Black Creek Mountain and the press.
July 8, 2012.
This morning’s Chattanooga Times Free Press article,
“Mountains and Money,” has caused an outpouring of sympathy and concern from
friends and family. “What does the paper have against you?” they ask.
I reply, “They don’t have anything against me. They just
want to sell papers.”
But I was surprised to see that journalists no longer hold
the truth very dear. I once aspired to be a journalist myself, inspired by the
motto of New York Times’ modern Father, Chattanoogan Adolph S. Ochs. “To tell the
truth impartially, without fear or favor”, was his credo. Ochs Highway up
Lookout Mountain is named for him.
The reporter that wrote the article was courteous enough to
send me a draft before publication, although he sent it at 4:59 p.m. on Friday
afternoon. When I asked, about an hour later, how much time I had to offer my
comments, he replied, “an hour or so.”
I was able to get the corrections to him by 7:20, but none
of them were included in the article.
He did not share with me the picture they decided to run, or
the caption that would accompany it.
Few people read past the pictures; fewer still past page 1.
The selection of the picture for the front page sure doesn’t
seem to be impartial, and it certainly does not tell the truth.
The fact is, the access to Aetna Mountain is not blocked
today, and has not been blocked at any time since the Hamilton County Chancery
Court issued an order defining the rights concerning the road in 2010. That
order ruled that the developers had the right to improve Aetna Mountain Road,
as well as the right to move it, to meet engineering, design, safety and
construction needs.
The picture in today’s Times Free Press implies that the
developers have blocked the road. But we have not. See this video, posted today
on YouTube:
Clearly, access is quite unobstructed. The picture on the
front of the Times Free Press is in the abandoned portion of Aetna Mountain
Road. It’s no longer part of the road. Actually, it is now essentially private
property, although the final abandonment documents have not been recorded,
since the work is not yet finished.
For some reason, Jeff and Steve Perlaky continue to claim
that their easement is blocked. This assertion, that the easement is blocked,
ignores the fact that the court order allows for the movement of the road,
which has already happened and will continue to happen as the road up the
mountain is built to the requirements of a municipal road.
I sent the reporter a copy of the Court Order, but I don’t
see much evidence he read it.
The picture in the paper today showed “large rocks and
debris block access to a road on the side of Aetna Mountain.” Among the other
things blocking the old easement are the P.W. Holdridge Bridge in the Black
Creek community (which is a City owned street), and some of the homes along
Wild Rose Lane. The Perlakys even went so far at one time to have a surveyor
place stakes showing where the old easement was, right in the yards of the
homeowners, despite the fact that there was fully paved access to the same
point along Rover Gorge Drive. My point is, none of these things actually block
their access. They have had continuous access.
The current alignment of Aetna Mountain Road fails to meet
the requirements of alignment and grade, being too steep and with too many
sharp turns to accommodate the public. As River Gorge Drive (formerly known as
Aetna Mountain Road) continues to be improved, the easement and access rights
of the landowners and the general public will continue to move to the new,
improved road.
The rest of the article revealed more in what was left
unsaid than in what was said.
In the sub-headline, in all caps, it said, “DEVELOPERS STILL
BENEFITING FROM TAXPAYER ROLE IN ‘DEAL OF A LIFETIME.’ Not a mention of the private
investor millions spent so far, creating jobs, paying taxes, and creating
value. So far this “deal of a lifetime” has managed to stay afloat in the worst
economic downturn since the Great Depression, but it’s hardly been the best
deal of my life.
I haven’t looked, but I would suspect that the City and
County’s property tax revenues have increased quite a bit in the Tiftonia area
because of the development of Cummings Cove, Black Creek Club, and Black Creek
Mountain. No mention of that.
The article did fairly represent, on the third page (does
anyone actually read through two page jumps?), what I had to say about things.
The TIF is a good thing. There is no risk to taxpayers; the risk is borne by
private bondholders (in this case, York). Essentially, the bondholders are
loaning the money to the government to build a road, so the government can
enjoy higher revenues. It is a great investment for the City and the County.
The article ignores or glosses over other issues as well. The
original sale of the 1200 acres to the State through the Forest Legacy Program,
the article implies, enabled developers to get their property for nothing.
First, that’s not true- there were other costs associated with the purchase,
including the surveys (which they claim weren’t done) real estate commissions, and
legal fees. But that doesn’t really matter anymore, since the remaining 2400
acres have been through two more transactions since, and there certainly wasn’t
zero value assigned to the land on Aetna Mountain in those negotiations.
The 1200 acres the State bought, it says, were “worthless.”
Hardly. That land, half of which is up on the mountain, was an important
acquisition for conservationists. It was the land overlooking (and draining into)
the Tennessee River Gorge, which can be seen from within the Grand Canyon of
the Tennessee. The land on the other side of the mountain cannot be seen from
the Gorge, and it drains into Lookout Valley, not the Tennessee River. So the
State bought the land most important to preserve from among the 3600 acres
purchased from Gordon Street (who was not in bankruptcy). This fact is ignored
in the article.
Finally, somehow I have become the public face of Black
Creek Mountain. The truth is, I am a minority investor, and my family
partnership (my Mom and my siblings) are likewise minority partners. Gary
Chazen is in a very similar position, with his brother and their family
partnership. Still, I am very proud of what we have been able to do there. I am
especially proud of the golf course, which continues to be ranked nationally by
raters. Black Creek Club has brought national attention to Chattanooga, and was
a large part of the PGA Tour’s interest in having a Nationwide (now Buy.com)
Tour event here.
The public wants to imagine that the “developer” at Black
Creek is one person. But the truth is, the developer has changed at Black
Creek, from its initial management by Jimmy Chapin (Black Creek Club was a
separate venture), to the Chazens and the Steins, to the York Capital majority
ownership. In the economic environment of the past 5 years, it is no mean feat
that the development has done as well as it has. Now the ownership is committed
to building something special for Chattanooga. It’s hard to understand why anyone
would be against it. It’s even harder to understand why the local newspaper
would foster controversy and discord with misleading stories and partial
truths.
I’m beginning to give up on the idea that I’ll get a fair
hearing through the Chattanooga Times Free Press. I’m not sure what to do. So
many of my friends are asking why I would do all of these awful things. When I
tell them I’m not, they’re amazed. They still have faith that the Times Free Press
will “tell the truth impartially, without fear or favor.” But the paper is not,
and I don’t think I’ll get involved in a public debate in a forum they control.
The last time I checked, the world was round. It doesn’t
have sides, just different places from which to view things. I am confident
that once everyone has enough perspective to see the Aetna Mountain development
for what it is, then the notion that the developers engaged in conspiracy and
skulduggery will melt in the light of the impartial truth.
And then maybe people will again believe that I’m not an
evil conspirator, and see the Black Creek development as something that will be
truly great for Chattanooga- as it already has been.
