In a packed meeting on Friday, over 100 Fort Morgan residents gathered at Shell Banks Baptist Church to discuss a proposed bill in the Alabama Legislature to annex 16 properties into the neighboring city of Gulf Shores. By the end of the two-hour meeting, the residents, State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine), State Rep. Frances Holk-Jones (R-Foley) and Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft and the many attendees reached an understanding to have more communication.

The proposed annexation, initiated by a bill from Rep. Holk-Jones, would bring 16 properties owned by 7 families into Gulf Shores. One parcel is owned by the city itself. The annexation would allow the property owners to access city services like education that are currently unavailable in unincorporated Fort Morgan.

Before the question and answer part of the meeting took place, Mayor Robert Craft explained to the attendees that the City of Gulf Shores had no intention of annexing the entire Fort Morgan peninsula. He informed the group that those who asked for annexation had done so on the own and were not solicited.

Mayor Craft expanded on the statement by informing the crowd that Gulf Shores had to account for it's resource usage (including water, sewer, police and fire) for the current citizens of Gulf Shores.

Representative Frances Holk-Jones and Senator Chis Elliott explained that this annexation was being done by a Legislative Services Attorneys. There will not be a vote by the community. Senator Elliott confirmed the process and explained that the required notifications had been done. He further added "At the end of the day I would stick a pin in that, that's handled."

Over 1,000 people signed a petition against the annexation. The Fort Morgan Civic Association also claimed the annexation process did not meet Alabama code requirements for written notice and filing maps.

When residents began asking questions, an apparent lack of communication was a point of tension. A map showing the proposed annexation properties were also another item of contention.

The Fort Morgan Civic Association inquired further about the "PJ" (police jurisdiction) services. Mayor Craft and Senator Elliott informed them that they want to be good neighbors and keep providing assistance. The expense of doing so would be a future subject. Currently Fort Morgan has protection services provided by the Baldwin Sheriffs but they lack a full-time Fire and Rescue Department.

The subject of schools was brought up during the meeting. It was confirmed that the City Schools of Gulf Shores were for residents of the city. Those properties within the city limits had use of the schools. Residents outside of the limits may possibly use the $7k vouchers the State recently enacted but the City School system would have to approve that process.

Mayor Craft was asked if any of the annexed properties could be allowed to rezone. He emphatically responded "no" to any up zoning. He reiterated that Gulf Shores did not want to create any high density areas. Earlier in the meeting Mayor Craft stated that there would only be two water taps authorized per acre of annexed land.

Representative Holk-Jones was asked by the FMCA why their attempts to be incorporated had been "stonewalled" and how three different bills were created. Representative Holk-Jones explained the process and proceeded to explain why "Landmark District" was not supported. She added that "Once you become a Landmark District this would stop these personal property rights." She stated that a Landmark District would not be filed until owners who wanted to be annexed were complete.

LANDMARK DISTRICTS - have been a common discussion in the news. Many small communities near Fairhope have become districts but later realized they had additional cost for water, sewer, and other infrastructure costs. Future property values were affected by the decision.

“(Landmark districts) don’t mean they couldn’t incorporate later or become annexed, but they could do it on their own terms,” said Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, said. Baker sponsored the Canoe Landmark District bill in 2019.

Many of the residents spoke about their desire to incorporate the town of Fort Morgan so they could control their own services. Senator Elliott explained the tax jurisdiction problems the county is currently facing.

At the end of the meeting it was decided to "act like neighbors" and have more discussions in the near future. The crowd gave a loud round of applause.