Dream Of Adult Entertainment Complex turns into NIGHTMARE For Owner
By Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson Published in August 17, 2007 Issue |
Phillip Thompson is out more than half a million dollars, which he has spent buying and renovating the property that formerly housed the Skinner Furniture headquarters in Lanett.
The 47-year-old Thompson says for two years now, he’s worked night and day, and exhausted all his resources in hopes of opening up “The Emerald” the name of the entertainment complex he plans to open in Lanett. But because the Mayor, Oscar Crawley, City Administrator, Joel Holley, and City Inspector, Jerry Thrower have made it all but impossible for him to acquire the proper license to operate the kind of facility he envisioned, he has been unable to operate, and thus can’t recover any of his investment. Broke, disgusted, and angry, Thompson told The People’s Voice, “No man should be held down this way. I don’t care if he’s green!”
Several years ago, Thompson, a native of LaGrange, gave in to his wife, also a LaGrange native, and returned to live in the south after residing in Michigan for 36 years. There, he managed medical facilities, operated apartment complexes, entertainment complexes, and other businesses. But, to honor his wife’s longings to return to the south, he sold his apartment buildings and made plans to come to the area. Before the move, Thompson had already started searching for business property, working through Ben Yates, a Coldwell Banker realtor in LaGrange. After looking at several properties, Thompson settled on the Skinner building.
During the early stage of the project, Yates and Thompson both spoke with Lanett City Inspector Jerry Thrower, who had no problem with the proposed use of the building at the time. ”Thrower even told me what I would have to do to the building,” Thompson explained.
Thompson began to set his plans in motion to transform the Skinner building into a classy, upscale entertainment complex he dreamed of. His vision for the facility included a place for adult entertainment, stage plays, dancing, shows, family gatherings, games, food and drinks. Thompson told The People’s Voice that he wanted a nice place that would accommodate any kind of gathering you could imagine.
His friend and partner, 54 year old LeRoy Staples came down south with Thompson, to help get the center set up and running.
Working against time, Thompson and Staples worked to up-scale the building, painting, adding booths, installing ceiling fans, emergency lights, exit signs, fire extinguishers, additional bathrooms, cabinetry, and exquisite word-work. In addition, two tractor-trailor loads of furnishings, and other equipment were transported from Michigan to the facility.
Upon entering the building the investment is evident. You enter the lobby, which is reminiscent of a five-star hotel lobby. There is fresh new carpeting, fresh paint, two exquisite entertainment areas, one with a bar, and three televisions, extra comfortable furnishings; a dancing room, with a baby smooth glossy-glitter dance-floor, a powerful stereo sound system, just right for evening entertainment. There is also a kitchen area, and in one of the lounges, a massive hard-wood bars they’ve built. There is recessed lighting that can be adjusted to create just the right ambiance, for whatever the occasion. The climate is cool and comfortable and very relaxing. They’ve passed all kinds of inspections.
But, according to Thompson, the City Of Lanett insists that he purchase an outdated business license called a “Dance Hall License,” that does not even cover the kind of facility he plans to operate. The rules and regulations for this license are vague and ambiguous, and the city can’t seem to clarify the regulations that would govern his particular business. When Thompson first inquired about his business license, he was given a booklet entitled Lanett City Business License Schedule dating back to the late Terrell Whaley’s administration. According to that schedule, the cost of a Dance Hall license is $150.00, however, there is a clause that also states (No license to be granted except upon written petition, and investigation by council). And the council can’t seem to get through investigating. There is no other business in Lanett operating under this kind of license. Thompson was told verbally that if he bought a café license, it would would cover entertainment, but, according to an ordinance on the books, he is still subject to being arrested if he conducts a public dance. It’s a catch 22.
The problem arises because despite the time that has passed since he first applied, the issue has never made it to the Lanett City Council, and in the interim, City Inspector Jerry Thrower has now turned this into a State issue with respect to the building itself.
