspension is approved by the County Commission. Brady pointed out that the lost revenue would have to be made up by the taxpayers, or by a cut in county services.

The announced justification for the cut in subdivision and construction fees to promote "local economic stimulation". However, CFRG believes there is no evidence that suspending these fees would lead to local economic stimulation. Even if a new subdivision were started or a new house built, there is no assurance that adding to the over-supply of subdivision lots or newly-built houses in Baldwin County would add to the economic well-being of the county, said Brady.

Brady went on to say that the suspension of fees would benefit the real estate developers and contractors, but would not benefit the taxpayers of the county, and that the fees should not be suspended.

Gary Gover, President of the Citizens for Responsible Government organization, indicated that the organization would also ask the County Commission at the December 7 meeting to vote not to proceed on the proposal to build a service road connecting Bass Pro Shops to the Eastern Shore Centre at Highway 181.

He indicated that this road would cost the taxpayers a reported $7 million, and would do significant environmental harm to the fragile soils and wetlands near Interstate Highway 10. Increased water runoff could flood surrounding homes and harm Lake Forest Lake and Mobile Bay.

Residents in the immediate area have expressed opposition to the project at a previous County Commission meeting, and the Daphne City Council has recently come out in opposition to the service road. The primary beneficiaries are two developers who own land that will have an increase in commercial value if the service road is built, said Gover.

Supporters say the road is needed to provide a link from the Bass Pro Shops to the Eastern Shore Centre. However, the CFRG statement to be presented to the County Commission points out there are three roads in the immediate area linking these two shopping malls: U.S. Highway 31 a few blocks to the North, Interstate 10 adjacent to the proposed road, and U.S. Highway 90 just two blocks to the south. Another expensive and environmentally destructive road is not necessary, said Gover.

He went on to say that if the County Commission does want to proceed with the service road project, it should proceed only after a full Environmental Impact Statement has been prepared, not merely an Environmental Assessment.

At a time when the Baldwin County Commission is cutting staff (including the two natural resource planners from the Planning & Zoning Department) Gover said it is inexcusable for the County Commission to be spending $7 million for an environmentally destructive road that will primarily benefit two large land owners / developers, and will benefit road construction companies and companies that supply road building equipment, but that will provide little if any benefit to the county taxpayers.

Citizens for Responsible Government will urge that the Baldwin County Commission at their December 7 meeting to vote to cancel plans for the service road.

Commissioner 101: Essential Reading List

Ian Walters — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 19:43:00 GMT

Sorry, couldn't resist...

Isn't Gambling Illegal in Alabama?

Ian Walters — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 19:35:00 GMT

We probably won’t know the exact number for a few months but based on previous estimates the road is likely to cost around $9m. Unbudgeted. That’s a big gamble with the tax payer’s money.

Of course that doesn’t include the cost of dredging Lake Forest which has been slipped into the scope in an attempt to create in-fighting between Daphne neighbors.

If the sand dredged from the lake is good enough for road building I’m sure we could still go ahead and clean out the lake and use the sand for one of the 35 road projects that are in the budget. You know, things like having a turn lane and signal at Pinegrove School and at Bay Minette Middle School. Or perhaps the accident reduction projects on Bromley Road, County roads 55, 32 and 20.

If you have the money to spend on dredging and it is a fiscally responsible use of tax dollars I don’t mind where you put the sand, as long as it isn’t on the Magnolia-9 with a Wal-Mart on top of it.

Back to the $9 million.

Everyone in favor of the road (all 6 of them by my count) says it is needed for economic development. OK, what sort of return can we expect to see, and when? What businesses have promised to commit to investing in the area once the road is completed?

That very question was asked of Commissioner James during the November 10^th meeting.

“There are no plans for specific development” was his reply.

So let me see if I have got this straight.

A guy with a 2-year community college Associates of Applied Science Degree in Civil Engineering Technology takes $9 million of Baldwin County Tax money and rolls the dice.

If he rolls a double 6, China will rip up all the USA’s IOUs, Iraqis will say “sorry about all this – we’ve decided to be good boys now”, Iran will appoint a female president who will cancel the atomic weapons program and pop over to Tel Aviv to ask Shimon Peres how is roses are doing in the Gaza Strip. Seeing all the new found love in the world, Al Qaeda leaders will surrender Osama bin Laden, donating the reward money to finding a cure for AIDs and promising that they will play nicely with everyone. The US economy responds overnight with the Dow reaching 20,000 and even the Nasdaq returning to the heady heights of 1998. Thousands of new jobs are created for Baldwin County residents by benevolent entrepreneurs and commercial developers as the Bass Pro and Eastern Shore Center merge into the world’s first 10 million sq feet mega mall.

There’s just one problem with that scenario (well there are many problems, but you know what I mean). He is only playing with one die, and that has already been cast by the special interest groups that paid for our new commissioners to win their races.

If, as Tucker Dorsey points out, the County is $178m in debt, where oh where is that $9m coming from?

Even if they do have a really good look down the back of the couch and find the money in dimes and quarters, wouldn’t that money be better spent on school teacher’s salaries, or ensuring the Spanish Fort VFD (among others) is properly funded?

Or do we really want them to roll the dice?

Grassroots Round-Up

Ian Walters — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 19:13:00 GMT

In elections, a Grassroots campaign is defined as a political process which originates from the common people as opposed to campaigns supported by larger organizations or wealthy individuals with concentrated vested interests in particular policies.

