The ultimate power of eminent domain

I attended a condemnation hearing yesterday afternoon in my hometown and was very disappointed in the outcome. The judge ruled in favor of an electric company that has been actively pursuing a family's farm for their new office complex. Chalk one up for big business and local politicians; yesterday was truly their day of celebration. I am bothered for a number of reasons concerning this particular case. I must warn you now, this will be lengthy and very biased, although I will give you the facts as I know them about the case.
1. When the Weakley County Municipal Electric System began their search for land, the general manager said they wanted to keep it quiet for fear it would drive market prices higher based on who the buyer actually was. They chose 15 original sites as central location for their new office. At a WCMES board meeting, they ruled out 4 and were left with 11. They contracted local realtor and appraiser, Wendell Alexander, to determine which of these sites would be best suited for their needs. He narrowed the search down to 1 and began "negotiations" with the landowners.
2. Alexander mailed a contract to Iva Adams, landowner, who has resided with her grandson after suffering a stroke 3 years ago in Chicago. Her grandson, David, is power of attorney for the estate. The land has been in their family for many generations and has been used for producing corn and soybeans by a local farmer. The contract stated Alexander as the realtor and the buyer with the option to assign the property to anyone he chooses. "I'm sorry, we are not interested in selling our family's land," was the response by the Adams' family. End of story, right. Oh no. The nightmare was only just beginning for the family.
3. The WCMES board decided they only needed a portion (29 acres) of the property instead of all of the land (66 acres). Alexander was back on the phone. The response he received this time was the family was not interested in splitting up the property either. My guess is they misinterpreted that statement to mean, they would negotiate for all on the property. Keep in mind, the family was still unaware of the identity of the "county" entity that actually wanted the property.
4. As farmland, the property had been declared a "Greenbelt" by Tennessee state law, which protects the conservation of certain lands, including farms and forests. The family has a lease with the local farmer to bear crops and provide an income for him. This is Tennessee and the land did provide cash crops, therefore, it is level and the topography made it appealing to the WCMES. The general manager addressed the reasons for wanting that particular piece of land to the board of county commissioners in January. Topography was a key issue, as well as location (on a four-lane highway) and it was directly in the center of their service area.
5. After receiving a Sunday morning phone call from Alexander stating it would be in the family's best interest to sell the land because it was set to be condemned, the grandson made a trip to the county courthouse to question the county mayor, Ron Gifford, as to his knowledge of the public entity that was so adamantly seeking his property. Gifford denied any knowledge of what was going on. So, as a tax-paying citizen of this county, I am supposed to believe that our county mayor knew nothing about what was going on considering a county commissioner was also a member of the WCMES board. I don't buy that for one second and I don't think the general public will either.
6. Alexander's brother, Marvin, is also in the real estate business and claimed he has known "Ms. Iva" for a long time. Hearing "talk on the streets" and after reading the local newspaper, Marvin mailed a contract to the Adams requesting to auction the property off to the highest bidder before it goes to court for condemnation. To his credit, I believe he was sincere and he was afraid their fate had been sealed. Marvin said he had property condemned before and felt they would not get enough compensation for the property if it were condemned. His letter claimed he had no ties with the WCMES and would be happy to sell it to the highest bidder. The family was eventually made aware of their "buyer." They still refused to sell.
7. The WCMES receives no funding from the general funds of the county, such as property, sales or wheel taxes. They are a separate entity of the county, but they are a municipal power plant. There was never a resolution passed by the board of county commissioners authorizing them to proceed with purchase of land. I learned in court yesterday, they did not need it because they fall under a power plant state law allowing them to claim eminent domain. Their funding comes strictly from their customers' bills.
8. The grandson made another trip to Tennessee to put up signs along his family's property in plain view of the public declaring them to help "stop the abuse of eminent domain and the WCMES land grab." I think it was obvious to everyone else the family did not want to sell the property.
9. The general manager of the WCMES in his presentation to the county commission board made mention of an individual that owned property along the four-lane they were interested in offered to sell his property to the WCMES. Out of the 11 sites chosen, the Adams property was the only property the realtor tried to negotiate with and he never approached any other land owners for their property. The board basically said "We want this property and either you are going to give it to us, or we will take it." That's exactly what happened.
10. Unfortunately for the rest of the landowners in that area, which is mainly used for farmland with the exception of a few houses, should probably consider future efforts by other "entities" to continue industrializing the area after the office complex is put into place. Eventually, I and other colleagues, foresee a merge of the two cities the four-lane connects. The city limits will extend to encompass that area, which will mean more taxes for home and land owners along Hwy. 22. The question now remains, "Which neighboring city will provide sewer and water to the office complex and by what means will it take to run the lines that will eventually supply it?" Some sort of digging is required in matters such as this and I am afraid the Adams will not be the only ones to suffer in this situation.
I expected to see certain elected officials on one side of the courtroom in support of the WCMES. What I did not expect to see were members of the farming community, numerous employees of the Weakley County Farm Bureau and one county commissioner on the other side of the courtroom in support of the Adams. I know the family greatly appreciates the citizens' support. Kudos to you Jack Vincent for standing up and proving you are not a politician, but an elected representative of the people you serve. The area in question was not even in your district. You would get my vote for re-election if I lived in your district. To everyone else on hand, thank you for not hiding in fear of the powers that be in a county full of back door legislation.
The family said they will consider their appeal options and also look at what they can afford to do at this point. If there is no appeal filed, the case will then be heard by a jury trial to determine the actual amount of compensation the family will receive from the WCMES for their land. Good luck to the Adams family in their continued fight of eminent domain.