Thompson says that on another occasion, he was told by Mayor Oscar Crawley (verbally) that if he bought a liquor license, dancing would be covered. But, Thompson wants to sees something in writing that states explicitly that dancing is covered under the liquor license. At the present time, there is nothing on the city’s books that states his operation would be considered legal. Yet, there is on the books, an ordinance that clearly states that anyone who conducts public dances is subject to be arrested for doing so, if they have not purchased a Dance Hall License.
“So, we get ready to open up, and the City Inspector says, “Well, you’ve got to be inspected by the state.”” When Thompson explained to Thrower that no structural changes had been made to building, his response was “Well, we don’t know that.”
“And I can’t do nothing,” Thompson says in disgust.
Thompson asked a personal friend to speak to Mayor Crawley, to try to help get through to him. The individual, a female, stated that “Mayor Crawley said, all we asked him to do is buy the proper license.”
“That individual, who declined to be identified, did confirm that “Mayor Crawley wanted to know, who is this guy, and where is he from?”
Our informant stated that she responded to Mayor Crawley by asking “What difference does that make, he is somebody who is trying to get a business license.”
“Despite repeated invitations to come down and see Thompson’s facility, Mayor Crawley has yet to set foot in the place,” said Tony Malone, Lanett City Councilman.
“I think that because he’s an African American, and what he’s trying to do, (I don’t know what it is) but, he has been given a cold reception by certain city officials. He has been given the run-around by the building inspector, who’s making up the rules as he goes. He doesn’t care about what is on the books. The Dance Hall Ordinance is no longer in effect. We deleted all those old ordinances under a previous administration. I recall vividly how we laughed at how ridiculous some of those old ordinances were.
According to Tony Malone, the “dance hall ordinance” was an old “Jim Crow Law” from the 1960’s. It was an underhanded way for the city to tax black juke joints, because there were a lot of them. Kids would go there and dance. “It’s old; it’s obsolete, it’s outdated. They can’t find any of their old ordinances, because the manager destroyed them, and had them burned up. Malone went on to say that there is a club in West Shawmut, and they don’t have a dance hall license. The County Club doesn’t have dance hall license. The City has lied to Thompson. We have an ordinance on the books, that says if he allows public dancing in his facility, the first time, he will be warned, and the second time, he’ll be arrested.”
Thompson stated “I came here with the intention of coming to a place that would welcome me to do business here. I came here in hopes that the City of Lanett was going to be behind me so I could be successful here. If I had known I was going to have Judge Holley criticizing me, and holding past problems with other entertainment businesses, and things that happened here twenty years ago, over my head the way he has done, there’s no way. I’ve never been to a place like this. Never!”
Many adults in the East Alabama and West Georgia area have longed for a place to go for entertainment, such as Thompson is planning. In the background, they will be enthusiastically waiting for the City of Lanett to clarify these petty issues that have delayed his opening.
Thompson Story Lights A Fire
But Emerald Opening Still Seems Afar Off In The Distance By: Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson Published in August 31, issue |
In the August 17 issue of The People’s Voice, we shared the story of Phillip Thompson, a black man, who after living 36 years up north, sold his businesses, moved his family from Mt. Clemons, Michigan back to their home-town in LaGrange, Georgia, and bought business property in Lanett (namely, the old Skinner building) with the dream of opening an Adult Entertainment Center. After spending boo-coos of money on the building itself, and transporting two tractor-trailor loads of restaurant and night club equipment down to the building in Lanett, Thompson sincerely thought that as a practical matter, he would be able to quickly get his operation up and running, and re-coup his expenditures. But, his dream gradually faded into a nightmare as Thompson realized that much to his chagrin, No Such A Thing was about to happen!
Unfortunately our first version of the story appeared to have gaps in it. We later discovered that due to technical errors, large pieces of the story were trapped behind the picture of the building, making it appear that the story was incomplete.
In our August 24, issue, we attempted to fill in some of those gaps with the missing information.
But regardless of the errors, over the past three weeks, the name Phil Thompson has become a household word. Our readers still get the gist of the issue, and Phil Thompson’s story has resonated with numerous people in general. It appears that people in every community are rooting for his success. His dilemma is being discussed on blogs, and in barber shops, beauty shops and households. Many African Americans are anxious to see Thompson’s “Emerald” open successfully, because they long for a classy upscale place to go for entertainment. Thompson’s dilemma also resonates with African Americans, simply because a lot of us want to do positive things; we love a black success story. And we readily identify with the idea that barriers often blockade our path to the success we seek.
