FAIRHOPE, Ala. — A month ago, the Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board met in a mostly empty City Council chambers.

However, last Wednesday it was standing room only in the conference room next to the mayor’s office.

Twenty-one people attended the Dec. 12 meeting, more than twice the number at the October and November meetings.

“I really felt there was a new sense of enthusiasm,” said Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board Chairman Jim Horner.

In addition to the citizen committee’s seven members, City Councilwoman Debbie Quinn and Assistant Public Works Director Ken Eslava also attended the meeting.

“I started the committee in 2001,” Quinn said. “It came out of the election and a lot of concerns about flooding and water quality of the bay, rivers and creeks in the area.”

The advisory group’s purpose includes studying local environmental issues and to provide educational informational to the public and policy advice to the the City Council, according to the city’s Web site.

“In making its decisions, one principle the board will apply is the principle of sustainability, which means the ability to meet present needs without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs,” the Web site states.

During the meeting, Horner outlined the results of the group’s decision about its priority issues for the coming year, which included the following:

• Support storm water authority legislation for the county;

• Preserve Fly Creek watershed during construction of Highway 13;

• Create an environmental mission statement for the city;

• Update the Top 10 environmental priorities for city; and

• Study the city parks and list needed improvements and repairs.

Horner also assigned committee members to lead the work on each of the issues.

“It was very important for us to put together a work plan and assign people to champion those items,” he said. “It looks like we’re putting together a plan to get something done.”

Horner also gave an update on pending environmental issues.

He said the County Commission had changed its mind about plans to ask for an Attorney General opinion before enacting zoning laws for unincorporated flood-prone areas of the county

“They decided to not even ask for an AG opinion,” he said “It’s a very dead issue.”

He said that he and board member Ron Heveran had attended “an outstanding meeting” in Foley on Dec. 5 for a Storm water Working Group meeting trying to come to grips with Baldwin County’s mounting storm water issues.

Heveran said the the working group’s organizational members, such as the FEAB, would be conducting educational programs showing the need for a regional storm water authority that would determine how to address county storm water problems.

The Dec. 12 meeting of the FEAB heard a presentation from Dean Mosher of the Fairhope Single Tax Corp. on how the city’s gullies act as a natural storm water system.

He said the Baldwin County Board of Education was giving approximately 9 acres of property that would serve as undeveloped buffers to protect the city gullies. He said that approach should be used in other places in the city.

“The area around Highway 104 is the central part of Fairhope for the next 50 years,” he said. “Instead of building just one more subdivision up there, I think we should think about purchasing it and protecting it in some way.”

A number of people were attending the group’s meeting for the first time.

“I’d like to suggest that some of our guests attend our monthly meetings on a regular basis,” said board member Harry Phillips, former chairman of the group and a member since the committee was established.

One newcomer to the meeting was Bobby Green of the city’s Tree Committee.

“Tom Ellis, our chairman, said there ought to be some kind of communication between the Tree Committee and the environmental group,” Green said.

“Will you be coming to future meetings,” Phillips said.

“Absolutely,” Green answered.

“Pretty soon it looks like we are going to have to move to a larger room,” said board member Garland Sims.

The Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board meets the second Wednesday of each month at 9 a.m. at the conference room in City Hall.