Tracy Young for Tyrone Town Coucil

With this letter, I am formally announcing my candidacy for Tyrone Town Council Post 1. A native of Hampton, Georgia, I have been a resident of Tyrone since 2002 and am currently employed with Rinnai America Corporation as a technology services manager. My previous work experience includes 7 years of technical support operations and 10 years of experience with designing water and sanitary sewer lines for a county municipality. My wife, Jacqui, is a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines, and we have a four-year-old daughter, Sophie.

My candidacy is driven by my desire to become more active in this wonderful family-friendly community we call home. Tyrone is a unique community with a proud past as a rural small town. In recent years, we have witnessed tremendous growth, both residential and commercial, as our attractive town continues to draw both developers and new residents. This growth has posed many challenges to our town leaders, and future leaders will continue to face difficult decisions. It is imperative that leaders base their decisions on a clear understanding of the pertinent facts and, just as importantly, with accountability to the voters who elect them. During my residency, I have witnessed our town council compromise our way of life by contradicting the views expressed by Tyrone's citizens. Beyond any doubt, our community deserves new leadership and a new direction, and that is why I seek your vote this November.

Shamrock Park deserves to be the centerpiece of this community, and I will work diligently to see that this valuable green space is preserved. Shamrock Park can once again become a family-friendly gathering place for citizens of all ages. Citizens have long complained about the Town's neglect of Shamrock Park and have repeatedly asked for improvement or – at the very least – maintenance of this much-used park. Only in the summer of 2006, when Fayette County provided the Town of Tyrone with $18,000 for parks and recreation expenditures, did the Town finally begin to make long-overdue improvements. If elected, I will work with community stakeholders to enhance the park's amenities.

Recently, we learned that the Tyrone government is seeking to purchase 500,000 gallons per day (GPD) sewer capacity from Peachtree City. Currently, the Town of Tyrone is under contract with the City of Fairburn for 250,000 GPD of sewer capacity, and we are obligated to honor that contract. At present, Tyrone does not utilize all of the 250,000 GPD purchased from Fairburn; in other words, we are paying for more capacity than we currently use. At this time, to fully utilize the existing 250,000 GPD purchased from the City of Fairburn, an additional 1,100 homes would need to be either built or hooked on to the sewer lines. If we were to enter a 500,000 GPD agreement with Peachtree City, it would require the construction or hook-up of 3,000 additional homes. I oppose discussions with Peachtree City for additional sewer capacity because we are already under contract with the City of Fairburn. Purchasing 500,000 GPD from Peachtree City can only be justified if we then proceed with high-density development that will utilize the additional sewer capacity. Make no mistake; more sewer capacity will, by financial necessity, lead to more development.

Another key issue of concern to me is the failure of our town's government to adhere to the land-use map. Tyrone's town council ignored the many citizens who spoke out in May 2005 to oppose the requests by John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods to change the land-use map and rezone the property located on Highway 74 across from Sandy Creek Road, now the site of Tyrone's newest subdivision. The land-use map was altered so the developer could maximize his return, at the expense of Tyrone citizens. In addition to changing the land-use map, the town council voted to rezone the property for duplexes that allowed single-family homes to be built on half-acre lots, which violates the Town's current ordinance (no. 459) requiring residential lots to have minimum size of 1 acre.

I am a proponent of an open government that allows its citizens to be heard without fear of judgment. In addition to the issues already stated, the core problem is that voters have lost faith in our current government. Votes have repeatedly been cast in direct opposition to the desires expressed by Tyrone's citizens, many times during town hall meetings in which council members treat citizens with disinterest or outright rudeness. The changes resulting from these votes have in many cases detracted from this great community for the worse. Public business should be conducted in public, and town ordinances should be applicable to all. I look forward to January, when a new town council begins working for Tyrone, and I hope your vote in November allows me the opportunity to be part of that council. The journey ahead will not be without challenges, and these challenges will demand leaders with integrity as well as a heart for this special community. Much of the success of any city depends on the resolve of its leaders to leave the city in a greater state than when it was inherited.

Please feel free to contact me by email at tyoungforcouncil@numail.org or by phone at 678-612-2169.

Tracy Young
Candidate for Tyrone Town Council

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Submitted by Like it is on Thu, 08/30/2007 - 4:09pm.

I know Eric & Cary both. They are not related

Submitted by freedomofinfo on Fri, 08/24/2007 - 12:26pm.

