Developer Control?

You know, there was an interesting article in the Tennessean a month or so ago, and I thought about posting something then, but it seems that it may be much more appropriate now. Here it is, and then I have a few comments considering some of the things that have been going on around here lately. What the heck, let's throw another log on the fire. Enjoy!

Conflict issues common on local boards
By JESSICA FENDER and SHEILA WISSNER - Staff Writers

In his first months in office, Thompson's Station Mayor Leon Heron, also a real estate developer responsible for proposed Roderick Place subdivision, has:

• Appointed a business partner's wife to the planning commission that must OK progress on the upscale, 80-acre Roderick Place. New commissioner Marcia Franks is married to the man Heron collaborated with to build the town's second and largest sewer system, records show.

• Finished a deal that leaves the town on the hook for upkeep of the 1.3-million-gallon sewage treatment center. A company Heron founded paid for about half of the $7.5 million system and gave the town $300,000 to take over its maintenance.

Heron says these actions aren't examples of conflict of interest.

Heron said Marcia Franks, the wife of his business associate and fellow developer, was a strong candidate for the planning commission spot because of her solid reputation in the community.

He said the sewer system was a gift he and Franks’ husband built to help the developing town, and that not just their developments that will use it.

See, I don't really have a lot of sympathy for our friends up north regarding this situation. Afterall, they knew exactly what they were going to get when they voted for Heron as Mayor. By the way, we have a nice track record with a few running for Aldermen in our city. Let's see if we(as a city) are smart enough to elect the right people. Here is the portion of the article that includes something that is a little more pertinent to our current situation:

The documents detailing the politicians’ income sources and investments show that Thompson’s Station is not alone in electing people with development and real estate interests to top positions in Middle Tennessee’s fastest-growing communities.

The setup — where politicians both guide growth and could potentially profit from it — is one ripe for conflicts of interest, experts and residents say.

At least 18 top local officials from booming Williamson, Sumner and Rutherford counties fall into that category, a Tennessean review of ethics disclosure forms shows.

Thompson’s Station resident Mary Khim said having a developer in charge of her town — where there are fewer than 2,000 residents, most of whom aren’t even tied to a sewer system — raises all kinds of questions.

"If anything comes up that just pertains to Heron’s property, he should recuse himself," Khim said. "But what happens when it’s a development down the road, which is seen as competition? Isn’t that seen as a conflict of interest? You’d almost have to recuse yourself from everything legitimately."

Now...had the Tennessean included Maury County in their review, they would have found another in our Ward 4 Alderman, Charles Raines. Now, Alderman Raines will be quick to tell you that he only votes with what is best for the citizens of Spring Hill. How could this be when almost every decision he makes most certainly effects his business in one way or another, ESPECIALLY LATELY? In fact, those of you interested in new school sites, do a little bit of "due diligence" and let me know if anyone in our city has anything to gain by pushing through any school sites in particular.

It sure seems to me that this thing has been set up for an awfully long time to artificially stimulate development in certain areas of the city that are not prepared for it. It also seems to me that certain people are intentionally trying to put the city in a horrible pickle. EVERYONE complains (including sitting aldermen running for re-election) when development spearheads growth without infrastructure to support it, and now they are the very ones trying to force growth to areas before infrastructure is in place to handle any of it. This will force the CITY to spend MILLIONS in road improvements and railroad improvements years before it is needed! Why not tack on another road that our city will have to try to figure out a way to widen in the immediate future.

While we are on the subject of "influence", I wonder how many of the other aldermen running for election next month are greatly influenced by big money developers in Spring Hill? Go ahead, take a guess.

I wonder how many running in this election have been having meetings behind the scenes, specifically discussing strategy, fund raising (with developers presenting plans before our city right now), and current city business? Would you be surprised to learn that as much as half of our sitting BOMA is meeting behind the scenes on a regular basis to specifically discuss city business?

IF you had been sitting at the Sultan's Table last Wednesday evening, you would have seen a parade of cars and activity into the Best Western for one of these such meetings. It would have been a Who's Who of developers, WAKM radio hosts, local politicos, former State Rep. candidates, and...oh yes...4 sitting Aldermen. I wonder what they would be discussing for two hours?

Here's my question to you all...What alderman candidates (if any) do you think are being supported by developers in this Spring Hill election? How much influence to you want our developers to have with our elected officials? It certainly would explain a few strange votes in the past couple of years by half of the board. And it sure would explain the divided nature of our board, especially when dealing with items passed to them from the Planning Commission. Think about it for a second...

Take your best guess, and if you are lucky, I will let you all know exactly who is dealing behind the scenes THIS TIME. I would think it lends quite a bit of credibility to Mr. Ken York's deposition if a couple of those people happen to be the same?

I wonder if Ceja Kingsley was there to report on any of this? Well I know she was there, but probably no report.

Something fishy going on here. Now the only question is ARE WE GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT AT THE VOTING BOOTH?