Mobile County wants to buy out some homeowners in Theodore area

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Mobile County officials say the best solution for chronic flooding in an area along Bellingrath Road is to move – and the county wants to help homeowners do so.

The county received Department of Housing and Urban Development funds after Hurricanes Sally and Zeta in 2020 and selected about 50 homes south of Mobile for voluntary buyouts. The county is continuing outreach efforts and plans to open the program up to applications in the next few weeks.

Gordon Bauer, the county’s director of grants, said the budget is about $2 million, with some flexibility to expand that if interest proves strong.

The houses that qualify are on Thomas Drive, Clyde Drive, Mardanne Drive and Carolyn Way. Bauer said the county picked them based on flood data and feedback from the Public Works Department.

“And this is one of the really big hotspots, and there’s no alternative solution because of the topography of the area, the way that the drainage works there,” he said. “So this was identified as kind of the only solution for that problem.”

The federal money has restrictions. The program must target low-income areas. That rules out many waterfront properties in higher-income neighborhoods.

If someone is interested in selling, Bauer said the county will conduct an independent appraisal and pay fair market value. Homeowners who stay in Mobile County can get an additional $25,000 or $10,000, depending on income thresholds.

Reaction has been split.

“Money talks,” said Richard Payne, an 89-year-old Mardanne Drive resident who owns five properties in the neighborhood.

He said he is willing to listen to the county but is curious about the fair market value description.

“I don’t know what that is, though, see?” he said. “I bought but I never sold nothing here.”

Rick Watson, who has lived on and off for 69 years in the home his parents first had on Mardanne Drive, said he is open to selling – but not because of flooding.

“Why? Just because of the area, you know,” he told FOX10 News. “It just went downhill over the years. It’s like I said, it used to be a nice, safe place, but it’s – you hear gunshots. You know how it goes, you know. The neighborhood went down. Houses are all blocked. They get cold in the wintertime. It’s hard to keep them heated.”

Some residents questioned how bad the flooding really is. John Richardson, who has rented his home on Mardanne Drive for close to 10 years, said Hurricane Sally caused some structural damage. But he said the house has never flooded.

“This area doesn’t flood that bad,” he said. “You know, heavy rain, it’s pretty much like any neighborhood, it’s gonna collect some water. But there’s other places in town that collect a lot more water than this area does.”

Margaret Box, who lives on Thomas Drive, said her house has been water-free for as long as she has owned it. She said flooding certainly is a problem in the road, but she suggested it would be less expensive to fix the drainage.

“Pretty much anytime it rains,” she said, describing how water swooshes past her property. “Really heavy, for sure. But if it rains, it’s puddling right there. … Our land is very marshy, so it holds water for days after it rains.”

Bauer said the county plans to tear down any houses it acquires and put in detention ponds and other features that will reduce flooding for residents who remain.

But Box said she has no interest in selling.

“We have the best neighbors, and we’re totally happy here,” she said.

Betty Sue Milburn said she also does not want to sell a home where she has lived for 22 years. Like many of her neighbors, she said excess water never has made it inside her house.

“I’ve never flooded,” she said. “And I’m at the dead-end of Thomas,” she said.