|
EXCITING NEWS ABOUT OUR
AREA
Country
Crossing Update
May 10,
2008 courtesy WTVY-TV
Concerned
citizens have voiced
their opinions to the
Houston County
Commission regarding the
multi-million dollar
Country Crossing
project.
Some feel
the project has taken
off too fast, too soon
and that the charity
bingo element will bring
crime to the county.
Others
say they're skeptical of
how much of the money
will be going to
charities.
County
Commission Chairman Mark
Culver has addressed
those concerns to the
developers and asked
that they speak to their
investors and come up
with an answer for the
public.
"This
morning, I received
confirmation that
Country Crossing has
agreed to make a
contribution to
charities of Houston
County annually if
necessary, to make sure
that at least $2 million
dollars a year is
distributed to education
and charitable
organizations in our
county," Culver said
Monday.
This is a
statement that will
hopefully ease the minds
of Wiregrass residents
concerned with charity
bingo.
Country
Crossing's annual $2
million dollar
contribution is going to
be dispersed to schools,
senior citizens and
those less fortunate.
Experts
are pushing the
tremendous impact the
project will have.
Billy
Graham, VP of
Acquisitions & Finance
at Ronnie Gilley
Properties said, "It’s
going to be enormous. I
know a lot of people are
fussing about the
charity bingo, but that
bingo basically acts as
a facilitator and brings
traffic into the venues
because a lot of people
in this state are
playing in Alabama and
like bingo. So, that
traffic will get people
to eat, and go to the
shows."
Other
business owners are
excited to see the
project take off because
that will mean more
traffic through their
businesses.
Kevin
Crew, of Texaco
Convenience Stores said,
"The jobs I’ve heard,
it’s unreal, the amount
of people coming here.
It’s something that
Houston County needs. We
need to be progressive
and keep growing. We got
to grow for the
opportunity of people to
come to our area."
Meanwhile, many people
are still left wondering
why there is a hold up
on purchasing the land.
"Obviously, since larger
tracks are agricultural
land, we're trying to
track down heirs that
have owned the land
their whole life, in
their families and
trying to contact
realtors,” Graham added.
“So, it’s been quite a
task."
Developers are still
remaining tight lipped
about the location, but
they have said they’re
aiming to catch the
traffic of beach-goers
traveling to the gulf.
Billy
Graham also says that
the two pieces of land
they are looking at for
the project will both be
signed if possible. That
way, there will be more
room for expansion in
the future.
The two
properties are not
adjacent, but within a
few miles of each other.
It has
also been released that
the location of Country
Crossing will not be
within Dothan city
limits.
|