Let’s RoundUp those roots and see what happened this year.

New Jersey’s Bob James campaign web site states that his “…is a grassroots campaign”

Those roots seem to run pretty deep with over $30,000 in campaign contributions which included donations from Ammons & Blackmon Construction of Spanish Fort, the Fairhope Paving Company, Daphne City Planning Commission member Larry Chason (who is also a member of James’ campaign committee), Daphne City attorney Jay Ross (who is representing the city against TimberCreek Land Company in their suit against the blocked sub-division) and “in-kind” payments from Daphne Mayor Fred Small.

DC born and Atlanta bred Tucker Dorsey didn’t pretend to run a grassroots campaign but he does say he “… will be willing to make difficult decisions that will insure that Baldwin County remains financially secure.” Also, that he believes “...the county must reduce its debt. Baldwin County currently owes more than $178 million. “

His campaign was certainly financially secure with over $67,000 in contributions. Interestingly less than $1,700 of that come from within his own district..!

Contributors included a Liberal (pun intended) sprinkling of construction companies and other people with special interests in the building and property business including Allen Cox, Asphalt Services of Spanish Fort, and Ammons & Blackmon Construction.

Conecuh County native Frank Burt didn’t have any opposition, but that didn’t deter his supporters giving him over $23,000. Almost a third of that total came from generous people outside District 1, including $1,000 from Richard Miller (of TimberCreek Land Company fame) on 7^th July – well after the deadline when someone could have run against Mr. Burt.

Another notable contributor, again after the deadline, was Baldwin County Sewer Service LLC.

Compare those kinds of numbers with the contributions made to third generation Baldwin stalwart Charles Gruber. He didn’t even need to raise $5,000 to resoundingly win the only contested commission seat in the general election. $2,500 of that total came from the Baldwin County Republican Party (did they back any of the other Commissioners? I couldn’t find any evidence that they did).

Gruber also received $500 from… you guessed it - Ammons & Blackmon Construction. The Spanish Fort company certainly covered all the bases by backlng every candidate in every contested seat.

Like Burt, Gruber also received a contribution from Baldwin County Sewer Service LLC but his campaign reports show that he returned the money.

A discussion on contributions wouldn’t be complete without mention of Blackburn & Conner.

The Bay Minette based law firm contributed $250 to James and a massive $2,000 to Dorsey.

Why does that name ring a bell, you may ask?

Well, the Commission (minus Gruber of course) decided to get rid of its in-house legal department which was costing around $85 per hour and retain the services of Blackburn & Conner at $225 per hour. After ten hours billable work they should start showing a good profit on their investment in the new Commissioners.

I don’t have the facts so this is only hearsay, but I read on the web that Blackburn and Conner have never won a case against Baldwin County. Hmmmm..!

To badly misquote Shakespeare: “There is something rotten in the county of Baldwin”

Allegedly.

Crystal Balls

Ian Walters — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:27:00 GMT

Lucky Guess, or Pre-arranged?

The first item on the agenda on Wednesday (November 10^th 2010) was to decide the organization of the Commission.

There are 4 jobs available, known as divisions, which rotate between the commissioners on an annual basis, starting with the first meeting in November of each year.

The divisions are:

Chairman and Purchasing Division Commissioner
Road and Bridge Division Commissioner
Finance and Taxation Division Commissioner
Industrial and Civic Division Commissioner

Two options were presented to the Commission.

To rotate the divisions in order of the districts i.e. Burt, James, Dorsey, Gruber.
To rotate the divisions in reverse order i.e. Gruber, Dorsey, James, Burt.

By voting for option 1 this made Burt Chairman, James Roads, and Dorsey Finance.

Let’s look at some of the more contentious agenda items that were placed on the agenda by Commissioners (rather than staff recommendations) in a little more detail:

Item	Summary	Division	Proposer
IA19	Reduction of Planning and Zoning Fees	Finance	Dorsey and James
IA20	Reduce Highway Dept. Permit Fees	Roads/Finance	James and Dorsey
IA22	Reduction of Building Inspection Fees	Finance	James and Dorsey
IA23	Halve or cancel funding to Charities	Finance	Dorsey
IA26	I-10 Service Road	Roads	James

So, nothing from Burt – the Chairman isn’t allowed to propose or second motions.

Nothing from Gruber – maybe he thought they would have a couple of work sessions with all 4 commissioners present before they started getting into the serious work.

A very specific finance item from Dorsey, despite the fact he may have been the Road and Bridge Division commissioner and a very specific road project from James even though he could have been appointed as Finance and Taxation Division commissioner. Hmmmm… Maybe they already knew where their responsibilities would lie?

Of the three items that they jointly proposed who do you think are the benefactors of these measures? While you are thinking about the answer bear in mind that every other measure they took: cutting jobs, reducing payments to charities etc. were designed to save the County money. These three items reduce the County’s INCOME.

Got an answer yet? Maybe, just maybe, the people that will benefit most from the reduced fees will be these people and companies.

Allegedly.

Daphne 6 Baldwin 1

Ian Walters — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:02:00 GMT

It wasn't unanimous this time but the Daphne City Council still voted to continue their opposition to the Road and not to provide any funding despite the open check book begging letter from the County.

Ron Scott was the loan voice in opposition. He tried to table the resolution but failed due to a lack of a second and then read in to the records a carefully prepared statement about how wonderful the road would be, including the fact that the road would help in a hurricane evacuation. Really, how? - by getting everyone off I-10 and diverting them through the McDonalds drive-thru?

