Magnolia Springs votes to keep docks closed

By Jessica Vaughn
Posted 5/5/20

MAGNOLIA SPRINGS - The Magnolia Springs council chose to keep town docks closed until at least May 15, when the current Safer at Home order is set to be reevaluated. Docks have been closed during the …

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Magnolia Springs votes to keep docks closed

Posted

MAGNOLIA SPRINGS - The Magnolia Springs council chose to keep town docks closed until at least May 15, when the current Safer at Home order is set to be reevaluated. Docks have been closed during the previous Stay at Home order, with the exception of one kayak launch.

“I think the closure needs to be kept in place until we have more guidance from the state,” said councilmember Andrew Monaghan. “With the beaches being reopened I think a lot of the pressure is going to be alleviated from the public access in Magnolia Springs. A lot of the traffic is going to be directed down towards the beaches soon.”

Prior to the decision, council has discovered some of the tape put up by Deputy Derek Boone surrounding the docks has been removed by people opening up access themselves. Boone will be reapplying the tape and working near the river more often to patrol the area at the council’s request.

“At the present time we don’t need people congregating on the docks,” said councilmember Nick Shields. “They’re coming from all over Baldwin County, and that’s wonderful, we have a wonderful river, but the problem is we don’t know where they’re coming from and what they’re bringing other than their kayaks.”

There has been an increased amount of traffic by the remaining kayak launch, which has brought another problem: people ignoring the no parking signs. This is another issue that Boone will be dealing with during his patrols near the river.

Along with the docks, Town Hall will remain closed for the time being, until further guidance is given by the Alabama League of Municipalities and Governor Kay Ivey. At present, it is unclear what effect these closures will have on the town budget.

“We are on a declining revenue, we do not know yet what’s going to happen to our sales tax for March, April, and May,” said Mayor Kim Koniar. “We could be potentially losing three to four thousand a month in our revenue.”

Council is discussing potential routes to take in order to meet budget come October.

For more on Magnolia Springs, visit www.townofmagnoliasprings.org.