The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 57

3f SECTION Brock pushes improved field worker conditions, 3E U.S. businesses cut back expansion plans, 4E Stock Tables, 2E Wall Street, 3E Classified, 2F BUSINESS The TENNESSEAN THURSDAY, September 12, 1985 'Scenic Parkway To Connect Saturn ALBERT CAS0N Business Editor A Nashville Business Suite Hotel Officials Eye More Sites Mini mm'Vi'J tr-1 1 ft i By the time the first few units of Lexington Hotel Suites opened two months ago, the company knew Nashville was a good place for additional installations, officials said yesterday. "We are already looking at additional sites," said Thomas Oxley, president of InterSuite Management as he checked last-minute details before grand opening ceremonies today at the 120-unit all-suite hotel at 2425 Atrium Way near Briley By RANDY HILMAN Tenneswao Stall Correspondent SPRING HILL, Tenn. A $29.3 million "scenic parkway" will connect Interstate 65 with General Motors' Saturn plant south of Spring Hill in Maury County under a proposal state officials announced yesterday. The 4.3-mile, four-lane connector, to be named Saturn Parkway, will be financed with federal and state highway funds, said Robert Farris, state transportation commissioner.

State officials hope to parallel the road construction timetable to the schedule for the $3.5 billion Saturn plant in order to have the highway open when the plant comes on-line some time in 1989. "I want to emphasize that this is a proposed location, a first step in order to determine the actual location," Farris said during a public meeting at the Spring Hill Elementary School. He noted, however, that DOTs proposed east-west route from I-65, about a mile south of Duplex Road, to U.S. 31, about a mile south of Kedron Road, fairly represented the permanent location of the corridor. "We see no major shift in location! but there could be some alignment shift," he said.

"Some of the difficulties that could arise might be encountering an endangered species, a gravesite, historic site or some other obstacle we may have overlooked in our pre- liminary analyses." An environmental impact study and other pertinent analyses represent the next phase of DOTs work before a final corridor recommendation is submitted to the Federal Highway Administration for approval, he said. The process also will include a series of public hearings, Farris said. An option DOT would consider along the proposed route would be an interchange where Kedron Road crosses the proposed parkway in Maury County. Farris said DOT officials will X1 it Parkway. "People today take a home-like atmosphere for granted," said Ox-ley, whose company manages the 15 Lexington Hotel Suites for the Lexington Cos.

of Irving, Texas, which is named nftpr py. 7 ji mwiflU) ainwuri' t-'i i'-- iuiimmmmMitkiiiimiimak A Staff photo by Robert Johnson State Transportation Commissioner Robert E. Farris points out on a map the route of a proposed 4.3-mile, four-lane connector highway that would run between Interstate 65 and the Saturn plant that will be built near Spring Hill, Tenn. increased traffic volume expected as a result of the automobile manufacturing facility, which is expected to employ 6,000 work- ers. An internal DOT study has suggested the parkway would handle only about 4,400 vehicles if it were in place today.

By the year 2010, however, an estimated (Turn to Page 4, Column 5) contact with three houses and two trailers, and I understand one of the houses is vacant" The proposed corridor would require acquisition of about 216 acres of right-of-way through an estimated 12 to 15 properties and would displace five families, Farris said. He said the state would pay appraised fair market value for any land it acquires and indicated be seeking input from local officials on whether to include that interchange. The proposed parkway route was chosen because it appears to cause the least amount of disruption to local traffic patterns, residences and sites of archeologjcal, historic or other significance. "We tried to follow property lines as closely as possible," Farris said. "We only came in that the costs could exceed the project's $3.65 million because of the unstable nature of current land values in and around Spring Hill.

"Certainly we could have acquired the land a year ago for less money, but we will be paying proper values and if we can't come to terms, the courts will decide," Farris said. The proposal would alleviate Lower Gas Kate Request Still By ED CROMER Although much of vesterdav's henrino rfpnlt He argued also that it would out the cortina OXLEY "Traveling families and vacationers enjoy a facility in which they can send the kids to bed in another room while they stay up and watch television," he said. All-suite hotels "are projected to grow to 20 to 25 of the potential hotel market over the next few years," Business Travel News reported recently. The Lexington organization has been the pioneer in matching the suite concept to the average traveler's budget, Oxley said. Lexington's suites with bedroom, full kitchen and combination living room-bedroom with home-type furnishings are priced at only $55, he said.

