Baldwin County Legislative Delegation to Lease Office in Bay Minette Mayor Bob Wills’ Building

BAY MINETTE, Ala. — The Baldwin County Legislative Delegation will move into a new office in Bay Minette in a building owned by Mayor Bob Wills, under an agreement the Baldwin County Commission approved Nov. 16.

Commissioners voted to lease the building on D’Olive Street after the delegation agreed to pay the full cost of the lease, $49,080 a year. The initial resolution had called for the commission and the delegation to split the cost.

Terms of the lease

According to the lease agreement presented to the commission, the lease with Robert A. Wills Sr. gives the delegation, through the county commission, the first floor, parking lot and grounds of 125 D’Olive Street, the location of Wills’ law office. The term runs from Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2027. The delegation will pay $4,090 a month, for a total of $245,400 over five years.

Under an act of the Alabama Legislature, the county commission must provide office space for the state delegation. Local legislators currently use a county-owned building on Oak Street in Bay Minette at no charge. The delegation has two offices, one in Bay Minette and one in Fairhope.

Commissioners question timing

Commissioner Billie Jo Underwood, chairwoman of the budget committee, at first asked that the vote be postponed until commissioners and legislators could discuss the proposal.

“I just simply didn’t think we had had an opportunity to discuss this and since there was an ask of the condition, a monetary amount,” Underwood said.

She said she wanted to study the proposal before committing the county to a five-year lease.

“I just simply wanted to have an opportunity to look at what was there,” Underwood said. “This showed up on the agenda very quickly. And it’s like, OK, we’re going to enter into a five-year lease for something.”

Commissioner Jeb Ball said he would agree to the proposal if the delegation paid the full cost, but said the matter should have been raised before the first meeting of the new term.

“If our attorney’s OK with this modification and it doesn’t cost us anything and we’re not on the hook for anything,” Ball said. “We’re technically providing your space at no cost like we would anywhere else, but I do agree with Commissioner Underwood in the aspect of better communication on things like this. At an organizational meeting, we weren’t expecting something like this.”

Delegation cites need for space

Cliff McCollum, the delegation’s director of constituent services, said several new legislators have joined the Baldwin County delegation and more space is needed in the Bay Minette area.

“The current delegation office location on Oak Street, I think we all know, has seen much better days,” McCollum told commissioners. “And given the new influx of two new house members and a new senator into our delegation, it does not necessarily provide all the space we need to effectively do our jobs as a delegation.”

“The thought was having a presence in Bay Minette is very important to the delegation,” McCollum said. “This is our county seat. This is a very important part of our government up here, especially for our members that are out of the county. We have five members of our delegation who do not live in Baldwin County.”

McCollum said the delegation wanted the move to proceed quickly so it could prepare office equipment, citing supply chain issues. He said the delegation would pay the full cost of the lease if the commission approved it that day.

“I believe that when we initially began this process, the delegation was thinking we were probably going to be on the hook for the whole thing anyway,” he said.

Ethics question

Asked whether it creates a potential conflict of interest for Wills to serve personally as the delegation’s landlord while also asking the delegation, as mayor, to address the city’s legislative needs, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office declined to comment and deferred to the Alabama Ethics Commission. The Ethics Commission did not respond.