From Environmental Engineering to Public Service: Brett Gaar’s Vision for Baldwin County

Brett Gaar, candidate for Baldwin County Commissioner District 4, joins Blair Castro and Thomas Jenkins on WFUZ-TV’s The People’s Voice podcast to discuss his campaign and vision for the future of Baldwin County.

A fifth-generation South Baldwin County native, Brett recently retired from Volkert Engineering after nearly three decades, where he served as Vice President of Environmental Operations and worked on major coastal infrastructure and environmental projects across the region.

During the conversation, Brett talks about responsible growth in Baldwin County, protecting local waterways and natural resources, and ensuring that infrastructure and public safety keep pace with the area’s rapid development. He also shares insights from his years working in environmental compliance and coastal projects, and how that experience shapes his approach to land use, conservation, and long-term planning for the county. 

Learn more at https://brettgaar.com!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Good evening. Welcome to WFUZ TV. I'm Blair Castro and I'm here with Thomas Jenkins. Today we have Mr. Brett Garr in the studio with us today. He's running for Baldwin County Commission District 4. Mr. Garr, thank you so much for joining us today. Well, thank you, Blair.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

And thank you, Thomas. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Wanted to get into it and ask a little bit about your experience and your background. What do you believe qualifies you to be the best person for this position on the commission?

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Um I just I retired from Volkert Engineering um five years ago uh after 29 years, and I ran the environmental um department for Volkert, and that gave me a unique um look at how funding works through the Federal Highway Administration for uh infrastructure, roads and bridges projects, um and through Al Dot. Um our our most of our clients were either municipalities or the states. And understanding that um process, I felt like gave me a big advantage on understanding how to help with infrastructure, um, not to mention uh working in the environmental compliance um business. Um my job was to make sure whatever we built was done in accordance with federal and state law. And I think that's a good fit for being a county commission.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

I would think so too, especially because as you are aware and everyone is, there's stuff being built all the time. Development's going up, housing going up, commercial going up. It just seems to be nonstop. Um I guess as a criticism, or you know, what's your assessment of do you think the commission needs to sort of have someone with that background in terms of do you think they're in compliance generally, or or do you see it kind of being out of control?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Um, I think um we were in on the verge of overdevelop development in some areas and other areas, you know, they could probably use a little um uh to keep the local economy going. But overall, Ballin County's um uh uh see there's a lot of development from along the eastern shore, Foley, Gushore, Orange Beach. Um and we just gotta be careful. Um, we can't do too much, and I think the public uh is uh uh probably feels like we are.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

What is your take on these uh solar farms that are coming up in Stockton and surrounding areas, uh especially from an environmental standpoint?

SPEAKER_00 2:55

And a solar field site uh is a very unique site, not only because it's so big, but it's located in the headwaters of uh the Tinsaw River, which is an outstanding Alabama water. Um there's a lot of wetlands, there's a flats, flat Creek, Rains Creek, Aiken Creek, and a lot of high quality wetlands associated with those tributaries. Um and because the site is so he hilly, um, it would be hard to grade that site without substantial impacts to the adjacent streams.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

I've heard that, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

And there's not a lot of organic material in those soils, so I hear that they pro proposed to have it uh a grazing for livestock, and it's mostly clay and s and um sand, and you're not gonna grow pasture on clay and sand. So I'm not sure how that's proposed to work, but um overall there's gotta be a lot better location. I'm not against solar energy, but that's not the right place for it.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Yeah, that's what I keep hearing is it's not just wetlands, but like you said, high quality wetlands that need to just be left untouched from the sound of it.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Yes, those those wetlands, in fact, I did an uh uh an assessment of those wetlands about 20 years ago with Corps of Engineers, Fitch and Wildlife Service, EPA, Department of Conservation, uh for another project, and the the quality of wetlands were as high as they can get, really without being title wetlands. Um very pristine, yeah, no invasive species, uh good biodiversity, um good buffers. So we've got to find that there's gotta be a better location that's flat.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

And and it doesn't necessarily have to be in Bauman County either.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Sure. Agreed.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

