Mobile County approves $30.5 million RESTORE-area MOU and awards $24.4 million docks contract
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Summary
The Mobile County Commission authorized a memorandum of understanding to act as subrecipient of up to $30,511,522 in RESTORE funds for a city docks redevelopment and awarded a $24,436,326 construction contract for Battery City Docks, both pending routine legal review.
The Mobile County Commission on Wednesday authorized a memorandum of understanding with the City of Bayou Bache to implement redevelopment projects at the city docks included in the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council’s multi‑year implementation plan, and separately awarded a low bid for construction at Battery City Docks.
Under the MOU, Mobile County will serve as subrecipient of RESTORE funds in an amount “up to $30,511,522,” and the commission authorized the president to sign necessary documents pending legal review. Speaker 2 (Staff member) read the MOU language to the commission; Speaker 1 (Commissioner) moved approval and Speaker 5 (Commissioner) seconded the motion.
Why it matters: RESTORE funds, distributed to Gulf Coast entities for recovery and resilience projects, can support large infrastructure work that affects waterfront access, economic activity and shoreline resilience in Mobile County. The county’s role as subrecipient means it would accept and manage federal/state RESTORE funds for projects listed in the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council plan.
The commission also approved award of the low bid for the Battery City Docks project to Ben M. Radcliff Contractors in the amount of $24,436,326 and authorized execution of contract documents. The award followed a motion by Speaker 1 and a second by Speaker 2. Other agenda items tied to capital work included a decrease in the contract for Bayfront Park Landside (change order reducing the contract by $116,355.97 to a final $5,310,845.53) and a small decrease to the Isom Clemen Memorial Civil Rights Park contract ($493 reduction to a final $1,480,332.08).
Commissioners and staff noted several of these approvals remain subject to legal review or additional documentation before final execution. Speaker 2 told commissioners the MOU and the franchise agreement with a fiber utility (discussed elsewhere on the agenda) would be presented for review “before” signing. The franchise agreement with Fiber Utility Network doing business as Alabama Fiber Network was approved on the agenda “pending legal review.”
The vote recording on the large MOU and the docks award was the standard sequence of motion and second on the record; the transcript shows the commission proceeded to the next items after the motions and seconds and later confirmed item 55 had been voted.
Smaller capital items approved at the same meeting included awards and contract amendments for park and master‑plan work (Thompson Engineering amendments for building stabilization projects and Watermark Design Group amendments for preliminary cost estimating), HVAC and building maintenance bids, and bids for street resurfacing contracts across several municipalities.
Ending: County staff indicated the MOU and large contract documents will undergo legal review and staff will present final contract paperwork to the commission for signature. The commission moved into an executive session after the regular agenda to discuss separate economic development and real property matters; no votes were taken in that session on these waterfront items.
