By DALE JONES

STAFF WRITER

djones@gulfcoastnewspapers.com

In an effort to keep area residents informed regarding unresolved claims from BP as well as progress being made by the Coastal Recovery Commission of Alabama, a town hall meeting has been scheduled for Monday night at the Orange Beach community Center.

Formed by Gov. Bib Riley’s executive order in September, the Commission’s mission is to shape a “roadmap to resilience” for South Alabama, and its final report is due Dec. 15.

Scheduled to be present at the 5:30 p.m. meeting is Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon, Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft, Foley Mayor John Koniar, Vice President of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance Bob Higgins, Meyer Real Estates Board Chairwoman Sheila Hodges, Press- Register President Ricky Mathews, and Alabama Sen. Trip Pittman.

Following a meeting between Ken Feinberg, administer of the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fun, and Gov. Riley, along with the mayors of several local municipalities, Kennon said that part of the town hall meeting will be do discuss where we stand in regards to the claims process.

“We want to give the community a report on how the Feinberg meeting went,” Kennon said. “If the meeting doesn’t go well, what ideas does the community have for moving forward to continue our fight.”

During the 8 a.m. meeting with Feinberg in Mobile, put together by Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, which also included Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, elected officials vented their frustrations on how claims have not been taken care of fairly and were also hoping for answers.

In addition to updating the public regarding the meeting with Feinberg, Kennon said an update on the beach cleaning process would also be given.

“We are also going to have a brief presentation from the Coastal Resource Commission (CRC) explaining what they were set up to do,” Kennon said.

Kennon said that, essentially, the commission is there to help prepare the area and answer questions about bouncing back from the oil spill crisis, suggesting how any money that is available from the government or BP should be spent, and what projects are most practical to helping our coastal communities grow.

The CRC, which is headed by Ricky Mathews of the Mobile Press-Register, is made up of citizen leaders with broad ranges of experience in civic life in Alabama’s coastal region. Mathews worked with a similar commission following Hurricane Katrina. Other members include Linda Whitlock of the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, Herb Malone of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Sheila Hodges of Meyer Real Estate.

“We have a lot going on but we are still in the day-to-day battle of trying to get paid,” Kennon said. “At the same time, we are looking down the road at how we can get to a better place.”

In regards to the beach cleanup, Kennon said he is insistent on a Jan. 1 deadline to finish the project.

“Nothing has changed for me. It has to be done by Jan. 1.”