I think um I had no idea there was even a natural spring out there until recently. We went out there and filmed our little documentary and really got to see more a Stockton area, and it is one of the most, you know, ecologically sort of special areas within the county, I think, yeah. That people just don't recognize it and it's sort of a hidden gem, and maybe they want to keep it that way, which I understand. Um, but even here on the beach, I feel like we've just seen it be overdeveloped to the point where uh we had Joe Freeman in here the other day talking about how when he was a teenager, the sand dunes are so big you couldn't see beyond them. People could like hide behind the dunes and stuff, and now like none of that exists anymore. It's just you know, condos, embassy suites, etc. So I think that's something that's very important to people that are natives of you know, Florida, Alabama, the coastal area. We don't want to see the place we call home turned into, I know we need tourism, like for sure, but we don't want to see it turned into uh just you know concrete sky.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Right, right. I agree. Um, if it wasn't for Gulf State Park, um you would be too hard-pressed to see the the Gulf and along if you're driving driving along the uh 181. Yeah, 80, 180. It's 180, yes. Okay. Um we need more uh open spaces. Um I would hate to see everything developed and be concrete and asphalt. Um I think it when you're driving along the beach road and you drive into the to the park, you know, you feel like, whoa, that's awesome. You know, I would like to see more of that. I don't know, they could make f people feel good. You know, and when they come here, they're not coming to see asphalt and concrete, they're coming to see the beaches and sand dunes, and and they also want to see inland too. Um the uh the history, the heritage of Bolland County, not just the beaches. So I own it not only on the beaches, but in inland too, and get some open spaces for people to see as well.

SPEAKER_02 7:28

I think uh Fort Morgan is one of those areas, too, that's a very untouched sort of area, sort of like Stockton, but on the opposite end that people really want to preserve its character and stop some of that development. Um as a commissioner, it's interesting because while you're elected to represent a certain geographic district, you really represent the whole county. Right. And uh you guys got asked a question before at the one of the other forums, which I thought was interesting, was how do you um see yourself when it comes to responding to people from like all over the huge county that we have?

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Um, well, obviously people in Fort Morgan have a a lot different concern than people in Dockton or Elsinore. Um you gotta listen, see what the concerns are and try to address them for those areas. Um one shoe doesn't fit everybody, and we just have to meet with them and see what their concerns are in those locations and try to assist where we can. And not, like I said, not don't try to make one shoe fit everything, because it doesn't.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

So you currently live in Magnolia Springs, is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 8:42

I do.

SPEAKER_02 8:42

How long have you been there and where are you, I guess, originally from? Are you from this area and what brought you here?

SPEAKER_00 8:48

I'm the fifth generation from Ballman County. Um uh lived in Magnolia Springs um for all of those years, uh, with the exception of four years in in in Auburn. I have been in the Magna Springs area. Um I right now I live about 400 feet from where I grew up, right next to my parents' house uh on the south side of Magnaya River.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

That's a really pretty area out there too. And I think people forget about that. Every time I drive by, I'm like, wow, I forgot this existed too. And um Bonsacor, like Wildlife Refuge. There's a lot of stuff on, I mean, all over the county and the state that people, you know, I'm I'm always impressed because I'm from Pensacola when I came here, like how much there really is to offer here in South Alabama.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Yeah, I I don't think we necessarily take advantage of all the eco-tourism opportunities we have in this county. Uh I've had a lot of people do, but uh, you know, you never hear anybody talk about Perdido River basin, and there's about 30,000 acres that are uh publicly owned in the Perdido River basin, Weeks Bay Foundation and Preserve. Uh the obviously the uh what America's Amazon, the the Kinshaw, um the refuge down here, Guff State Park and Grand Creek in Foley. There's we've got a lot of uh great parks in this in this county. And I think there's an opportunity there that we're not taking full advantage of. So I'd love to see more of that done.

SPEAKER_02 10:35

I think so too. It's funny that you mentioned ecotourism because that was going to be my question. So, you know, here on the beach in particular, of course, there's a lot of tourism and it's centered around, you know, there's some festivals and things to do, but there is a growing demand for people who care about the environment, want to see these like last sort of preserved areas of our country that are really into like natural parks and going kayaking and going hiking and you know, doing um foraging, looking through different plants and wildlife, birding like that is a huge industry that actually generates a ton of income. Um, so I would like to see us take advantage of that more. There's just so much there. So I'm glad you brought that up.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

I agree 100%. Um I a lot of people may not remember the oil spill in 2010, but I was here for that and I was right in the middle of trying to help work the cleanup. Uh and um the economy of Ballin County is very dependent upon a healthy environment, and people don't really understand how much, unless you really remember the um the oil spill and what happened during that time, you you really can't appreciate it. Um quality of life in Ballin County is dependent upon a good health, uh good, healthy environment.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

