Florence v. St. Florian Redux

It hasn’t been that long ago that the town of St. Florian lamented how unfair it was of Florence to suggest the cessation of a defective sewer line service to a mobile home park located in that small northern Lauderdale community. Now it seems both Florence and St. Florian are claiming planning jurisdiction on a proposed subdivision. The subdivision may never materialize, but if it does, it will be interesting to see if sparks again fly between the two towns.

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If any of our readers felt a disturbance in the force yesterday, remember it was the first day of a new legislative session in Montgomery, or what many in the state consider Alabama’s answer to Comedy Central. After all, we don’t want to be outdone by Donald and Hillary. The new session is also playing havoc with weather forecasting in south Alabama since Montgomery ground hogs were afraid to exit their dens.

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We don’t usually comment on national news, but most of our readers are aware of last month’s helicopter crash in Hawaii which claimed the lives of twelve US Marines, one of them a Florence native. Now it’s been revealed that Lt. Col. Edward Pavelka was relieved from his duty as leader of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 on January 11 because Brig. Gen. Russell Sanborn had lost confidence in his ability. The official inquiries into the crash should be extremely interesting. Unfortunately, if blame for the crash can be placed at shoddy practices initiated by higher ups, it will hardly mitigate the grief of the 12 affected families.



Shoalanda

Talking Back to James Gibson

James Gibson is a man who wants a free ride. Well, don't we all? Sorry, it doesn't work that way, Mr. Gibson. For those who came in late, Gibson and his wife Pattie own a run down trailer park in that luxurious metropolis of St. Florian. For years the Gibsons have been hooked onto the Florence sewer line without paying any extra fees. Florence says no more.

Let's look at what Gibson says:

Why should I pay 20% more than anyone else? We'll take a wild guess it's because your trailer park is outside the city limits and the line is substandard. Does that make it any clearer for you, Mr. Gibson?

Why should I have 1 million in coverage? Again, the line is substandard and it serves many families who just might not have incentive to keep it free of things like towels, utensils, etc. You play, you pay.

There are too many homes in the park to provide a separate septic tank for each one. Really? Don't you mean you don't have the money to install these tanks? That's the bottom line, isn't it? You're running a business, but you don't want to invest in any capital improvements.

I feel like we've been singled out. Only because you're running a substandard business offering substandard housing. If you can afford to hire an attorney, you can afford to do the right thing.



Shoalanda

Local Politicians & Personal Finances

Years ago a certain man ran for mayor of a very small Shoals area town. One frequent comment about this candidate was that he had gone bankrupt running his own business; why should anyone trust him to run the town's finances?

There are always checks and balances in any government. The larger the government entity, the more such checks are in place. Yet, the question of personal financial responsibility should be part of any candidate vetting.

Rumors have long haunted a certain local politician concerning his personal finances. We do have to ask if robbing Peter to pay Paul is a personal business strategy, would that make him more apt to apply that strategy in city government?

We've often felt that many good candidates were overlooked as simply being a one trick pony. Maybe some are. Others with great ideas wouldn't know how to appear personable if the fate of the universe depended on it. Don't judge candidates on their personality or who their father was; ask real questions and demand real answers.

Candidates for county offices are already warming up for battle. Can candidates for city councils be that far behind. Start asking questions now. The Shoals deserves competent financial management.

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We see someone asked the difference in allowing a St. Florian trailer park to hook up to Florence lines and allowing Wilson School to do the same. We'll be happy to elucidate the individual.

First, these are two separate lines. We assume the Wilson School line is up to code. The St, Florian line is not.

Second, the school is not operating for financial gain. Allowing a school free use is hardly the same as allowing a business, in this case a trailer park.

Third, the misguided critic of Florence seems to think the residents of this park will have to pay for new arrangements. No, the owner of the park is responsible for that. Will the park close? Possibly.

As we recently advised with renters, anyone purchasing property should be aware of any legal restraints on or possible problems with the purchase. Buy a pig in a poke? Whose fault is it?



Shoalanda

St. Florian Freeloaders

To James & Patti Gibson: You’ve been getting free sewage for years, now you want to sue the city that’s been giving it to you? Nice couple. Remember, you’ll be suing the entire population of Florence. That freeloading attitude doesn’t make you popular.

To the Gibson’s attorney: There’s probably some state law somewhere you can use to justify demanding the taxpayers of Florence pay for your clients’ sewage. Made an “A” in shyster class, didn’t you? Too bad the TD didn’t name you.

To the mayor of St. Florian Don Strait: You’re upset that you’ll lose tax dollars if the line is shut down? You actually had the nerve to say that? How about you and yours cough up some money for a new line that actually belongs to you? Cliff, are you sure you want to work for these delusional gimmesummadat imbeciles?

To Florence Mayor Mickey Haddock: You’re in charge of these negotiations? We taxpayers are paying Mike Doyle to run the water/sewer department. He says the line is unsafe. Why aren’t you backing him up? Why should you even be negotiating with these freeloading heathen to start with?

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Now Mayor Haddock, we have a second question for you: Can’t the city make up its mind about the location of the new Arts & Entertainment District? Or will there be two? Many individuals have already invested in East Florence. What are you going to say to them if the powers that be now declare the district to be in downtown?

We would ask about all the money invested in the East Florence feasibility study, but a city that contracted with four separate architects over five years time to redo the one block of Mobile Plaza probably doesn’t see a problem with that. When the 1941 fictionalized version of Gen. Stilwell said, “You can hold one block, can’t you?” he’d obviously never been to Florence.





Shoalanda