While life is always a little bit slower and more relaxed on the island, that doesn’t mean nothing happens here. In fact, there is rarely a lull these days between seasons of tourists and high-profile news stories alike. Today we’re going to take a look back at just a few of the issues affecting Pleasure Island the most this year.

Severe weather
While Pleasure Island didn’t take a direct hit from Hurricane Michael, its effects were felt along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. The storm, which increased in speed and intensity as it neared land, took a couple of westward shifts, prompting tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches for the area.
The storm even pushed the opening of the 47th Annual National Shrimp Festival by an entire day. Two days before the Thursday the event was scheduled to open, the organizers had to make a difficult decision.

"We've been keeping a close eye on Michael since the weekend,” Shrimp Festival Chairman Spencer Cade said. “We had a weather briefing at 10:30 this morning, and the latest forecast predictions put Michael's landfall later than forecasters initially thought. Because the residual effects of Michael - primarily wind and rain - will make it impossible to complete our setup preparations for a Thursday opening, we decided the prudent thing to do would be to push the start back to Friday."
Hurricane Michael brought high winds, flooded roadways and high storm surge to the island communities. Tropical Storm Gordon wasn’t as intense a storm as Michael, but its path gave a more direct impact to our area. Torrential rains battered the Gulf coast, with Dauphin Island bearing the brunt of the worst of the system. Governor Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm with the coastal communities being under a hurricane warning. Local officials placed municipalities under states of emergency as well.

Apartment controversy
After months of public outcry and a revisiting of the site plan by Gulf Shores Planning Commission, Regency Place apartments’ site plan was once again approved.
The proposed development would bring a 206-apartment complex near the downtown area and has already been approved by the Planning Commission. Citizens packed out meetings to ask the council about the implications of drainage, development and what was deemed as an insufficient traffic study.
Craft said he did legal research from one of the previous meetings of the residents to the City Council. He said so far in this process, the City Council has had no role.
“If it’s approved by right and approved then the Planning Commission has done their job,” Craft said. “I told you I’d do a little digging to see what after the fact could be done. Under the zoning ordinance, site plan approval is the sole responsibility of the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission has no authority to deny approval to a project that is allowed by right under the zoning ordinance and that is otherwise in compliance with the zoning ordinance standards of approval.”
Craft said the developer has confirmed in writing that he has no interest in engaging in short-term rentals, something many against the project fear will not hold true.
After weeks of hearing from many concerned and agitated citizens, the Gulf Shores City Council and Craft sent the highly-debated apartment complex back to planning commission for site review.
Citizens in opposition to the development attended city council meetings in throngs, packing the council chambers and continually hounding the council about their concerns and requests for action.

School saga
With the City of Gulf Shores voting to split into a city school system and appointing a school board last year, most of the drama this year has focused on the negotiations between the county and city as well as the fate of Orange Beach’s physical school.
At the beginning of November, the Baldwin County Board of Education took no action to move forward with the bid to build the new Orange Beach Middle School/High School.
The board voted unanimously to take no action with the bid and to evaluate all rights available to the board in renegotiating the matter after only one bid came in for the project that was almost $20 million over expected cost projections.
Thrash Contractors was the only group to submit a bid for the project, coming in at $42.7 million with its bid. The school system’s initial estimates for the project were closer to $25 million.
Superintendent Eddie Tyler said the system was taking time to reevaluate the project.
“We had one bidder, and right now we’re just rethinking the bid process,” Tyler said. “We want to make sure we do it right so we’re getting our group together, our attorneys and the architect, and we’re going to determine a course of action here immediately.”
BCBE board member David Tarwater said the amount quoted in the bid was unacceptable.
“Coming in $20 million over the projected estimates for this project is just not something I can support, nor do I think this board could support,” Tarwater said. “We were elected to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money, and that amount is completely unacceptable. We will find a way to make this construction move forward, but not at that price.”
Later that month, Baldwin County Schools’ leadership approved a $26.1 million bid for the construction of the new Orange Beach Middle/High School, after the initial bids were rejected for being $20 million over budget.
The 110,000 square foot facility will be built by Sharp Inc. and now has an expected completion date of June 2020, extending the deadline for completion to June 2020 from the initial proposed date of Nov. 2019.
Superintendent Eddie Tyler said the timing deadline for construction was a major factor in the bidding process. Initially, Thrash Contractors was the only group to submit a bid for the project, coming in at $42.7 million with its bid. The school system’s initial estimates for the project were closer to $25 million.
Most recently, State Superintendent Eric Mackey gave a preliminary proposal for attendance for the 2019-2020 school year for the Orange Beach and newly formed Gulf Shores systems.
Under the proposal handed down from the state:
- Upcoming juniors and seniors will remain in their existing feeder pattern and attend Gulf Shores High School.
- Upcoming kindergarten through ninth grade students who live outside of the Gulf Shores city limits will attend Orange Beach schools.
- Upcoming sophomores will be given a choice of which school to attend next year.

The Lodge at Gulf State Park
After much anticipation and buildup, Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism CEO Herb Malone had one word for the crowd at the opening of The Lodge at Gulf State Park- “finally.”
Malone spoke to a standing-room only crowd on a breezy Friday morning in front of the newly-constructed hotel. The Lodge, returning to the Gulf Coast after being destroyed by Hurricane Ivan, is the first full service hotel to open in the area in two decades.
Guests of the 350-room, beachfront hotel, located within Alabama’s Gulf State Park, will enjoy stunning views of the Gulf of Mexico or Lake Shelby with direct access to the emerald green waters of the Gulf and over 6,150 acres of trails and activities within the park.
Malone thanked Governor Kay Ivey for what he called getting the ball across the goal line.
“There’s been a lot of blocking and tackling that’s gone on for about three decades,” Malone said. “People like Steve McMillan and others in the crowd have been advocates for this. Everyone in this audience has an emotional connection to this facility.”
The Lodge is a premier meetings and events destination, offering a wide array of indoor and outdoor event space, perfect for conferences, special occasions and gatherings of any size. Under the management of Valor Hospitality Partners, the new Lodge operates with a focused commitment to the sustainability and preservation of the coastline, environment, wildlife and fauna of the Park and the region.
Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said he and his council, as well as their counterparts in Gulf Shores, are the stewards of Alabama’s beaches.
“We’re doing the best with these beaches that we can to create that environment that everyone wants to come to,” Kennon said. “The trails are such a huge thing for our city of Orange Beach and for Gulf Shores that we have travelers just to use our trails. I want this place to stay special.”
This new, re-imagined hotel was sensitively designed by LakeFlato and Rabun Architects with a native landscape by Sasaki Associates. The building footprint was reduced by nearly one-third and set back by 200-225 feet from the Gulf to allow for greater dune restoration and natural dune movement. The buildings are positioned to take advantage of gulf breezes for natural ventilation and to maximize natural lighting of the interior. This design reduces energy use by 32 percent and interior water use by 35 percent. To demonstrate a commitment to protecting the environment, this facility has targeted some of the most rigorous sustainability goals in the hospitality industry: LEED Gold, SITES Platinum, and FORTIFIED Commercial certifications.
The interior design is focused around a contemporary coastal aesthetic and was inspired by the hotel’s surrounding environment and the history of the former Lodge. This concept was brought to life by Dallas based interior design firm, Looney & Associates. Their design incorporates color, texture, and contrast to create comforting spaces that seamlessly transition from outdoor to indoor space while maintaining high levels of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.