Seven years ago, I wrote a
letter to the editor concerning an observation about a lake that's located
just south and to the east of the Pell City metropolitan area. Some of the
oldtimers will remember when this lake was built and how the city
fathers talked of great plans for capitalizing on that awesome and
rare "gift' placed in their hands and their immediate purchase of prime
waterfront property on that lake upon which to build recreational facilities
only available to rare and nature-blessed lakeside cities such as
ours.
It's unfathonable as to
why so little exploitation of this aquatic recreational Godsend has
been realized since the time of our forefathers' dreams and their initial
forward-looking actions toward this
realization.
For those Pell Citians
who haven't heard of this lake, it's called "Logan Martin
Lake", and if you're interested in
visiting the lake to observe that which it offers to lake-lovers, such as
swimming beaches, you'll probably need to visit a
campground.
"Logan Martin Lake" - A
"well-kept secret", waiting to be found.
Well, here's my
letter:
Pell City's
Logan Martin Lake-
Lake of A Thousand
Coves-
275 Miles
of Shoreline-
And No Place to
Swim-
I felt a little
embarrassed as a Pell Citian this past weekend as I drove around the
lake and observed cars, trucks and vans parked on the side of the road at
various uninhabited areas bordering the lake and families making their way
through scrub brush, tall weeds and marshland seeking a place to swim.
I'll have to admit; the kids were having the time of their life swimming in
the muddy backwaters just off the snake infested, overgrown
shoreline. I could tell that the parents were elated at their joy but a
bit apprehensive and wishful for a place more suitable and safe.
I felt sad that this was probably a lakeside
weekend that had been planned for some time and that the kids couldn't wait to
hit the water. I wanted to try to explain to these visitors to Pell
City, "The City On The Lake", that things would get better, the lake being our
city's greatest asset; an asset that any other city would die for;
and that a city owned and operated public swimming area was surely on the
drawing board.
I thought for a moment about suggesting that after
washing the mud off the kids, that they take them up to the site of the new Wall
Mart. Explain that, "We're growing!" The city does have its
priorities, you know. After all, we've only had our lake for a mere
thirty eight years. But then I figured I'd be hit with questions I
couldn't answer. "Sure, the city's going to grow by leaps and bounds being
a quasi-suburb of Birmingham and situated on a major interstate to
Atlanta. It's going to grow with the guidance of the city fathers or
it's going to grow in spite of them. But shouldn't it be a matter of
balancing quantity of city revenue and quality of city life." Of
course, I couldn't argue.
I guess we should all credit our city forefathers
who were at the helm when the lake was being built for having the foresight
to set aside a parcel of prime lakefront acreage behind the civic
center obviously intended for lake activities (water park? city docks?
white sand beach? pavilion? - ie., aquatic activities naturally capitalized
upon by other lakeside cities). But time and agenda change. Where
our city forefathers were looking 30 years ahead, it appears that we're looking
only 10 years down the road. We've built a recreational
complex on the most valuable shoreline on the lake (a regrettable
land use fax paux), and before completion, have already found that
it's inadequate to meet today's city recreation complex requirements --
and where expansion is not possible! Responsible
planning/projections beyond the present would have determined that city rec
facility requirements would require possibly threefold that in operation today
in only ten years.
I'm beginning to feel that Pell City doesn't
deserve this beautiful lake. Many landlocked cities, given this gift
of God, would have capitalized fully upon all its offerings.
My pleas to the mayor and city council upon
receiving tacit agreement of the Alabama Power Company for the city to
construct a white sand beach on the point behind the civic center have fallen
upon deaf ears.
and contact the mayor and city council with your
thoughts and ideas.
Thnkvermch,
Armond "Si"
Simmons
Pell City, AL
35128
104 Wadsworth Lane
205 338
7378
psysim@coosahs.net
http://psysim.www7.50megs.com/html/dustoff.htm