"It used to be that suites were the luxury part of the average hotel," he said. "But lifestyles have changed and people expect different things today. That's why Lexington originated the concept of 'a suite for the price of a Today's ceremonies will off icially inaugurate that concept for the com-: pany in Tennessee with the formal opening of Lexington's first property east of the Mississippi River. The grand opening follows the Aug. 29 announcement that Lexington Cos.

and the Hall Financial Group, the nation's second largest apartment owner-manager, have agreed to combine their management resources to operate Lexington Hotel Suites. "This gives us the financial clout 'to expand more rapidly," he explained. "We opened five hotels this and we expect to double that next year, averaging about one a month. We would like to build a chain like the Ramadas and LaQuin-tas. "The economy of Nashville and Tennessee is booming, and we think this is a good area for expansion," he said.

Echoing Oxley's enthusiasm, Zolon A. Wilkins Jrn a partner of the family-owned parent Lexington said "This is a special occasion for us because it's almost like a homecoming. My father started this business 25 years ago shortly after we moved to Texas from Lexington, and he (Turn to Page 7, Column 3) T.G. Pappas, attorney for the gas company, argued that advertising and construction expenditures were low a few years ago during the gas curtailment period because the company did not want new customers then. Denny, who joined the company in January 1983, said it is now experiencing growth after a few years of "sitting dead in the water." During that "dead" period, he said, Nashville Gas lost "marketing momentum" to NES.

He said the company is now trying hard to re-establish contacts with contractors and sell the public on the advantages of natural gas. Burcham, while complimenting the company on its cooperation with the staff, said the rate case "has been one of the most confusing and difficult" of his 20 years with the PSC In many instances, he said, the staff received differing growth projections from Piedmont Natural Gas Co. of Charlotte, N.C which acquired Nashville Gas last March; Dwight Work, a Nashville accountant hired by Nashville Gas as a consultant, and Nashville Gas itself. Nashville Gas Co. lowered its $5.1 million rate hike request to $3.6 million yesterday, but the Public Service Commission staff contended the proposal is still $2.4 million too high.

In a day-long commission hearing, PSC general counsel Henry Walker attacked Nashville Gas rapidly growing advertising budget as unreasonable and said the company's customers should not have to bear the cost. "The staff feels that for the last two years this company has been acting like a competitive enterprise, rather than a regulated utility," Walker said. He noted the company's advertising budget went from less than $100,000 in 1982 to $200,000 in 1983, $580,000 in 1984 and a budgeted $887,000 for next year. William J. Denny, president of Nashville Gas, testified the company would lose $77,000 in matching advertising money from its supplier, Tennesee Pipeline, if it reduced its ad budget to the $122,000 level recommended by thePSCstaff.

with accounting and technical disagreements, a central issue put before the commission was of a more philosophical nature. "I challenge the notion that getting more customers is necessarily good," Whitfield Burcham, the PSCs director of accounting, said in his testimony. He said the aim of unregulated companies is, understandably, to get more customers and bigger profits. But he argued a utility must have other concerns. Burcham said adding customers would not necessarily benefit existing customers.

Even so, he conceded, it is still "reasonable" for a utility ''to go out and serve more" customers. But he said he could find no justification for the nearly 900 increase in advertising costs over three years. The staff recommendation would limit the company's ad budget to 0.1 of its revenues, or about $122,000. "Their advertising expenditures are hemorrhaging' Walker said. "We've got to put a cap on them." ny in "a less competitive position" with Nashville Electric Service.

The $887,000 for advertising and a $9.3 million construction budget are needed for Nashville Gas to take advantage of "a window of opportunity" resulting from the city's economic boom, Denny said. "Nashville is growing and on the move. Nashville Gas must keep up with this growth," he said. The three-member Public Service Commission is expected to make a ruling in the case by Oct 15. Nashville Gas filed for a $5.1 million increase last April 26 but, after ironing out several disputes over figures with the PSC staff, is now asking for a little under $3.6 million.

