Sinking Cove Franklin County, Tn. Jackson Properties Management, LLP

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Deborah Porter
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1 Sinking Cove Franklin County, Tn. Jackson Properties Management, LLP Tennessee Forestry Association October 2014 Frances Jackson Sally Jackson Hardee

2 Outline Property Plan Problem Proposal(s)?

3 Property: Context 400 acres of rural land on Sinking Cove Rd. Land has been in the family since 1830 s Uses have always been agriculture, forestry Last harvest of hardwoods 1976; crop ready to harvest now

5 Plan: Timber Harvest, 2014 Spring 2014, contracted with Ben Myers, Panther Creek Forestry, McMinnville, Tn. Bids were let Thompson Appalachian Hardwoods Franklin County, Tn. company Nordeck Thompson, Claire Getty

6 Road Posting

7 PROBLEM: Sinking Cove Road, Franklin Co. 12 families Approximately 5.5 miles in length Our property is approximately 5 miles down No other roads in the cove No access to State Route, Hwy. 16 Would need to build road up the bluff to access No easement Normal road load limits = 80,000 lb. = 40 T.

8 Truck Weights (estimates) Logging truck, empty Logging truck, loaded 30,000 lb. = 15 T. 64,000 lb. = 32 T. Clay truck Coal truck Farm truck Machinery truck Phosphate truck Recovered materials truck Sand truck Shale truck Solid waste truck TCA (2012)

9 FRANKLIN COUNTY ROAD COMMISSION MEETING Increased weight limits on road No stoppage of the timbering after it was started A way to work together

10 RESPONSE: Road Commission

11 RESPONSE: Continued Who will pay for the road if it is torn up? Suggested the timber company take out a performance bond (Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. This kind of bond is apparently usually for a building contractor in case he defaults/goes bankrupt; apparently not applicable to this situation.) Photographs of current damaged areas of Sinking Cove Road; video-taped the entire road the day before the meeting said that any damage to the road would be charged to the person/company that caused the damage; the charge would be for the entire road (estimated at $770,000+); the damage would be determined by a subsequent video for comparison

13 RESPONSE: Road Commission Presented a copy of a new Tn. State Law Obtained by Road Superintendent from their state office in Nashville; the Superintendent implied that this gave even broader powers to individual road commissions to determine damage and responsibility Commissioner for this district ( 1 of 5 districts in the county) did not recommend a variance ; apparently the individual road commissioner for each district within the county may decide the questions, with vote from commission So, there is variation of applications of restrictions from district to district within the county and variation in applications of restrictions from county to county in Tn. Matter was voted down, unanimously; Matter was declared dead

14 RIPPLE EFFECT: Personal Cannot harvest timber; crop deteriorates; lose stumpage payment that helps us retain this as rural forest land over the next years until crop is ready again Can we convert to another crop (this is on the side of a hill)? that would likely exceed truck weight limits to harvest? Can we build a house; bring in a mobile home; pour a driveway? Is our property devalued significantly? Can we sell it? In the long run, can we continue as forest farmers?

15 RIPPLE EFFECT: Franklin Co. It is estimated that... Over last 20 yrs., an avg. of 250,000 tons of timber harvested per yr. in Franklin Co. Results in $4,750,000 in stumpage payments to landowners per yr. in Franklin Co.

16 RIPPLE EFFECT: Forestry Industry UT Dept. of Forestry, 2014 Reviewed 1997 UT Forestry Dept. Report Concluded that trucking costs would be increased if load limits were reduced Consequent reduction in payments to landowners Current Analysis Example: If logging truck weights 30,000 lb.empty If road limit reduced from 80,000 lb. to 36,000 lb. It would increase the number of loads by 8.3 or An extra $60 per ton

17 PROPOSAL(S)? QUESTIONS: Does this effect... Timbering on other rural roads in county; in state? Other crops... or just timber? Logging truck drivers? Forestry industry? Fuel industry? (2 cents from fuel tax goes to state road budgets; 2 cents from fuel tax to bridges) County, state taxes? Employment in county, state?

18 QUESTIONS Who are (county) roads for? What purposes are (county) roads for? Who should bear the cost of paving? Who should be able to decide?

Before You Sell Your Timber

Woodland Owner Notes Before You Sell Your Timber Years of growth are accumulated in a mature timber stand. The annual income from all those years is frequently marketed in a single transaction. Too much