Mr. Scott's list, which was remarkably similar to the reasons presented by Commissioner James last week, also mentioned that the conservation easement for Magnolia 9 was an integral part of the project, and in fact the road depended on the easement being in place? Again, really? When did the affairs of a private landowner become such an important part of a County road project? I guess about the same time that the County decided it would spend tax payers money to dredge a privately owned lake.

The road issue will probably disappear from the front pages for a while as the bid process could take three or four months even to get the adverts published but it is important that we do not forget it.

There is still the law suit that TimberCreek Land Co filed against Daphne over the illegal sub-division and sale of the Pines & Dogwood courses so we need to keep a careful eye on planning Commission meetings.

Finally, I know it doesn't matter in the overall scheme of things because this was a victory for the team, but my own presentation last night was awful. Not through any fault of my own I hasten to add.

I had spent hours over the weekend walking around the Jubilee Square, talking to business owners (the few that I could find that were still solvent). I then spent a couple of sleepless nights compiling sales tax figures and carefully researching the economic history to try and figure out if there were any truth to the comments that the road would bring economic prosperity to the area. My presentation was timed down to the last second of the 3 minutes I would be allowed...

And then the City Clerk didn't have my presentation - even though I had emailed it to him earlier that day and even spoke to him before the meeting to make sure he had it ready.

In the confusion, my time was ticking and I got to say less than half of what I had prepared.

There are no 3 minute warning bells on this blog, so here in all its glory and for no particular reason other than my own self-satisfaction, is my presentation...

Road to boost economy (not)

Road for Sale; 3 Careless owners

Ian Walters — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 04:05:00 GMT

Motion carries 3 to 1, Commissioner Gruber says Nay.

New(?!) Commission Chairman Frank Burt may as well have recorded his voice saying that and then simply replayed it after every vote.

By now everyone will know that the road project is back on and we have only ourselves to blame. Bob James won the primary against David Ed Bishop by just 666 votes (appropriate number really). The turnout from TimberCreek was extremely low and that apathy coupled with District One’s vote against Bishop has led to Charles Gruber being painfully outnumbered on the Baldwin Commission. He’s in for a torrid time – I hope he has a good shrink lined up.

It will be 4 long years before there is a chance to correct this decision and in that time our neighborhood and property values will be worthless as the hard working middle classes are trampled on in favor of the rich land owners who can afford to contribute to election campaigns THAT AREN’T EVEN IN THEIR OWN COUNTY.

An extreme commentary? Maybe, but ask me again in 4 years – I’ll be the scruffy guy at the off-ramp of the CR13 interchange (just in front of the Dollar Tree) with a “will work for food” cardboard sign hanging from my neck.

The only tiny glimmer of hope is that Tucker Dorsey said he would take a long hard look at the numbers when the bids come in and if he doesn’t think it is fiscally responsible to build the road then he will vote against it. But, remember who put him in power. If you think that Frank Burt is going to let him vote against any of his pet projects I think you are in for a rude awakening.

It will be interesting to see if there is ever a vote that splits the Burt, James, Dorsey axis. Certainly the 29 items on yesterday’s agenda didn’t, even if Dorsey did manage to pay a little lip service towards trying to be his own man by getting an amendment to the proposal to halve or eliminate funding to six charitable concerns.

Unlike the other five charities, at least the Red Cross gets some chance to receive some funding, even if the axis did make it contingent on Mobile County putting up the same amount.

Obviously not content with spending our tax dollars, they are making a start on the next county over. Look out Escambia, you are next…!

There’s more blogging to come later; I am still a little shell-shocked after the efforts of the last few days but I can’t sign off without mentioning Palumbo Drive.

For those that weren’t there or haven’t seen the news, someone at the Commission made an almighty mistake (that's the G-rated version) by making a spoof agenda item that proposed the new service road be named “Palumbo Drive”.

Now everyone who has ever worked in an office environment knows this sort of thing goes on, and in normal circumstance the prank stays within a limited number of people and nobody gets hurt. Not this time. It was published along with all the other agenda items in a publically available folder which was at the sign-in desk for all to see!

Assistant Administrator David Brewer took the fall for it by admitting it was his staff that made the mistake but I’m convinced that the concept of the “joke” started a lot higher than that.

Of course our Councilman wasn’t there to defend his name as he is recovering from surgery but laughter is often the best medicine, and to prove we can do anything better than they can I give you the EBay Listing to end all EBay Listings… Get well soon Gus.

Economy Boost? Yeah baby...!

Ian Walters — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 03:59:00 GMT

Proponents of the Service Road say that it will help boost the local economy?

Whose?

Watch the Fox 10 TV News item.

Bob, Bob, Bob..! It's not the Jubilee Center (Centre?) It's the Spanish Fort/Bass Pro/Pink Elephant Center. Get it right, please.

Rob, Rob, Rob...! It's never been about golf. How many TimberCreek residents play the course? How many have golf course lots; and of those that do how many just like to look at the grass and the trees. It's about our life long investment in living in Baldwin County.

But let's talk economics. And what better way to start than to ask an expert on the subject:

When talking about the road that will connect Bass Pro with the Eastern Shore Center, the Baldwin County Engineer said that it would “help the economy at each mall"

I’m not sure how many economics credits are required for an engineering degree but he obviously feels he is qualified to comment on TV about it so let’s take a closer look.

