Should city pay to remove abandoned boats from condo docks?

Should city pay to remove abandoned boats from condo docks?
By John Mullen
Both Councilman Jeff Silvers and Councilman Jeff Boyd offered praise for the city’s response during Hurricane Sally cleanup. But both also expressed reservations about the city spending money to remove two boats, both more than 50 feet long, left abandoned on docks at two condo complexes on Canal Road.
“These are both sitting in piers at condominiums and I’m assuming because they can’t rebuild their pier,” Boyd said. “They are not in a navigable waterway. My gut says why do we not put this on the homeowners’ association or the condo association. Otherwise we’re eating a pretty big chunk here.”
The two boats were at the Moorings (pictured) and Perdido Grande about two miles east of State Route 161 on Canal road.
At its Nov. 17 regular session, the council still passed a resolution authorizing a contract Crowder Gulf for the removal three abandoned vessels related to Hurricane Sally response in an amount not to exceed $89,850. The two 50-footers are included in this additional contract.
“And we may not be reimbursed,” Silvers said. “We should be reimbursed.”
During an Oct. 20 regular session, the council voted to pay more than $11.5 million for debris services to help with storm cleanup. The big contract was one with CrowderGulf for $11 million for debris removal.
Two separate contracts were awarded to Thompson Consulting for $429,000 to monitor debris removal and another for $63,000 to provide grant management services related to the recover.
Officials expect FEMA will reimburse the city for most of the costs including 75 percent of the monitoring costs with the city and state each paying 12.5 percent. The grant management services will be fully reimbursed by FEMA unless it exceeds 5 percent of the total cost of the estimated damaged sustained in the city.
During the meeting the council passed another resolution authorizing the execution of Contract Amendment 6 with CrowderGulf for sonar services to locate submerged waterway debris related to Hurricane Sally response based on a per acre price.
This most recent one for $89,000 is in addition to the previous contract with CrowderGulf but Coastal Resources Director Phillip West said the city will do everything it can to recoup the money.
“That’s two additional vessels that came up today,” West said. “Everything that was 50 feet in the water our contract says we would have to renegotiate the rate. We’re following all the guidelines to make us eligible. We’re monitoring the removal we’re having the consulting services come and make the call. Some of these vessels aren’t from that marina. They have a pretty big burden to repair what the insurance doesn’t cover with the docks and piers and boathouses.”
Some of the boats are uninsured which raised the ire of Mayor Tony Kennon.
“If you have a boat that big and don’t have insurance, shame on you,” Kennon said. “We’ve got to get them out but we need to pursue whatever remedy we can to reimburse the taxpayers.”
West said the city would also apply for insurance help as well as make some of the money back by selling the vessels.
“We will recoup what we can from insurance and from the salvage,” West said. “We know we can salvage probably several thousand dollars and we’ll apply that and go before FEMA.”
Help Offered For Soccer Field Upgrades
For the second time the council postponed a planned agreement with Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism and its Sports Commission to help fund improvements to the lower soccer field at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.
Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism has committed the greater of $750,000 or 50 percent of the cost of improvements to be paid to the city in annual installments during a period of five years to help fund the improvements.
At the Nov. 2 meeting, the council passed a resolution authorizing a contract with Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood to perform design services for the Orange Beach Soccer Stadium in an amount not to exceed $169,250. The city is moving the SEC women’s championships to the smaller soccer stadium at the Sportsplex and will use the larger one for Orange Beach High School’s football team.