ORANGE BEACH, AL – Fixing Alabama Point or renovating the state’s beachfront governor’s mansion.

To Orange Beach Councilman Jeff Silvers, it’s something he would have liked to discuss had he been aware of any money lying around unused.

“I was not aware the state was holding leftover BP grant money,” Silvers said.

Well, not anymore. As much as $1.5 million to $1.8 million in “leftover” BP money was recently earmarked to fund the renovation of said mansion in the Fort Morgan area. It’s in dilapidated condition and has been since Hurricane Danny in 1997.

“A couple of months ago I had heard it was going to happen,” Silvers said. “And there was some talk from some contractors in our area that were supposed to meet down there at the actual mansion site.”

Silvers is the Sales Manager at Swift Supply in Orange Beach and talking with contractors is a regular part of his day. A company owned by Gulf Shores Councilman Phillip Harris won the bid to do the renovations.

“I started getting some phone calls from the contractors,” he said. “I told them I didn’t know anything about it other than that mansion had been boarded up for 15 to 18 years, something like that, and it ought to be torn down.”

The first question Silvers said he had was about funding.

“I left a message for the governor and I have not had a phone call back,” he said. “I saw (State Rep.) Steve McMillan at an event and he came up to me and said ‘I guess you were right about the mansion.’ I asked him where the money was coming from and he said he did not know.”

After eventually finding out about the BP money funding the renovation, Silvers, like many in the state, wondered if it was the best use for the money.

“Here we have Alabama Point with a chain link fence in front of it – the greatest place for kids and young families who can’t afford charter fishing boats,” he said. “And for the handicapped accessibility for people in wheelchairs to be able to fish off Alabama Point.”

Back when the state was considering a fix for the popular fishing wall officials said it would take upwards of $10 million or more before it could be repaired and reopened, leaving the recently found BP money a little short.

In October of 2012 Alabama Department of Transportation Southwest Region Pre-Construction Engineer Don Powell said the state was working on plans to fix the crumbling wall and estimated it would cost $7 million to $10 million. Powell, according to the staff directory at ALDOT, is now the Operations Engineer for the Southwest Region.

When the Islander made a follow up call to see how those plans were progressing in March of 2013 Powell said the fix was out of the state’s 10-year plan.

“It is currently not in our 10-year program because of the costs and our financial situation,” Powell said at the time.

Silvers said the BP money, though well short of the amount needed, would still have been a good start toward getting the wall back in shape.

“We have offered to put monies toward that with the state and from what I understand the mayor has worked tirelessly with those folks to get it out from under the ownership of ALDOT and put it under marine and conservation,” he said. “We’ve not been successful.”

During a town hall meeting with ALDOT Director John Cooper in October, he was asked about a repair for the Alabama Point fishing wall overlooking Perdido Pass.

Again Cooper said the state didn’t have the money to fix it.

“Do you want a bridge or do you want a fishing wall?” Cooper said at the time.

Silvers says he can see some benefits for the state the mansion could provide.

“I understand what they want to do with that mansion and bring potential business partners down there for it, and put ‘em up and show ‘em the Alabama Gulf Coast,” Silvers said. “I get that. But I think we have miss prioritized what we need to do with leftover BP grant money.

“I just don’t understand how it got prioritized and if that mansion needed to be repaired and renovated. I just don’t know. I’m disheartened by the priority.”

A local effort led by two residents got 220 signatures on a petition to send to Montgomery concerning the fishing wall. Bill Jeffries said the petitions were left at four bait and fishing supply stores in Orange Beach at J&M, Sam’s, Top Gun and the Gulf State Park Pier.

“Allen McElroy and Bill Jeffries have had his petition passed around to send up to Montgomery to prioritize the repair of Alabama Point,” Silvers said. Jeffries said he could easily get 500 more if he circulated the petition more widely.

McMillan, the long-time state representative from Gulf Shores says he can see where a renovated mansion could be a benefit.

“I think it’s needed myself,” McMillan said. “You can look at the negative side of it, I guess, or come up with something negative. I know that previous governors used it for very productive purposes as far as entertaining economic development related activities.

“Plus cabinet members used it on occasion. Years ago they would let legislators use it on occasion and state officials like the lieutenant governor and people like that.”