The wine and tapas bar near the cinema (Cellar 43) went out of business and the property has remained empty ever since. Would an extra road have brought in more wine drinkers and eaters of small pieces of food on crackers or is it the fact that people don’t have enough disposable income to eat and drink out?

Another restaurant (Guglielmo's "A Taste of Italy") recently quit the Eastern Shore Centre. Are you telling me they would still be there if there was an extra road leading to it?

Behind the Eastern Shore Centre and near the Eastern Shore Plaza there are vast tracts of land waiting to be developed. Will the prospect of the service road waken commercial investors from their slumber and have them building exciting new projects and creating hundreds of new jobs? I doubt it.

What about the land that the service road will serve directly? Behind Wilson Heights alongside I-10 near La-Z-Boy there are hundreds of acres of land available with a ready built road infrastructure but nobody is coming forward with the money to develop on it.

It’s a double-dip recession folks; the investment isn’t going to come for a long, long time and certainly not because there is a service road between McDonalds and JC Penney.

OK, so what is the answer?

We are sometimes too quick to criticize people in what can be very difficult jobs so let’s look at the alternatives.

Both malls are in Spanish Fort, and as such that city receives the sales tax revenue generated. Why doesn’t the City of Spanish Fort lower the cost of doing business in the malls so more stores can open and stay open for more than 6 months?

Lowering sales taxes, lowering rents, providing subsidies to start up businesses, encouraging growth through investment in time and support (for example through the Chamber of Commerce). These are the things that get investors juices flowing and keen to put money into a local economy.

Economics 101: 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

Mayor Bonner of Spanish Fort is not surprisingly a supporter of the road. Any increase in sales at either mall results in increased revenue for his city; I understand that and applaud him for standing up for his residents. But the folks of Spanish Fort do not want to pay for the road as the vast majority of the new development will be in Daphne City limits.

Mayor Small of Daphne also supports the road. I do NOT applaud him for his actions.

On the City of Daphne web site Mayor small says “We are a unified body of individuals”

A large unified body of individuals whom he represents made their views very clear back in April and again on November 10^th. If there were any Daphne citizens who supported the road they were conspicuous by their absence so what right does he have to stand in front of the County Commission with his Mayoral hat on (figuratively at least) and tell them that Daphne wants the road – they don’t.

The Bottom Line

Why should the residents of Daphne subsidize increased sales tax revenues in Spanish Fort when they can’t even find the money to repair their own existing roads?

Why should every man, woman and child in Baldwin County give $50 of their hard earned money to a project that isn’t needed and certainly isn’t wanted?

Answers to these questions should be put on a ballot paper during the City elections in August 2012 and the next County Commission vote in 2014.

Wake Up Baldwin County!

Ian Walters — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:22:00 GMT

The County is $178 MILLION in debt.

When you voted Straight Republican (or didn’t vote at all – shame on you) you probably thought that you would be safe from the Federal woes in “Fiscally Conservative Baldwin County.”

Less than 15% of the population of Baldwin County actually voted for Messrs. Burt, James & Dorsey but those are your Commissioners for the next 4 years.

The first acts of the new Commission? To re-pay the special interest groups that backed them through reduction of building inspection fees, reducing road permit fees, redirecting $150,000 of budgeted money to special interests and by building an unbudgeted $9 million Road to Nowhere that no sane person could justify and only greedy property developers want.

Fiscal Conservatism?

Spending other people’s money until it runs out and taking away from the middle classes to give to the rich - sounds like a bad case of Liberalism to me.

With apologies to Martin Niemoller:

They came first for TimberCreek,

I didn’t speak up because I didn’t live in TimberCreek.

Then they came for Lake Forest,

I didn’t speak up because I didn’t live in Lake Forest.

Then they came for Loxley,

I didn’t speak up because I didn’t live in Loxley.

Then they came for me,

And by that time no one was left to speak up.

Don’t leave it too late; our problems will soon be your problems if this Commission is allowed to overturn decisions, change project scopes and spend money it doesn’t have.

To have your say…

Wednesday November 10^that 8.30am (sign up for public participation from 8am)

322 Courthouse Square
Bay Minette, AL 36507

Please Listen, Then attend...

Ian Walters — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 00:22:00 GMT

I'm hoping that this issue will be aired on FM Talk 106.5 tomorrow morning (Tuesday) at 8.am.

Please listen in and call to give your opinions. 251-343-0106

You can listen online at http://fmtalk1065.com/

In my rush to get the message out I forgot to tell people where the meeting is on Wednesday...

Baldwin County Commission
Baldwin County Administration Building
322 Courthouse Square
Bay Minette, Alabama

8.30am

I-10 Service Road - Coming to your neighborhood...

Ian Walters — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:04:00 GMT

Who voted for Bob James?

Sorry yet?

It's time to rally the troops again.

We need to get as many people as possible to the Baldwin County Commission meeting on Wednesday November 10th (8.30am).

Get there early and sign up to express your opinion about agenda item IA26.

And seriously, they checked the box that said "no previous Commission action"? Try reading this time line for all the previous Commission action - including the most important one when the commission voted NOT TO BUILD THE ROAD..!!!!!

And where exactly is the money coming from?

Why should I attend?

If you're not convinced yet, consider this:

In the Red Corner:

Frank Burt and his new buddies Tucker Dorsey and Bob James.

