The Canary in the Coal Mine

Did you watch what happened in White House?

You would think that people around Robertson County would have noticed what happened in White House. It seems it might be the elephant in the room, but it should be the canary in the coal mine. (see what I did there with all of the idioms?)

Well, over here in White House we added over 5000 housing units in seven years. It will be three more years before they are finished. Those of you who have been reading my articles already know this. It’s brought all kinds of great things to the city. Great if you like traffic, construction, and dump trucks on your road.

Sumner County added an intermediate school already, and Robertson County is still in the works for a school. Honestly, we need two schools already here in White House on the Robertson County side. Hang on Robertson County peeps, we are going to need more schools.

Last week the City of Springfield planning commission approved this.

The planning meeting is here. It was approved 8-0. To be honest, I didn’t watch the entire meeting. There were plenty of people that spoke against it. It sounds like it passed because it fits the comprehensive growth plan and will bring in tax revenue.

Here is what I did listen to. The project is residential, caps at 3369 units that are single family and multifamily, and commercial including at least two hotels. Residential property taxes give 32.8% to the schools. Over the 20 years this will take to build out, the schools will receive $31.2 million. The city will see $5.2 billion in taxes over the 20 years. Once approved, it will be 2-3 years before the “boulevard” is built. Not sure what that is because the agenda on their page does not include the packet. After that, the first 2-3 phases would begin. The best estimate is 200-250 housing units 3-4 years from now. (White House will be done with the residential in 10 years, not sure why this will take 20)

If you do a quick internet search, a 100k square foot school will cost between $20-$50 million. It will take 20 years to receive the $31.2 million from this development. That works out well for us, don’t you think?

This would be the part where I would be pushing for city schools vs county schools. Cedar Hill should not be paying for the mistakes of White House, and I sure as hell don’t want to be paying for Springfield’s mess. Alas, I will end up paying, and so will you. Maybe there is a magic formula that I am unaware of for building schools and paving roads. Maybe if I hope and wish long enough Calista will be widened and repaved as will Horseshoe.

The sad part is, the citizens in Springfield will wake up once this development is started and wonder what on Earth just happened. That’s what happened here in White House, although I might have had something to do with that.

If the formula is right, those 3369 units will add 2.3 people per unit. That’s roughly 7750 people. The population of Springfield in 2020 was just shy of 19k. They are looking at a 40% increase in population with just that development. Why do we care over here in White House? Highway 76 isn’t going to be fixed before 2040. This project will be done before then. With their larger population and the county seat being in Springfield, their needs will more than likely go before ours. (see Sabi Kumar and highway 431) That is just my opinion, I cannot predict the future. With a 40% increase in population, they will need schools and road upgrades. The county is on the hook for schools and any roads outside of city limits, you know, where the dump trucks and concrete trucks come from. We will be on the hook to repave those too.

All in all, no one seems to learn from our mistakes. The population of Robertson County is estimated to be roughly 76k people. This one project will add 10%. That’s pretty staggering when you look at it this way. The canary is dead. Our only hope is that the Springfield city board can see the comprehensive plan for what it is, a guide, not stone tablets.