Shumaker Leads Other City Officials In Real-Estate Holdings

BRISTOL, Tenn. – City Councilman David Shumaker says the main reason he enjoys acquiring city property is a love for his hometown.

“Me and [wife] Anne have always been big on doing what we can to build, improve and invest in Bristol,” said Shumaker, a former school teacher who now runs a home-inspection business. “And I guess we’ve sort of put our money where our mouths are. You can’t point to everybody else and say, ‘You do this’ or ‘You buy this building’ and not do something when you can.”

But Shumaker also admits there’s been another source of motivation that’s led to owning four impressive properties in Bristol, including a 6th Street commercial lot that houses the popular Mountain Empire Comics shop.

“When Anne and I were a young couple [in the late 1970s], it was about the time that show ‘This Old House’ was really popular,” Shumaker says with a laugh, referring to the longtime home improvement TV program. “Man, I used to watch that program all the time. It really gave me the bug to do things with houses and property.”

Among Bristol’s elected council and school board members, Shumaker is the biggest owner of city property, according to Tennessee disclosure forms and assessment data.

In addition to his primary Columbia Road home on four parcels, assessed at $203,900, Shumaker owns the 6th Street commercial storefront ($113,500) and multifamily rental buildings on Windsor Avenue ($100,000) and Melrose Street ($89,600).

But Shumaker says while he is proud of his Bristol properties, he is hardly a land mogul.

“Take a little bit of hard work over 30 years, a little bit of investment and a lot of working seven-day weeks, and you tend to end up with a lot of junk,” he said.

On his candidate disclosure form, Shumaker lists his home-inspection business – Practical Preservation – and rental property among his sources of income.

Among the four remaining Bristol council members, Councilman James Messimer has a Tiffany Lane primary residence on three parcels ($131,300) and a Volunteer Parkway commercial lot that houses his chiropractor office ($364,100). On his candidate disclosure form, Messimer lists his chiropractic practice as his income source.

Mayor Fred Testa has a Melody Lane primary residence ($168,800). On his candidate disclosure form, Testa lists Social Security and his work at A.H. Schreiber Co. in Bristol among his sources of income.

Councilman Joel Staton has a Beechwood Road primary residence ($100,000). On his candidate disclosure form, Staton lists his Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System pension as a source of income, along with his wife Peg’s income as a Holston Medical Group family nurse practitioner.

Councilwoman Margaret Feierabend has a Lovedale Drive primary residence ($197,000). On her candidate disclosure form, Feierabend lists a number of family investments, including a Citizens Fund IRA and U.S. Savings Bonds.

On the Bristol Board of Education, member Nelson Pyle has a Charlton Court primary residence ($296,400). On his candidate disclosure form, Pyle lists money from Illinois and Tennessee retirement funds among his sources of income, as well as investments that include Ameritech stock.

Board member Mary Brown has a Belmont Drive primary residence ($139,200). On her candidate disclosure form, Brown lists family investments that include the Behringer Harvard real-estate investment fund and Triple Net Properties.

Board member Gwen Ellis has a Georgia Avenue primary residence ($100,600). On her candidate disclosure form, Ellis lists her husband Phillip’s work for Control Corporation of America as the source of income.

Board member Kelly Buskell III has a Roscommon Drive primary residence ($235,600). On his candidate disclosure form, Buskell lists his employment at GMAC Insurance among his sources of income.

Board member Tony Turner lists an Amhurst Lane residence with an appraised $147,200 value. The home is owned by Turner’s mother-in-law, Patricia Shaffer, he said.

On his candidate disclosure form, Turner lists his work as a Virginia Intermont College administrator among his sources of income.

“I think the disclosure form serves a great purpose,” Turner said Monday. “I always want people to know I’m doing things above board, and the form lets them see that.”

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