In addition to sitting down with him, and meeting with Thompson on numerous occasions, the City of Lanett had given Thompson a business license “schedule” as a guideline to follow. But, Thompson felt the schedule was outdated and vague, and failed to spell out all the whys and wherefores of the type of business he was opening. Furthermore, the schedule was signed by the late Mayor Terrell Whaley, who died years ago. Several weeks later, when he was told that his building had to pass an inspection by the State Fire Marshall, Thompson was totally thrown off-guard, because he says, the city never informed him up to that point, that this would be a part of the process.
Phil Thompson never alleged that he thought race was a factor. But, he did allege that the City of Lanett was not being “straight up” with him about the requirements to operate the kind of business he wanted to open. For him, this lack of clarity became a source of frustration because a large cash outlay was involved, and his resources were being depleted every day.
Lanett City Councilman, Tony D. Malone, who is also President of the Chambers County Branch NAACP, and Editor of The People’s Voice, has been one of Thompson’s strongest advocates. From Malone’s perspective, while the issue is not primarily racial, he believes “the City does not enforce its ordinances on an equal basis.” Malone believes that they should. “I think the ordinances we have on the books need to be re-examined. I understand state law, and we have to abide by the laws; but we have ordinances on the book that’s old and obsolete, and need to be re-examined, so they can fit with the times we are living in.”
Later we became aware of comments that appeared on a blog at valleyandlanet@yahoogroups.com, suggesting that Thompson was trying to open a “strip-club” or an exotic dance club. Other comments on this blog suggested that Thompson did not do his homework before plunging into the project. Other comments suggested that Thompson was looking for someone else to blame his misfortune on.
“All I ever wanted to do was open up a business so I can support my family. That’s all I ever wanted” Thompson stated. “They want it to appear that I’m dumb and ignorant, and didn’t have sense enough to know what I was doing. I had previously operated this kind of business before I came to Alabama. I called the city and had conversations with them, before I ever left Michigan. Ben Yates, my realtor and I, came to Mayor Crawley’s office, before I ever spent one dime on that building. I told them everything I was going to do with the building. He gave me the license handbook and the city ordinance. These were the guidelines I expected to follow to get the place opened.”
But, now as it turns out Thompson cannot open his complex until he produces an architectural rendering of his building, for approval from the Alabama State Fire Marshall.
“Nowhere in that ordinance does it say I had to pass a state inspection or any kind of inspection by the State Fire Marshall…
If they had told me that in the beginning, I could have prepared for it. We had already gone through a health department inspection; they gave us the go-ahead. The city gave us the Restaurant-Café license. From the beginning we were told that the Local Fire Chief was going to give us the capacity…
Then as I continued to push for further clarification of the ordinance, they got mad and said, “We don’t have to tell you anything! What kind of public relations is that for a City that’s going to make money off your business?”
Thompson still believes that the city threw the inspection into the mix, to complicate the matter, after they got mad at him. “If the City had told me all these things from the beginning, there’s no way I could be mad at them….
Mayor Crawley got mad -- I guess-- because he was tired of seeing me. He won’t even answer the phone and won’t return any of my calls. The City won’t allow me to get on the agenda to speak to the City Council about it.
This issue of the blueprints was never mentioned until they got mad with me. Then the city inspector took it upon himself to call NOT the State Fire Marshall, but the Assistant Fire Marshall, Scott Pilgreen. They got mad because I questioned the ordinance, and told me to stop listening to Tony Malone.”
Thompson stated that he feels that the City of Lanett has gone overboard. “In some cases, that kind of oversight may be warranted, but in this case, I don’t think it is warranted. Even the state Fire Marshall has said they temporarily work with people.
Right now in West Point, they are putting a temporary trailor on a lot for a Bank to open until they build a permanent building.”