Mayor Jo Bonner of Spanish Fort who has written to the commission asking them to build the road.

Mayor Fred Small of Daphne who supports the service road and made over $1,500 of in kind contributions to Bob James' campaign in May 2010.

Daphne Planning Commission member Larry Chason who was a member of Bob James' PAC and contributed $500 on 3/2/10

Daphne attorney Jay Ross who contributed $250 to Bob James' campaign on 4/20/10.

In the Blue Corner:

You, the tax paying resident of TimberCreek, Lake Forest or Daphne who is going to suffer property devaluation and destruction of the local wetlands.

Your Neighborhood needs you!

Seriously folks, be there - it may be your last chance.

P.S. POA Meeting Wednesday evening (5.30). Will the Magnolia 9 get a conservation easement?


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Woodrow Walkies...

Ian Walters — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 03:05:00 GMT

Every Saturday I take our dog Waggy on a walk down Woodrow Lane. He's normally a bit tired by the time we get home...

After the events of April I like to enjoy the quiet of the Lane and listen to the bird song coming from the trees we helped saved from destruction. Of course the peace is relative as the traffic on I-10 thunders by and the curses of golfers who hooked a tee shot punctuate the morning stillness.

At the end of the lane, the tarmac runs out and the old house is "protected" from errant drivers and young partiers by the lovely new signs errected by Baldwin County.

Here's what it looked like a few weeks ago...

Now see what it looks like today...

Woodrow Lane Photo Album

Somebody somewhere must have issued a work order to remove those signs and start the clearance work. I wonder who?

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Corps of Engineers look set to issue permit for Service Road

Ian Walters — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 01:30:00 GMT

It's official folks, the Service Road has got the capital letters back.

The following letter was written by local resident Chester McConnell; his research has shown that the Corps are close to issuing a permit for building the service road.

It's time to stand up for ourselves again...

Please tell your neighbors and forward the link to family and friends; if you aren't already on the mailing list, please join using the form below so that you stay well informed...

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District Commander
Attention: Leslie Turney, Regulatory Section
U.S. Army Engineer District, Mobile
P.O. Box 2288
Mobile, AL 36628-000

Dear District Commander:

This is a continuation of our discussions about Public Notice SAM-2009-1008-GAC concerning the proposed "service road". As we have written and discussed by phone, the Baldwin County Commission, Daphne City Commission and Daphne Planning Commission have all withdrawn their support for the "service road". Therefore the governing authorities have all expressed that there is no longer a "service road" project proposal. Yet, we understand that the U.S. Army Engineer District, Mobile is continuing to process the Section 404 permit proposal for the project. We strongly object to this process because all of the legally elected authorities are on record in opposition to the proposed "service road".

We have now reviewed the official record for Public Notice No. SAM-2009-1088-GAC and learned that a number of other groups are opposed to the proposed road. A number of us, including Lake Forest Property Owners Association (over 9,000 members), Timber Creek Property Owners Association (over 700 members), Mobile Bay Chapter Sierra Club (over 1,400 members), Mobile Bay Audubon Society (over 800 members) and others have requested that the Corps hold a Public Hearing on the Section 404 permit request before a final decision is made. We again urge the Corps to do so. Commander, we are the people that will be directly affected if the "service road" is constructed. Our quality of life, our environment and our property values are the ones to be directly affected.

Well over 10,000 people who will be directly affected by the proposed "service road" are on record requesting a Public Hearing on the matter. Collectively, we have some serious concerns that have not been addressed adequately in accordance with NEPA requirements. These concerns include:

1. Loss of property values by numerous private families vs. the gain of property values by several large landowners (developers). If the "service road" is constructed, the adverse environmental impacts and adverse esthetic impacts will decrease private family property values. Just the threat of the "service road" has already affected the ability of some residents to sell their homes. Likewise, the threat has cause property values to decline in value. In addition, if the "service road" is constructed, it will entice businesses to be developed adjacent to private homes which results in adverse visual impacts, increased noise and air pollution and lowered quality of life for existing owners of the private properties. The narrow band of land adjacent to the proposed "service road" is also immediately adjacent to many private homes in Timber Creek subdivision. These homes and their owners would suffer serious declines in value and declines in quality of life. The Corps has not adequately addressed these serious adverse impacts and the affected public wants a Public Hearing on these matters. Our private property values are seriously affected. The Corps of Engineers is legally responsible for evaluating these impacts and providing the affected public with an opportunity to understand what you learn. The Corps is responsible because it holds the Section 404 authority to issue or deny a permit that would allow construction of the "service road"..

2. The land where the "service road" is proposed and the land adjacent to the "service road" has not been developed for some serious reasons. The terrain is steep and is highly erosive. This is a well known fact to the Corps. Numerous problems have already resulted from development on some of the watershed lands with moderate gradients. Strom water runoff has resulted in serious stream degradation, headcutting, wetland destruction/damage, flooding of private homes, fish and wildlife habitat damages and severe water pollution. Some private dwellings are currently under threat from previous development. Construction of the "service road" will intensify the runoff, and enlarge all ongoing problems. Private property values will suffer and we believe the Corps of Engineers must explain these problems to us during a Public Hearing so all issues can be aired by all concerned. We believe that the Corps will be legally responsible for damages to private property if it authorizes a project that it knows will result in damages and adversely affects private property values.

