By Gerri Miller
Elmore-Autauga News Staff Writer
It is uncertain if the Pine Level area will seek incorporation after a long and heated meeting Tuesday night at Marbury High School, but one of the organizers said it isn’t over just yet.
Pine Level resident and organizer Ken Hollon said the group will probably have another meeting and then make the decision to continue or stop incorporation. We will update if and when a date is set.
The Tuesday night meeting was called to answer questions about the possibility of incorporating the Pine Level area of Autauga County as a municipality. More than 185 people attended, including Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie, Autauga County Commission Chairman Jay Thompson and Autauga County Commissioner Bill Tatum.
Hollon said he has lived in the Pine Level community all of his life. “Several of us were looking at this area’s growth,” he said. “Pine Level has seen a lot of growth, but if it continues on, it will be difficult for us to recognize this area in five years. We want the citizens to have a say in what happens next.”
The Central Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (CARPDC) led the meeting with a presentation on incorporation and went through the steps that must be taken for a community to incorporate. There was a question-and-answer forum at the end of the meeting.
CARPDC Senior Planner Marshall Anderson said CARPDC was approached by Commissioner Thompson to let the organization know that a group of citizens was interested in possibly incorporating Pine Level. The group met on February 8th with about 10 residents participating. It was decided at that meeting that they needed to bring in the entire community for its input on the subject.
Anderson said an area must have a population of at least 300 residents to incorporate. A petition must be signed by at least 15 percent of the qualified electors within the proposed limits. The petition must also be signed by residents, firms or corporations owning at least 60 percent of the land within the proposed limits.
An application must then be made to the probate judge, who will review it to make sure it complies with all regulations. If the application is approved, an election must be held within 90 days of the approval. Once the election and an enumeration are complete, there will be an election for a mayor or city manager and members of the town council.
The incorporated municipality must assume responsibility for public streets within 24 months after the incorporation is finalized.
Anderson said that when it comes to land use and development, some people don’t like the regulations while others value the protection zoning laws provide.
CARPDC Executive Director Greg Clark said the strongest reason for incorporation is for an area to have a community identity. “Most of the cities who went through this process did it to keep the community’s identity. If you look at Pike Road, they incorporated to keep their identity,” he said.
Clark said Pike Road incorporated with 300 residents and had some hiccups along the way. The original incorporated area was near Highway 231 and SweetCreek Farm Market. He said there was also a long series of lawsuits between Pike Road and Montgomery.
“It is important to do a lot of homework and planning,” Clark said. He said the best protection from lawsuits is to follow the code.
Questions were raised about whether or not a new government would have a say in what animals a property owner could have and how many. Clark said it would be up to a new city council on whether there would be restrictions.
Prattville Mayor Gillespie was asked to address rumors that Prattville is interested in expanding into some of the outer lying areas of Pine Level.
“I ‘ve spent a lot of time over here,” Gillespie said. “If Prattville can help, we will because we are in this together. I consider Pine Level a sister city.”
“In other words, you’re not going to answer the question,” one Pine Level resident concluded.
Commission Chairman Thompson addressed questions about the county extending sewer lines down to I-65 including going under the interstate. The improvement will make the area a prime choice for commercial development.
He said there was a strong interest in creating a new tax base that would be kept in Autauga County. “We are looking for ways to open that area for development,” he said. He said businesses such as restaurants and hotels make location decisions based on what is already in place on a site. “New businesses want sewer lines to be there right now,” he said.
Piggly Wiggly owner Keith Holley spoke out against the incorporation efforts. “Pine Level is the best place to live. I love it here, but this is a sham. I don’t think you could make Pine Level any better. We’ve got great schools, great citizens and great roads.”
Clark said if a community decides not to incorporate, those businesses or residents that adjoin a municipality can request to be part of it. A legislative annexation is also possible, but the Legislature will want proof that the citizens want to be annexed. The residents can petition the Legislature asking for their land to be annexed.
“So, you’re saying that Prattville can’t land grab us like Putin did to Ukraine,” a Pine Level resident concluded.
Those individuals interested in having Pine Level incorporated were asked to sign a list and will be contacted about the next meeting. For more information, call Larry 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/
A video of the entire meeting is on that page.
For more information about the incorporation process, call 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].
