By Gerri Miller
Elmore/Autauga News Staff Writer
A group seeking information on the possibility of incorporating Pine Level held its third meeting Thursday night and established a committee of about 10 local people who will meet and draw the proposed incorporation lines.
Even though it was a full house, last night’s meeting in the Central Alabama Electric Corporation’s auditorium was a bit quieter than last week’s meeting with many pointed questions still being asked. Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (CARPDC) Senior Planner Marshall Anderson was there to answer questions along with organizers Ken Hollon and Larry Deavers.
Anderson said the focus moving forward should be on having a resident-based group to lead the effort. “Usually these are the people who will stay involved once the town is formed,” he said. He said that one good thing about incorporation is when you are paying your taxes to the city, the money will stay in your community.
Hollon said the new committee hopes to have defined boundaries for incorporation by next week. “Once that is established you have to have fifteen percent of the people in this area along with people who owns 65 percent of the land sign a petition,” he said. “It then goes to the probate judge who would then set an election. Only the people living within the proposed city limits would vote it up or down.”
“Whether we do anything or not, we are going to grow,” Hollon said. “We can try to control that growth or just let it happen haphazardly.”
Pine Level resident Raye Cartee voiced his support for the incorporation effort. “If we sit back and don’t vote, Prattville’s coming. If we can get the infrastructure and the tax base here to pay our part, then we can take care of the people of Pine Level.”
Hollon said the main reason he became involved with the incorporation effort is because he wants Pine Level to maintain its identity. “If we aren’t careful, we are going to lose the 65/31 area,” he said.
He said incorporation is an extensive process, but Pine Level only needs an area with 300 people to initially incorporate. Neighborhoods and businesses can later ask to be annexed into the town.
Pine Level resident Fred Hoff said the most important thing for the group to determine is its vision. “Our vision should be about our children and grandchildren. What will the future hold for them?” he said. “If not us, then who will it be?”
After the meeting, Pine Level resident Nancy Kirby posted, “Thanks to CAEC for the meeting space tonight, and to Larry and Ken for putting it together. We got some of our questions answered, and yeah, some new questions were raised, but I’m glad to see the community come together this way. I’m sure we’ll all learn more about the incorporation process than we ever wanted to know before it’s over with!”
The list of committee members is expected to be posted sometime this weekend. We will also post the details of the next community meeting when we receive it. For more information, call Deavers at (334) 320-7436 or Hollon at (334) 595-2038.
A Facebook page has been created that answers some of the questions about the incorporation issue. The address is www.facebook.com/groups/284447790458288/
For more information about the incorporation process, call Greg Clark at (334) 262-4300 or email him at [email protected]. You can reach Anderson at the same number or email him at [email protected].