3. The lands that will be developed if the "service road" is developed is in the virtual geographic center of the D'Olive Creek watrershed. As already explained this watershed has a number of serious environmental problem due to poorly designed developments during the past 15 years. Fortunately, the Baldwin County Watershed Coalition has developed a watershed plan that is intended to help solve the problems. If the "service road" project is awarded a Section 404 permit by the Corps, it will fly in the face of the Watershed Coalitions' efforts. The "service road' would add to the stormwater runoff and all associated problems. And the "service road" will open up lands for development that are steep and erosive, adding to watershed problems. The public wants to know how, or if, the Corps is considering the efforts of the Watershed Coalition with the impacts of the "service road". Likewise, we want to know how the additional development that is certain to follow the "service road" will affect the currently degraded watershed environment. A Public Hearing is requested to explain these complex situations.

4. We, the people who will be directly affected by the proposed ''service road" and its complex environmental impacts are under growing stress from the possibility of another damaging project in our immediate location. Many of these environmental and associated impacts have not been adequately considered by the Corps of Engineers and are not adequately understood by the involved public. We request that a Public Hearing be held so that the Corps can explain the impacts and give the public an opportunity to become better informed. We also request that a NEPA Environmental Impact Statement be prepared on the "service road" before an Section 404 permit is issued.

5. We urge the Corps to consider these new concerns in this email along with the concerns all others expressed in letters from all citizens in the community where the "service road" is proposed".

We request that this email letter be made a part of the official file. Please notify us know when you received this communication.

Sincerely,

Chester McConnell

Write-in; right-on.

Ian Walters — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:29:00 GMT

Election Consequences

The Republican Party Primary elections earlier this year for the Baldwin Commission were very closely contested and only a large degree of voter apathy in the run-offs contributed to two of the three incumbents losing their place with a third facing an independent challenger in November.

Of course in district 1 Frank Burt has been unopposed for a long time and will be entering his seventh term as Commissioner.

My main concern with the Commissioners-in-Waiting is that they are both very heavily involved with road building and construction and both seem to be allies of Mr. Burt. Campaign expense reports show that they even use the same company as Mr. Burt for their advertising and PR.

To give you an example of the District 1 influence, David Ed Bishop won the popular ballot in his own District 2 by over 170 votes but James victory in District 1 by 632 votes contributed to his overall victory of 666.

Research of the campaign contributions to Bob James and Tucker Dorsey shows that their success was due in no small part to donations from companies that would love to have millions of dollars of road building budget to play with. When the contributors’ names include words like “paving”, “construction”, “asphalt” and “Cox” I start to worry.

It’s not too late

The Conduct of Elections has this to say:

“Write-in votes may be cast in general elections for state and county officers, but not in primary or municipal elections. If a voter desires to vote for any person whose name does not appear on the general-election ballot, the voter writes the name in the proper place in the blank column and fills in the voting space by the name written in.

The name must be written in. It is not valid to use a rubber stamp or stick on label in lieu of actually writing in the name.

Write-in votes should be counted only for living human beings. A write-in vote for a fictitious party such as “Mickey Mouse” will not constitute a vote.”

So, as one of the previous contributors on this blog suggested, by writing in the names of the incumbents you would be sending a clear message to the Commission that ‘We the People’ are the ones that elect them, not the CEOs and CFOs of construction companies and special interest groups. Although I‘m sure Mickey, or any other Disney character for that matter, would do a wonderful job a simple NOTA (None Of The Above) would also suffice.

Can write-ins really make a difference?

Ask the states of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania – they are famous for it.

In 1928, Herbert Hoover polled over 100,000 write-ins to win the Republican presidential primary in MA.

Dwight Eisenhower won two MA presidential primaries on the strength of write in votes; including, in 1952, the most ever write in votes during a presidential primary: over 250,000

In 1960, JFK won the Democrat presidential primaries in both MA and PA with write-in votes.

As recently as September 2009 four write-in candidates defeated their on-ballot opponents in Putnam County, NY.

Why support Bishop and Gruenloh?

After the commission voted to abandon the road construction, there were rumors circulating that it may be resurrected if certain people got into power. Before the primaries, I sent an email to all the candidates asking them for their position on the road. Messrs Bishop and Gruenloh were kind enough to respond; Messrs James and Dorsey did not. Here’s a reminder of the email and responses…

http://blog.savetimbercreekgolf.com/2010/05/18/know-your-commissioner.aspx

Get out and Vote

Please remember that elections have consequences so, no matter which way you vote, please review what you are voting for and make the effort to vote on Tuesday November 2^nd. If you don’t, and then you don’t like what the politicians are doing to you, there is only one person to blame.

Midterm Thoughts

Ian Walters — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 02:46:00 GMT

I don’t like dentists

It’s a long story but when I was a child I was tricked into visiting a dentist and the pain and trauma have stayed with me for a long time.

I don’t like doctors either. Especially those coming towards me with hypodermics; the full kind tend to contain something nasty that they want to stick in my arm (or other places) and the empty ones seem to have enough capacity to suck every last drop of the 8 pints of blood my body needs to remain upright.

I know they are both a necessary part of life and I’m sure that most of the people in these professions are very nice individuals; with the advancement in modern medicine I’m sure the pain isn’t as bad as it was when I was a child but some things just stay with a person for life.

My personal axis of evil is completed by politicians.

