MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In a capital where almost anything can turn contentious, there has mostly been a consensus on a matter of housekeeping for close to two decades: A rehabilitation of a ramshackle governor's mansion on the Gulf Coast would be political folly.
So when Gov. Robert Bentley's office acknowledged last month that Bentley, a second-term Republican was renovating the home with up to $1.8 million that BP gave the state after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it was something of a jolt, particularly because the property in Baldwin County is intended only as a retreat for governors.
Bentley, who cannot seek a third consecutive term, is making no apologies for the decision, which provoked debate about BP's payouts after the spill; questions about what a state short of cash is doing supporting an executive escape; and testy posts on social media by the governor and the state auditor, a fellow Republican.
"If this were a house in the woods in North Alabama, nobody would think anything about it," Bentley said in an interview last week. "It just sounds more elaborate when it's on the beach. But it's a state-owned property, and it is our responsibility to repair state-owned properties."
The 7,446-square-foot home on the Fort Morgan peninsula is an embarrassment by virtually every account. It was most likely the only governor's residence in the country with a rusted gate and boarded-up windows.
"The so-called governor's mansion at the beach is a textbook example of poor stewardship of public resources," said the state auditor, Jim Zeigler. "The Alabama government is bad about taking money for one purpose and diverting it to somebody's pet project."
The dust-up comes as Alabama faces scrutiny for other decisions about how to use money from BP. In Mobile, for instance, a pending lawsuit challenges a plan to use tens of millions of dollars from BP for a hotel and conference center.
The governor's mansion on the coast has an uneven history that began in the 1960s, when George C. Wallace was governor and developers donated land to the state as part of a strategy to lure potential investors to the coast. The deed stipulated that the land could be "used solely for the construction and maintenance of a residence for the governors of the state of Alabama."
E. Lamar Little, a developer, said, "We wanted to attract some interest throughout the state of Alabama at the time, and we thought the best thing to do was to get some of the political people to start coming down."
But governors scarcely traveled to the home. Wallace, for instance, skipped the dedication and, according to newspaper accounts in the state archives, was at most an infrequent visitor.
In 1997, Hurricane Danny so devastated the site it could not be used without expensive repairs that would have been electorally risky. (Bentley is Alabama's fourth governor since the hurricane.)
And so the home became rotted and worn, even as neighbors repeatedly complained. It stayed that way until Bentley eventually settled on his solution: what he described as "leftovers" from a $25 million grant that BP provided in June 2010.
"The needs have been met along the coast," said Bentley. He said he wanted to use the refurbished property for economic development, events for foster children and official entertaining.
That assessment has drawn some scorn in coastal communities. "Obviously, there are other things out there that are arguably more important, more pressing that could use that amount of money," said Mayor Jeff Collier of Dauphin Island. "We still have unmet needs, and, unfortunately, after it's all said and done, we'll probably still have those."
BP, which last year announced a separate $2 billion settlement with Alabama, declined to comment on a decision that many observers said only a second-term governor could make.
"It would have been a campaign issue, and that's an issue people can understand, too," said Steve Flowers, a political columnist and former legislator. "That dog would hunt in a campaign, more than a tax increase, in my opinion. Sometimes, tax increases don't affect people, but if they think you're trying to feather your own nest, they don't know about that."
Flowers supports the plan. "You've got the windfall of money," he said. "You've got the property. Why not fix it up?"
State officials, citing security concerns, have been reluctant to disclose details of the renovation. Many of the plans were contained in a handsome portfolio that architects presented to Bentley, who said he wanted the project completed in time for a Memorial Day event for veterans.
But the governor forcefully denied Zeigler's assertion on Facebook that he sought upgrades to the property only after a divorce in which he lost two beach houses.
"We've been working on this for a long time. All right?" Bentley said with a trace of anger as he gestured toward the plans, which were dated Aug. 27. Bentley's wife, Dianne, filed for divorce on Aug. 28; the couple had been separated since January, according to a court document. (The governor's office disputed the separation date, which was included in Dianne Bentley's divorce complaint, and said Monday that the couple lived together until late August.)
The governor made a similar case on Twitter in December, when he said Zeigler was "lying" and complained about news outlets publishing the auditor's allegations. Zeigler, for his part, stood by — and often repeated — his charge.
But even as Zeigler insisted that the renovation was wasteful, he said his hostility toward a benefit of the governorship had not been universally welcomed: His wife backed Bentley's plan.
"In case, by the grace of God, I were to run for governor and be elected, we would not have to fix it up ourselves and take the heat for that," he said. "We would use it."