“It was very poor public relations for them to say “We don’t have to tell you nothing… Nobody’s given me anything… All I asked was for them to give me guidelines in writing, and they couldn’t do it.”
Thompson says, “Since I came south, it seems like everybody I meet believes that white people have all the power and control down here, and they use it to hold black people down. I’ve been told that repeatedly. But, I really want to rule that out of my thoughts. Because if I made it a part of my thought process, I believe it would distort the person I really am. And I’m trying to be a good person. I don’t want to believe that race has anything to do with this. I know this is my problem, and I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for me. I don’t care if they think it’s a black or white issue, it’s an issue of them not giving me the proper information and it has cost me my life savings.”
This week, as Phil Thompson struggled to meet his business and personal financial obligations, we spoke with some of the other players involved with this matter. Some of those interviewed include Lanett City Manager, Retired Judge Joel Holley, City Building Inspector, Jerry Thrower, and State Fire Marshall, Edward Paulk in Montgomery. The question we posed was “Precisely what would it take for Thompson to have opening night at “The Emerald” this Labor-Day weekend?” Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to that question. Our discussions with them appear in other articles in this issue.
Despite a visit, and telephone call to the Mayor’s office, Mayor Crawley has not responded to any calls from The People’s Voice.
Lanett City Manager Explains Requirements For Entertainment Business by Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson Published August 31, 2007 |
Earlier this week, The People’s Voice had the privilege of meeting with Lanett City Manager, Retired Judge Joel Holley, and City Inspector, Jerry Thrower, in the Lanett City Administration Building. The conversation centered around the question of why Thompson’s entertainment business has been such a difficult matter to resolve and what it would take to get the business open. The discussion resulted in the conclusion that there is no quick route to get The Emerald up and running.
Holley explained, “Several months ago, we had a big meeting with Jerry (Thrower); we all met in the conference room. Mr. Thompson brought his people, there were several of them, Mr. Staples was one of them, there was a gentleman from LaGrange. He was very nice; we met some of his family; and he told us his plans for this building he was purchasing. And we all listened intently, and (Jerry might have already talked with him earlier) at some point, Jerry gave him the license manual. And at that point in time, he didn’t give us a good understanding of exactly what he wanted…
He talked about his vision, which was great. You know, he envisioned a business where he could serve food from caterers, bring in live entertainment from time to time, sort of like a supper club I guess, (which would be great), he wanted a sort-of family oriented, he even talked about the possibility of renting it out for reunions and parties, all such as that. It was fine…
There was one gentleman from LaGrange who’d had a lot of experience cooking over in Germany and he was going be a chef, and at that time, Mr. Staples was going to run the lounge, he had somebody else who was going to bring in entertainment…
I don’t know whether or not he had begun to do any sort of renovations; but, we had had a number of people stop and say, people are living in that building. And I think he told Jerry and the Mayor that he was working up there, he was working a lot at night.
And basically, it came down to Mr. Thrower going in detail about his options. If you want to sell food, the health department’s got to come in and take a look and make sure that whatever is necessary (such as dishwasher, or sink, and whatever the state requires) and that’d be fine…
Then it was explained to him that if you want to serve alcohol, which is heavily regulated in the State of Alabama, you have to purchase (from the city), an Alcohol Pouring License or Lounge license. If you do that, you have to have certain inspections before The City Council can approve the issuance of that license…
But, before that can happen, you have to be approved by the State, You have to apply to the ABC board, and jump through whatever hoops they have so you can get a State Alcohol License.”
Thrower then added, “We’re not even supposed to process the local license until you have the State ABC Board License in hand. They deliver those. Once you go down and you apply to the ABC Board, and they grant you a license, they won’t even give them to you to bring back up here to us. They bring them themselves…
Thrower continued, and, we tell everybody that 50% of your income has to come from the serving of food, for a “Pouring license” here in the City of Lanett…
The first step, if you’re going to ease into something like Mr. Thompson was wanting to do, I told them this: I suggested that he get his Café-Restaurant License first, which would be the first phase of it, if you want to look at it that way…
And, and all it would take to get that license is a food-prep permit from the county health department. And, I gave him the name of the gentleman he had to contact at the health department. I even gave him the phone number for the health department. He got his food-prep permit, and we issued the Restaurant-Café License.”
