Vestavia Bowl staff says 3-foot "submarine doors" keep interior dry despite parking-lot flooding

A staff member who identified themselves as affiliated with Vestavia Bowl said in the transcript that the bowling alley sits in a flood zone and relies on removable 3-foot "submarine doors" to keep rainwater from entering the building.

"We installed these submarine doors many years ago, which we lock them up. We put them up every night at close," the staff member said, adding that the doors are about "3 ft tall." The speaker said the business is "down in a hole" and that while water often pools in the parking lot, the interior usually remains dry. "I've been here for 28 years or so and probably five or six times has water actually made it in the building," the staff member said.

The speaker framed the doors as a routine precaution: they said the barriers are used regardless of drought or heavy rain and provide "peace of mind." The most recent rainfall described in the remarks, the speaker added, did not make it into the building.

The transcript does not identify the speaker by name or give a formal role title beyond the stated affiliation. The remarks do not include requests for government action or references to specific permits, funding, or local flood-control measures.

Because the comments describe a business’s local mitigation practice rather than a formal government decision, the record contains no vote, motion, or directive tied to the remarks. The transcript preserves the speaker’s description of past experiences and the technical detail that the removable doors are approximately 3 feet tall and are fitted nightly at closing.