Frequently Asked Questions
How has Karin managed Fairhope’s growth?
From 2010 to 2018, Fairhope experienced a 44% population growth. Mayor Wilson established a leadership team to address Fairhope's unprecedented growth. The team is made up of herself and the heads of Fairhope's Planning, Economic and Community Development, Operations, and Public Works departments. As a team, they work to create a clear, consistent, and collaborative development process. Some of their planning initiatives include the creation of the “City of Fairhope Moratorium Report,” a refined application review process for new development projects, a $650,000 comprehensive land use plan, and much more such as a downtown traffic, parking, and pedestrian-safety plan.
How has Karin upgraded Fairhope’s sewer system? When will the project be completed?
As Fairhope's growth rate is expected to rise, Karin is committed to providing Fairhope residents with a system and quality of service where they do not have to worry about wastewater. Two of her major goals concerning wastewater are system rehabilitation and capacity improvements. With $8 million of the proposed Five-Year Fairhope Utilities Capital Improvement Plan, Karin has begun designing a system which will accomodate growth, rehabilitate aging infrastructure, and minimize overflow. The $8 million expenses will be funded by the RESTORE Act that Karin secured in 2018. The first step, a Phase 1 Capacity Study for the wastewater system, has already been conducted, providing us with a road map on what is needed to be done. Presently, Karin's sewer system upgrades are in the design phase.
The most critical fixes will be completed by 2022 with accountable ADEM oversight preventing the politically driven decisions from jeopardizing progress-an issue Fairhope has faced the first two years of this term.
What has Karin done to improve traffic and pedestrian safety?
Two traffic and parking studies were conducted in 2012 and 2015, but did not offer specific strategies or plans. In 2017, Karin secured a planning grant from the Metropolitan Planning Organization, resulting in a more comprehensive and detailed plan of Fairhope's needs. The plan focuses on creating and installing pedestrian, vehicular, and informational wayfinding signage, constructing a hub for Fairhope's BRATS shuttle, and improving Fairhope's parking garage and dangerous intersections, encouraging walkability and decreased traffic. Following the planning process, Karin's planning team applied and received grants from the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Alabama's Department of Transportation. An award of $1.2 million has been dedicated to constructing a roundabout at the "flower clock" entrance to Fairhope, Fairhope's most dangerous intersection. Other report recommendations include intergovernmental projects to fund sidewalks, additional crosswalks, and installing textured center lanes.
How was the $6M annual deficit restored to fiscal health?
For the first time in Fairhope history, the 2020 City Budget proposal requires zero dollars of utility profits to balance. The City is finally self-sustaining financially and can run independently from our Utility Department. There are zero Utility dollars paying for government operating expenses.
What is the RESTORE Act and Fairhope's RESTORE projects?
The "Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act," or RESTORE Act was passed in 2012 as the U.S. government's response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The act established the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to oversee the distribution of funds and grants that aim to restore the natural resources and ecosystems of the Gulf Coast. In 2018, the Restoration Council approved Mayor Wilson's 4 proposed RESTORE projects, granting Fairhope over $17.8 million to complete restoration. Thus far, Fairhope has received the most awards of any municipality. The 4 projects include the "Working Waterfront and Greenspace Restoration," "Fairhope Area Community-Based Comprehensive Land Use Plan," "Fairhope Sewer Upgrade Phase I," and "Eastern Shore Sanitary Sewer Overflow Prevention Plan."
Read about each RESTORE project by previewing the 2020 State of the City Expo Booklet linked below (p. 32-33).
2020 State of the City Expo Booklet
What is the Working Waterfront Plan?
The Working Waterfront Plan is one of four RESTORE projects proposed by Mayor Wilson in 2017. Funded by a $6.2 million RESTORE Act Grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury, the project will make safe and user-friendly improvements to the 10-acre South Beach Park and Municipal Pier area. Improvements are aimed to enhance citizens' use of the waterfront park facilities while ensuring the park's long-term resiliency and sustainability. The conceptual plan was developed with community input from a city-wide survey to resident focus groups. Fairhope is the first municipality in the State of Alabama to be so far along the plan's implentation phase. The next step is engineering!
