Years ago, the Pocahontas County Board of Education owned the Slaven property at Green Bank. They transferred it to the County Commission with certain protective covenants like for "the purposes of economic and industrial development. Jacob Meck came along and wanted 9 more acres to place six open pit sewer ponds on the property. The CC transferred to him briefly and then rescinded its action. Then along came John Fitzgerald who wanted to have access to the land for hay marking. (Never mind that the land was already being used for haymaking) Then along came Jacob Meck's man and indicated that if they were going to transfer the property Mick would still like the nine acres. All three county commissioners including the Green Bank rep. David McLaughlin and short term commissioner, Jamie Walker who works for the Board of Education agree to send a proposal to the Board of Education for transfer of the property to the Board.
This is the way the 1969 Board of Ed. wrote up the deed:
I have never understood what was wrong with this deed. I was on the county commission when it was enacted and I am quite proud of the way that it has protected the property. (With one exception, I was not on the Commission when they let Meck turn three acres into a garbage disposal facility, a scrap yard, and a storage facility. (On of this on public land.)
But the CC was skittish about transferring any more property even to the Greenbrier Economic Dev. Authority which leased the three acres to Meck. Some people would think that the above three uses would have been "economic development."
So the CC has offered the land back to the Board of Education and they have stripped those words, "economic and industrial development" out of the deed. Now it is wide open for ANYTHING WHATSOEVER.
Here's how they have laundered the deed:
Economic development is usually a euphemism for organized, Government-assisted industrial or economic destruction of land and communities. Government becomes involved because it can provide money stolen from those who earned it to bankroll schemes that cannot genuinely succeed on their own, so their Government-connected backers can profit without real work. To look at how Government involvement in the economy works, look at places like the former Soviet Union, or Cuba. The only way Governemnt can promote real economiuc growth is by protecting all form,s of properrty, and otherwise getting out of the way. That being said, Meck is in business, he provides services people pay for, employs many people, breaks no laws.....Why is not expansion of his business "economic development"? If Fitzgerald wnats to make and sell hay, people work ot make htat hay, it gets sold for MONEY (all bow down!), why is not that "economic development"? If the property ends up back with the Board of ED, which is always crying for money, let them AUCTION it, sell it to some private person who has a right ot own land, and will pay taxes on it. End of stupid story.
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