Letter of Intent, or Intentional Timing?”

By The Real Doss Ferry Chronicle

Let’s start with a question:

Has anyone actually heard from the City of Kimberly?

Not the Chamber of Commerce. Not a friend of a friend who swears they saw a councilman at Jack’s mumbling something about infrastructure. We mean the City. The Mayor. The Council. The ones whose job it is to inform the public.

Because if you’ve heard a peep from them about the conveniently timed "Letter of Intent" for sewer service, you’re one of the lucky few. The rest of us?

We’re sitting here like we’re waiting on someone to build a Myspace page on AOL dial up to upload a press release from 2003.

A Problem a Decade in the Making… Suddenly Urgent

Here are the facts: Sewer service in Kimberly isn’t some new, hot-button issue. It’s been needed for at least a decade really longer but who's counting. Ten years of talk, ten years of hand-wringing, and ten years of “we’ll get around to it.”

And yet, it somehow never made it to the top of the to-do list.

Until now.

Now—when municipal elections are weeks away and Robert Mashburn is running for mayor on a platform of “let’s quit sitting on our hands and actually fix this”—suddenly, out of the shadows, emerges an exciting new development.

A Letter of Intent!

Not from the city.

Not from the mayor.

But from the Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page, as if they’ve become the official megaphone of government business.

The Chamber “Announcement” That Raised More Questions Than Answers:

About 40 days before the election, the Chamber of Commerce hit “post” on a message that read like a campaign slide for the Dixon camp—a vague but triumphant declaration that a Letter of Intent had been signed for sewer service in Kimberly.

It praised Mr. Dixon (a sitting councilman), the outgoing mayor, and one other council member who just so happens to be running unopposed. The rest of the council? Not even mentioned.

Details? None.

Timeline? Nope.

Cost? Try again.

Citizen impact? Crickets.

Just a big pat on the back, shared like it was a ribbon-cutting ceremony for an invisible project. Closed-Door Conversations and Open Meeting Laws As people naturally started asking questions, one councilman admitted what many suspected—"this project has been discussed by these three behind closed doors for years."

Some say nine years. (although Dixon hasn't been on the council 2 years yet since his appointment)

Nine years of what, exactly? Whispers? PowerPoints? Secret sewer summits?

And why—now—(MAYBE BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE AN ACTUALLY CONTESTED MAYORS RACE NOT JUST AN APPOINTED THRONE) when a new candidate is pushing transparency and action, does this vague, celebratory announcement leak out like steam from a manhole cover?

Let’s not gloss over the real kicker: those closed-door discussions.

That’s not just bad optics. That’s potentially illegal under Alabama’s Open Meetings Act, especially if it involves serial meetings, which is just a fancy way of saying you’re using a group chat to dodge the law.

And the kicker?

We didn’t hear about any of this from the city.

Not Their Facebook.

Not Their email.

Not Their Twitter.

Not an official Pony Express

Not even a note tied to a carrier pigeon’s leg.

Dare ask any questions?

“You Should Come to the Meetings” — The Tired, Tone-Deaf Response Here’s the part that really grinds our gears.

Anytime citizens ask questions, they’re met with the same dismissive chorus:

“You should come to the meetings.”

That line sounds real noble. Real democratic. Real civic-minded.

It also sounds like it was written by someone who’s never worked a double shift and then had to coach tee-ball in the same pair of socks.

The reality is this:

Life is messy.

People are raising kids.

Working two jobs.

Caring for aging parents.

Trying to make ends meet while juggling school pickup and overdue bills.

Expecting them to carve out time every other Tuesday night to sit on a hard bench at city hall just to know what’s happening in their own town? That’s not transparency. That’s a trap door with a welcome mat.

It’s 2025 — The Time Warp Needs to End. Let’s cut to the chase. In 2025, there is no reason—zero, zilch, nada—that any citizen should have to be physically present at a city council meeting just to stay informed.

-- Stream the meetings.

-- Archive the videos.

-- Post the minutes.

-- Put names with faces. (Did you know the Mayor and Council still look like absent on picture day middle school yearbook photos on the cities website)

-- Quit pretending like AOL is still the gold standard of government communication.

The people of Kimberly deserve better than dial-up governance.

Real Leadership Meets People Where They Are

Real leadership doesn’t browbeat people for not attending every meeting.

It meets the people where they are—(not at a podium)

At the ball field.

At the dinner table.

On their phones after a long shift.

Because public service isn’t about scolding busy people— It’s about serving them.

If your idea of leadership is waiting until election season to dust off a decade-old sewer issue and leak it through a Chamber post written like a campaign ad...

You’ve missed the point.

We’re Not Mad. We’re Awake.

Citizens are paying attention, and some folks in charge don’t seem to like it. They ask, “Where were y’all months ago?” Well, we were here.

Raising our kids. Working our jobs. Minding our business.

But now?

We’re minding yours.

Not because we’re mad.

But because we’re awake.

So… Has Anyone Heard from the City?

It’s been over 10 days since the “big news” dropped.

And we’ve still heard nothing.

No clarification.

No statement.

No outreach.

No facts.

Just silence.

And silence, friends, is not transparency. It’s strategy.

We don’t think that’s right.

We don’t think it’s responsible.

And we sure don’t think it’s leadership.

We think the people of Kimberly deserve answers.

We think they deserve transparency.

And we think it’s time for something different.

—

RDFC

Still asking. Still listening. Still watching.