Wells pushes rezoning halt, while Brown urges cooperation

By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

Fred Brown and Linda Wells will face off Aug. 11 in a runoff for the Republican nomination for County Commission Post 4. Steven Kiser was eliminated in the General Primary July 21.

Wells is a battered women's program administrator and Brown is retired from the Federal Aviation Administration since 1978.

Winner of the runoff will face Democrat Bruce Bannister in the General Election Nov. 3.

Linda Wells

Wells said response from voters to her runoff campaign has been "very encouraging."

"If we get the voters out, I will win. Every single day we get phone calls from people volunteering to help out," she added.

Executive director of the Fayette County Council on Battered Women, Wells, 50, is a native of Muscogee, Okla., and a ten-year resident of Fayette.

She holds a RN diploma from the Northwest Texas School of Nursing, was graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in behavioral psychology from Chaminade University in Honolulu, and holds a masters degree in human services/human resource management from Boston University.

A military wife for many years, she worked as a registered nurse specializing in newborn intensive care, and then worked 14 years as an interpreter for the deaf before taking the helm of the Council on Battered Women eight years ago.

She is divorced, and has two children, one grandchild and another due in August.

Wells says the most important issue for Fayette County in 1998 elections is "the need to establish the trust of the voters for their elected officials."

"People have become so disenchanted and untrusting of their elected officials that they are failing to even get involved," she said. "We have got to get the citizens to buy back into the idea that the government belongs to them."

Her "proven record of public service" and her willingness to make the tough decisions should convince voters to put her in office, Wells said.

She served on the commission once before, 1993-96. "I have a proven record. Even people who don't agree with me will say 'Linda is honest. She tells you what she is going to do and does it,'" Wells said. "People are ready for an elected official who will give you honest answers and is capable of making the hard decisions."

Wells proposes an immediate one-year moratorium on rezonings as a way of dealing with Fayette's rapid growth. "There are 3,900 lots already platted," she said. "With that number of available plats, there is no reason why someone cannot find the new home they want or that builders and developers cannot make their money."

A moratorium will give planners a little breathing room, she said. "It's got to increase in a rational fashion," she said.

Economic development is an important part of that planning, Wells said. She supports the Fayette County Development Authority's attempts to bring clean industry into the county, she said, but added the subject needs more discussion. "What is their role? I'm not sure the county is getting a good rate of return on its investment, so we may need to reassess what the county is getting," she said.

Some local leaders have called for a rollback of property taxes to make up for recent reassessment of property values, but Wells said that may not be wise. "We have got some serious capital improvement issues," she said. "It's wonderful to roll back a few cents to look like we're doing something for the people, but I would have to look at the budget a little closer" before deciding definitely to roll back taxes, she said.

The county needs a stronger ethics ordinance for county commissioners, Wells said.

"The one in place now, which Herb Frady and I managed to sneak through, puts us in a better position than what we had before, but it's totally inadequate," she said. The law should state, she said, that "anytime a commissioner is getting something of economic value or in any way represents somebody that has an issue before the commission, that should be disclosed."

Wells also is concerned about the county's needs for new buildings and roads. "The citizens are going to have to be educated about our infrastructure needs and our capital improvement needs," she said.

A new jail is the most immediate need, she said, but road construction also is falling behind, and the county will soon have to deal with new federal rules on pollution of rainwater that drains over the county's yards, parking lots and roads. "These types of things are looming and we are not doing anything about it today," she said. "We are going to have to pay that price."

Fred Brown

Predicting a close race Aug. 11, Brown said campaigning in the runoff is "an uphill struggle" that he hopes to win.

Brown, 76, is retired as assistant chief of the flight standards division of the FAA's Atlanta region. A native of Birmingham, Ala., her served four years as a Navy pilot during WWII, spent five years as an insurance agent and was recalled to the Navy during the Korean conflict from 1951-1958 before starting a 20-year career with FAA.

Brown is widowed and the father of one daughter, one grandson and two great-grandchildren.

There's no single most important issue in Fayette Brown said, but three hold equal importance at the top of his list: "Trying to settle the board down to where we all work for the common interests of Fayette County is one; following the land use plan is a very basic issue, and construction of a new jail. I don't think you can separate one out over the other," he said.

Experience in government makes him the best candidate, says Brown. "I am probably the best qualified as far as experience is concerned. I have the time, nothing that keeps me from attending a meeting, no job, no business and therefore no conflicts of interest," he said.

Brown was mayor of Peachtree City for more than ten years following three years on City Council, and is given credit for forming the Association of Fayette County Governments.

Brown doesn't oppose Wells' idea of a moratorium on rezonings. Another possible solution to reducing growth is a proposed limit of 4 percent annual growth, being discussed by the county's FUTURE Committee, he said.

"I'm concerned about it just like everybody else is," he said. Increasing the lot size required for septic tanks from one to two acres might help, he said, and "If you have a land use plan, you should follow that plan consistently," he added. "If [the land use plan] is not good enough, we need to change to one that people do like," he added.

A comprehensive plan should be written that not only addresses land use, but also roads, sewers, water, recreation and all the services the government will have to provide to its growing population, Brown said.

Industrial growth and economic development are essential, Brown said. He disagreed with Commissioner Harold Bost's concern that bringing new industry increases the county's population. "We could never have another industry and we would still have the [population] growth," he said. "People come here for the quality of life and the schools."

Industrial growth helps pay the taxes, he said.

Brown favors a rollback of property taxes to adjust for reassessments, "but it's not going to be the same percentage that everyone was increased. It has to be the same percentage across the board," he said.

He also favors a stronger ethics law, though he said it won't have much effect on politicians. "Either you're ethical or you're not," he said. "But I would vote for the strongest one they want to pass."

A new jail and court facility for Fayette is a must, Brown said, adding that the county needs to move fast. "Let's build it like we want it and not like [the federal government] would dictate it," he said.