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Home My WebLink About05-08-2026 Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board Meeting Minutes MEETING MINUTES ~ STANDARD MONTHLY MEETING MAY 8, 2026 / 3-4 PM, FAIRHOPE PUBLIC LIBRARY ~ UPSTAIRS BOARD ROOM ATTENDEES COF Officials: Nicole Love, Justin Hammers, Councilman Joshua Gammon FEAB Board Members: Amy Paulson, Ben Frater, Anna Keene, Carl Couret, Amy Paulson, Sarah Bogdanovich, Jennifer Foutch, Nigel Temple FEAB Members Absent: 1 Oﬃcial Quorum Count: 8 FEAB Active Participants: Nancy Harrison, Resident; Gary Gover, Resident; Sarah Chandler, Resident Honored Guests Jane Finger, Resident; Scott Douglass, GMC/Resident; Beau Beuhring, GMC; Sally Stevenson, Resident Minutes Author: Nicole Love Commencement: Amy called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. SUMMARY OF SALIENT DECISIONS, DISCUSSION, AND ACTIONS ● NA DETAILED MINUTES 1. Housekeeping a. RESOLUTION: March meeting minutes approved w/correction:add Gary Gover to active participants and then approve minutes. b. Nigel has been approved by City Council for reappointment. c. June Subcommittee Meetings: i. SWAMP working group will meet June 12th at Hope Community ii. Greenspace working group will meet June 12th in Giddeon Room 2. Magnolia Beach Restoration Presentation – Beau Buhring/Scott Douglass – Goodwin, Mills, Caywood (GMC) a. Site History – long term pattern of beach erosion – due to reduced sand input to the beach. Why? i. Gullies feed much less sand to the beach ii. Bluﬀs no longer erode iii. Storms iv. SLR b. Seasonal patterns dominated by winds c. History of interventions i. Bulkhead installation to protect the oak tree may have caused some more erosion downstream. ii. Consistent beach renourishment every 5 or so years. d. Rock breakwaters will be placed oﬀshore and expect to hold sand permanently e. Question about native plants instead of sod. i. Was told that City reps preferred sod for maintenance. ii. FEAB would like to encourage the use of native vegetation in place of sod. 3. Monarch/Bee City Discussion – a. Nancy Harrison reached out to several diﬀerent residents/businesses about becoming participants in either a Bee City or Monarch City and received several positive responses. 4. Priority Initiatives and Subcommittee Reports a. Greenspace & Native Habitat – Ben/Steven i. Stephen has been meeting with City staﬀ about characterizing parks and seems like it has been going well. i. What they are developing can put it on google maps and can put it on social media. ii. April Subcommittee meeting: i. Decided to shift the discussion of greenspace to what isn’t currently greenspace and what could be. a. Reason for switch - recent experience Ben had wondering what people mean when they say we are “losing greenspace”. There has been a lot of social media discussions about it recently. Also, that was a general theme during comp plan meetings. ii. One thing that gets brought up a lot is about private property where people go in and clear all of the trees from their property. Why is that allowed? a. This did lead to some discussions about the tree ordinance and maybe how to better incorporate landscaping and tree protections into other ordinances like stormwater or LID. iii. So where are we with undeveloped properties? a. The idea is to develop a map of undeveloped land – private and public that could be presented to the City. b. Perhaps the City could approach some landowners for options on purchasing their land or conservation easements. iv. Third leg – greenspace doesn’t have to be somewhere else. You can have greenspace in your own yard. How do we create incentives to have greenspace in your backyard? b. Update from Justin / Natural Parks: i. Hermit hut hopefully ready to be moved. ii. Nature Center – should be done in July. iii. Winn dixie pond – carp and screen. iv. Working with Carmen Flammimmi – Auburn Extension Agent – to plant several varieties of native milkweed in FCNP. c. SWAMP – Sarah B. i. Next work day – May 16th at Hope community