marjorie@thegallatinnews.com
The Gallatin News
June 16, 2011
The rural serenity of the Castalian Springs community is beginning to change, first with Dollar General opening a location and now with a quarry company purchasing approximately 400 acres of land off Corum Hill Road, on May 11. However, the approval for the zoning of the property to change from R1A (residential, agriculture) to allow industrial use may prove to be difficult.
Hoover Inc., out of Rutherford County, which has plants and quarries in both Tennessee and Alabama, formed an LLC company in April, entitled Western Farm Products, with a Brentwood office in the Maryland Farms business district, and used a Wilson County realtor to make the blind purchase from the Charles Haynes’ family of the Ted Payne Farm, a 350.17 acre parcel.
Three other, much smaller parcels were also purchased at the same time that allow access to New Highway 25. The company paid $172,000 for one from Jimmy Dale West; $66,835 to Eric Birdwell; and to William Lawson, 115,000 for another.The company has filed a request for a conditional use permit in order “to operate a quarry with accessory asphalt and concrete plants and rock-crushing facilities.”
“We had no earthly idea,” said Michelle Haynes in discussing the sale. “That’s the first time in my life as a real estate broker that we have done a blind sale. They would not tell us who they were. It was totally anonymous. Never in our wildest dreams did we think it a quarry company.”
She said that if the sale had been a contingency, they never would have agreed because it would have been an indication of a less than desirable purchaser. Also, the closing attorney for the sale was not Tom White, an attorney out of Nashville that represents Hoover, but one from Wilson County.
“Why would they want to do this in Castalian Springs,” said Haynes. “It’s an historic village.”
The Haynes family has been active for many years in land conservation and is also interested in historic preservation.
The Castalian Springs area is well known both statewide and nationally as an important historic site for the Mississippi period of Indian culture and for the early settlement of Sumner County in the 1700s and later during the Civil War. Each summer archeological teams from Middle Tennessee State University excavate at the mound site next to Highway 25 across from the Post Office.
The state also recently purchased the General Bates’ home site and the Hawthorne farm. Nearby are Historic Cragfont, built in 1802, and Bledsoe’s Fort Park.
“This is an extremely rich area for Tennessee and America,” said Walter Durham, Tennessee State Historian, who resides in Gallatin. “I think it would be an unfortunate use of the property for any number of reasons. There are so many state-owned and county-owned sites in the Bledsoe Creek area.”
He added that a federal encampment was located in the rear of Wynnewood during the Civil War.
Historic Wynnewood, used as both a home and a stagecoach inn, was recently damaged with the tornados that hit the area in February 2008; it is the largest historic wooden building in Tennessee. The state has spent approximately $6 million in repairs.
Durham referred to the “hundreds” of Indian burial sites in the area as well.
“Air pollution is a big issue,” said Durham. “Quarries and asphalt plants have problems. From a business perspective, I know businesses need a place to operate. But ‘your rights stop where my nose begins,’” he quoted.
Durham also stated that the Executive Director of the Historical Commission has said that Castalian Springs is one of the important historical sites in the state, “maybe in the whole country.”
Durham, who opposes the conditional use permit and the rezoning, said, “That is where I stand. It is of concern to historians, and we hope investors can do as well financially with some other purpose.”
Haynes stated that the family found out about a week ago that a quarry company was involved but did not know it was Hoover specifically.
“This has been a shock to us. I am appalled. I will be totally against it.
The request for rezoning will be heard at the July 14 meeting of the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals at the County Administration Building (6 p.m.)
A public meeting is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. on June 30, also at the CAB, with a question-and-answer session for adjacent residents and other interested members of the public.
Attorney White, representing Hoover, will be present, along with an engineer who will discuss the plans, as well as a representative from Hoover.
According to White, Hoover plans an estimated $15 million investment in this location.
“We anticipate 125-130 people to be hired,” said White. “None are at entry-level jobs.” He explained that this would include truck drivers and supervisors.
He added that the county would benefit from taxes the company would pay, listing $35-40,000 in property taxes, $60-85,000 in equipment taxes, and an anticipated $375-500,000 sales tax revenues.
“It is important, clearly, to the benefit of the county,” said White.
As for the historical importance of the community and surrounding area, White said, “We are aware of all the historical sites in the area. There is no place in Middle Tennessee where there is no significant historical site. In this case, we have to be sensitive. We are confident our presence will not have any impact overall on historic sites.”
He added, “We’ll be willing to discuss with anybody with appropriate credentials about impact.”
He pointed out that the site is “relatively large.”
“Hopefully, we can operate without disturbance to neighbors. It is not a densely populated area.”
White is hoping that the meeting scheduled June 30 will be “productive.”
Noting that this town-hall type of meeting is not required, he stated that letters to about 50 nearby residents would be mailed out this week about the meeting.
“Hopefully, something productive will come out of the meeting. ... We want to emphasize the benefits and the jobs.”
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