The city council meeting Monday was bittersweet for Mayor Sonny Dobbins, District 3 Councilman Tony Edwards and District 1 Councilman Mack Byrd who bid farewell to their fellow council members and the constituents they serve.
After running through the agenda in his trademark, business-like manner, Dobbins gave each member a chance to address the standing-room only crowd and other council members. Edwards drew the most attention with his lengthy farewell which included a rundown of the administration’s accomplishments and ended with a heartfelt, tearful goodbye.
Edwards said he had been quiet in previous meetings to save up for his speech. Here are excerts.
“After being reminded of our roles as stewards of Bay Minette, I took some time to reflect on the past four years and consider the kind of steward I have been,” Edwards said.
“Residents of Bay Minette have more choices for entertainment and recreation than ever before. We have the nicest facilities in our part of the state, and now residents of our more affluent neighbors are coming to enjoy what our city has to offer. Our families can stay in Bay Minette and spend time in a safe, clean environment. Our new pool, skateboard park, walkways, skating rink, indoor playground, batting cage, bowling center, tennis courts, playgrounds and other facilities are busy every day they are open. We built new playgrounds in our neighborhood parks. Our baseball and softball complex is being renovated and expanded to accommodate the increasing participation. Our football stadium has been transformed into one of if not the nicest school stadiums anywhere around. Our commitment to children and families resulted in a higher quality of life for our residents and a more attractive community for new families settling in the area.
“Public safety has improved dramatically. Our fire department has purchased new pickup trucks, a new rescue and brush truck, a new fire truck and repaired the ladder truck. Our commitment continues with construction of the Fort Beveridge Fire Department building and training tower. Our police department has purchased new vehicles, purchased in-car computers and cameras, and updated communications equipment.
“We have expanded the Resource Officer program, which puts a trained law enforcement officer at Bay Minette Middle and Intermediate Schools in addition to Baldwin County High School. Our court system purchased new software to make collections more efficient and accurate. We worked out an arrangement with a new ambulance service, which has greatly increased our emergency care, quality and support.
“Our Public Works Department purchased a new garbage truck, bulldozer, dump truck, front end loader, jetter, limb and trash truck, pickup trucks and other heavy equipment. Our Grounds Department purchased new mowers, equipment an vehicles. Our Maintenance Department received a new bucket truck and utility truck, all of which enable our employees to do their jobs safer and more efficiently.
“Our airport has transformed from a strip of asphalt in the middle of a field into what has been reported as the busiest airport in Alabama. We now have an aircraft repair center, fuel center, training center, flight school and welcome station for visitors flying in from all over the country.
“Many residents benefited from increased employment opportunities, and economic benefits increased for our restaurants, retail stores and hotels The economic benefits of last year’s air show was significant and generated positive publicity for our region. It is a huge disappointment that this year’s show was cancelled, and I hope it can be scheduled again in the near future.
“Our schools have benefited from solid support for all activities. Cheerleaders, bands, athletic teams, student clubs, band boosters, Tiger Club and other school organizations have received tens of thousands of dollars. We contributed $7,500 for a tutoring program to help our struggling students, $1,500 for breakfast on mornings before test dates, sidewalks, grounds maintenance, donations for countywide events, donations for special olympics participants and countless school related needs.
“We have given passes to our skating rink or pool to every student in the BCHS feeder pattern as rewards and incentives. The football stadium has become a showplace. We believed there was no better expenditure than to assist our schools and our children, and I believe our support has created more community spirit and pride.
“We have supported our residents with dementia, Alzheimer’s and autism by participating in a program offering GPS locators for those who may not have the ability to find their way home. We have supported our veterans and active-duty soldiers by contributing to the phone card program and offering an expanded Veterans’ Day program.
“We have supported our churches and youth groups, our civic and professional organizations, our social organizations and our charitable organizations. I can’t recall any valid request that didn’t receive some type of support. We worked hard to help organization trying to make Bay Minette and North Baldwin County a better place.
