BP Oil spill money and the future of Daphne - 'People are hanging their political careers on thi
By John Sharp | jsharp@al.com Press-Register
Daphne, AL
/Byline
series /series Aka Story Package gallery-preview /gallery-preview Aka Secondary Package Daphne Mayor Dane Haygood and Councilman Ron Scott sit in during a meeting on Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, aimed at finding whether there is interest in continuing to pursue the Daphne Innovation and Science Complex on Ala. 181 and Champions Way. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com)
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Friction over a large-scale development in Daphne continues among City Council members two months after they voted down a zoning proposal crucial toward making it happen.
City officials will now decide whether the project is worth a second look.
Council members will vote Dec. 7 on a resolution to spend $426,000 of BP oil spill recovering funds to buy 30 acres on Ala. 181 and Champions Way for the Daphne Innovation and Science Complex.
If the council opts to not fund the project, they could choose to invest the money into other options.
At issue is the risk of losing BP money set aside for the property's purchase. The city's attorney told council members on Monday that if the money isn't dedicated for the project – or if a viable alternative isn't pitched to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley's office soon – the money could be lost by the end of March 2016.
"We don't want to see those funds go away from the city of Daphne," Mayor Dane Haygood said. "There is a strong risk we could lose them and that is a concern."
But Council President Pat Rudicell said the project might not be worth the trouble. "You don't want to put good money to do bad, either. The governor could've taken the money back at any time. It's his purview."
'People will build it'
The council, in late September, voted 4-3 against a zoning plan and annexation agreement for 75 acres of property that would accommodate the a science and technology park estimated to bring in more than 1,500 new jobs.
The vote prompted Joe Davis to resign from his council seat out of frustration over its outcome. Davis was also the council's liaison to the city's Industrial Development Board – an autonomous quasi-government body that utilizes a portion of Daphne's lodging tax for projects. IDB members are the lead proponents behind the DISC development.
"People are hanging their political careers on this," said Rudicell, who voted against plan back in September and suggested that alternative projects – including an amphitheater at Bayfront Park – could surface as potential alternatives.
The council could reconsider its zoning and annexation votes if it opts to reconsider the project's funding.
But elected officials remains fractured over whether it's a good idea for the city's future and sparks were flying during Monday's meeting.
Councilman Ron Scott called Councilman John Lake a "liar" over what he felt was Lake's misrepresentation about the University of South Alabama's research and technology park. Lake said he was not impressed with what he saw at the Mobile park and that it represented a reason why the Daphne development might not be successful.
"If there is a market, people will build it," Lake said. "It doesn't necessarily have to be built by public funds."
Said Scott, "No one is going to change their minds. They have their feet in the cement on this project. This meeting is a waste of time."
'We're regrouping'
The project's first phase is for six office buildings that, when fully built out, will attract high-paying jobs equating to about $97.7 million in annual wages as well as $207,450 in new property tax revenue for the city of Daphne, $414,900 for Baldwin County, according to an economic analysis.
The IDB has a letter of intent from a developer to build one of the office buildings.
IDB Chairwoman Toni Fassbender said she's confident the project can be a success because of its favorable costs. She said purchasing the property would be an incentive to lure developers: The costs of the Ala. 181/Champions Way property is estimated at around $25,000 an acre. By comparison, Haygood said property adjacent to Interstate 10 –viewed as a more favorable location – would cost around $100,000 to $150,000 an acre.
"No one is going to change their minds. They have their feet in the cement on this project." - Councilman Ron Scott
Haygood said by utilizing BP oil money along coupled with savings that IDB accumulated from its portion of the lodging tax, the costs would be reduced to around $10,000 an acre.
"You can't buy land in Daphne for that to this scale and this flat of land," Haygood said. "We have different option periods to buy increments of land. We could control this property in eight years at today's prices."
But Councilman Randy Fry said there have been problems with the project, namely with how it has been communicated to the public.
Rudicell agreed. "We're now doing discussions here we should've done (over a year ago). We're regrouping and determining whether the project in its scope is worthy to have or if the IDB should look for another project or have a (similar) project that is smaller in scale and at another location."
Fry also disputed whether the project aligns with Daphne's future, which he believes should be more focused on creating a family, recreational and retirement community.
U.S. Census data shows that Daphne continues to lure new residents as the Eastern Shore's overall growth doesn't appear to be slowing. Daphne grew by 13 percent between the 2010 and 2014 Census counts, adding 2,814 new residents during those four years.
"People don't move to Daphne for a job," Fry said. "I'd like to find someone who moved to Daphne for a job. I've never met them. Our job is to maintain, enhance and preserve the quality of life we have. We will never be a hub of economic activity in our area. We've got a proven model that has been successful."
Fassbender disagreed. "I can introduce you to several people who moved to Daphne for jobs. People want to move here and they want to live here. They don't want to get into that traffic going into Mobile every day. I know a lot of people who put businesses in Baldwin County. We want them in Daphne."
Haygood said the city should know whether the DISC project plays into that future after the Dec. 7 meeting.
"Either we'll capitalize on some of the job creation (in South Alabama) or we'll look back on this as not happening," he said.