Growing pains
Call it what you will.
There is a disconnect somewhere.
The Courier News is working on a story about the Villages at Hinds Creek, a 216-home subdivision along Hwy. 61, being developed by Nicci Hollingsworth and Hollingsworth Property Consultants, LLC.
It’s complicated.
It’s also heartbreaking, in a way.
Nicci Hollingsworth informed Clinton City Council that the subdivision no longer wants to be annexed into the Clinton city limits.
That’s about $180,000 a year in property tax revenue the city will lose.
The city would incur costs with the annexation. Police, fire services for starters.
Monday, Nov. 25, City Council was supposed to take up the issue of the annexation. It was on the agenda.
But that was before the letter was received by the city.
The issue was not brought up Monday night.
Hollingsworth Property Consultants, LLC, prepared a press release to go along with the letter.
Joe Hollingsworth presented the release to The Courier News.
But Mr. Hollingsworth added, “Talk to … ”
Like I said, it’s complicated.
There are a lot of factors involved in the decision-making process about NOT wanting to be annexed into the city of Clinton.
“I want to be in the city,” Nicci Hollingsworth said. “That’s always been the intention since we started this.”
Something else that had always been on the forefront of Nicci Hollingsworth is providing “affordable housing.”
Affordable housing has been on the forefront of a lot of people’s minds for a long time.
Do you know why you see a steady stream of traffic entering and leaving Clinton’s industrial parks to destinations beyond the county’s borders?
Lack of affordable housing.
You may love working in Clinton and Anderson County, but if there’s no affordable place to live …
And I’m talking “affordable.” Not cheap — as in something less sturdy than a cardboard box.
Affordable. Nice. Clean. Well-kept and maintained. Something you can feel secure in starting, or raising, a family.
A home.
And that has been pointed out numerous times by many agencies, boards, workshops ... The “lack” of affordable housing.
You get the idea.
So, I’m apologizing to Joe Hollingsworth and Nicci Hollingsworth right now.
I don’t feel right — comfortable — about this. Not right now.
Because I guess I see The Villages at Hinds Creek in a different light.
I see this as something folks say needs to be addressed.
So I guess I’m naive.
Affordable housing is needed.
It’s being provided.
And the people who want to provide it are being treated like they’re committing some kind of act of vandalism?
I will share one thing from the press release that struck me.
“As HPC has stated all along, the main goal over the last sixteen months has been to follow the State of Tennessee’s requirements in order to encourage lower lot prices, so affordable homes can be offered to this area, which desperately needs reasonable housing options. To date, The Villages at Hinds Creek have been able to remove over $6,000 per lot from the market price, thus saving future homeowners a tremendous amount of money by group buying power and by working with the Clinton Utilities Board members and management on electricity cost as well as the Anderson County Water Authority (ACWA) to lower water and sewer costs. These savings will be passed along to the future homeowners.”
Read that, think about that. Let that sink in.
This is not a marketing ploy or an empty promise. This is a commitment.
Yes, there is a disconnect along the line and I really want to know where it’s at.
Because I want you to know where it’s at.