So I was in Escambia County during the oil spill and uh working with some contract work with the county itself and trying to, you know, procure the triumph funds and going through that process. I remember when it all washed up and it was this still an ongoing devastation that you know 15 years later or 16 years later, is like there's still triumph funds out there that people are tapping into because it's affected us for generations to come.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Yep. I think, yeah, I did a lot of the um restoration work uh when I was working at Walkert. Um in uh all of the state uh coastal states got a lot of money to do restoration work, and that money is continuing to be pumped into the environment uh and the environmental restoration work all along the coast. And I think that run that money runs out in about 2035, if I'm not mistaken. Uh and they're well, Guff State Park is one of those projects. Um, all the tr the trail system that was paid for with uh oil spill mining.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Um do you have experience in navigating um like helping a system, not necessarily a county government, but do you have experience in navigating, helping get money or funding for different initiatives?

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Yes. I've worked on a lot of grants in my career, and so you know, most of these municipalities, not just in Baldwin County, but everywhere, um, are dependent upon grants for a lot of the road work they do. Um, you know, in our case, uh I was on the town council in Manu Springs for four years, and most every project we did in Baldwin in uh in Manu Springs was dependent upon some grant money. Um so in order to get funds from Federal Highway and Aldot for municipalities, you have to approve, get an approved environmental assessment. And until that document is approved by Federal Highway, the funds don't uh float. So that's what I did a lot of. So I'm I'm very familiar with that process.

SPEAKER_02 14:18

I've been as a citizen in no like official capacity talking to my city officials about trying to get different programs started. And I always hear back, we don't have money for that, we don't have money for that. But here, let's take out a$20 million loan to expand the airport. Let's take out a bajillion dollars to do a pedestrian bridge. But I feel like the programs and things, even I pro propose stuff that I say, we don't need funding. Here's a grant, here's this, here's that, here's XYZ, where it won't come out of the city budget. And I bring forth solutions, I feel like I get shot down a lot. And these other really big ideas that, you know, maybe they're great, but I just feel like they're very, very hefty. They're overlooking the small things and focusing on like very big builds. So um, I guess my question would be how do you feel about prioritizing um funding and how do you get input from people to determine that?

SPEAKER_00 15:06

I like to grade the infrastructure, and when I say grade, and give it a uh a value like this graph, this road uh gets a B, this road gets a C, this road gets a D, and and explain why it's getting those grades and have a report in your hand that you can show to the public saying this road is gonna be the first is gonna be our first priority because it got a an F, and it's not safe for the public to drive on, and we have the funds to fix it. So that's our first one. And our next one is gonna be this one, they got a D. We might have to skip C because it's still safe. It's not like we want it. But the one that scored A, they got an A, we could it only could take a little bit to fix it, and we have enough money to do that, so we're gonna do that one this year. And then next year we've got enough money to do C, and we'll go back to C and fix it C. So I hope I answered your question. But I think you need to grade your infrastructure. You need to know how much it's gonna cost to do what you need to do to keep the infrastructure safe for the public.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

Well, when it comes to LDOT, what is the magic formula to make them come down and fix a traffic signal timing issue?

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Synchronization. Uh I'm not sure I have the answer to that. I'm not a traffic engineer. I'm an environmental guy who has the environmental document to get the money. Right. But as far as getting the the the um lights synchronized to where you don't have to stop at everyone, uh I would ref I would refer you to transportation engineers. So I can't answer that one.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

Yeah, the um you're talking about grading the infrastructure. Are they currently doing that? Is there a way to see like how they propose that?

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Um I some municipalities do. I know Aldot does that, um, but I can't speak for every municipality. I think it's a good idea. You can hire if you don't have staff to do it, you can hire a consultant to do it pretty cheap to go out and do an assessment of your infrastructure and tell you what it's gonna take to to get it where it needs to be.

SPEAKER_02 17:28

Yeah, I've been to quite a few meetings and I've never actually seen that as a it is a good idea, and I'm sure there are places doing it, but I just hadn't actually put eyes on it, so now I'm interested to go look.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

Well, I know uh I know Gov Schwartz does it, I know Foley does it, I know Manu Springs does it. I don't I can't speak for anybody else. That's the ones I'm sure of. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 17:49

Um, another question that I seem to hear a lot about in terms of priorities is the public safety here in the county. As a commissioner, what would you do to help you know support public safety?