Who all is running for Tyrone Town Council??? I hate it when candidates wait until the last minute to announce. I have heard that Carey Dial is running and now there is some unknown person, (maybe a relative of Carey Dials') - Eric Dial, who has called current town council members and others in the community so ask for their support. Who the heck is he? Sounds like a Barry Amos puppet is going to run, this makes sense because Smola (the KING of BAD GOVERNMENT) is running for mayor, thus leaving a Barry lacky spot open on Town Council. Barry is probably scurrying aroung trying to find anyone he can to run so he continue to run Tyrone in the dictatorial manner for which he is so famous! Sorry Barry, you have made too many people so mad that they will be very suspicious of any unknown candidates that pop up suddenly.

Submitted by oldbeachbear on Wed, 08/22/2007 - 5:49pm.

Tracy Young left no questions where he stands on everything for town council. Compare that with Smola, or should I say THE Smolas statement on running for Mayor. The Smolas have been there for years and, he has always been a dish ragg, she has never shut up, ever. He seems to mislead us as to what he is for because, look at his vote, it is contrary to what he is saying. His wife, droles and drooles on, to the agony of any captives audiences. Lets put ourselves out of our misery on both counts. Vote for Tracy Young for council, anyone but Smola for Mayor, and anyone but Smola for school board. You will notice right away, the air smells better.

ptctaxpayer's picture
Submitted by ptctaxpayer on Wed, 08/22/2007 - 7:54pm.

Wanna get rid of Janet Smola?

Give her a weekend getaway at Dahlonega with an All-You-Can-Eat breakfast buffet and that'll git 'er done.


odoylerules's picture
Submitted by odoylerules on Thu, 08/23/2007 - 7:47am.

Wow, what great political discourse.
Why talk thoughts on bad policy when you can slam someone for a perceived weight problem. There's plenty to say about the political decisions they've made that you disagree with without having to stoop to such a low level.
Good idea to use "Dice" as your picture, you're apparently as big a jerk as he is.
Sorry to have to call you a jerk, but you have no actual point to argue against other than your middle school level of insult.


Robert W. Morgan's picture
Submitted by Robert W. Morgan on Wed, 08/22/2007 - 6:45pm.

Nothing much happening up there next election. You get what you deserve.
How about a Wieland resident coming forward to begin the march toward change? Better yet how about running on a platform of firing Barry? I'd vote for that and I don't even live there.


Submitted by oldbeachbear on Thu, 08/23/2007 - 2:52am.

you are wrong on that one. The reason not much has changed is the 3/2 vote of Smola, Letourneaux, and Lee. All the town needs is one more good one to swing the vote in the direction of the taxpayers. The old guard, that has their own agenda and not the peoples at heart, will be in the minority. They haven't got enough votes to put ..1...of their cronies in, much less fill all 3 vacancies. As far as a Wieland resident leading the march, I've never heard that living in a Wieland subdivsion made you inovative. One reason people have tried to keep Wieland out, is he builds these monster houses. Does his own financing and qualifies people who may not qualify with other companies. A lot of people in the back of their minds, want a McMansion, so they bite. The unfortunate thing is, sometimes they can't hold on to that house and loose it, their credit, and all the money they put into it. Wieland, however, then takes back the house, rehabs it, and sells it again. Who is the looser here? The McMansion lord of the manor, is now toast, and the forecloser and extra houses on the market have hurt the local prices for other taxpayers trying to sell theirs. Wieland on the other hand, hasn't come out so bad.

Robert W. Morgan's picture
Submitted by Robert W. Morgan on Thu, 08/23/2007 - 6:19am.

By Wieland people, I only meant new people. Old people, meaning 20 and 30-year residents of Tyrone are not the best choice for leadership in a changing town. They have accomplished 3 things in 30 years. 1. Ignored growth instead of managing growth under the misguided conception that if you ignore it - it will go away. 2. Were in denial about the Wieland lawsuit from the 1980's and missed another opportunity to manage growth. 3. Have stubbornly stuck with the intertwined ideas that Barry is a good manager and that downtown can be revitalized.

Therefore, new people - whether they live in a Wieland house or not - are much more qualified to lead. If nothing else they have lived other places in the real world as opposed to a life sentence in Pleasantville (maybe Peasantville?).


Submitted by ConfushaSay on Wed, 08/22/2007 - 11:46pm.

Well Bob? Firing Barry along with his sidekick Valerie? I'll take that for a good start.

Now, if Jesse Jack starts, Onward Weiland homeowners marching toward the same old crap? Then that will be the beginning of the end of Tyrone.

We deserve better than that!

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