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School consolidation, sewerage, building codes on front burner
Arthur Threat, county extension coordinator had been the liaison to bring this group together to discuss growth in relation to the ThyssenKrupp Steel Mill, and the resulting effect upon Washington County's infrastructure, housing and social agencies. Representatives of: the Alabama-Tombigbee Regional Commission (ATRC), Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), Auburn University Economic Development Institute (EDI), U.S. Department of Rural Development, Washington County Department of Human Resources, Washington County Department of Mental Health, Washington County Industrial Authority, Washington County Hospital Board, and Alabama Power were present, along with the mayor of Chatom and the Washington County Board of Education.
The judge said that his military career was in planning. And then he quoted Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart, Robert. E. Lee's cavalry leader: "A poor plan perfectly executed is better than no plan at all." Singleton outlined his fourpronged program which included planning, personnel, physical plant and education: 1. Planning - which would include sub-division ordinances tailored for Washington County, trailer parks regulation and an infrastructure program. 2. Personnel - develop a personnel policy booklet for all county employees and create a Personnel Board for the county. 3. Physical Plant - a larger, more modern jail; courthouse security which would include a detector at the entrance; and affordable housing. 4. Education - plans include a training facility in the south part of the county for steel mill workers; and possible consolidation to improve public education. Building codes The judge emphasized that he has a letter from the state informing him that unless Washington County creates its own building codes, the state will do it for him. He went on to express the desire that the three municipalities and the county come up with a uniform building code and use one building inspector. Singleton said that approximately 50 percent of the mobile homes in the county are not paying tag taxes. Additionally, there are no ordinances governing trailer parks or sub-divisions. He emphasized that if the county "...does not adopt codes and get something in place, we are going to be left with the biggest mess." Sewerage Judge Singleton sees waste disposal as a major problem with the expected increase in population. When asked by Joe Sumners of Auburn University EDI how many people he expected and how soon, Singleton replied 3,000 to 5,000 by Thanksgiving. The county commission recently met with the governing body of McIntosh and other interested agencies and agreed to hire a consulting engineering firm to do a feasibility study for a sewerage system for the McIntosh area, as that area will be the first impacted. Harold Crouch, mayor of Chatom, said that the county officials are going to face strong criticism when they require perhaps a "$4,500 sewerage hookup fee." Singleton went on to say that Chatom's sewerage system was at its capacity and Millry. Then Leroy will be next in line for growth. Education - consolidation The judge said that the county had been looking for some time to build a training center in the south part of the county for the ThyssenKrupp workers, but at present the site for the training center is uncertain. Singleton sees school drop-outs as a major detriment to a well-trained work force. Superintendent Tim Savage said, "Judge, the problem with that is that the law says students must stay in school to age 16 only. At age 16 and one day, they can walk out." Additionally, Singleton emphasized that the school system cannot handle a great number of new students. Consolidation is a "very touchy" subject in Washington County, but Douglas Tanner, Washington County Infirmary administrator interjected. He said, "People in Washington County are going to have to get beyond looking at individual communities and begin looking at the community as a whole." As evidence he gave the Washington County Businessmen's Association as an example; an organization which he characterized as "not very effective," and whose members basically use the monthly meetings as a night out. Tanner went on, "I was in a meeting recently, where a person said, 'If we lose our school, we lose our identity.'" Then Tanner added, "There are things we are going to have to do that will 'fly in the face of provincial thinking.'We must have people who have the courage to step up and make the changes that need to be made." He went on to say that unpopular changes will have to be initiated by elected officials who can suffer politically. He urged other people to speak for school consolidation and other changes and not let the elected officials go it alone. Judge Singleton said that "....we are going to have to look at the demographics. We cannot offer a world class education presently." He said that Washington County High School is the newest school in the county and it was built 40 years ago. Millry, Leroy and Fruitdale are 70 years old. He expressed the opinion that it takes a great deal of money to keep up these old buildings. "People will say that combining these schools will not work; that the kids can't get along, but that is the parents' opinion, not the students." Offers of assistance Several representatives of agencies present offered their assistance. Joe Sumners of Auburn EDI told the judge, "We do have a planning department which does design." Ricky Dawson of U.S. Rural Development said, "We would like to meet with the county commission and tell you what we have to offer. We have a loan/grant program." Bea Forniss, with ADECA offered this advice to the judge: "You will need a Planning and Economic Development Specialist on site. You can't do it all. This will be massive and will be happening now! ADECA stands ready to assist." Frank Dobson of ATRC mentioned maybe $25,000 planning funds for seed money. The judge said that the next step will be a meeting with the Washington County Economic Development Initiative, a privately funded entity. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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