Water Board to Meet on Locust Fork Land
August 18th, 2009
Lee Waites, 42, inherited three acres in the middle of the Locust Fork land that was never purchased by the water board for the dam and reservoir. He wants to build a house there and help preserve the land, but not if the water board sells it to a developer to clear-cut and build a massive suburban sprawl housing project — or worse…
by Glynn Wilson
The Birmingham Water Works Board will hold two meetings this week that may be the public’s last chance to influence the board and change their minds when it comes to selling off land in Blount County to a private developer.
The meetings at noon on Wednesday and Thursday at the water works office on First Avenue North are open to the public and the press, according to Binnie G. Myles, public communications manager for the water board.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
We plan to be there to cover it, as will Cynthia Gould of Channel 42, the local CBS affiliate in Birmingham.
Ms. Gould made a trip to the Locust Fork on Sunday with a cameraman, and she told me today her story will run Tuesday night on the 10 p.m. newscast. If you are interested in following this fight, tell everyone you know to watch.
Ms. Gould also told me she talked to the Barnett Lawley, head of the Forever Wild Board as Commissioner of Conservation, and he was “caught off guard” by how fast the water board moved to sell the land, and that the Forever Wild board was “very interested” in purchasing the property to conserve it.
The 3200 acres in Blount County was quietly bought up by the board back in the early 1990s as part of a plan to dam the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River and build a drinking water reservoir for Birmingham. Those plans were shelved due to public opposition in the 1990s, and in recent months, the board decided to take it off the table as a long-term option.
Several individuals and companies have offered to buy the land. Two of them with a history of private developments bid more than $4 million, even though the water board’s appraisal was only for $3.2 million.
Why would any property owner be willing to pay more than $4 million for the rural land? There’s only one reasonable explanation, and that is the proposed Northern Beltline planned for North and West Jefferson County, where about six major interstate interchanges would be located just a few miles south of the land for sale along the Locust Fork.
The bidding war that developed in this case was clearly influenced by land speculation surrounding this new interstate highway, even though there is no guarantee it will get built at this point. There are new budgetary priorities with the new administration in Washington, which is operating under the cloud of a recession and growing budget deficits.
Check out and compare these two maps to see the relationship between the new highway and the Locust Fork land…
Related Stories
Forever Wild Deserves Chance to Save Locust Fork Land
Birmingham Water Board Delays Locust Fork Land Sale
Zombie Highway in Alabama Exposed on Public TV
Birmingham Water Works Reveals Locust Fork Bids
Opposition Mounts to Locust Fork Land Sale
Secret Vistas: A River Runs Through It
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August 18th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
ACTION ALERT: Calling on Alabamians and BWWB customers alike to contact the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB) and come to the BWWB meetings this week in support of the Forever Wild public option, rather than selling the property off in a rush to the highest bidder. Please write letters to the editor too.
upcoming BWWB meetings:
Wednesday, August 19th @ 12pm
Thursday, August 20th @ 12pm
To see the BWWB’s web page on scheduled meetings, click here.
BWWB Real Estate Committee:
Anthony Barnes – (205) 222-9917
Fultondale Mayor Jim Lowery – (205) 841-6559
(these two board members are the ones pushing the sale)
other 3 (out of 5) members on the board of the BWWB :
David Herring
A. Jackie Robinson, III
Sherry W. Lewis
(these 3 voted last Friday to delay the vote until this week so they could learn more before making a decision this week)
Mac Underwood, BWWB General Manager – (205) 244-4403
Binnie Miles, BWWB Public Relations – (205) 244-4220
Nelson Brooke
Riverkeeper/Executive Director
Black Warrior Riverkeeper
(205) 458-0095 [tel]
(205) 458-0094 [fax]
http://www.blackwarriorriver.org
August 18th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
SweetWater and Riverkeeper Announce 2nd Annual Month-long “Save the Black Warrior” Partnership.
Three Public Events Highlight this September Program Benefiting Birmingham and Tuscaloosa Water.
SweetWater Brewing Company proudly announces its 2nd annual month-long “Save the Black Warrior” program to raise funds and awareness for Black Warrior Riverkeeper, a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. Throughout September 2009, select restaurants and bars in the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa areas will sell paper fish, t-shirts, and pint glasses to benefit Riverkeeper. Mountain High Outfitters will donate prizes for the servers and bartenders who raise the most money for Riverkeeper’s anti-pollution efforts.
Participating venues are now listed at
SavetheBlackWarrior.com
This new website also contains information about the collaboration, including opportunities to learn about water conservation, report pollution, donate, purchase merchandise, and enter a contest to win a Vespa LX150 donated by Bogart’s Motorsports.
Save the Black Warrior’s 2009 program includes 3 events co-sponsored by SweetWater. Rollin in the Hay plays Thursday, August 27 at 10pm (at Tuscaloosa’s Jupiter Bar and Grill) and on Thursday, September 3 with Earthbound at 8 pm (at Birmingham’s Rogue Tavern). $10 door charges at both concerts benefit Riverkeeper.
September 22, Broadway Across America presents the opening night of Grease at the BJCC, starring Taylor Hicks.
Supporting Riverkeeper, special tickets to the play also include admission that night to the Grease Cast Party at Rogue Tavern, featuring Frankie Velvet and The Mighty Veltones with Rick Carter.
View details and buy regular or VIP tickets at http://www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com/GroupSales
(type password: riverkeeper).
The deadline to purchase these combo tickets at a group discount is August 23rd.
–
Charles Scribner
Director of Development
Black Warrior Riverkeeper
(205) 458-0095 [tel]
(205) 458-0094 [fax]
http://www.blackwarriorriver.org
August 18th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
CBS 42 ran a three minute segment from 10:13-10:16 Tuesday night. It didn’t make the top 10 minutes, thanks to Larry Langford and his cohorts who pleaded guilty, Bill Blount and Al Lapierre.
We’ll post a link and share it on Facebook when they get the video up on their Website…
August 19th, 2009 at 7:02 am
Unfortunately, the CBS 42 Web crew doesn’t post separate, sharable video clips of their stories like the national broadcast news sites, especially like MSNBC. You can see the video story if you dig around for it from the news link, though.
http://www.cbs42.com/news/default.aspx