Huh ??? Shop??? WHERE ??? Do they not have cable or internet access ??

'Shop Tuskegee' campaign may begin with lower local gas prices

By JEFF THOMPSON

Managing Editor

By the end of this week, Tuskegee may see a decline in local gas prices at stores owned by Tom Hayley, an Auburn entrepreneur who recently purchased the Wadsworth Oil properties in the city.

Updated Dec 11, 2008 - 06:17:17 EST

Hayley owns the BP station on N. Main Street, the Chevron station on the corner of Fonville Drive and Old Montgomery Road, the Shell station on W. Martin Luther King Highway and the Liberty station on E. Martin Luther King Highway.

The potential price cut at Hayley-owned stations is the first step in the city administration’s “Shop Tuskegee” campaign. The campaign’s purpose is exactly what it says – get people to spend more money in town.

“A lot of people want things from their government but don’t understand how the city pays for what it does.” Mayor Omar Neal said. “By simply changing their spending patterns, people can give the city more to work with. We need to educate the public on how they have the power to improve the quality of their own lives.”

The city pays for capital improvements, specifically road paving, with the local gasoline tax. The fund grows weaker each year as more Tuskegee money is being spent in neighboring counties.

During the last council meeting, Neal had promised to contact local fuel station owners in an effort to lower prices to a competitive level. His announcement was met by a chorus of, “That’s right!” from the audience.

Neal was true to his word and, after being contacted, Hayley agreed to a meeting at the Tuskegee Municipal Complex on Monday (December 8). Hayley said he previously had a good relationship with Neal, whose You Got the Power radio program airs on Hayley’s station, WBIL 580 AM.

Hayley said he also had a prior relationship with City Manager Alfred Davis, who worked with Hayley while Davis was employed by the City of Auburn. Hayley said these prior relationships were key in his decision to adamantly spearhead the “Shop Tuskegee” campaign.

“Shop Tuskegee truly means the community will be better – better roads, better schools, better police protection,” Hayley said. “This will be great for Tuskegee, and we want to light the fuse that keeps this going for a long period of time.”

Prices at Hayley-owned fuel stations in Auburn were as low as $1.59 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline on Tuesday (December 9) at Store 17, which sells Chevron Gas, while in Tuskegee the prices still remained at $1.85 per gallon.

Hayley admitted prices in Tuskegee may not decrease to meet those in Auburn, saying higher-tier fuel from Shell, BP and Chevron costs more.

Hayley also said prices at his Tuskegee stores had not lowered since he purchased the stations from Wadsworth because the business was in a transition period.

Hayley said – and officials agreed – that the object now is to take things one step at a time, slowly finding ways to bring other Tuskegee businesses on board.

City administration plans to spread the Shop Tuskegee campaign through other businesses in the city, planning incentives to help local businesses compete with out-of-county markets and to help attract new businesses to the area according to council and Utilities Board member Lutalo Aryee.

Aryee explained that while the city may not have expendable cash, it can offer these incentives in a variety of ways, including working with UBT.

Officials said the bottom line, though, is local education. Officials plan to speak with the Macon County Board of Education to encourage in-school programs to remind students that shopping in Tuskegee puts more money into the city’s hands that can be used to better the quality of life in their town.