Tyrone Council Post 1

Ken Matthews

Thank you, Citizen News and Tyrone Business Association, for the candidate forum and all the citizens for attending. After the forum I talked with many, and those citizens realized we have many qualified candidates. I heard comments that all candidates were in consensus of sewer need, if Old Town Tyrone was to be revitalized as a vibrant town.

Candidate’s concurred Shamrock Park’s renewal is imperative; any master plan that is sitting around should be assessed by the citizens and after this assessment, and all comments should be addressed. Then the same master plan should be submitted after changes for the public hearing process, Planning Commission review and the final public hearing with adoption after approval of citizens and Town Council. Then the implementation can occur, as funds are available.

Ordinance codification and electronic posting to Tyrone’s official website, www.Tyrone.org, was questioned. I am aware Tyrone has contracted in the past to codify the ordinances and this codification was returned ill-prepared.

Staff has recently been reviewing ordinances and all changes from the past few years to prepare for another codification. There is $5,000 in this year’s budget to codify the ordinances.

Review of all personnel and pay-grades were questioned due to concern of town manager’s salary. This process was scheduled to be conducted this year by ARC and on Aug. 16,2007, this was on the consent agenda.

Councilwoman Grace Caldwell, Post 3, wished to remove the item from the consent agenda. She stated she did not feel the town should expend $1,700 for ARC to review pay scale and classification program. Staff stated the original study was conducted in 2003; revealed Tyrone had a 5 percent differential to surrounding communities.

Communication between town government and the taxpayers:

The Town Crier or similar publication reinstatement, with this being an electronic notification (email) to a free subscription list.

Candidates were asked why meetings and legal postings were advertised in the Fayette Daily News with distribution in Tyrone of approximately 300 and not in The Citizen News, which is free.

Candidates made statements as to a bidding process and other speculation. I stated The Fayette Daily News is the Fayette County legal organ, but failed to state the Fayette County Superior Court advises to place legal advertisement with Fayette Daily News.

I will be available to answer question by phone, 678-364-0463, or email Kenmatthews@numail.org.

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Tracy Young

Last week, each candidate answered questions submitted by the public and expressed their views concerning each issue. A few questions were asked of the mayoral candidates and those running for Post 1 and 2 did not have the opportunity to answer.

One in particular was the recent proposal for a senior community in the downtown area where eight homes per acre were proposed.

I publicly stated my opposition to this development, and a few reasons were high density, lack of infrastructure, and financial impact.

Over 200 homes were proposed and the impact to fire, police, rescue services, traffic, and economics were not discussed.

Additional sewer capacity is required for this development, and I do not support increasing the capacity.

Too many questions need answers. What is the cost of the extension? Who will pay for it, the taxpayers or those who use the system? How will the extension be installed and where? Would another pump station be required and where would it be located?

Currently, Tyrone charges $8.45 per thousand gallons treated, and by comparison, almost double that of Peachtree City rates and more than three times the Fayetteville rates.

The current residential multi-family (RMF) standards allow for a maximum of four homes per acre. This project failed to meet the town’s current standards and denial was imminent.

To control future high-density development proposals, I would request that ordinance 459 be amended to define standards for sewered lots. The original intent was to establish a one-acre minimum lot size but previous residential developments, with sewer, did not meet this standard. Adding language that addresses all types of residential lots will help maintain low density.

Lastly, many citizens spoke in opposition, and the reasons were due to high density and no available sewer capacity.

Feel free to contact me at tyoungforcouncil@numail.org or at 678-612-2169.

I hope to have your support on Nov. 6.

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Tyrone Council Post 2

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Eric Dial

In the wake of Monday night’s candidate forum at The Legacy Theater, I want to thank everyone involved in making it happen. The forum was well attended and served as a great resource for the Tyrone electorate. Though I enjoyed the opportunity to address the concerns of the citizens of Tyrone, I came away with some regret that we didn’t take enough time to focus on what makes Tyrone a great place to live.

I recognize that campaigns are often a time for change, and rightfully so, but we can’t lose sight of what we are doing right.

We have the pleasure of living in a town rich in history, yet we have not ignored the need to prepare for the future.

We have the luxury of living in a safe environment and our children are blessed to have great schools in which to learn. Close to 30 percent of our residents are age 18 or under, so we have a responsibility to continue our current living conditions and look for ways to improve.

This is where we face our challenges. Some degree of growth is inevitable, and we are all committed to making facelifts in certain areas of town. However, this is not as simple as it sounds because we have to take into consideration things like cost, property rights, and infrastructure potential.

What we need in leadership are reason, accountability, honesty, and commitment. These are the characteristics I want to bring to the table.

Regardless of who serves on the Town Council and who makes up the staff, we must be able to trust one another and work with one another to make important decisions. We cannot operate efficiently if we are working against one another.

If I am fortunate enough to win on Nov. 6, or for that matter even if I lose, I challenge everyone involved in Tyrone government to operate in this fashion. I know I will make every effort to do this myself.

I pledge to you right now that I will begin by running a completely clean campaign. Let’s put all personal attacks aside and work together to serve the great Town of Tyrone.

Please feel free to contact me anytime at 770-486-8787 or email me at ericdsci@bellsouth.net.

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Jesse Nasianceno

No essay submitted.

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Gordon Shenkle

Gordon Shenkle for Tyrone Town Council Post 2

Hello, and thanks for reading this second of my campaign essays.

I’ll begin with a brief summary of my background. My family has lived in Fayette County for 22 years, the last seven of which in Tyrone. For the last 30 years I’ve worked in the high tech industry; currently I’m a computer security consultant. I’ve been married to my wife Cheryl for 27 years this fall and we have a daughter, Marissa, who is 13. Cheryl works for the Fayette County Schools’ After School Program and Marissa is in the eighth grade at Flat Rock Middle School.

In my first essay I wrote that the main issue in this election to me is density, and the future of our small town. Do we want higher density construction with sewer? Or do we want the current small town character that we have now?

This election comes at a critical time for our town, when the council elected will make choices leading to one of these two outcomes. And from which there may not be any going back. I favor the low-density, no-more-sewer option. From my conversations with fellow citizens, I believe most of them do also.

Here, in this essay I make these pledges to you, the Tyrone voter, I will:

• Be an effective positive leader.

• Seek to balance the growth of Tyrone and ensure that such growth has a positive effect on the community.

• Work closely with other governments in a spirit of cooperation.

• Listen to all who have issues and find a equitable solution for those issues.

• Apply good business practices to Tyrone government.

• Serve in an open government, where closed door meetings are limited and business is conducted in the public.

• Seek joint ventures with county and adjoining city governments in areas such as recreation, transportation, road paving and others.

• Protect our natural resources.

• Make sure that taxpayers’ money is spent in appropriate amounts and in the right places to make the best use of their money.

• Protect Shamrock Park and restore it to the jewel of downtown.

I’m asking for your vote Nov. 6. I want to change Tyrone for the better and fairly represent you. If you’re interested in helping me or if you have any questions, call me at 770-486-1276 or email at gordonshenkle@yahoo.com.

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Tyrone mayor

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Don Rehwaldt

No essay submitted by deadline.

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Mike Smola

No essay submitted by deadline.

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