The tiny town of Edwardsville, Ala., with a population of 194 people, want a chunk of the economic stimulus package. In fact, they want $375 million, about $2 million per resident. Hey, since porno kings Larry Flynt and Joe Francis are asking for their share, why not? The town bills itself as progressive, with 33 proposals and about two thirds of them related to “green” energy—to the list of “ready- to- go” projects assembled by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Total sum: $375,076,200.
According to Newsweek magazine, E. D. Phillips, the town’s representative to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said that the projects would affect a wider region that comprises about 80,000 people. That number includes residents of nearby rural areas that aren’t already incorporated into towns, along with the residents of Talladega Springs (population: 124), which partnered with Edwardsville and local municipal utilities on the projects. No one can fault this town for having lofty ambitions.
There’s certainly no denying that Edwardsville has big ambitions. Through the various proposals, which include a renewable energy museum, scenic railroad, and vineyards, these small Alabama communities envision themselves becoming a cutting-edge demonstration project for energy sustainability and a hub for tourism.
“I know we look like some little Podunk town, and by the census, we are,” Phillips says. “But we really think we’ve done some amazingly progressive things in the past two years.” The town’s proposals began to develop more than two years ago, when Phillips and another town official became intrigued by the argument that renewable energy could create a rural renaissance. If any community needed economic revival, it was Edwardsville—even before the recession. At 28.7 percent, the town’s poverty level was nearly equal to that of Nepal and more than twice the national average, according to the 2000 census.
Along with the more traditional proposals to replace streetlights with solar-powered lights (cost: $3,479,200), to install solar panels on the town hall (cost: $77,000), and to build solar-powered recharging stations for electric golf carts and vehicles (cost: $620,000), Edwardsville and Talladega Springs have assembled a set of even more far-reaching projects. An outlay of $50.4 million, for example, would go toward installing water pipelines beneath roads to soak up the sun’s rays, transferring heat. That technology is currently being used in the Netherlands, which found that while the cost of installation was double that of normal gas heating, the system halved the amount of energy required.
With big dreams, however, come big price tags. “Do you know how hard it is to fund some of these projects when your tax base is so low?” Phillips says. “So we just breathed this sigh of relief when we found out about the stimulus package… especially when it had a focus on renewable energy.” Source: Newsweek
The problem is that the role of government is not to babysit residents. Why should the government purchase light bulbs? What’s next? Food? Seriously folks, how many people would that renewable energy museum attract? I wouldn’t leave Atlanta to go to this town just for that attraction. Funds are too tight right now for the government to dole money out to the town of Edwardsville for its big ambitions. They need to find other avenues to raise the money for this museum. Here’s another gem. They want $9 million to go towards establishing an eventual 640 acres of vineyards, 160 acres of which would be launched first. Each of the four vineyards would be designed around the theme of a different European country and, in a bid for weddings, dotted with gazebos and chapels. This seems dubious, at best. According to Newsweek, the Southeast is subject to a disease that puts traditional European grape varieties out of reach, usually limiting vineyards to the muscadine grape. Therefore, vineyards haven’t exactly been vogue in the region. For example, Georgia has just 1,100 acres of vineyards, while Mississippi has 400. These people are watching way too much television.
The federal government should not give them a penny for this pork-barrel spending. This is a blatant waste of precious resources. So, if the government is doling out money to everyone, well, where’s my share? I would love them to pay off my mortgage and my car.
Filed under: Alabama, Edwardsville, Renewable Energy Museum, Stimulus Plan, Vineyards
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