Published: March 29, 2008 07:51 pm            

HOLLY POND: Country lifestyle with city amenities

Small town, small town, small town. That is how Holly Pond Mayor Paul Barnett described his city. However, Barnett said being a small town doesn’t mean residents have to drive for miles to get the necessities.

“It’s a small community where everyone knows everyone. It just has a small community atmosphere,” Barnett said. “But with that small community atmosphere, we offer everything that you would need that some of the larger towns offer. The only thing we don’t have is a clinic or doctor’s office. We offer a drug store, department store. It is just a well-rounded community.”

Barnett has been a life long resident of Holly Pond. He said he went to school from elementary through high school when he graduated in 1974.

Over the years Barnett said he has seen improvements in the town. He said businesses are doing well, but said he hopes to continue to improve city hall.

“One thing we’ve tried to do is get some of long range plans on paper. For years everything was in our heads in the way we did things,” Barnett said. “Now we’ve got subdivision regulations, sewer system regulations. If someone comes in and says they want to build a subdivision within the city limits we can say this is what is required. With as before it was in somebody’s head. And it was like if we lose that person that has all of that stuff down, we have nowhere to go.”

The town limits extend one mile from city hall. Barnett said despite the small area, the 652 residents have plenty of job opportunities.

“We have a lot of people that work at VF Jeans,” Barnett said. “We have a lot of folks that commute back and forth to Birmingham and Huntsville, as well as people that drive to Cullman to work. We have a florist shop, drugstore, cafe, grocery store, and two banks. Really two banks in this small of a town is unheard of. But they are homegrown banks.”

Barnett said the town faces some important decisions in the future, including the introduction of a four lane highway.

“We’ve always got the issue of the four lane and Highway 278. From the last meeting we had with the state, they were waiting on federal funding to see whether Highway 278 will go through Holly Pond or go around,” Barnett said.

“If they go through the center of town they will have to relocate one-half of the town. With it going around Holly Pond it will not be to far down the beaten path that it will direct all the traffic flow out of Holly Pond. The loop will be rather tight around the town. It will be an added bonus to the people. Other business don’t really feel it will affect business. Most people that shop at the stores and eat at the cafes are local people.”

One aspect of the future that had Barnett excited was the talk about Holly Pond’s public park. He said several improvements and additions are being added to the park over the next few months.

“We just broke ground on our new concession stand. We are hoping by this Spring the kids will be playing on the new t-ball field. The field will be located next to the basketball court,” Barnett said. “The only issue we have is the limited parking at the park. But we are working on that. It is going to be good for the community.”

        

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