Where Is The Missing Veterans Park Money?

Budgets? There's a new one every year, and the City of Florence is no exception in planning how to use its revenue for a 12-month period. Part of the Florence budget is obviously allotted to park and recreation upkeep/expenses.

It's easy to understand why the city didn't wish to perform an excess of maintenance on Veterans Park; part of it could have been bulldozed over at any time to make way for the long-awaited and almost mythic attraction. Still, there was money allotted for upkeep each year...of should have been.

What happened to the money set aside for Veterans Park maintenance for the past ten years? Did it go to other city parks/recreation areas? Why now is there a struggle to find funding to upgrade the park once a new attraction is built? What can former District Three council member Hermon Graham tell us about the funds and where they are and why he didn't better support the park in his district?

Citizens have questions. Who has answers?

We have to ask why Chuck Norris of Walker Texas Ranger, martial arts, and meme fame is involved in the Alabama senate election. Want to hear whom my cocker spaniel endorses? No, we thought not.

We're always reading that it's time to step up our game...whatever game that might be. Maybe it's time to say if you don't have a certain minimum IQ you shouldn't be allowed to comment here?

Comments from intelligent readers always welcome.

What Now for Veterans Park?

Veterans Park sits virtually unattended, as it has for years. No one knows where to do improvements since no one knows where the promised attraction will be. Perhaps most importantly, no one knows what these unknown improvements will cost.

Is there an answer, other than quickly finding that elusive attraction? Perhaps redoing the contract that calls for the attraction since apparently it's not needed. Also, it would seem no one knew the attraction couldn't be commercial in nature when the city entered into the contract, and that could be a factor in revamping the agreement.

Veterans and the citizens of Florence deserve better.

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Supporters of Jacob Modas were out in force, as these kind of people usually are when a totally innocent thug is arrested. One even suggested the elderly female victim deserved it. And we wonder why the jails are full.

Two comments about our blog stand out - one sad and one hilarious. The sad one? 

(Paraphrasing) They even were horrible enough to blog about me when I had my accident just because I killed my niece. 

The absolutely hilarious one?

Shoalanda is just as dum as her blog.

Up next: A blog on why we need more special education classes in the state.

And the TD Headline Read...

Tennis court complex could be smaller? Read on and you'll see that the reduction is from 31 to either 25 or 19 and that the change would have to be approved by TVA, a process that is expected to take six months. It did seem that Dick Jordan might have been just a "mite agin" it. We still wonder what happened to plans for an indoor complex that might have been more practical.

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We know the council is as eager as the rest of us to get on with the new animal shelter, but it does seem to have been relegated to the background amid all the kerfuffle about the tennis courts. Progress reports? 

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Colbert County has its own brouhaha over a proposed additional .5% sales tax. Someone has said "what's .5% to anyone?" To anyone who spends 2K a month in taxable goods, which includes groceries in our great state, that's $120.00 a year. Even if it's only 60.00 a year, it wouldn't seem so minuscule if a taxman appeared at your door once a year to collect it. 

Colbert County educators might do well to remember just how much may now be purchased on eBay, usually at a lower cost and tax free in most cases. An additional tax just might drive quite few Colbert shoppers in that direction.

A meeting on the proposed tax, supposedly intended for education, is fast approaching. Flies on the wall take cover.

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We see that PNS is the only news outlet reporting on the Franklin County prisoner who was...or wasn't...assaulted Friday. Was it a simple assault or something more? Was the alleged assault to a prisoner being held on rape charges? The rumor mill grinds it out, but if the rumors are true, we're not hearing anyone say they're sorry it happened.

Tourism Board Driving City of Florence Agenda?

We took a look back at the planning for the proposed 31-court tennis complex at Veterans Park. It goes back at least three years, probably longer. Almost every news article concerning the complex mentions the Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Board.

The tourism board ostensibly paid for plans for the courts. Board member Larry McCoy has referred to the courts as a done deal. Apparently it very well may be after the so-called second phase of park rejuvenation was added/expanded.  

McCoy originally predicted the project would be bid in August. We assume this bid refers to only the tennis court phase and doesn't reflect the new ball fields. We have to wonder just what the final bid will be. Recent bidding on several local projects has been much higher than anticipated. 

Of the four Florence City Council members reported to oppose the project, we also have to wonder just how many will change their vote. It will take two changes to give the complex the go-ahead; however, if the vote should be hopelessly locked at 3-3, the mayor could provide the tie-breaker. The latter scenario is rare, and we're sure Mayor Holt doesn't want to be placed in this position.

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From Nigel Knorr:

If this small group of citizens who are in favor of building a big tennis complex in Florence are so adamant that this project will be SO successful, why don’t they build it themselves? Kinda puts a different swing (no pun intended) on things.

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We've had so many e-mails asking about Poodle's heath, we're considering a new blog called How's Poodles?

Florence Hoteliers Sing "Too Little, Too Late" Blues

As it stands now, we don't support the tennis complex; however, we are amused by one of the arguments of Florence hoteliers against it. Yes, the proposed complex aids the Marriott more than other hotels. That's what the attraction is designed to do. That's what it was designed to do ten years ago. Why didn't you protest then?

It's rather like UNA objecting to a new Florence middle school when it had almost ten years to do so and didn't. No matter how anyone feels about the viability of a tennis complex, that particular argument against it holds no water.

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We've had one reader ask if the contract reference to the attraction could be changed, as was the law on the termination of the two-cent gasoline tax. Unlike our legislature which can change laws on whim, it would take both sides to change the contract, so basically the answer is no.

While we supported the ag-center, we did have qualms about the law being changed by our representatives after a promise was made to the residents of Lauderdale County. This is certainly something to remember the next time such a promise is made.

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Speaking of UNA, at least two of our readers have asked why the name of the officer who shot Poodles hasn't been published. We have no idea supported by anything the university has said, but it probably boils down to the fact officials don't legally have to identify the officer. Or perhaps the university is concerned that Poodles may have friends of the type who would retaliate against the officer.

We have heard a name, but we doubt what we heard is correct or spelled even close to correctly. In the end, unless he's indicted for some reason, we don't see it being released, at least by UNA.

Dan Barger Raises Proposed Lodging Tax Increase

We have recently been discussing how wrong the TD gets facts. The proposed increase in lodging tax for Florence is one of those things. Robert Palmer incorrectly stated it was originally 3%, but raised to 5% in the latest estimates.

No, not quite. It was originally 5%, but scaled down to 3% after city hotel management launched a protest. Now it's back up to the original 5%. Barger says this will cover the cost of needed upkeep to the park. There has been practically no park maintenance in the past 10 years at the Veterans location. 

Former city councilman Barry Morris says the financial study on the proposed tennis complex is flawed. If so, it would not surprise us. If Barger is correct that lodging tax will bring in 600K a year if the increase is approved, it will take just under 16 years to recoup the money spent...and that isn't counting interest. 

It's also interesting that the proposed new ball fields were previously estimated at coming in at 3 million. Now it's 3.2 million. Hey, what's an extra 200K? 

Has anyone explained how the magic number of courts is 31? Does the plan call for a nominal fee for locals to use the courts? 

The most recent statistics indicate one in 17 people play tennis at least once a year. How about at least 10 times a year? Then the number falls to one in 32. We strongly suspect that figure is lower in the Shoals; however, we are presumably building these courts for the tourism that comes with large competitions. 

Whether these courts, should they come to pass, are a big hit or a tremendous flop, ala Cypress Lakes Golf & Tennis Club, we may not know for at least 10 years. Whoever is on the Florence City Council at that time will have to deal with the situation. Good luck...