Friends of Baldwin find 'common voice'

Growth is sustainable with the right vision.

That's the mantra of Friends of Baldwin, a new coalition organized to help steer land use throughout the far-reaching county.

The group formed about two months ago, according to one of the founders, Stan Mahoney, and because of its affiliation with organizations like Mahoney's Wolf Bay Watershed Watch, has already claimed almost 5,000 members

They've gathered community leaders from around Baldwin County and formed a steering committee of prominent names: Fairhope City Councilman Cecil Christenberry, Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Commissioner Doug Holton, Alabama Coastal Foundation member Tom Schlinkert, Mobile Baykeepers Director Casi Callaway and former Baldwin County Commissioner Chuck Browdy.

"The local groups only have so much clout, and they typically will speak up for things that involve them directly," said Browdy, a member of the group's steering committee. "The problems are countywide. ... It would make sense to band all these groups together with one common voice and one common interest."

The steering committee meets regularly at Mama Lou's in Robertsdale and has planned its next meeting for noon Monday at the restaurant.

Members already have begun working with elected officials throughout the county, particularly with the County Commission, to support proposed flood-zone laws.

"Even in its infancy you can see that there's a huge need for it," said Schlinkert, who owns Schlinkert Sports Associates in Josephine. "Every organization I've spoken to has said, 'Oh yeah, this is great.'"

Members have launched a Web site, www.friendsofbaldwin.com, with contact information and a vision statement and are trying to raise money for pamphlets and fliers, Mahoney said. There have been attempts at similar groups in the past, but none ever reached the level of Friends of Baldwin.

"There was just a growing crescendo of the growth rate and losing our quality of life if we weren't careful," Mahoney said. "The things we enjoy could disappear."

 

Among its other associates, Friends of Baldwin counts Mobile Baykeepers, the Fairhope-Point Clear Association for Responsible Development, the Fly Creek Preservation Association, Magnolia Springs Civic Association, the Perdido Beach Property Owners and Residents Association, and the Civic and Legislative Committee of Lillian.

"I take (Friends of Baldwin) as a group that just wants the general public to have a clearer chance to know what's happening," said Christenberry.

Mahoney spent 20 years in the military before he returned to Baldwin County in 1987 and noticed the seeds of what was turning into a booming area

Now, another two decades later, he's seeing the effects of continual development: an influx of new condos and homes, large swaths of land sprawling with pavement, muddy waters, areas flooding that wouldn't flood in the past.

  "We've lost what we've all come here for. We have to do our dangdest to try to keep it like we've got it. Once you've lost it, it's very hard to turn it about."-- Friends of Baldwin co-founder Stan Mahoney

Many of the members of the group are folks who grew up in south Alabama and have returned to the area after spending years away. Now they're reaching out to legislators, county commissioners and city councils to help maintain the quality of life that pulled them back.

Casi Callaway lived in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta before she moved back to south Alabama in 1998.

"When I left, I never ever saw myself coming home," Callaway said. "When it hits you to come back to this place, it hits you hard. It's the smell, it's the coast, it's the waterways. Everything about it is home. For that reason, especially, our work is so important."

These days, when he's not out working with Friends of Baldwin, Browdy often sits out on his porch on Fort Morgan and watches the sea gulls, pelicans and herons.

"If we can protect these areas, and still allow for growth," he said, "we will have done some good for the area we're living in."