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Governor's private meet with officials opens up after media complains
"There's a lot of things they [local officials] innately understand [about the area] that we don't," the governor said in explaining why the meeting was closed. "The best way that we can understand what they need is to come down here and have a real candid off-the-record discussion, which we did today, and it benefits all of us." He said the officials deserved the chance to make "candid" comments without fear of being criticized by their constituents. Also participating in the meeting was Congressman Jo Bonner; State Representatives Marc Keahey and Chad Fincher; Joe McInnes, director of the Alabama Department of Transportation; Bill Johnson, director of ADECA (the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs), and Bea Forniss, director of the governor's Resources and Economic Assistance Programs at ADECA. The press was allowed in on the promise that comments would be "off the record." The topics were routine, however, dealing with the need for infrastructure and more for the region and many of the participants talked on the record about the issues afterwards. Water and sewer needs The need for water and sewer systems is a common issue for rural communities. "I don't ever want to tell them what they need to do, but they should consider a regional approach," Riley said. With a good sewage system, you're going to see extraordinary growth in homes and subdivisions in the next few years. Johnson, director of ADECA, was open to the possibility of a regional water and sewer project. "We try to encourage it," he said. Johnson said a feasibility study could be made to determine the cost of a project to link several rural communities together. "Around the state there are so many communities trying to manage their own sewer systems," he said. "They are capital intensive. A lot of the small towns have a really tough time with it. "Whenever somebody asks me about money for a sewer, I ask who is your nearest neighbor and what is their capacity? It makes more sense at the state level….I'm not going to invest in 15 little sewer systems when it is a lot cheaper to invest in a large regional system." Regionalism is essential, Johnson said, when it comes to a project as big as the ThyssenKrupp plant. County, regional cooperation Area counties must get better prepared with their infrastructure, said Fulton Mayor Mike Norris. His concern is water and sewer, and "we're all going to have to pull together and make this a countywide (effort on sewer)….A regional authority is the way to go. The more people you can involve the better they (the state) like it and are more apt they are to fund it." Norris makes sure that state officials know where Fulton is. "We are a sawmill town…but we have people who live there and we're working on infrastructure. They have funded it from the state level and federal level." In regard to the transportation infrastructure, McInnes said "we're always looking for things that are needed as opposed to just being wanted. We're looking at situations that have safety factors - where there are accidents that we don't know about. "…Also, we're always interested in things that impact economic development." McInnes, ALDOT director, called the TK plant "a great opportunity. It's big….A year ago today, this Monday, I was with Gov. Riley in Germany speaking with TK. He really sold them on Alabama and did a great job. It's a fantastic company. It's going to transform this area of the state." Clarke County Commission Chairperson Patricia DuBose was impressed that area elected officers were so up-to-date in expressing their needs to state officials. "Everybody is coming together on common issues and common needs," she said. "It makes me feel that the needs we (Clarke County) have are not unique or isolated….We're pushing toward the same goal." State officials are listening DuBose feels that state officials are truly listening to area officials. "I have written down some specific things that they said they will do for us." "It was an opportunity for my local officials to have contact on the state level," said State Rep. Fincher (R-Semmes). "It's good to have that one-on-one personal contact, where they can personally ask that question to the governor (or) the highway director - to see where that project is at….It gave them an opportunity to make a connection on what's going on." State officials are aware of the enormous impact TK is going to make on the region, he said. "They (state officials) are also letting them know it's not going to happen tomorrow….It's going to be five to 10 years down the road when we are going to see the full potential….They (the state) will step in and help when it's time." Area officials were able to express to state officials the concerns that State Rep. Keahey (DGrove Hill) said he heard in the past year. "It was great to have a setting like this where the elected officials and some of the public can be here to voice their concerns themselves and actually have immediate responses from the governor and Bill Johnson and Joe McInnes as well as Congressman Bonner." The meeting was much needed, he said. Honest and open conversation Bea Forniss of ADECA said she felt area officials got a lot out of the meeting. "We were wondering if they (local officials) were honestly going to say what they wanted to say to the governor. I feel like they did. We (state officials) are concerned about them. We care about them, and we're taking everything into consideration. We are going to see if we can give them some help."
ADECA will have a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) workshop planned for next week in Mobile, and Forniss said that would be another opportunity for area officials to express their needs.
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