Holley added, “The food prep permit and café license was issued to Mr. Leroy Staples.”
Holley said, “See, we’ve met with Mr. Thompson a number of times, perhaps 6 to 8 times a number of times. The Mayor met with him a number of times, and they talked. At one point, Mr. Thompson seemed to have a change of heart about what he wanted to do. He had trouble explaining that he just sort of wanted to be like the landlord, and was going to lease out some of these areas of the building to others people who were going to run the businesses. So that’s why the Restaurant license was issued to Mr. Staples.”
Thrower explained, “I suggested to him that he get that and get his restaurant in operation, and get it established, and that would make it much easier if he wanted to add the alcohol pouring license down the road.”
Holley then explained, “I don’t know if Mr. Malone, called the mayor or the police chief or something, with this idea that we weren’t cooperating, so we had another meeting, and he came back ..
Mr. Thompson here again, came back with his vision and what he wanted to do, and that’s fine, don’t get me wrong, but he sort of talks in circles sometimes. So, I said, Mr. Thompson, what I don’t understand is what do you really want? Because, it boils down to this: If he wanted to serve alcohol, he’s had to go through those steps with the state, file his application, and if the state approved it, it would be up to the whole City Council to issue that pouring-lounge license, if he had that, Mr. Thrower told him that you can sell food, you can serve alcohol, you can bring in entertainment and you can dance the night away! And, at some point he said, I don’t want alcohol. I just want to let people come in and then the idea of brown-bagging came up somehow, and I said, you can’t “brown-bag.” That will get you in trouble! You can’t do that!”
Holley explained further, “Now, if you don’t want to serve alcohol, but you want to bring in entertainment and dance, then you can purchase a dance-hall license license.”
Thrower explained the Dance Hall/Venue Licenses: “We have two license categories, and one was added by the Mayor and Council specifically for one business that had basically the same business, and that is called a Venue License. Dance Hall and Venue licenses carry the same requirement. They are $150.00 annual fee non-prorated. They have to be approved by the Mayor and Council. They have to be inspected by the State Fire Marshall, because of all the fires that have been experienced in other states, the State of Alabama Fire Marshall has cracked down on these venues.
Holley mentioned the club in Chicago, where there was some sort of club in they had some massive fires and a lot of people were killed. Since that happened, not only Alabama, but other states have cracked down on inspections and requirements for those places that either have paid admission or human occupancy of a lot of people, because if something happened they want to make sure that they have proper ways to get out – emergency exits, stairways and that sort of thing.
So, Mr. Staples then said, well, I don’t want to have alcohol, but we want to have entertainment and food, and they talked about jazz and blues, and dancing. And that’s the way to dance, you have to have this Venue, or Dance Hall Permit.
When we found out that the State had this requirement, I gave Mr. Thompson Scott Pilgreen’s number. And apparently at some point he called Mr. Scott Pilgreen, who is the State Assistant Fire Marshall and Mr. Pilgreen talked about the State Requirements and some point, Mr. Pigreen said he would not come down myself, he would assign it to the local (meaning whoever in his department works this area). Maybe Mr. Thompson thought he meant our local fire department.
The day I got a copy of your paper. He showed up; I mean, he just came in, he and Mr. Staples, and I got my fire chief and the Police chief in here, and I got Mr. Pilgreen on speaker phone. He said, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Holley’s exactly right, the State of Alabama requires an architectural drawing, or a drawing of the building, signed off by a licensed registered architect for the State of Alabama. You have to send that to us, and we have to approve that. It doesn’t matter what the City does, if you have spent a billion dollars, If you don’t have this, then you can’t open. We had him right here, and we told him do you have any questions for Mr. Pilgreen. So that’s where we are at this point…
See, Mr. Thompson has come back on a number of occasions, saying, “Well, this is what I want to do, how can you help me? And it seemed like to us, quite frankly, he wanted us to sort of bend the rules, or something. So at some point, we just told him, Mr. Thompson, you’ve got two choices. But he won’t ever say…
If you want to serve alcohol, you’ve got to have alcohol license; if you don’t want to have alcohol, but you want to dance, you got to have Venue-Dance-Hall license.
