WCDA takes on Hinkle Development

Public-private partnerships on commercial developments may be the new norm in Walker County.

At its most recent meeting, the Walker County Development Authority voted unanimously to take over site work and road construction on a somewhat controversial commercial development in the Hinkle community. In exchange for that work, a corner lot on the development will likely be sold back to the county for the construction of a new fire station.

"Now that this county gets 3 cents directly to us through the SPLOST, LOST and ESPLOST, commercial opportunities have quite the impact on the county, and the [county] commissioner [Bebe Heiskell] is asking you as a board to take a harder look at supporting commercial opportunities in the public-private partnership like we have done for five decades or more for industrial opportunities," Walker County Attorney Don Oliver told WCDA members during the meeting. "We have several that are out there pending at the moment that you're probably going to be asked to look at.

"There's a commercial center being looked at in Chattanooga Valley that may be asking us for some help, a commercial opportunity in the old Southeast Federal building in Rossville that may be coming to us for some assistance, and Mr. [Elliott] Davenport's going to be talking to you about a commercial center in the Hinkle community."

The ongoing Hinkle project has been the source of opposition from local residents. Before the WCDA got involved, Heiskell had already contracted with the developer, 10 Foot Properties LLC, on behalf of the county. Residents in opposition to the original partnership have drafted a petition and stated opposition to the expenditure of county money on what will ultimately be a commercial development as well as the partnership itself, which they allege may be politically motivated.

10 Foot Properties is owned by two of Heiskell's known campaign supporters, Robert and Elliott Davenport.

One resident has asked both the district attorney and GBI to investigate the legality of the exchange.

The pre-existing opposition was not discussed during the related WCDA meeting.

"Commissioner Heiskell moved forward with 10 Foot Properties with that agreement," Oliver said during the meeting. "But it's really more about the community development than the fire hall. She thought this ought to be public-private partnership with the Development Authority, not the County Commission. It's something that will benefit the whole county, so for that reason she wanted to bring this to the Development Authority and ask the Development Authority to look at the possibility of stepping in, in the place of the county, as the public partner in the public-private partnership."

Originally, Heiskell contracted with 10 Foot Properties to provide grading, site work and some roadway construction at the developer's 5.2-acre site located on the corner of Highway 157 and Lula Lake Road in exchange for a parcel of land to build the new fire station. Heiskell said she estimates the county has already expended approximately $24,000 in labor and benefit costs on the project, which will be reimbursed by the Development Authority under the new arrangement.

The entirety of the work the county originally contracted to complete totals approximately $120,000-$125,000, according to Oliver.

The lot the Davenports are exchanging for the site work has been estimated at a value of at least $150,000, he said.

Unlike the county's partnership with the project, which required the use of funds paid through the county's general fund, the WCDA is not publicly funded.

"[The WCDA] is funded from payments in lieu of taxes that are collected from companies that have tax abatement provided by the Authority," explained Walker County Economic Development/Resource Coordinator Larry Brooks. "[The Authority] also collects origination fees on industrial revenue bonds it sells for companies looking to finance their projects. This can be a flat fee or a percentage of the bond amount. This means that tax money is not used to finance Authority activity; only the fees collected from its projects are used for its financing. The money generated from economic activity within the county goes directly back into promoting economic activity. None of the members of the board are paid, nor are the staff present paid from this money."

Upcoming Events