FAIRHOPE, Alabama— A group called Play by the Bay Inc. has called it quits over a dispute about Fairhopers Community Park after initially agreeing to committee talks at a council meeting last month.

During the May 29 meeting, representatives of PBI, a nonprofit group formed to address repair and Americans for Disability Act-compliance issues at the downtown park, agreed to participate on a committee the council appointed that night to seek a compromise in the dispute.

But four days later, PBI posted on its Facebook page a letter to the council, mayor and original organizers of the park, stating it had changed its mind.

“With careful consideration and a vote of our membership, we at Play by the Bay, Inc. respectfully and officially rescind our offer to plan, raise funds for, and build a new Fairhopers Park,” the June 2 Facebook letter stated. “We have every confidence that an excellent park can be achieved and we wish the city, Leanne Pearson, and Charlene Lee success in this endeavor.”

Councilman Rick Kingrea said Wednesday that attempts were made to find a solution to PBI’s issues, but they did not seem interested in a compromise.

After the group stated they would not participate in further discussions, Kingrea said he suggested other efforts and plans the group might play a role in.

“I suggested that we could work on another park property,” Kingrea said. “They said they were not interested.”

Katie Evans, a PBI leader who spoke at the May 29 council meeting, could not be reached for comment by deadline.

Initially, PBI agreed to be a part of a committee formed to mediate the conflict between themselves and a group of original park founders, which Council President Lonnie Mixon appointed at the May 29 council meeting. He appointed Kingrea, council members Dan Stankoski and Mike Ford, as well as city staffers Tom Kuhl, Ken Eslava and Sherry Sullivan, and members of both groups.

The downtown park is rotted, splintered, and warped, according to a report by a Fairhope inspector who identified that sections of the park were unsafe. Mayor Tim Kant reported at the council meeting that repairs were made to those sections to make the playground safe again.

If there was one thing all sides agreed on, it was that the park needs upgrading to be made ADA accessible.

Kingrea said this week that something does need to be done to bring the park into compliance with the ADA and to address lingering safety issues. Problems at Fairhopers Park will still be addressed, even without Play by the Bay at the table, he said.

PBI wanted the existing wooden playground structures at the park replaced with ones made out of a composite material. The group had been working on a proposal for the park and had finished the preliminary stages of planning. 

The group was not interested in maintaining or saving any of the current structures and wished only to preserve some of the artwork, Evans said at the May 29 meeting.

A group of original park founders, led by Leanne Pearson and Charlene Lee, has a consultant working with them on how to preserve at least some of the wooden structures. While admitting the park needs upgrading, Pearson’s group believes it doesn’t have to involve tearing down all of the original structures and some of the wooden pieces could be incorporated into the new design.

“We will get the park up to snuff,” Pearson said. “We will raise some money. We can do it together.”

Evans said at the May 29 meeting that PBI had understood the council had given its blessing to the group to organize and plan the playground project. PBI then learned that Pearson’s group was sending emails and planning meetings “behind our backs,” Evans said at the council meeting. Pearson told the council that night: “I’ve never done anything behind anybody’s back.”

Evans announced at the council meeting that her group was suspending its offer to plan, fundraise and build a new Fairhopers Park, because Pearson’s group had been told it may make a proposal as well.

“We are a small group of moms,” said Evans. “We’re not interested in ‘our group vs. your group,’ Bloods vs. Crips type of situation.”

Mixon said he didn’t see anything wrong with letting Pearson’s group have a say over the park. As elected officials, listening to all sides of a matter was a part of the council’s job, he said.

Council members asked repeatedly that night why the two groups couldn’t sit down and work towards a common plan for the park.

Evans replied that PBI was not interested in maintaining or salvaging the wooden structures because it was unsafe and the group wants a new park.

Eventually, Play by the Bay agreed that night to the committee talks but withdrew again later that week.