By Robbie Roberts, Pinson City Councilman – Place #3
The people were outraged over the possibility of a new jail being built in their community. “How could something like this be allowed to happen in our back yard?” they asked. With the possibility of such a project looming, the folks decided it was time to act. If they didn’t stand up for their community then who else would?
Is this a scene from some Hollywood movie? No, it’s part of the story of Pinson and the clash that happened back in 1998 between its residents and the Jefferson County Commission. The citizens came together and worked toward the defeat of a plan that would have placed a prisoner lock-up in the midst of what is now the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. Some of the people who had a better vision for the future than a new jail soon began to work toward incorporating the area into what is now the City of Pinson. The thinking was that by having local control the citizens would have their voices better heard whenever important local issues, including those regarding zoning regulation, needed to be addressed. Regrettably, the hard fought victories of the past seem to have become lost in the present.
Recently the Pinson City Council voted to lease a piece of city owned property, located in the heart of our retail district (located just behind Rite Aid), for the creation of a yard to park wrecked vehicles. These vehicles will be parked there while they are waiting for repair at a paint and body shop that is to be built using the former Big 10 Tires location. This isn’t just some piece of “green space” that was purchased off the delinquent tax roles for $100 but rather is a piece that the council purchased for $272,000 less than 3 years ago. The plan until now was to work with a developer to attract additional restaurants to our town. The financial aspects of this deal are quite unfavorable for taxpayers because not only has this property been purchased once with tax dollars but the body shop will be forgiven the sale price of $80,000 for an amount that could be as little as $45,000 using even more of your sales tax dollars! Yes, in the name of economic development taxpayers’ land and monies are being used to recruit a body shop to one of the few readily desirable locations for new restaurants in Pinson. Another important fact is that a typical restaurant could easily bring in 5 to 10 times more sales tax revenue than the current proposal.
I have no problem with a new body shop coming to Pinson but I do take issue with the desired location as it is currently zoned commercial and not light industrial as is common for such establishments. The insertion of a body shop into the heart of Pinson will do little to help us recruit additional dining opportunities for us to enjoy and in fact may render the remainder of the valuable taxpayers owned land as undesirable to future retail and restaurant developers. If you would, try and imagine the difficulty of recruiting a Krispy Kreme, Panera Bread, or White House Restaurant with a paint exhaust fume hood sticking up right next door. The use of taxpayer resources must be carefully weighed and quality of life enhancements should always be considered first before making important decisions that will affect the future of our city.
Back in 1998, the people of Pinson had a vision for a better future and stopped a jail from being built here and today we enjoy the beautiful Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. In 2015, the vision doesn’t seem to be as forward thinking as it once was. Regrettably, city leadership now seems to be willing to settle for less than the best and is content to squander precious tax dollars in the process.
Mr. Roberts is serving in his first term on the Pinson City Council and may be emailed at rroberts@thecityofpinson.com