The company said the impact of such a hike on a typical residential customer would be a 2.6 increase, or $1.39 on an average bill of $53.08. The PSC staff and Nashville Gas still disagree on the company's likely sales volume next year a difference that accounts for million of the rate hike quarrel. Saab Official Advises U.S. To Give Up Protectionism global economic imbalance, said Sten Wennlo, executive vice presi- dent of Saab-Scania AB, who is attending Saab's U.S. dealer convention at the Opryland HoteL "The U.S.

is the motor for business in the world," said Wennlo, who heads the company's Saab automobile division. "If the U.S. economy stagnates, it is not good for the rest of the world." By RANDY HILMAN The United States must abandon protectionist thinking and seek to broaden its world presence in business and industry, a top Swedish auto executive said here yesterday. Only the United States, on which many world industries are economically dependent, has the strength to stake out new markets in a time of industries by limiting competition, Wennlo said. "For this reason your decisions are important for us, and it is the reason that we at Saab try to work our programs in a way that is suitable to your country," he said.

"We buy components from General Motors, and I stress in the compa- (Turn to Page 7, Column 1) Wennlo said he believes that only the VS. has the Ingenuity, courage and ability to seek bold solutions to problems when its back is to the wall. "When I hear this talk of protec-. tionism, my heart is stopping," Wennlo said. "This would be catastrophic for the rest of the world." For a company like Saab-Scania, which exports 97 of its truck pro duction and 70 of its car production, vibrant free trade means the difference between success and failure, he said.

Protectionist efforts in the U.S. against foreign competition predominantly Japanese at present would further stagnate economies abroad and probably result in greater protectionism there as foreign governments seek to bolster national To Allow Insurance Sales State Ready To Close Dickson Bank Today Bank Deregulation Suggested LDELL CROWE WW ADELL CROWE By Gannett News Service WASHINGTON Consumers are "missing an opportunity to save millions of dollars" because most bank holding companies cannot sell insurance, First American Corp. Chairman Kenneth Roberts told a House subcommittee yesterday. Congress should deregulate banks so that bank holding companies, regardless of their size, can sell insurance, Roberts, also chairman of the Association of Bank Holding Companies, told a House banking financial institutions subcommittee. "The bottom line is that consumers across the country are missing an opportunity to save millions ol dollars because of the remaining constraints on bank holding company sales of insurance." Roberts said.

Under law enacted In 1982, national banks and bank holding companies can sell any type of insurance in towns under 5,000 population. Some state banks are allowed to sell insurance, while larger bank holding companies are precluded from mass-marketing insurance to consumers. The law allows insurance sales by mutual savings banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions and independent finance companies. Many holding companies are now equipped to provide customers with counseling services, Roberts said. "Bank holding companies can be formidable competitors in the insurance marketplace because they can offer a combination of counseling and competitively priced products," he said.

Opponents of insurance sales by bank holding companies argue that banks should not take on any activity which poses a risk to the financial institution. But Roberts pointed out that a recent article in the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Economic Review, says insurance and real estate brokerage were the "least risky" of all financial services. "Interestingly, one of the riskier businesses was operating a savings and loan association," Roberts said in a statement he put into the hearing record. "Savings and loans are allowed a full range of brokerage activities, both insurance and real estate and, in some cases, are affiliated with insurance companies." The hearing was to determine president, said last night that bank officials were still trying to solve their problem and were meeting with "some interesting people" "We're still in a meeting about that right now," he said when contacted at the bank. "You might call back in an hour." Later, a bank spokesman said the meeting was still in progress and likely to last until early today.

If Adams orders the bank closed today, it would be the fifth bank failure in Tennessee and the 79th nationwide this year. Adams said the $14 million bank has suffered large loan losses in recent years and, although it has "cleaned up" its loan portfolio by (Turn to Page 7. Column I) By ED GREGORY The state's banking commissioner is prepared to order First Security Bank of Dickson closed today after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. terminated its insurance at midnight, he said last night "The situation here is critical to the extreme, and I fully expect to have to act tomorrow," W.C (Bill) Adams, commissioner of financial institutions said last night "There are still some efforts going on to recapitalize that bank and if I can receive some assurances that those efforts were successful, then the bank might not have to close. "Frankly, I am not optimistic," he added.

But Jacky W. Allen, First Security Kenneth Roberts "Opportunity to save millions" whether Congress needs to further restrict the activities of bank holding companies after Citicorp attempted to take over a South Dakota bank company that was allowed to sell insurance outside the state. sT FiLS COPY AVAILABLE FOR.