Did Andy Betterton's Latest Dirty Deal Just Cost Us 200K?

 

                        Pictured: Mayor Andy Betterton Holding Up A Wall

At Tuesday's Florence City Council meeting, Dick Jordan (acting on behalf of Mayor Andy Betterton) announced that the former ECM Hospital property would be sold to developer Joel Anderson Jr. for the sum of $300,000.00. It should be noted that Lauderdale County is part owner of this land; however, we do not know the percentages involved.

Tuesday was the first time this transaction had been made public and came as a shock to many, even those in Florence City government. In other words, the property with such a substantial value had not been placed up for auction to the highest bidder. Is this good business? Let's see what another local developer has to say.

You may remember that James Bobo Jr. of the Bobo Family Group is currently seeking funding for an extremely forward-thinking project to be built on Tennessee Street in downtown Florence. He has offered up this:

I would have paid $500,000 or more for the site had I known it was for sale.

When questioned specifically about the merits of the transaction, he replied:

I don’t understand our local laws or procedures enough to fully answer your question. I would suspect that this transaction is fully legal.
Was this a logical transaction? No. Markets ultimately decide value, not appraisals (someone’s opinion). My personal opinion: it should have been offered to the public, perhaps with restrictions i.e. development expectations via a development agreement, zoning regs, etc. Don’t misunderstand me, I believe Joel Jr is a very capable person. He has some wonderful ideas when it comes to urban development, much better than what I’ve seen from anyone else in our area. I’m very happy to see that it’ll be in his hands, and at his direction.
Real estate development, most especially urban, is a passion of mine. I would have loved to have had an opportunity to bid.

So what motivated Betterton's quickie sale? Why couldn't the announcement have waited until he was present to answer questions? (Our readers are asking if he's even ill.)

As we understand it, the Lauderdale Commission has not yet signed off on this. If you wish to know more about this sweetheart deal that's costing the citizens of the county at least $200,000.00, now's the time to act.

Thought for the day: If Big Daddy Betterton has no qualms about taking funding away from the animal shelter, why do you think he would have any qualms about taking hundreds of thousands away from average taxpayers to give to a multi-millionaire?