If he wants to dance, he’s got to have an architectural drawing approved by the State Fire Marshall.
Holley mentioned that Thompson claimed to have talked to some other fire chief, who gave him the impression that there was no need to involve the Fire Marshall. “That’s why I got Scott Pilgreen on the phone. From my understanding of what Mr. Pilgreen said, it does not matter if he has not made any alterations whatsoever, but (he’s got to have it whether he’s made any or not) most certainly assured me that if he’s made alterations to the building, they require a drawing or rendering of the building signed off by a registered architect sent to the State Fire Marshall’s office. This is true of any building where a lot of people are coming in.”
We mentioned to Holley and Thrower the “buzz” around Mr. Thompson’s dilemma, and the fact that there had been a lot of commentary on a Valley and Lanett blog. We asked if there was any chance that the City may have the impression that Thompson was trying to open an exotic dance club. Holley stated that the City never got that impression. The City fully understands what he wants to do.
Holley replied, “Some of the people on that blog, don’t even live in Lanett, don’t do anything from that area. And there’s a number of lies been told on that blog. And they need to be careful, because they, too can be sued for libel and slander, when they put lies on that thing…
“We’ve told Mr. Thompson the same thing every time… We can’t just pull something out of the air, that’s going to let him do anything he wants to do now or in the future.”
Holley stated that “The claim made in the August 17th article, by Councilman Malone about the club in West Shawmut, not having a Dance Hall license, was untrue. Holley stated that the club in West Shawmut has a pouring license, so he can dance the night away!”
We mentioned another aspect of the issue, stemming from the idea that the City doesn’t want this type of business in Lanett and that the matter will never make it to the full City Council.
Holley asked, “Where does that come from? My Lord, we want as much business that pays taxes in Lanett that we can get!”
It’s just like Mr. Pilgreen said on the phone when we were all sitting in here. He said, Mr. Thompson, don’t spend a whole lot of money until we get this drawing. Because you can spend a whole lot of money on this, and the City of Lanett can give you any kind of license that it can issue, but until we sign off on this, you can’t open…
If I were Mr. Thompson, I would jump through whatever hoops I needed to jump through to satisfy the State of Alabama for the dance hall or whatever he wants. Until he gets the State’s approval, he can’t open his business. And we don’t have control over that. We’ve explained that. In fact, when we found out he had to have this drawing, we told him as soon as we knew about it. See we don’t get involved in that.”
What it boils down to is that the opening of “The Emerald” is on hold until Thompson’s architectural drawing is submitted to and approved by the Alabama State Fire Marshall’s office.
State Fire Marshall Clarifies Inspection Issue
So, the process is one of modifying the building to suit its intended purpose By Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson Published August 31, 2007 Issue |
On Wednesday, August 29, The People’s Voice conducted an extensive telephone interview with Mr. Edward S. Paulk, State Fire Marshall. Paulk’s agency is primarily responsible for investigating suspicious fires and explosions, inspecting buildings for proper fire code, and conducting fire education conferences and training seminars among other things.
“First of all,” Paulk stated, “I talked to this gentleman (referring to Phillip Thompson) earlier today. This was the first conversation I’ve had with anyone concerning this…
Let me tell to you how one goes about getting this type of business in the State of Alabama requirements. Then you can see if he’s met the requirements, and if he has, then he shouldn’t be having any problems…
If one wants to open an adult entertainment business, and I would say that to me this would mean any kind of a party room, where people could go and gather, they could eat, they could drink and dance, nothing unusual, just a place to go.
That is what is known as “assembly occupancy.” The law in Alabama is that any building that is of a commercial nature, has to be designed by design professionals for that purpose. I understand that this gentleman has purchased a building that was formerly a business office. So, it was designed for that purpose.
