City of Florence Owes England Auto Salvage an Apology

Last night the Florence City Council voted to purchase a 157 acre tract west of Florence. The land is currently in use as a country club and 18 hole golf course; if the council has its way, in six or seven years at least part of this land will become the new landfill.

Councilman Barry Morris, who previously voted against tearing down a dilapidated trailer park in order to erect patio homes, recused himself from the vote. Had his father-in-law not owned part of the Florence Golf and Country Club property, he would have voted in favor of the purchase.

All this from a mayor and city council who cannot make enough derogatory comments about the two England brothers salvage businesses that lie outside the city limits. Now we will have an expanded landfill, razed golf course, and polluted Cypress Creek, all adjacent to a major state highway (part of it just christened the Stewart Cink Parkway), because the Florence City Council wants an easy way out to dispose of future garbage? Or is that the only reason?

We hear other rumors, but at present they are just that--rumors. Like Mike Curtis' and Tammy Irons' votes/non-votes on a substantial raise in the Alabama Legislature, we won't forget what happened last night. All of North Alabama will be watching.


Finding humor where you may: One wag in the TimesDaily Forum this morning suggested Florence rename the Stewart Cink Parkway to the "Stinkway." It does have a nice ring to it.

Shoalanda

"And the Graveyards of the Rusted Automobiles"

"Honestly, I don't notice it," she said of the salvage yard. "It just doesn't bother me because it's a legitimate business." She added that what people in the city see as junk, the England brothers see as profit. - Rhea Tays Fulmer, Lauderdale District I Commissioner

While Lauderdale County Commissioner Rhea Tays Fulmer may be blinded by dollar signs, others in the Shoals have been at odds with the England brothers for the past 15 years. Brothers Nolan and Nelson (Red) England own adjoining salvage yards at the eastern entrance to Florence. The twin junk yards lie on the north side of Florence Boulevard in an unincorporated area. In other words, nothing the city fathers have to say about the businesses matters, and the Lauderdale County Commission continues to turn a blind eye, stating the regulation of such enterprises is not within its current legal domain.

When Nelson England first opened his salvage yard in 1965, the area was still considered rural, and junked autos were hardly the most unsightly adornments along U.S. Highway 72. By 1994, the Alabama Department of Transportation initiated a suit against England, claiming he had encroached on its right-of-way and was violating the Highway Beautification Act. In March of that year, England planted trees and erected fencing in an attempt to shield his business from the passing public, but the DOT declared these were also on state ROW and mowed them down while moving utility lines. In August 1994, Circuit Court Judge Larry Mack Smith gave Nelson England 60 days in which to remedy the problems.

England retained Florence attorney John Morrow to represent the salvage business, and Morrow managed to obtain delays in enforcing Smith's order. By 1996, Morrow himself became the subject of an investigation into the embezzlement of clients' funds, and the DOT lawsuit fell by the rusted and littered wayside.

At the urging of Florence City Councilman Tommy Pirkle, the Alabama DOT resurrected the suit in 2003, and Circuit Court Judge Mike Suttle imposed a second 60 day order to shield the business from public view. This time, England was represented by Harold Peck, the former partner of disbarred attorney John Morrow, who attempted to find a compromise that would amicably settle the suit.

Friends of England questioned why Paul N. Johnson was not subjected to a similar suit for his large stretch of similarly junk-ridden property. Did the City of Florence and the State DOT have it in for Nelson England personally? According to officials with the DOT, Johnson's property was classified as a construction site and did not fall within the range of their regulations. Without home rule, Lauderdale County lacked any legal footing to force Johnson to clean up his perpetual earth moving operations riddled with rusting equipment very similar to that found on England's property.

It was during this period that England learned he was entitled to sue the State DOT for the trees and fencing destroyed in the 1994 utilities move, delaying any permanent settlement yet again. Now, five more years have passed. The State of Alabama has not reimbursed Nelson England for the property it destroyed, and England has not complied with the court order to install new screening. Unfortunately, not everyone is as blind as Rhea Tays Fulmer to the gardens of broken glass and rusted metal that mark England Salvage--just as Steve Goodman had it pictured.

What's up with this: New Coffee Health Group CEO Jody Pigg is looking for ways to improve cash flow at its three facilities. Perhaps a look at nepotism policies would be in order?