Just Sold

Finding Local Officials When You Need Help

From getting a pothole filled on your street to finding out code requirements for your new bathroom, there’s a local government official who can help. The thought of calling around, though, trying to get someone’s attention at City Hall, can seem like a good way to drive yourself crazy. But it doesn’t have to be.



More and more cities, counties, and townships are making it easier to find what you need and to monitor how well they’re responding to requests. And whether you’re a community organizer or a concerned homeowner, you shouldn’t feel like you’re heading into uncharted waters. More than half of citizens had contact with local government within the last year, according to Tom Miller, president of the National Research Center.

Getting Started

Every city and town is unique, of course, but basic services for the community and homeowners tend to be similar. Local governments typically have a version of these agencies:

Code Enforcement: Also known in some places as the Department of Buildings, this is where you call about the neighbor with 100 cats or a back porch that’s falling down.


Parks and Recreation: Typically responsible for maintaining and developing local playgrounds, parks, and other recreational amenities.
Gulf Shores: 251-968-1420

Police: If the party down the block is still going strong at 3 a.m., dial the non-emergency number for your local law enforcement.
Gulf Shores: 251-968-2431    Orange Beach: 251-981-9777

Public Works: When you need a dangling tree limb removed after a big storm or the street repaved, call here. In a bigger city, this may be broken into specific entities: streets, sanitation, sewers, forestry, and so on.
Gulf Shores: 251-968-1156   Orange Beach: 251-974-5681

Recorder of Deeds: The county is usually responsible for housing deeds, and this is the place for a copy of yours or any related questions.

Orange Beach: 251-981-6779

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/finding-local-officials-when-you-need-help/#ixzz0vk0BGVZg

Outdoor Lighting for Curb Appeal & Safety

Think about it: Most of your guests (and if your home is on the market, many would-be buyers) see your home only in the evening, when its best features may be lost in the shadows. Well-executed outdoor lighting enhances architectural detail and plays up landscape features, casting your home in the best possible light and adding an abundance of curb appeal

Outdoor lighting also adds value. Judith Patriski, an appraiser and owner of Quad Realty Co. near Cleveland, estimates that for upper-bracket homes, an investment in outdoor lighting can yield a 50% return. “When you pull into a driveway and see a gorgeous home, you’re going to pay more for it,” says Patriski.

And she emphasizes that it’s not only about aesthetics: “In all price ranges, lighting for security is important”—both to protect against intruders and falls. Here are the elements of successful outdoor lighting.

Mimicking Moonlight

Much of the success of exterior lighting hinges on its design. Hang around lighting designers long enough and you’ll hear a lot of talk about “moonlight effect.” That’s a naturalistic look that features light no more intense than that of a full moon, but still strong enough to make beautiful shadows and intense highlights.

Other Techniques Outdoor Lighting Designers Use

Highlight trees: Whether illumined from below or given presence by a light mounted in the tree itself, trees make stunning features.

Use uplights: Uplighting is dramatic because we expect light to shine downward. Used in moderation, it’s a great way to highlight architectural and landscaping features.

Have a focus: The entryway is often center stage, a way of saying, “Welcome, this way in.”

Combine beauty and function: For example, adding lighting to plantings along a pathway breaks up the “runway” look of too many lights strung alongside a walk.

Vary the fixtures: While the workhorses are spots and floods, designers turn to a wide range of fixtures, area lights, step lights, and bollards or post lights.

Stick to warm light: A rainbow of colors are possible, but most designers avoid anything but warm white light, preferring to showcase the house and its landscape rather than create a light show.

Orchestrate A Timer: with confirmation from a photocell, brings the display to life as the sun sets. At midnight it shuts down everything but security lighting. Some homeowners even set the timer to light things up an hour or so before dawn.

Adding Safety & Lamp Security

Falls are the foremost cause of home injury, according to the Home Safety Council. Outdoors, stair and pathway lighting help eliminate such hazards.

Often safety and security can be combined. For example, motion-detecting security lighting mounted near the garage provides illumination when you get out of your car at night; the same function deters intruders. Motion detecting switches can also be applied to landscape lighting to illuminate shadowy areas should anyone walk nearby.

Even the moonlight effect has a security function: Soft, overall landscape lighting eliminates dark areas that might hide an intruder, exposing any movement on your property. Overly bright lights actually have a negative effect, creating undesirable pockets of deep shadow.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/outdoor-lighting-curb-appeal-and-safety/#ixzz0veeT9VHv

Just Listed Behind the Gates at The Peninsula

"Grillin' for the Gulf"

Masterbuilt Employees

MASTERBUILT, Located in Columbus, GA offered Gulf Shores residents, business owners, employees, city employees & charter & commercial fishermen a free lunch on Friday July 23, 2010 at the Erie Meyer Civic Center. The sole purpose was to provide a free lunch for the people in our community that have been affected by the recent oil spill.  The delicious menu consisted of barbecue, corn on the cob, green beans, chips, cookies and rolls & Coca Cola products for drinks. 

The service was fast and efficient and the food was excellent.  Over 30 Masterbuilt employees chartered a bus from Georgia to help cook, serve and clean for the lunch.  Gulf Shores City employees were also there to help.  Other sponsors for the lunch include:  Coca Cola, Bruno's, John Boy & Billy The Big Show, Blossman Propane, Bud's Best Cookies, The Smithfield Specialty Foods Group & Concept Inc. It was a well organized event and much appreciated by the Gulf Shores Community.  Thanks to all who helped and donated to bring us all together for food & fun!

Masterbuilt Gave Away Free Products

 Masterbuilt is owned by John & Don McLemore.  The company manufactures outdoor products including grills, smokers, fryers & introduced the electric turkey fryer.