The catch is that when you change occupancy, for example if you have a single-family dwelling, and you want to open a business, it is required to be designed by design professionals, it must be brought up to the current standards for the type of business you want to occupy it. So, his building, which was built for a business occupancy, has to be redesigned to accommodate his assembly occupancy and that would require a design professional. So what he needs to do is to consult with an architect, or an engineer, working in this field, (and this is a requirement of the law, now, this is not a requirement of a code that we’ve adopted, this is a requirement of Alabama State law). If he can consult with an architect or engineer, and get the plans made to bring that building into compliance for the type of occupancy that he wants to use it for.
And once we get those plans, and we get that work done, and then we can have an inspection and the building can be approved for use.
That’s done to protect the people who go to that business.” Reviewing the details of the Station Concert Club fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island, in February 20, 2003, Paulk continued, “If you’ll remember, we had the fire in Rhode Island which is an Adult Entertainment facility up in Rhode Island. … We had a number of people die in that facility because that building didn’t comply with the codes, and we had a bunch of people that died at the very front door of that business because things weren’t designed inside properly. We don’t want something like that happening here in Alabama…
We further described to Paulk, our perceptions of Thompson’s issues, explaining that at this point, Thompson felt that these were rules that were being made up along the way by City Officials in order to thwart his progress toward opening the business. Thompson was not made aware during his initial conversations with the City of Lanett, that there were additional state level building requirements that needed to met to get his facility open for business. Thompson was further frustrated by the fact that no one at City Hall was able to show him in writing where these requirements were coming from.
Paulk replied, “I understand his frustration, and it’s equally frustrating for us when someone’s wanting to do something, and don’t get the proper steps to follow, because it’s a no-win situation for either side until we get it done properly, because of he did open for business, and someone suffered, or (God forbid), died, as a result of something that happened there, not only would he would suffer again because he didn’t comply with the law, but other people would also suffer, including us.”
We asked Paulk, which Alabama law governs this kind of business. He stated that this requirement is coverend as part of the Architectural Law. Title 34 Chapter 2 of the Architecural Law; Title 34-2-32 Code of Alabama; Registered Architect Services Required. Tells you when the services of an architect or a design professional are required.
During the conversation, Paulk quoted the last paragraph of the code which reads as follows:
(b) No person shall be required to register as an architect in order to make plans and specifications for or administer the erection, enlargement or alteration of any building upon any farm for the use of any farmer, irrespective of the cost of such building, or any single family residence building or any utility works, structures or building (provided that the person performing such architectural works is employed by an electric, gas or telephone public utility regulated pursuant to the laws of Alabama or by a corporation affiliated with such utility), or of any other type building(s) which has a total area of less than 2,500 square feet and is not intended for assembly occupancy, except schools, churches, auditoriums or other buildings intended for the assembly occupancy of people.
(c) The services of a registered architect shall be required on all buildings except those hereinabove exempted and no official of this state or of any city, town or county herein charged with the enforcement of laws, ordinances or regulations relating to the construction or alteration of buildings, shall accept or approve any plans or specifications that are not so prepared.
Thompson Plans "Walk-Through" Open House Public is invited to come and see what he has planned for Lanett By Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson Published August 31, 2007 Issue |
Though we were not present and did not witness the comment, it was reported that during last week’s meeting of the Lanett City Council, Lanett City Manager, Retired Judge Joel Holley made it a point to hold up a copy of The LaFayettte Sun, and publicly point out that Phil Thompson’s property was in FORECLOSURE, giving the appearance that he was gloating over the fact. It is never acceptable for anyone to glory in another man’s misfortune.
However by the Grace of God, we are proud to report that Phillip Thompson’s property is no longer in foreclosure, and as an act of faith He will host a Weekend Walk-through and Open House on Saturday, September 15, and Sunday, September 16. The hours are Saturday, 12:00 Noon until 9:00pm, and Sunday, 1:00pm Until. The public is invited to come and witness what God can and will do for a faithful servant. In his word, he said, “If you will just be faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler of many.” This is one
of the man instances where the sufficiency of God’s Grace prevailed. God bless all who kept Phil Thompson in your prayers.