Today’s Editorial in the product produced by the Big Metal Shed on the Hill could appear to be hypocrite 101. Read it here.
Basically Jack McElroy is promoting and advocating that TN Board of Equalization not approve a Greenbelt exemption for Cherokee and Holston Hill Country Clubs. The Greenbelt law has allowed the country clubs to be exempt from some property taxes due to the open space of the golf courses.
The hypocrite status is that he and E.W. Scripps secured a PILOT (not a truck refueling convenience store but a Payment in Lieu of Taxes aka government welfare handout) to locate and build their Big Metal Shed on the Hill from a building a half a block off Gay Street out to their hill off of I-40 and Alcoa Highway.
In addition, to a corporate government welfare handout. Didn’t they also by locating out of the immediate downtown area to an area off Middlebrook Pike also contribute to urban sprawl? They will say NO. I am only asking the question.
The PILOT program you mentioned with Scripps was for 10-years with a payment of $0.00 for 9 of the 10-years. They were to pay as if owned in fee in year 10. It is my understanding that they hired Ernst and Young to appeal the value to the county board of equalization who reduced the value. Their “deal” has expired and they own the property in fee beginning with 2013 tax year.
In my opinion, the KNS wants their broken down for profit business to benefit from the tax breaks associated with their sweatheart deal some 10 years ago, but that the reduced taxes should not be available to not for profit private golf clubs, each of which have been in this community since the 1920’s.
In my opinion, the KNS has run out of relevance in this community, they’ve run out of unbiased reporters, and they should be run out of town at the first available opportunity. Visit and thank the businesses in our community which do not advertise in the Knoxville News Sentinel and exercise your first amendment rights in expressing your appreciation that they do not advertise in the KNS.