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Um, well, regarding public safety, uh I always worry about the our firefighters, and most of them are volunteers. There's a few that might I think Jeff Shores, Orange Beach, Foley, the bigger school towns obviously have paid staff, but there's an awful lot in the county that are volunteers, and we approve all these subdivisions, not just in the county, but in the municipalities too. And I don't know how much emphasis or how much input the first responders are in included in that process, and that's one thing I would really like to see changed or improved on is including the first responders and the schools for that matter. That's it, that's infrastructure. To me, the school system and the first responders are infrastructure just like a road or a bridge or a sewer line. So we need to include those entities in the approval process for subdivisions.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

Yeah, I'm still confused about that new high school going up, which is you know really incredible as a facility, but the location of it gives me some concern when I think about public safety and I think about the infrastructure and the actual physical location. And we have talked about like the potential of schools owning that, the lights there. Now they're building up that little gas station area with like restaurants, there's apartments over here, gonna be pedestrians, gonna be a lot happening. Margaritaville right down the road. Like it just seems like it's a cluster of activity that might develop into something in the future. So I hope that you know whoever's in charge of that, I was that be the county or Al Dot? I mean, if there's a lot going on, so I don't even know who's if you're talking about access to the Beach Express or by coastal gateway up on the yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

That would be the city, I believe. Um that's a a city street, not a I believe, Milas uh state-readed and the expressway itself, though, it's like right off there.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

And then you have that side's Orange Beach, and then like that side a little farther's foliage, and that side's Gulf Shore. So it's that like this weird area where I feel like um communication could possibly be better.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Well, that's coordination with all those entities you just mentioned is pretty important uh to make sure and it's all working seamlessly. Do I have answers for all that? No, the the way the only way to fix that is make sure everybody's working together. Um particularly Albot's got to be in an equ equation because they own the Beach Express. Yeah. And they can dictate how a lot of that happens.

SPEAKER_02 20:36

How what experience do you have in planning and zoning in particular? Because I feel like for a commissioner, that's kind of the most important area that I know there's their own planning zoning commission, but um do you have any background in that?

SPEAKER_00 20:48

I do. I'm actually on the board of the board of adjustments for the town of Manito Springs, and I was on the board of adjustments for the for the county for about 10 years. Uh, in fact, the a friend of mine is Steve Pumphrey, who's the chairman of the planning commission for the county, and he just endorsed me. We were we've been friends for a long time, but uh uh I worked with him at Vulcan, and I understand the process. Uh having been on a town council and on the board of adjustments at two locations, it gives me a pretty good understanding of the zoning and and and uh subdivision regulations for the county. Um I know what the the issues are. I think we need to take a hard look at the now. The county's done a really good job in making our subdivision regulations more s more strict than they've been ever. So I don't I want to give them a shout out for that. Um, but it's uh it's a living document that needs to always change as our conditions change, as the population changes, as areas develop. We need to change that document.

SPEAKER_02 22:03

Speaking of living document, I think the county has a written 10-year plan, if I'm not mistaken.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 22:10

How many years are we into that at this time, or do they just do another one?

SPEAKER_00 22:15

I don't know the answer. I don't know what year we're at.

SPEAKER_02 22:19

Okay. Yeah, I wasn't sure. I mean, I I just read something about that today. I was like, oh, there's a 10-year plan, like a printed, you know, outline for things, which I think is important. Um and I know we did that in Scambia County, Florida, where I'm from. It was especially in Perdito Kia, their own master plan, too. Like that's something you need to be forward thinking and plan for that.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Well, I think you're actually required to have a comprehensive plan in place if if you're going to get funding for a lot of things. So it's very important that we have a comprehensive plan in place, and all the municipalities have to have a comprehensive plan as well. So it's good that those are all mishmished together. And I think it's very important and that all the commissioners and the municipalities, no matter what district you're in, that you have a good working relationship with all of them. Because, you know, just because you're in district four doesn't mean you won't be talking to the mayor of Baminette about a road project that could affect Baminette and doesn't have anything to do with where you're Latin in uh Orange Beach or Gulf Shores or Manho Springs or Foley.

SPEAKER_02 23:22

Maybe so something I would like to see in the future is a suggestion for if you get elected, not so much a question, but um things like that, like the master plan and how to communicate with you know, planning and zoning, how to do this stuff. I think the county I would like to see better communication with what the county is actually doing in terms of you know publicizing stuff online, news coverage, like front-facing communication with the public, and then also better communication interacting with the public with the commission and planning and zoning and the staff a little more too. Because I feel like the communication is where a lot of the disc you know disconnect is sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

Yes, I agree.

