Sevier County and Highway 66 Expansion

TDOT has decided not to purchase right aways for Sevier County's Highway 66 expansion project. I wrote the following letter to the Editor of The MountainPress.

As far as the expansion of highway 66 is concerned I am with TDOT and their disdain for the Highway 66 Expansion Project. As a taxpayer I want TDOT to steward my tax dollars and that does not include giving those dollars to greedy, land owners in Sevier County or any other county. Sevier County developers claiming the price of land has increased greatly is not reason enough for TDOT to give them my tax dollars. If, as The Mountain Press says “An expansion of Highway 66 is needed sooner rather than later,” let Sevier County expand it. Why should people in middle and west Tennessee or even in Knox County care how bad the traffic is in Sevier County? Why should I care when fixing the problem will make millionaires out of some good-ole-boys? Remember the “responsible” stewardship of tax dollars Pigeon Forge exhibited when they gave $17.5 million of those tax dollars for 35 acres leaving the developers with a cool 275% profit? This purchase left those developers with 75 acres at a remaining cost to them of $2.5 million dollars. An auction had set the market price of the land at a little less than $182,000 per acre but PF decided it was worth $500,000 an acre. If TDOT over pays like that, I hope someone is arrested and goes to jail. I encourage TDOT to drop the allocation of dollars for the purchase of land in Sevier County until the various governmental bodies in Sevier County begin to show some responsibility.

Original purchase was 110 acres for $20,000,000 for an average per acre cost or $181,818.

Pigeon Forge purchased 35 acres for $17,500,000 for an average cost of $500,000.

Leaving the owners with 75 acres at a remaining cost to them of $2,500,000 for an average of $33,333 per acre.















Reference your Editorial, TDOT doesn’t play nice with Sevier, Thursday June 22, 2006.

Civility is always in style, but as we all know some local politicians do not understand that as The Mountain Press addressed in your Editorial a few weeks or months back. As far as the expansion of highway 66 is concerned I am with TDOT and their disdain for the Highway 66 Expansion Project. As a taxpayer I want TDOT to steward my tax dollars and that does not include giving those dollars to greedy, land owners in Sevier County or any other county. Sevier County developers claiming the price of land has increased greatly is not reason enough for TDOT to give them my tax dollars. If, as The Mountain Press says “An expansion of Highway 66 is needed sooner rather than later,” let Sevier County expand it. Why should people in middle and west Tennessee or even in Knox County care how bad the traffic is in Sevier County? Why should I care when fixing the problem will make millionaires out of some good-ole-boys? Remember the “responsible” stewardship of tax dollars Pigeon Forge exhibited when they gave $17.5 million of those tax dollars for 35 acres leaving the developers with a cool 275% profit? This purchase left those developers with 75 acres at a remaining cost to them of $2.5 million dollars. An auction had set the market price of the land at a little less than $182,000 per acre but PF decided it was worth $500,000 an acre. If TDOT over pays like that, I hope someone is arrested and goes to jail. I encourage TDOT to drop the allocation of dollars for the purchase of land in Sevier County until the various governmental bodies in Sevier County begin to show some responsibility.

110
$20,000,000
$181,818




35
$17,500,000
$500,000
32%
88%
275%

75
$2,500,000
$33,333
68%
13%
18%