At least dentists and doctors wear a white coat and hang a sign outside their door as a way of letting you know what you can expect. They also study for many years to learn everything there is to know about healing people and rightfully have the ego walls in their offices full of diplomas, degrees and doctorates; respect where respect is due.

Why isn’t the same true for politicians?

Where is the training? Where is the due diligence so that we the people know that the people we elect are qualified to do the job? Not the job which they have trained for (lawyers, accountants, pharmacists, and construction workers) but the job of representing the people.

When I was growing up in England I lived through some politically turbulent times. I remember sitting in the cold and dark because of Edward Heath and the miners’ strikes which were closely followed by Harold Wilson and the cod wars with Iceland. James Callaghan managed to upset the trade unions that had helped elect him as well as having to ask the International Monetary Fund to support the Pound. Then a decade of Margaret Thatcher, the milk snatcher (she stopped free milk for children in schools) and her famous Poll Tax that caused civil disturbance throughout the UK and even resulted in some police forces refusing to arrest tax defaulters (there were just too many of them). Thankfully I missed the Major and Blair years as I had moved overseas but having spent a year back in England recently I don’t think things have improved very much.

I don’t mean to turn this into a history lesson, but suffice to say I’ve seen it all before and when politicians get it wrong it hurts in the community and it hurts in the bank balance. These are hurts that the doctors and dentists cannot cure, no matter how big the needle.

Roads, baby, roads

So how does this relate to the good folks of Baldwin County and TimberCreek specifically?

Well, unless you’ve been visiting Mars (the supermarkets in Baltimore, not the planet - that would be just silly) you will know that certain special interest groups have been trying to build a service road through our community. Initially they had the support of the politicians on the Daphne City Council and the Baldwin County Commission but the timing, for us at least, was perfect and the upcoming elections meant that the politicians had to listen to the people and we managed to stop the project.

Or so we thought.

Now we have new commissioners coming on board and as far as my research shows the plans are still in place for the road to be built. The application for a permit from the Corps of Engineers is still in its original wording; the conservation easement on the Magnolia 9 is conspicuous by its absence; the Mayor of Spanish Fort has asked the County Commission to go ahead with the project and the two new commissioners seem to be allies of Frank Burt and both received campaign contributions from road developers. And that’s just what is in the public eye – one can only imagine what is happening behind the closed doors.

But the county doesn’t have the budget to build roads, surely?

Well it will if you put your mark in the wrong place on the ballot paper in November.

Statewide Amendment Number 3 proposes to take one hundred million dollars per year for the next 10 years from the Alabama Trust Fund and give it to road projects.

Yes, you read that correctly; $1 BILLION dollars from YOUR Trust Fund.

The full proposal can be read here: Statewide Amendment Number 3

The Trust Fund had been created from oil and gas royalties and has previously been used to fund things like the Forever Wild Land Trust Fund and the Education Trust Fund Rainy Day Account.

The terms of the fund do technically allow for money to be used for road and bridge repair, but can you imagine, given the fiscal irresponsibility and corruption in the past, how this money will be spent? Surely this money would be better used to repair some of the economic damage caused by the recent oil disaster and not by building more roads to nowhere.

I guess if the new roads do get built, that will increase the amount of impervious surfaces in the county so the proposed Storm Water Corporation will have some fun…

What shall we do in the wettest place in America? Tax the rain of course

As I understand the history of this issue there are already regulations in place that could and should have prevented the tribulations that currently plague the wetlands of Baldwin County.

The regulations were not enforced during the building of sub-divisions such as TimberCreek and Lake Forest leading to the major problems we see in places like Lake Forest & D’Olive Creek.

A steering committee, largely consisting of elected officials and wannabe politicians, wants to form a corporation that will then take a tax, sorry “fee” to help with watershed projects. What it doesn’t appear to do is enhance or enforce existing legislation that was designed exactly for this purpose.

The full text of this and other issues can be found on the Baldwin County Commission web site but in brief item on November’s ballot is…

“…to authorize the Legislature to provide by general or local law for the formation of a public corporation for the purpose of managing storm water in the county; and to authorize the levy and collection of storm water service charges on certain property containing impervious areas in the county.”

When I moved here I thought I was going to live in a fiscally conservative area that eschewed big government and took its fiduciary responsibilities seriously. This “Rain Tax” seems like it will simply create a waterfall bureaucracy and provide a revenue stream for politicians to wallow in.

Please Vote in November

I can’t, but you can.

Here’s a sample of the ballot form. Please take some time to read it and understand the issues at hand.

Baldwin County Ballot

Feel free to leave comments, either for or against any of the amendments on the ballot or if you want to put yourself forward as a write in candidate for any of the positions.

Driver's Ed 101

Ian Walters — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 01:18:00 GMT

Now I may come from a country that drives on the correct side of the road rather than the right side, and I find it highly amusing that the folks over in Mobile County need a web site with little animated cars to show them how to navigate a roundabout, but I have found that a lot of traffic signs are the same on both signs of the pond.

With that in mind, a little pop-quiz for you:

Take a look at the traffic signs below:

Now imagine them on a 10 foot high pole outside a fire station and answer the following multiple choice question...

When approaching these signs I would:

A. Stop and turnaround; it is obvious someone doesn't want me to go this way.

B. Approach the area with caution, make sure nobody can see me then drive through anyway.

C. Ignore the signs completely and continue driving at 40mph because using this road saves me 3 minutes when I go to McDonalds.

Now for the scores:

If you answered A. Thank you.

