A letter that I sent to the Eagle over a week ago: Dear Letters: Including parks, playgrounds and the Rose Hill Senior Center, Dothan presently owns a total of 715.44 acres that are exempt from property tax. Current plans call for the establishment of a Forever Wild nature preserve on 392 acres located between Flowers Chapel Road and Fortner Street. Dothan city has donated the 51 acres that was the old Beaver Creek Treatment Center. On March 19th the Eagle reported “. . . other landowners donated 132 acres, leaving the balance to be purchased from private landowners through the Forever Wild Trust, a state conservation program created to acquire land and preserve it for nature trails, public parks, wildlife preserves and other natural uses”. Why is it necessary to obligate another 392 acres to walking trails, etc, when the city already owns 23 pieces of tax exempt property totaling 715.44 acres, that are ostensibly being used for these purposes? The city fathers claim that they don’t currently have the money to develop the 87.59 acres that the city purchased to make the James Oates Park. If the land for the James Oates Park has lain dormant for years because the city can’t afford to develop it, then what kind of reasoning makes them think they can afford to take another 341 acres (392 minus the 51 acres donated by the city) off the tax rolls? Oh, that’s right. Just raise the property tax on the remaining Dothan property owners – they’ll make up the difference.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:59:03 +0000
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