Pine Level residents hope to vote on creating own town

AUTAUGA COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) - Residents of Autauga County’s Pine Level community are inching closer to forming their own town.

“We’ve laid out a plan,” said Ken Hollon, who has been working on the project for months.

Hollon is a part of the Pine Level Incorporation Committee and said 60% of landowners and 15% of the registered voters have signed a petition supporting the effort.

The paperwork and a proposed map of town limits have been sent to the probate judge, according to Hollon. It is an aim at scheduling an election.

“We hope that we’re going to get a date within the next week to 10 days,” Hollon said.

Establishing a town could help keep tax dollars local. The money could benefit the volunteer fire department and parks and recreation facilities.

Hollon admits that raising taxes could cause some pushback, but he said he fears it could be worse if Pine Level were annexed by another municipality.

“One way or another, we’re going to wind up paying more taxes,” he said.

Some of the support for incorporation comes from families that have been here in Pine Level for decades. One of those people is Larry Deavers, who said his family donated part of the land to build the old Pine Level Elementary school, which is now the Pine Level Community Center.

Deavers said he wants people to know he is not a newcomer and that he supports incorporation.

“A lot of the opposition is people saying, ‘Well, we just want to leave it like it is,’” Deavers said. “Pine Level is not like it was when I was growing up.”

As Pine Level changes, the two residents want to protect the identity of their community.

The Pine Level Incorporation Committee said it will pass along an election date if its application is approved.

Sign up for the WSFA Newsletter and get the latest local news and breaking alerts in your email!

Copyright 2023 WSFA. All rights reserved.