If you answered B. The mark of a truly good person is one that does the same thing whether someone is watching them or not - think about that next time.

If you answered C. I can only guess that you live on Green Court.

Seriously folks, will it take someone getting killed before you stop using the fire station as your own personal short cut?

There have been several near misses and at least one person has sustained injuries. I was very nearly a victim a couple of nights ago as someone came speeding through and had to swerve to the wrong side of the road to avoid me.

Please remember: Green Court is a no through road. Children play in the street. The Daphne Fire Department need to have free entry and exit 24 hours per day.

We don't need to attend a memorial service just because some driver thinks he/she is above the law.

Not Very Neighborly

Ian Walters — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 02:49:00 GMT

You have no idea how much I wanted to put a 'U' in the correct place in the title of this blog; but I digress, to the subject at hand... Remember when I said this wasn't over? Well it isn't - not by a long shot. The sharks are scenting the weak, bleeding animal in the water...

Lay on, Macduff, And damn'd be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!

Please leave comments on the links to the Press Register articles and of course feedback on this blog is always appreciated.

Fins to the Left…

Last time I attended a Spanish Fort City Council meeting I asked if they had been approached by anyone regarding the resurrection of the service road project. I was told that while the City was in favor of the road, it had not been approached by anyone.

I know, I know, I should have known better. When dealing with politicians you need to ask your questions very carefully as they will only answer what they want to answer and will certainly not volunteer anything extra.

Having done a little research I returned to The Meeting Place and once again taking my place in front of the microphone I asked the question: “Last time I was here I asked if anyone had approached you, this time I’d like to ask if you have approached anyone about resurrecting the service road project?” As I knew I only had three minutes, I also threw in my supplementary questions ahead of time - “and if so, who is going to pay for it?” and “what are the perceived benefits?”

Fifteen seconds doesn’t sound like a very long time, does it? But imagine me stood alone in front of the Spanish Fort City Council with about twenty Spanish Fort residents and one supporter from TimberCreek (thank you!) in the audience behind me and count off fifteen seconds of total silence. I wondered if the microphone was working or if I were in some surreal dream where no sound came out of my mouth; I could feel the eyes of the council members shifting uneasily around as I stood eye-ball to eye-ball with Mayor Bonner as he mentally composed his reply:

“We have always supported the road but we have no financial commitments towards it. I understand that Daphne has withdrawn its support and that Baldwin County has postponed the project.”

Postponed eh? I’ll let that one slide for now but as he didn’t answer the main part of my question, I asked again if Spanish Fort had approached anyone. After more silence, Mayor Bonner responded by asking me if I had something specific in mind. I referred to his letter of August 4th 2010 to Baldwin County Engineer Cal Markert in which he requests the County and Aldot to proceed with the road (view the letter). There wasn’t much he could do except admit that they had sent the letter.

On the question of perceived benefits, Mayor Bonner only had the issue of connectivity to offer, citing that the road would be useful if there were heavy traffic or an accident on I-10 or Highway 31. This would be the same Highway 31 that is going to be made into a 4-lane later this year.

Given the way that Woodrow Lane connects to Highway 181 via a 3-way stop sign and a traffic signal within 40 feet of each other - anything more than 10 or 20 extra cars would cause serious congestion at an intersection used by the Daphne fire department to egress the fire station on Green Court, so using the “service road” as a relief road doesn’t seem sensible to me.

So, I got a politician’s answers to my straight questions. I guess I shouldn’t have expected more but at least it is in the public domain now and it even prompted a citizen from Spanish Fort to comment on the subject. I must admit to not hearing what he had initially stood up to say but he made reference to my questions and said that although he would have been in favor of the service road he didn’t think it was right that Spanish Fort spends any money on a project that would only benefit other cities. Thank you sir, I hope the rest of our neighbors feel the same way and that the 44 cents that it cost to mail the letter to Bay Minette could have been used for a better cause.

Fins to the Right…

Speaking of Bay Minette, I see our old friend Frank Burt is at it again. The full story is on the Press Register web site but in summary: Commissioner Burt refused to vote for the budget that he and the other commissioners had agreed on because they would be changing it as soon as Messrs James and Dorsey take their seats in November. He admits to having closed door meetings with them and given the interests of those two gentlemen, and the fact that Commissioner Burt has been kept on a fairly tight leash for the last 4 years, expect there to be some extra funding for road projects in the not too distant future.

I hope I am proved wrong and that the new Commission remains as friendly toward TimberCreek as the previous incumbents but I would urge anyone with time to spare to attend those Commission meetings in early November and beyond and keep your neighbors informed if anything sounds fishy.

The only bait in town..?

Before I sign off, back to the subject of Spanish Fort. Some might question what the affairs of that City have to do with the residents of TimberCreek as we are officially in the City of Daphne (will someone PLEASE tell the US Postal Service and have them amend their databases!) Well, I did a little research into the money that we, as a household, spend in the various stores in the area and it showed that almost 70% of our hard earned dollars goes into cash registers in Spanish Fort.

If every resident in TimberCreek spends at that same rate it wouldn’t take too big a stretch of the imagination to come up with $1.5 million dollars or more of sales tax money going into Spanish Fort every year. If the stores in Daphne baited us a little more to shop with them instead that extra money could pave TimberCreek Boulevard many times over.

Saving up all my money but takin’ care to look for sharks.

With apologies to The Bard, Mr. Buffett and Parrott-Heads everywhere…