Chamber Board Issues Thinly Veiled Rebuke Of Renaming Bridge For Stan Pate's Father

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama's Board of Directors on Thursday passed a resolution encouraging the Tuscaloosa County legislative delegation to seek input from members of the community before renaming any infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

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This comes after Patch reported on Wednesday that the push by State Sen. Gerald Allen seems to have stalled after he has filed and refiled a resolution to rename a Tuscaloosa bridge in memory of the father of Tuscaloosa developer Stan Pate.

If the measure is successful in passing the Alabama House of Representatives and making it to the governor's desk, the Interstate 20/59 bridge that spans McFarland Boulevard would be renamed the "Luther Stancel Pate III Memorial Bridge."

This is the interstate bridge that includes the infamous red arches and can be seen from the mostly derelict McFarland Mall property owned by Pate.

In the Chamber Board's resolution, business leaders argue that the naming of public infrastructure can have a significant impact on the identity and history of a community.

"Therefore, the resolution encourages the incorporation of community input into the decision-making process to promote transparency, inclusivity, and a sense of ownership and pride in the resulting names," the Chamber Board said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Pate said his father was a farmer by trade who had to work a night job to make ends meet. The elder Pate died in a vehicle accident at Rice Mine Road and McFarland Boulevard on June 14, 1968.

The controversial developer also told Patch yesterday that he did not request the bridge be named after his father nor to honor his family name — a notion he reiterated Thursday during a phone conversation with Patch.

Allen, a Republican from Tuscaloosa with close ties to Pate, has also been criticized for not discussing his bridge resolution with the rest of the Tuscaloosa County delegation prior to it passing in the Alabama Senate.

This prompted frustrations and concerns among members of the delegation, with only two members of the delegation willing to go on record to discuss the resolution when asked by Patch for comments and thoughts.

ALSO READ: Battle For 'Stan Pate's Bridge' Stalls, But Unlikely To Get Pushback

The only vocal supporter to speak publicly on the matter was State Rep. Curtis Travis — a Democrat from Tuscaloosa and a longtime friend of Pate's. The other lawmakers declined comment altogether, apart from Republican State Rep. Bill Lamb, who is in his first term in the legislature and offered nothing conclusive as to his position.

The resolution says the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama plans to support efforts to develop transparent and inclusive processes for naming public infrastructure, included an approach geared toward involving community members from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

And it's important to note that while the Chamber resolution does not mention Pate or anyone else by time, it does come just a couple of day after its Public Affairs Committee meeting on Tuesday. At one point during the meeting, Allen is reported to have publicly apologized for not communicating with his elected colleagues before moving the resolution through the Senate.

In response, the Chamber says it will advocate for the incorporation of community input into the decision-making process for the naming of public infrastructure and will collaborate with local elected bodies and the West Alabama legislative delegation to ensure that community input is valued and respected.

Pate told Patch that he wasn't surprised by the resolution, going on to say that he preferred not to talk at length about the dynamics of the situation. Instead, he said his only hope was that this decision by the Chamber board had nothing to do with his father.

"I hope it's not pointed at my father," he said. "If it is, I'll be real disappointed."

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