A Note From Mayor Wilson: There was a three month community engagement process which started earlier this year. After much misinformation was circulated, I announced that we would go back and do a re-engagement process. I love the opportunity to listen to citizens' input, have demonstrated this for the last four years and I will not stop now. A fresh, inclusive citizen engagement process is being developed over the next few months to ensure everyone has a safe opportunity to weigh in on their park.
No one has to feel rushed because nothing will move forward until the re-engagement is concluded— however long this takes.
The plan is not an elected officials plan, but your plan. Nothing will move forward until the community plan is adopted. Please sign up for the City of Fairhope Everbridge System and we will keep you updated.
How has Karin addressed Fairhope’s water quality and Mobile Bay?
Karin recognizes that Mobile Bay is one of Fairhope's greatest assets. Revitalizing and maintaining good water quality is one of Karin's major goals. Over the past 20 months, Karin has encouraged water tests in Fairhope to be conducted by regulatory agencies such as the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) and the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). Additionally, Karin has collaborated with Mobile Baykeeper, performing water quality tests in Fly Creek and Mobile Bay swimming areas. Under Karin's leadership, a Community Resilience Index process was conducted to identify potential partnerships and funding to address Fairhope's water quality issues. As a result, several grants and funding partnerships were procured such as a Gulf of Mexico Alliance grant to engineer stormwater into Tatumville Gully and funding to create a preliminary plan for Fairhope Docks and begin the Clean & Resilient Marina Certification. Karin also secured grant funding from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State Lands Division, Coastal Section, and NOAA's National Coastal Zone Management Program to complete critical assessments and raise public awareness about the role Fairhope's community plays in ensuring our waterways are clean.
What has Karin improved at the Municipal Pier?
In 2017, Hurrican Nate struck Fairhope's Pier, tearing out existing electrical service and brought to light that the pier was under code. Investing in Fairhope's most valuable assets, Karin recognizes the importance of ensuring that Fairhope remains eligible for funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency which will cover 87.5% of repair expenses. After receiving a report from a local electrician, Karin bided for a professionally engineed design for a new upgraded system. Securing a contract with an electrical contractor and pre-construction meetings underway, Karin aims to run new circuits under the pier, set a new transformer, new main panels, and replacing each sub panel in the marina.
How and why is Karin furthering the restoration of Knoll Park?
Knoll Park is a rare remnant of Sandhill Longleaf Pine Forest which once dominated the Gulf Coast's landscape from New Orleans to Tallahassee. Although the park is one of Fairhope's historic treasures, its trees and biodiversity is endangered due to the lack of natural life-giving fires. Determined to preserve such a beautiful Fairhope site, Karin oversees a joint restoration project with the City and a dedicated group of Fairhope volunteers. With controlled burning initated, over 140 species of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers can be identified within Knoll Park. Some herbaceous species in Knoll Park are rare and can no longer exist elsewhere in Fairhope. To encourage public appreciation and awareness of the park, signage outlining the park's history and ecology are planned, including guided tours and other special events. It is Karin's vision that Knoll Park can be used as a teaching tool for local schools. In addition, in 2018, Karin signed the Mayor's Monarch Pledge sponsored by the National Wildlife Foundation. Over the past 20 years, the monarch butterfly population has decreased by 90 percent. Now, Knoll Park has been declared a Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary and city funds are dedicated to restoring the butterfly's habitat.
What is Fairhope Docks?
The City of Fairhope assumed management of the marina property at the foot of Sea Cliff Drive in 2017 and renamed the property "Fairhope Docks" to reflect the community's ownership of the marina. Prior to 2017, the marina had been in poor condition. Its conditions were worsened by the damage done by Hurrican Nate. Since then, the docks have undergone maintenance, cleaning, and upgrades. Some of the improvements include missing dock boards replaced, a modern marina office, a new double-hulled fuel tank, and a new pump out station. Future plans for the dock are focused on the safety and security of Fairhope residents and customers such as repairing the G Dock, replacing the bulkhead, docks, and finger piers, and laying out plans for redesigning the marina. In addition to ensuring the safety of the marina's users, Karin is focused on improving the marina's natural environment. A living coastal shoreline project with the University of South Alabama and Mississippi State University is being conducted and will determine what plants will thrive on the Eastern Shore and secure the shoreline. Karin has made the "Clean Marina program," a joint-effort between private marine owners, government marina operators, boatyards, and yacht clubs, a key partner in making any development decisions concerning the marina.