ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — Baldwin County voters will have a choice to make when they go to the polls this November.

Right now, it’s called “Act 08-507,” and according to Roberta A. Swann, Director of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, the idea is to create a public corporation to regulate storm water.

“Part of the problem is that rain does not fall like a mist around here,” Swann told the Baldwin County Association of Realtors at their meeting Thursday, April 15 at the Baldwin County Coliseum. “It falls in golf-ball size drops.”

The heavy rain leads to flooding and erosion problems, she said. Worse, the problems are not confined to one particular town or city. Rainwater runoff in one community can become a problem in another community.

“Communities need to manage their watershed together,” said Swann. Unmanaged storm water runoff, she added, causes erosion and carries pollutants to ponds and the Bay.

“We need to bring a uniformity in how we deal with storm water,” said Larry Chason, a member of the Association and the BCWC.

So, Swann says, a countywide solution to the problem is needed. A public corporation, with the power to levy service charges on property is the BCWC suggestion. While final amounts have not been announced, the amount a property owner would pay depends on the amount of “impervious surface” that is on the land.

For a home, it would be based on the area of the roof, sidewalks and driveway, if those surfaces won’t allow water to run through. Swann estimates the charge will be $12 to $24 at this time, depending on the square footage of “impervious” areas, surfaces that do not allow rainwater to reach the ground. More would be charged for very large commercial establishments.

“We want to raise funds to do on the ground projects,” said Swann. So far, the Baldwin County Watershed Coalition has identified about $150 million in projects. Swann estimated that the assessments would run from $12 to 24, but final amounts would not be decided until later. The assessments will not cover all the projects the BCWC has identified, but it will be a start, she said.

“We ae looking at generations of work,” she said.

In other action, the BCAR heard form Judy Niemeyer about an event to be held for CARE House at Oak Hollow Farm April 24.

Nick Wilmott, President of the BCAR, told the group that home sales were up 26 per cent as compared to last year.

“we’re getting things closed,” said Wilmott, adding that he’s seen Realtors doing things they would not normally do, like helping families move.

“That’s what is making houses move,” he said.