ii. Next meeting – June 12th iii. International compost week iv. Community compost hub is oﬃcial – certiﬁed by the Compost Stewardship Institute v. Website created for “What Now” guide – sarahbogdanovich.com 5. Wrap up a. Involvement & Education Opportunities: Nicole- possibility of having a joint meeting with other Baldwin County and Daphne Environmental Committees in September, more information to come. b. Future Agenda Items: TBD ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 pm NEXT MEETING: July 10, 2026: 3-4, Fairhope Public Library Upstairs Boardroom Subcommittees will meet June 12th FEAB CONTACT INFORMATION: Chairperson: Amy Paulson amy.paulson@yahoo.com (251) 654-7401 Board Members: Sarah Bogdanovich smbogdanovich@gmail.com (727) 421-7321 Carl Couret ccouretjr@yahoo.com (251) 518-6376 Jennifer Foutch Foutch.jennifer@gmail.com (618) 318-0354 Ben Frater ben.frater@gmail.com (404) 314-8815 Jim Horner none (251) 928-9722 Anna Keene anna@keenliving.pro (251) 279-0395 Steven Scyphers sscyphers@southalabama.edu (334) 701-8864 Nigel Temple 757nigel@gmail.com (757) 803-3589 Active Participants Sarah Chandler sarahchandler504@gmail.com (504) 239-6651 Lance Slater lanceslater@gmail.com (251) 599-5259 Jamie Crawford 7jamiecrawford7@gmail.com TBD Cynthia Rush crush300@gmail.com (251) 223-3880 Jean Normand DrJNormand@aol.com (251) 278-4866 Nancy Harrison twicethroughdunloe@gmail.com (251) 923-9453 Gustavo Douaihi gdouaihi@gmail.com (225) 772-0258 Gary Gover govers@bellsouth.net (251) 990-8662 CITY CONTACTS: Nicole Love, COF Grants Coordinator nicole.love@fairhopeal.gov Justin Hammers, COF Urban Forrester justin.hammers@fairhopeal.gov Christina LeJeune, COF Planning and Zoning Department christina.lejeune@fairhopeal.gov Michelle Melton, COF Planning and Zoning Department michelle.melton@fairhopeal.gov MEETING REFERENCES FEAB Vision: to serve as a trusted, scientific resource providing a local environmental perspective to policy decisions to ensure environmental matters are given full consideration in the City’s decision-making processes. We strive to positively affect the quality of life for all residents, their connection to our local ecosystems, and the resilience and sustainment of Fairhope as a small, yet world-class, city. FEAB Role: the FEAB is dedicated to increasing awareness of environmental issues, offering recommendations to City administrators, and providing state-of-the-science consultation in the implementation of sustainable solutions. MEETING READ-AHEADS Land Use Plan - Environmental Issues. See FEAB NOTES and 2024 FEAB LUP SUPPORT LETTER TO CITY. The following list identifies specific sections of the LUP that are relevant to the FEAB’s mission, speak to member professional expertise, or have been identified as Board priorities. We offer our utility to the City as you identify opportunities and track progress across the LUP and particularly for the following Tasks: Ongoing ● Task C-2: Preserve natural areas and wetlands for recreational use ● Task C-3: Enforce green space requirements within new developments ● Task C-6: Encourage pest control and landscaping companies to implement best practices when applying pesticide and fertilizer ● Task C-7: Promote living shorelines ● Task C-8: Preserve and maintain gullies for recreational areas ● Task C-11: Implement Low Impact Development through the use of green infrastructure ● Task C-12: Construct Low Impact Development pilot projects in public right-of way and green space ● Task G-1: Design more parks for passive recreation Year 1: ● Task C-9: Develop and/or update City codes to protect the environment ● Task C-10: Identify development incentives for environmentally-friendly project components Year 2-3 ● Task C-4: Develop and implement green space maintenance plans for areas that are not covered by existing maintenance agreements ● Task E-20: Develop a citywide Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Greenways Masterplan Year 3-5 ● Task G-2: Develop new parks in the eastern and southern portions of Fairhope