A Message from Mayor Stimpson - December 1
Dec 1st, 2020
Good evening,
It is 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1, and I am writing to give you an update from the City of Mobile.
Today, the Mobile County Health Department reports 20,023 COVID-19 cases, which is an increase of 163 cases. To review the most recent detailed reports from MCHD, click here.
This evening I am beyond excited to share some great news for our community. Earlier today, the City of Mobile finalized plans to purchase nearly 300 acres along Mobile's coastline through a partnership with the state of Alabama that will provide public access to our waterfront for generations, preserve sensitive wetlands and secure invaluable property for future economic development.
We welcomed Governor Kay Ivey to Mobile today to help us make this exciting announcement because this transformational purchase would not have been possible without her support and her staff working with us for years to identify funding sources for this long-sought goal.
The purchase agreement approved by the Mobile City Council today will secure nearly 150 acres of waterfront property in one of the last undeveloped areas on our shoreline - an area that will be turned over to our Parks and Recreation Department. While there is still planning to be done, whatever form this park takes, it will be dedicated to ensuring all our citizens can easily access Mobile's waterfront.
As part of this same purchase, we will also be able to preserve 50 acres of ecologically sensitive wetlands along our coastline that can be opened up for public access as well.
Another 100 acres adjacent to the Brookley Aerospace Complex will be dedicated to economic development and will help accommodate suppliers and support services as Brookley continues to grow into the world's 4th largest site for the construction of commercial aircraft.
All together, these parcels of land are being purchased from the University of South Alabama Foundation with $33 million set aside from state and federal funding streams. The City of Mobile also has a $9 million option to purchase an additional 50-acre parcel over the next five years.
Today's announcement was the culmination of years of planning and negotiations, but I truly think we have wound up with a win for the City of Mobile, The USA Foundation, the Mobile Airport Authority and the State of Alabama. It is hard to overstate how impactful this property will be on our City's future.
It seemed fitting that my morning devotional focused on Lamentations 3:25-26, which reads: "The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." At our press conference today, I said my ongoing prayer has been that God will continue to send the people and resources to the City of Mobile needed to transform it into the city He wants it to be.
I think what we saw today is part of that plan, and I hope you'll join me in celebrating a tremendous day for our community.
Sleep tight,
Mayor Sandy Stimpson