3-3-09 Oconee SPLOST Vote on March 17, 2009

Advanced Search

3-3-09 Oconee SPLOST Vote on March 17, 2009 – Courthouse Part 3

One of the most frequent criticisms I hear about the Commissioners is about the idea of a new courthouse. Folks generally think it is foolish……………….. …… Lee Becker on the Courthouse: ……………………. It is clear the county is going to be doing a lot of spending for county facilities from the current SPLOST once voters make their decision on the next one on March 17. …………………………………. AVOC . March 2, 2009 . Oconee SPLOST Vote on March 17, 2009-Courthouse Part 3 . By Wendell Dawson, Editor, AVOC, Inc . The Oconee SPLOST Vote on March 17, 2009, does not list the courthouse specifically as a project. However, Melvin Davis has not let that stop him on spending from past SPLOSTS by substituting General Fund project budget money for SPLOST projects and letting the General Fund (freed funds) then pick up “pet projects”. . *Citizen opposition notwithstanding, the Commissioners have money ($ 4.3 Million) on hand* from the 2004 SPLOST for County Facilities. The amount is shown in the lower right corner of the 2004 Project Summary, six lines from the bottom. . SPLOST.Oconee.Projects.Summary.12.31.08.pdf x Oconee SPLOST 2004 Funding Summary . Approaching the SPLOST Referendum, Chairman Davis held another of his infamous “secret meetings” to discuss SPLOST and courthouse space. The meeting was held on December 17, 2008, for invited guests consisting of Constitutional Officers and Judge Representatives. Commissioner Horton was there and when out-going Commissioner Don Norris showed up, Chairman Davis excused himself to “avoid quorum problems”. The meeting should have been attended by all the commissioners and the public. If Chairman Davis did not need to be present, the results and recommendations must have been foregone conclusions. . Lee Becker and the Athens Banner-Herald did ferret out the details of the December 17 meeting and reported on it in February. The Athens Banner-Herald again took Chairman Davis to task for not advertising meetings in an Editorial. . One of the most frequent criticisms I hear about the Commissioners is about the idea of a new courthouse. Folks generally think it is foolish.** I honestly think the most driving force is the egotistical desire of Chairman Davis to have his name engraved on plaques and cornerstones of new buildings. However, this “Legacy” is a waste of taxpayer funds! . Space and parking is frequently being quoted as justification for a new facility located away from the current courthouse site. One quote was that a parking deck would be much more expensive than surface parking. This argument ignores the damage to the environment with acres of asphalt shedding rainwater. It also ignores the difficulty of some folks having to walk across huge parking lots to access the courthouse. If one doubts this, go take a look at Walton and Jackson county Courthouses sitting in large fields of asphalt. . Walton has huge parking lot and runoff area around its courthouse . Jackson has much surface parking . There is land that can be bought with the facilities funds adjacent to the courthouse for future buildings and parking decks. The purchase would be an investment in the future and would not carry a high annual maintenance and operational cost. FOR BACKGROUND, SEE: Oconee County Courthouse Complex Details 10.12.08.pdf x Lee Becker does detailed analysis of the 2004 SPLOST Facilities Fund . Lee Becker Blog 2-4-09 Excerpts below- click on site for detail…. . SPLOST Language Shows Oconee County Wish List Two Front Teeth Not Included http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2009/02/splost-language-shows-oconee-county.html . Lee Becker . The county currently has a SPLOST in place, due to expire in November of 2009. The average collected for fiscal years 2006, 2007 and 2008 was $ 5.4 million, and the current fiscal year, 2009, is likely to be below that average. ……………………… So far, no one has done much of anything to encourage voting on March 17. In November, the county had 21,579 registered voters, and 79.7 percent of them voted in that election. …………………….. Benko's report shows that the county has approved projects that will largely use up money in the 2003 SPLOST dedicated to recreation and culture, the emergency operation center and the jail. ………………………. The county as of the end of December of 2008 had about $ million left to allocate for water and sewage projects, about $ 0.9 million left to allocate for roads and about $ 0.4 million left to allocate for the fire department. . And the county still has not allocated $ 4.2 million of the original $ 4.6 million set aside for county facilities. Talk about what to do with the courthouse has been behind the scenes so far, but funds from SPLOST are supposed to be allocated before it expires. . The fiscal year 2009 SPLOST budget, which Benko also released to the BOC on Jan. 26, shows only $ 185,474 allocated for county facilities, including $ 75,000 for a new roof for the library. . It is clear the county is going to be doing a lot of spending for county facilities from the current SPLOST once voters make their decision on the next one on March 17. …………………………………. 2-6-09 Oconee Chair still likes NON-Public Meetings – Courthouse talk no less! . The Athens Banner-Herald http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/020609/new_385224599.shtml . February 6, 2009 . Quietly, Oconee panel mulls courthouse options Moving or expanding facility on the table . By Adam Thompson . Oconee County officials have been planning behind the scenes whether to expand or move the county courthouse and soon may commission a new study on the issue. . An ad hoc committee of judges and government officials met in December at the request of county Chairman Melvin Davis to talk about the cramped building, home to all the county's courts and a range of government offices. . Based on the committee's recommendations, the county government soon may solicit bids from private firms to study space options, Davis said Thursday. . If commissioners agree to pay for it, the study would be the second one in the past five years. . A draft request for proposals is sitting on Davis' desk, he said, but he hasn't discussed it with all the other commissioners. He would not say whether commissioners would vote before the county invites companies to apply. . "Normally, I would forward that to the board, they would take a look at it (and) if we need to put it on the agenda for approval, that's what we would do," Davis said. . The Dec. 17 committee meeting wasn't advertised to the public……………………….. Oconee County Observations http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2009/02/oconee-county-and-cities-to-split.html . February 8, 2009 . Oconee County and Cities to Split SPLOST Funds http://oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/2009/02/oconee-county-and-cities-to-split.html . By Lee Becker . Oconee Countians who were surprised to learn from stories on the front pages of The Oconee Enterprise and the Athens Banner-Herald this past week that the county is holding behind-the-scenes discussions about courthouse renovation should not have been. . A county that gets citizen authorization to collect $ 4.6 million in taxes for a “County Facilities and Expansion and Renovation Project” and hoards the money obviously has something up its sleeve. . That this is a government that prefers to consult with its citizens only after major parts of decisions have been made also is clear. . Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis is quoted in the Banner-Herald story as saying citizens will be asked for their opinions only once the commissioners have settled on the options……………………