ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — The hot-button issues of Stormwater management and BP Oil Spill claims money were discussed at length as the Baldwin County Realtors Association met for its monthly breakfast meeting last Thursday in Loxley.

Both issues have taken precedence in the last few weeks and real estate agents across the county are feeling the effects, said Tucker Dorsey, Baldwin County Commissioner elect for District 3.

Soliciting support from the real estate community and encouraging them to be proactive in their efforts to deal with these issues, Dorsey explained he has had 18 years experience in the real estate and construction business and understood their frustration.

“I want to be very accessible to you and want your feedback. I understand your plight and there are a lot of things that need to be done and dealt with. This stormwater issue isn’t going away so we need to attack it and get awareness out across the county about it. We are seeking ways to get improvements to the water quality in the county and also looking a t subdivision regulations as well,: Dorsey said.

Input and support from the real estate community is a must in order to make any headway with these problems, Dorsy said. “We have the opportunity to make the real estate business better in the county in the aftermath of the BP crisis. There are a lot of big projects coming to the county that are priorities but we as a commission are going to need your help to see the improvements. We need your ideas, experience and feedback.”

Building on that premise, Larry Chason of Chason and Earle Real Estate in Daphne and a member of the Baldwin County Watershed Coalition Steering Committee, addressed concerns about Amendment One and the stormwater issue that’s set to be voted on November 2.

“There is a lot on miscommunication out there about the so-called ‘rain tax’. This is a complicated subject that is difficult to compress into a short time but I’ll try to give an update. First of all, it’s not a tax at all and residents are not gonna be taxed on rain. This issue goes back to when Fob James was governor and then escalated with all the flooding that occurred in 2005 with Hurricane Ivan, “ Chason said.

A citizen-based initiative to begin with , residents affected by flood damage knew they needed to do something about the problem but didn’t know how to coordinate it, Chason said. It grew into a bigger initiative and finally the BCWSC was established to try and address the problem and educate the public.

According to a BCWSC handout, there are four components to the program: to build watershed stewardship and partnerships, coordinate existing regulatory programs, develop consistent standards and criteria and undertake on the ground watershed (corporation) projects. The mission is to improve community health and safety, increase and enhance recreational opportunities, maintain property values and sustain our economy.

Some facts about the legislation Chason wants the public to understand is:

It “enables” delegation to develop a regional stormwater management utility with public participation, subject to further action.

At least 80 percent of gross revenues must be directed to capital expenditures to construct stormwater control projects on public lands.

May charge a fee based on area of impervious (impenetrable) surface, NOT the size of the parcel.

No regulatory function (subdivision, zoning or building codes)

Undeveloped land and land classified as agriculture or forestry are exempt.

Shall provide for the fullest public participation to ensure community input.

“We are losing water quality in Baldwin County and we have a lot of things to consider. Need to come together and write a bill that addresses our problems and look ahead. The pressure is on to do something. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is breathing down the neck of ADEM (Alabama Department of Environmental Management),” Chason said.

Amid all the miscommunications about the legislation, Chason pointed out five misconceptions.

This is a rain tax. The proposed fee is based on use and the charge is based on citizens contribution to the problem.

The fee is based on the size of your parcel. The fee is based on the amount of hard surface that prevents rain from soaking into the ground naturally. “We need rain, we don’t need runoff.”

Citizens will have no control over rate increases. Citizens need to get involved in the development of this local law to ensure fairness and accountability.

This is more government. Corporation would function outside of government control and revenues will be dedicated to stormwater management and not go back to general fund.

There is enough money already to address the issues. There are very few dedicated resources at the local level to address stormwater management. The lack of attention to the problems is increasing the costs and stormwater faces greater regulation and enforcement.

“We know each part of the county has different soils and terrains and we have to follow guidelines and regulations to deal with the problems. If this vote is passed, we can set up a coalition to educate the public about stormwater management and prevention. This amendment will take us to the next level,” Chason said.

Public outcry about this topic has been widespread and Chason wants to quell some of that anger by getting the right information out to the public and getting rid of the bad information.” The advantage of the coalition would be for the smaller municipalities who can't afford to hire their own team to deal with this issue. We could benefit all 14 municipalities with this but we need all of them to come together on it.”

Chason admitted the oil spill messed up the timing of alerting the public to the importance of the issue but the county is firmly committed to finding a solution to the problem. And the final project plan depends on the input of the public.

Because the BP crisis, Baldwin County Realtors suffered much loss of income over the last couple of months and the claims process has been anything but easy.

Danny Cooper, Executive Vice President of the Alabama Association of Realtors in Montgomery, informed those in attendance that he, along with Congressman Joe Bonner and Senator Jeff Sessions, had a “meeting of the minds” with Kenneth Feinberg, BP Claims Czar, and was able to convince him after many failed attempts to hand over ht e money to Alabama realtors.

“This has been a roller coaster experience for us and if not for the tireless support of Governor Bob Riley and Kevin Corcoran, we would have been left completely out of the claims process. Feinberg was being very ugly and rude about acknowledging the plight of the realtor and was not giving us the time of day.” Cooper said.

“It was only after 12 congressmen grilled Feinberg with specific questions you all gave us to ask that we got any results. We tried to explain to BP why realtors needed to be paid but they wouldn’t listen even after we provided detailed evidence of income loss. Promises were made to give money but nothing happened. Gov. Riley threatened to send 20,000 National Guardsmen to take over Feinberg’s claims process if money wasn’t received. We got $60 million almost immediately,” Copper explained.

Of the $60 million, about $15 million has been received with $16,900 the usual single payment, Cooper said. “At first, Feinberg wasn’t going to give anything to realtors south of I-10 but then he loosened up and extended it past the interstate. At least it’s better than nothing. We need to be thankful for what we have and make sure you file your monthly claims.”

Other states affected by the spill are also receiving money, Copper said, and include Louisiana, $58 million ($245,000 so far), Mississippi, $500,000, Florida, $5.7 million.

“If the state doesn’t understand how we have been affected, things will never change,” said Starke Irvine, of Irvine Company Real Estate in Daphne.

Lastly, Nick Wilmott, BCAR President, presented a plaque of dedication to Dottie Lou Farias, wife of late BCAR past president Oscar “Buzz” Farias. The meeting and educational rooms in the BCAR office in Robertsdale will be named for Farias, who was the association president in 2004. Farias died in February and was loved and respected by all in the community.

Also, Wilmott announced the National Association of Realtors convention will be held in New Orleans on November 5-8.

For more information on the stormwater issue, visiti their website: bcwsc.org.