A dried-up lake in Mobile has sparked a long-running and bitter fight among neighbors. The collapse of a dam at Optimist Lake left the area overgrown and unusable. Now, a legal and personal feud is preventing efforts to restore the site.
Dried-Up Lake Causes Tensions Over Ownership and Control
Optimist Lake off Cody Road once hosted fishing, kayaking, and family gatherings. That changed after the dam collapsed in 2021.
Former HOA board members Mike Damoff and Allen Helms say they were fixing the dam when neighbor Sherry Gros sued them in 2019. The lawsuit claimed the HOA was not legally formed. A judge later dismissed the case.
Just 19 days after that ruling, heavy rain from Hurricane Ida caused the dam to give way. Damoff says the storm was the final blow. Gros disagrees and points to an engineer’s report suggesting the dam had already failed.
Public records show the Highland Park Community Association owns the lake. Gros is now the nonprofit’s registered agent, while Helms was listed before her.
Gros claims her takeover of the HOA was legal. She called it a “lawful hostile takeover.” Damoff and Helms accuse her of hijacking the HOA and dismissing their authority.
The situation has grown more hostile since then. Police have been called four times in the past two months alone due to confrontations. In one case, Gros accused Damoff of trespassing in a parking lot while an officer watched.
Damoff and Helms say they want to repair the dam and restore the lake. Gros does not. She prefers to upgrade the park area instead.
Mobile City Attorney Ricardo Woods sent a letter to all parties saying the city will not issue permits. The city will not get involved due to uncertainty over who holds decision-making power.
Despite the setbacks, Damoff and Helms are considering a fundraiser to support lake restoration. They say their only goal is to bring back Optimist Lake.