SPEAKER_02 24:10

I know when we got started, we had a lot of qualms with the county, and we went and kind of like raised hell at a meeting. Um, like he did. Not so much me, but I came with ideas and stuff, and I felt very dismissed. And I would that was you know, a year ago or something now. At this point, they all respond and communicate very well. But I feel like in terms of systems, not every municipality or like town will do that. The county got to that point where they, you know, actively were like, okay, let's explain. Let's, you know, we are doing this, this might be wrong, instead of like just being like dismissive, no, you're wrong, we already do that. Here's this. They took the time to sort of educate me and direct me in the right way because it's hard to navigate like county government.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

I think it's really important for the the county and not just the county, all the municipalities as well to feel like they need to work with the public and not be uh adversarial towards each other. There's no reason for that. We all need to be on the same page. No, I know we're gonna disagree, and some people are gonna be against a particular project, others are gonna be for it. And there and there's no way to uh for all of us to hang hold hands and sing together all the time. That's not gonna always work that way. But uh what what really needs to happen, in my opinion, is when people come to a public meeting, a public hearing to say what they're concerned with, or to call a county office and uh want to find out information about a particular project, that staff, including the commissioners, should mindset should be to try to help them get that information. Now that doesn't mean we gotta agree with you, but we do it is our job to make sure they get the information they need.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

Uh and at least respond. It's nice to even just have a response sometimes, and uh yeah, it goes a long way.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

And I'm and just treat people the way you want to be treated. That's I keep saying that, but I truly believe that you treat people the way you want to be treated. If they go to the trouble of coming to a meeting and they come up and sit to a podium to speak, most people don't like doing that. Right. And if they're doing it, it's a big deal to them. So let's act like it's a big deal to them and appreciate them coming and treat them, treat them well.

SPEAKER_01 26:28

Yeah, totally agree with that.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

Doesn't mean you have to agree with them.

unknown 26:32

Right.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

But treat them with respect. Yeah, and accessibility. That I think that's about the biggest thing.

SPEAKER_02 26:38

Yeah. Is there anything you think the county can do in terms of helping with affordability right now? I think that's a big issue on everyone's mind because things team seem to be very expensive. Housing seems to be incredibly expensive, and I know that's you know, people say that's the markets, we can't do anything. Um, do you have any thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_00 26:59

Well, that's a tough, a tough one. Um the markets dictated by the price of the land and what the um the cost of material and what they can get. Uh and that's a supply and demand issue. And I don't think the I don't I don't want the county commission being involved in that. I want the public sort sector to handle that. Uh I don't want us being involved in that. There's no way I want the private sector to build things, and then if if it's too much then people don't buy it, and if it's the right price, they do buy it.

unknown 27:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:43

I mean, if they need to go to a different place in the county to get it where that need where they can afford it, and then uh that's again supply and demand. Right. My family, I want to say to talk about my family. Uh I've like I said, I was born and raised in in Magnolia Springs. Actually, I was born in Foley. They don't have a hospital in Magnolia Springs. Yes. But I've lived my 59 years in in Magnolia Springs. Uh went to Auburn, graduated from Auburn when I finished Auburn. I came back and worked at Volkert. And I've read we've got me and my wife have been married 30 years. Uh, we've got three kids, two girls and a boy. Uh all three of them have graduated from Auburn, and I'm very proud of them. My oldest one graduated from Auburn and UAB, and she's an occupational therapist and works with kids in Daphne as an occupational therapist. And my daughter, my middle one, graduated in finance, and she works for a um software company that sells software and hardware to banks. And my uh son is the youngest, and he just interviewed for a job with the count with the um with the state to become a game warden. He graduated in wildlife science. Thanks. And hopefully he'll be a game warden one of these days because that was his last of three three-part interview.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

Oh wow, that's cool.

SPEAKER_00 29:15

And let's see. I am a a part-time farmer, and I got a uh uh four-acre pecan orchard that I take care of, and I try to grow pecans and what else? I guess that's it. That's all I can think of.

SPEAKER_02 29:39

Yeah. I wish I had four acres to grow stuff.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

I'm sorry. Uh my website address is brettgar.com. And my phone number is 251-377-4486, and email address is brett.gar at gmail.com. You please contact me at any of those anytime you want to.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

All right. Thank you so much for coming out here today. And the primary is on May nineteenth, and get out a vote on May 19th. Thanks for coming in.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

Thank you.