The Wilson Post
October 8, 2008.
Post holds Q&A session for mayoral candidates
From Post staff reports
The Wilson Post invited the two candidates for Mayor of Lebanon to come
by the office for a series of questions and answers which will be
presented here during the next few weeks leading up to the Nov. 4
election.
The questions were provided by local citizens and Post staff members.
They include issues facing the city and also include questions asked to
try and give citizens a better idea of who the candidates are they will
be voting for in November.
Two candidates are seeking the office of Mayor. They are William
Farmer, currently the Ward 3 Lebanon city council and mayor pro tem,
and Philip Craighead, a local homebuilder and business man and member
of the Neighborhood Revitalization Committee. Farmer visited The Post
on Friday, Oct. 3, and Craighead on Monday, Oct. 6.
Who is your favorite Beatle?
William Farmer: My favorite Beatle is John Lennon
Philip Craighead: Ringo (Starr). He just kinda beats the drums
(chuckle). When the Beatles came out I think I was in the third grade,
and at that point the first time I ever heard of the group the Beatles
I was thinking what are they talking about a bug for? When they first
came out I didn’t know what the Beatles group was.
What is your favorite food?
Farmer: Steak and potatoes.
Craighead: Here lately it’s been a lot of turkey breast.
I’m on a diet, but I like pasta an awful lot, lasagna,
spaghetti.
Do you prefer a shower or a bath?
Farmer: Showers
Craighead: (giggles) Always the shower.
Traffic in Lebanon, specifically, the traffic lights are not, I
believe, synchronized, and I hear complaints from time to time from
people getting stopped at, if not every red light, then every other
one. What would you do to improve traffic flow in Lebanon?
Farmer: I would work toward trying to get a computer synchronized
system up and down the main arteries particularly West Main. I have
advocated during the five years I’ve been on city council
that we attempt to put a computerized, synchronized system on West
Main. That is a state highway and we would have to have the approval of
the state. We would hopefully get some state assistance in putting a
computer system in. We do have some synchronized traffic signals in
certain areas in town, believe it or not, (chuckle), out on South
Hartmann, but it’s just one or two lights. It is my hope that
we can improve the traffic on West Main with a computer synchronized
system. One of the things I would like to see is to widen the bypass.
That needs to be done pretty badly.
Craighead: First if you’re getting stopped at every light,
you just about know that they are synchronized. I think
that’s true, because some times you can go right straight
through and there’s not much traffic and you just go right
through. But I’ve noticed especially when you’re in
a hurry, you get caught by every red light.
But traffic as we continue to grow is really going to put a burden on
our roads the thing I remember as a fine example of this is when
businesses move from one area to another, years ago when Wal-Mart was
down on West Main where Big Lots is. You just dreaded going anywhere
near that because you just knew you were going to get caught by traffic
back-ups, but then when Wal-Mart moved over to (Highway) 231 all of the
sudden it was easy to go through there. We have to look at our roads.
We have to work with the state to plan ahead.
Initially Bible Park promoters pointed to Hard Rock Park as an example
of their work. Recently, that park has gone bankrupt, and the promoters
are saying the only connection was the original idea, so Lebanon need
not worry. What is your point of view about this issue? Are you
researching the park? If so what information have you found?
Farmer: Yes, I am studying the proposed Bible Park, and I’m
also attempting to learn more to learn more about the developers and
their economic feasibility plan. I came just this morning from a
meeting at the Chamber of Commerce with Mr. (Rob) Wyatt from the Bible
Park developers. At this point in time with the discussions I had with
Mr. Wyatt, I don’t have the answers to the questions about
what the differences are between what happened at South Carolina Hard
Rock Park and what is being proposed here. So I really can’t
answer that. I’d have to have more time to study it. But I do
believe the Bible Park could be an opportunity for jobs, but we need to
approach the park with a great deal of due diligence to determine and
be sure it does not cost the taxpayers of Wilson County and the City of
Lebanon any money.
Craighead: As for the idea of the park, I really like the idea of the
park coming here. But past experience was when we had the KOA
campground years ago and Opryland opened up. My ideas, my hopes for
this Bible Park is it become a place the youth could get a job, a place
to express their talents in music or dancing or whatever, like Opryland
did, but also providing jobs along with all the other things that are
attached to it. But what you were talking about with the other park
down in Carolina filing for bankruptcy, they’re reorganizing
and then planning to open again the first of the year from what
I’ve heard. The main thing for us for the City of Lebanon is
to make sure we’re not the ones out there on a limb. From
what I’ve heard their bonds, they would being paying for it
all on the inside, but the City of Lebanon would have some expense,
from the utilities and things getting them to the park. But along with
it would come a lot of businesses, hotels and like that. Really,
though, they’ve only had the one presentation.
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