BP Restore Act Application - Fraud and Deception

Dear City Council and concerned citizens:

The city of Fairhope is in application for BP Restore Act funds. In doing so the Mayor and City Council are liberally using the names of Senator Shelby, Senator Jeff Sessions and Congressmen Bradley Byrne, as well as saying they have White House support, whatever that means.

This application based on a paid-for “Study,” the nebulous Fly Creek Watershed Restoration Project, developed by Thompson Engineering, is at-best a cut-and-paste document. It is the cornerstone for Restore Act funds and a vehicle to settle a long-standing law suit against the city of Fairhope.

The “Study” was developed in order to project a need for restoration of the watershed. However, it is flawed in many respects. The study admits that the greater portion of the watershed is privately owned by the Corte family, but omits the fact that the major damage–the creek is full of red clay–was caused by Arthur Corte and his development of a Publix supermarket. The study also omits any reference to the documented creek damage. These two facts alone flaw the entire report, and were deliberately omitted by the City.

Thompson Engineering is the same company responsible for the colossal failure of a boom project crossing Alabama’s Perdido Pass, a 3200-foot steel boom completed in July 2010. The cost of $4.6 million dollars ballooned to $5.2 million; it lasted a little over a week. It was a boat hazard and threatened to damage the bridge, stopped no oil and was removed faster than it took to construct it. It was disassembled, removed and the city of Orange Beach sold it for scrap.

My point is that for the right money Thompson Engineering could probably tell you that they can make pigs fly or build a bridge across the Atlantic Ocean. The more disturbing aspect of this lawsuit settlement, or “park” is the Mayor and City Council conspired to omit the public from any public participation. They conspired and violated open meeting rules. This was obvious when the authorization for the Mayor to proceed with a settlement was added to a Council agenda, April 2013, prior to the meeting, without any public notice. The attorneys and engineers were all ready to explain this fantastic opportunity to a council and mayor, without any public notice. The minutes of the meeting state the Mayor needed public input and public authorization to proceed, but this was ignored.

The second meeting, October 2013, again left out any public input. The Mayor and Council went into executive session, returned to council chambers, announced a settlement and then held a regularly-scheduled public participation, after the fact.

This fantastic opportunity cost the city $3 million in attorney fees, $3 million in a down payment on the land, withdrawn from our utility fund and a separate bank loan, a debt, of $5.75 million—all done without any public input or knowledge.

The lawsuit settlement then became the Fly Creek Watershed Restoration project to be paid in full by Restore Act Funds, which are not yet available for use.

The city has another threatened lawsuit involving Titi Swamp. They are applying for Restore Act funds to settle this lawsuit, as well.

This is just an overview of the scheme. A more detailed account will be provided to BP fraud investigators, and of course, all affected parties.

The Mayor, Mr. Tim Kant and Senator Trip Pittman, are already subjects of multiple fraud investigations involving BP.

Our former insurance carrier, American Municipal Insurance Corporation, is also suing the city as well as the mayor personally—for excessive fees paid to the attorneys, Hand-Arendall, in the Triangle Lawsuit.

The City of Fairhope got not one drop of oil. However, it is requesting millions. Should this be the model for Dauphin Island and Bayou La Batre–who were affected directly by the spill?

I respectfully inform you of these highlights as I know you as well as the general public are only told limited details about what really goes on behind the scenes.