Up to $5.3 million
By Stan Welch
Anderson County Council reluctantly voted to honor two promises made to citizens some time ago. Both involved paving small areas at the residents’ homes. One site was in District One and the other was in District Two, creating a rare occurrence where Council members Francis Crowder and Gracie Floyd found themselves as allies.
Council Chair Tommy Dunn adamantly expressed his disapproval of the votes, but pointed out that the citizens had been told that once a certain number of homes were built along their roads, the county would pave them.
Councilwoman Floyd informed the Council that a similar promise had been made to her and her late husband and former Council Chairman William Floyd more than forty years ago, when they were considering purchasing a home. “I was told that a certain number of houses had to be on a road before the county would pave it. I just want the same thing we just voted for Mr. Crowder for this person in my district.”
Dunn stressed that the county never formally passed such a measure, but added, “I don’t like it when people say something and then don’t do it. That goes for the county too. I don’t want these folks to feel like they were hoodwinked, so I will support this. I also support it because these roads were accepted into the county system many years ago. But any developers planning to build on dirt roads with the expectation of them being paved in the future might want to give that some thought.”
The Council also approved a letter of support to be issued to the Appalachian Council of Government (ACOG) endorsing the organization’s economic development strategy, which was presented to the Council at the last meeting. District Seven Councilwoman Cindy Wilson, who missed that meeting, offered several additions to the list of agencies and aspects of the strategy, including several promoting the county’s equine interests.
Councilwoman Floyd seemed confused about that portion of the agenda, stating that she didn’t recall anything about the previous presentation. In the end, she abstained from the vote to issue the letter, citing her inability to recall the events in question.
The Council also gave final approval to a lease purchase agreement for various vehicles and equipment, not to exceed $5.3 million, and later accepted the low bid for the financing from Santander Bank, from Scottsdale, Arizona. The bank offered an interest rate of 1.54%, and the loan will be repaid in six annual payments.