“Our employees received raises of at least $1,000 each year, with no increase in medical insurance the past few years. Our starting pay jumped from $6.25 per hour to $8 per hour, and our police department saw an increase in certified officers starting pay from $11 per hour to $14 per hour. Many employees saw larger raises, based on job performance and increased training, but all employees working for the city the past four years are making at least $4,000 per year more now than four years ago.
“Our retirees also received a 7 percent increase this past year.
“We have spent well over $1.5 million on drainage projects. We have torn down abandoned and condemned houses all over town. In District 3 alone, numerous eyesores hindering community pride have been removed and cleared. In the Powell Heights community, new houses are being built for the first time in my memory, and a new neighborhood has been developed.
“An ordinance prohibiting smoking in public places was passed, ensuring protection from second-hand smoke for both customers and employees of our restaurants and retail businesses.
“Possibly the most important project of this administration was the increased emergency fund. This fund will have almost $600,000 to use in case of an emergency situation. This amount should provide up to six months of financial support for the city to take care of salaries and operations during the time after a catastrophic event.
“Our city, along with every other municipality, undergoes an extremely thorough audit every year. Our audits have consistently shown that Bay Minette is in excellent financial shape and our business practices are handled in accordance with proper governmental procedures.
“Our city’s auditing firm will be happy to share the results of all of the audits for the past four years if you have any questions about our business procedures. Everything is available to the public for your own review. You will see for yourself how responsible this administration has been with your tax dollars, as well as the proper procedures that were followed.
“The new mayor and council will inherit virtually brand-new facilities. You have the great luxury to reap what you did not sow, and harvest what you did not plant. Much of your success will be due to the improvements to our community made during this administration. This administration has shown that all these improvements were possible without sacrifices in services, employment, quality or efficiency.
“This administration has proven it is possible to support projects which make our town better without having to eliminate any jobs, departments, or necessities. This administration has proven that our employees can expect raises and increased benefits, even during times of falling revenue. We have proven the quality of life of our residents can match or exceed that of any other community.
“We have proven all this could be done by careful planning and budgeting, without burdening our future generations.
“History will be the ultimate judge of our stewardship. I am confident history will show the administration of the past four years placed Bay Minette in a position to flourish and prosper. It will be your history that shows whether you reached that prosperity or squandered an opportunity which may never present itself again.
Our stewardship ends in a few more days and the responsibility will be placed in your hands. The clock will then begin ticking on its judgment of your stewardship.”
With the support of his fellow council members and Dobbins, Edwards finished by thanking those who elected him four years ago, those who had supported him throughout his service and those seated next to him, who had served alongside him.
Councilman Mack Byrd, apparently known for his quiet demeanor on the council, continued with his usual briefness. “I’ve never been one for a lot of words,” he said. “I just hope the new mayor and council will have as much fun as I have had the last four years.”
Dobbins agreed he could not match Edwards’ speech, but did have a few words.
“Our council to date has been the most productive council in Bay Minette history,” Dobbins said, gesturing to Edwards’ list of accomplishments seen during this administration.
“The first time I ran, we had the biggest turnout in the history of Bay Minette,” Dobbins said. “We won by a landslide.”
Dobbins said the first four years did not go as he had planned, “we hit a bump on the road, we had some ups and downs, but we kept going,” he said.
“Then we had the second largest turnout and again we won by a landslide,” Dobbins said. “There were obviously still some of you who had faith in what we could accomplish.Then we were off at supersonic speed and got things done. We ran a very tight budget. You haven’t been reading about having to cut any jobs like in Orange Beach and other areas. That’s because we prepared for that. We set money aside.”
Dobbins alluded to the city’s financial state. “Most of what Tony just read off is paid for,” he said. “The money’s going to be there, you just have to watch how you use it,” he directed to the incoming council members and mayor.
“But now it’s time for that train to stop at the station, it’s time to get off,” a teary-eyed Dobbins said.
The soon -to-be former mayor asked his fellow council members to have a seat in the audience and called his family up to the council seats to sit and stand with him. In addition to his wife and two children, his father, brother, sister and sister-in-law, and his nieces and nephews, stood behind him as he finished his speech.
“Grace will be 6 this Friday, this is all she has ever known. Wil is 9, this is all he’s ever known. We’ve had one heck of a ride.”
