The current council’s lack of planning continues to plague Tyrone.

The previous Town Council believed that having a viable and vibrant town was only possible through proper planning. To insure that the future of Tyrone was what the majority of the citizens wanted they invested in having a professional planning firm develop a comprehensive plan for the town. This plan that was unanimously adopted would have preserved the small town atmosphere while insuring adequate infrastructure would exist to accommodate the future citizens and the need for services. Since January it appears that all previous planning was thrown away and this council has adopted the “react” mode of dealing with problems. This is especially evident by their actions concerning septic problems with the fire station. First they threw away the plan for limited public sewer for the downtown commercial area. Now that they are faced with a fire station that must relocate if it has no way to dispose of its waste they react by looking at turning Shamrock Park and now Triangle Park into septic cesspool. If they are successful, no longer will the citizens be able to enjoy a nice picnic at either park without the odor of sewage in the air, nor take a walk around the lake with the stench of sewer. Of course all activities on the grounds will also be eliminated (easter egg hunt, St. Patrick Day events, etc.). It is sad that Tyrone did not need to be in this bad shape. If this group would only follow the desires of the citizens as they promised and not their own personnel agenda the Town could move forward and not backwards.

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Submitted by jollibee on Thu, 01/29/2009 - 1:35am.

that's sad.. You should try to wake up the council from their slumber! Or better yet just take the initiative to do it! Higley direct mail marketing

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Submitted by whodat-is on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 9:57am.

You are misinforming those who care to read your blog.

First of all, the sewer rights are owned by Weiland and Seay. There are only two ways downtown will ever have sewer. The first way is if Weiland or Seay develop it. Another way is for the Town to purchase the capacity back from Weiland or Seay and then design and pay for the installation (all at taxpayer expense). Your statement that the “new” council “threw away the plans” is completely untrue. Is it possible that they threw away your agenda/idea? The only people I know that support sewer in downtown were not re-elected or re-appointed.

Secondly, the fire department was planning on moving the Tyrone fire station to another location but not for septic tank issues. The septic tank issue is just a reason to advance their search for a new location. Also, Shamrock Park cannot be used for a septic system since there was 3’ to 4’ of fill dirt placed on the open area when the library was built. Using Shamrock Park for field lines will never happen. No one uses Triangle Park anyway.


Submitted by Shaquita on Wed, 05/14/2008 - 10:17pm.

Boxwing I do not understand why you think we need for another debate on the future of the downtown area. The citizens of Tyrone spoke in numerous public meetings about what they wanted for the downtown area. The result of the citizens of Tyrone's desires is the comprehensive plan. The existing council got elected by not telling the voters the truth or the complete story. (How many of their campaign promises have they kept?) If something meets their purpose they use it, otherwise it is not "what the people wanted" no mater how many citizens spoke in favor of that position. Quit drinking Grace Caldwell's kool aid and see this group for what it really is.

Submitted by boxwing on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 9:41am.

Many aspects of the Comprehensive Plan are at odds with he stated desires of the population and even previous votes of the Town Council. I will give you but one example - The Tyrone Bypass.

In 2005 the county had a project called the Sandy Creek Bypass in the original SPLOST plan to pave Trickum Creek and Mann Roads to divert traffic from Tyrone-Palmetto Road around Tyrone to Sandy Creek Road. The residents of Trickum Creek and Mann Roads organized and successfully had that project removed from the SPLOST plan. In fact, the Town Council of the time voted to express their non-support for the Sandy Creek Bypass plan. So the citizens and the Council clearly stated that they did not want the Bypass.

However, the Tyrone Comprehensive still has the elements of the Bypass in the plan. Page 38 of the plan lists the priority transportation projects. It states "the Town supports the widening of the route [Tyrone-Palmetto Rd.] west of Trickum Creek Road, but does no support the widening of the road between Trickum Creek Rd. and SR 74." So if Tyrone-Palmetto Road is widened from I-85 to Trickum Creek Road, but not beyond, where does that increased traffic go?

Well the same page also states the plan to "pave Trickum Creek Road and upgrade the roadway to a 35 mph design speed." Why upgrade the roadway in a neighborhood for higher speeds? Clearly the intention is to use Trickum Creek and Mann Roads to divert traffic from the center of town - The Sandy Creek Bypass Lives!

The citizens and Council have already gone on record in “numerous public meetings” opposing the Bypass, so how can the Sandy Creek Bypass still be in the Comprehensive Plan? Maybe the plan is not as reflective of the desires of the people as you would like to believe. Indeed the Comprehensive Plan has many flaws that must be corrected as we move forward.

The bottom line is that in our form of Government elections as the true test of the "will of the people". The candidates that supported the downtown sewer lost and those who opposed it won. So if the winners follow their campaign promises there will not be sewer in the downtown area in the foreseeable future. Given that reality and the reliance of the Comprehensive Plan on the existence of sewer for the main street overlay, then the plan is not achievable.

Shaquita this is not a “drink the koolaid” issue; this is common sense regardless of which side of the sewer issue anyone is on. It is very simple – sewer is THE KEY ISSUE for the Tyrone main street area. It is clear that the citizens HAVE NOT spoken clearly on their support for sewer – the input from the public meetings said “yes” but the voting said “no”. That is why we must resolve this issue one way or the other to move forward. The only way to do that is not to simply cry “follow the plan, follow the plan”, but to have a dialogue to come to a solution.

Submitted by TyroneConfidential on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 6:23pm.

In fact the audience was told at the meeting that summarized the citizens survey and the plan that the audience could not speak. At the council hearing that adopted the plan Grace Caldwell didn’t understand it and asked why Tyrone even needed it. Atty Brad Sears told her there was no legal requirement to have the plan. Sears stated that the only reason was that Tyrone would not be eligible for downtown redevelopment funding and grants if they had no ARC approved plan. Redevelopment grants were set up for the purpose of condemning blighted slums for redevelopment. Tyrone does not fit into the original definition and purpose. Led by Barry, Valerie and Smola, a small group of people wanted Harlie Deyton’s 8 buildings on Palmetto Road torn down as being a blighted area for an excuse to redevelop. But these conspirators knew that the Town didn’t have the money to go through legal condemnation and pay Deyton and other property owners just compensation required by the 5th Amendment.

The “plan” was to pass ordinance 454 which would delete all of Deyton’s land uses thereby not allowing him to rent his property, which would force him to sell. Valerie then started refusing business licenses to Deyton’s tenants. Deyton consulted a lawyer as did his tenant Baker Construction Co. The lawyers told them that Ordinance 454 and Valerie’s application of it was illegal. When Baker asked the cost of suing Tyrone; the lawyer responded’ “it won’t cost you anything, all I want is 10% of the money Tyrone has to pay you when I win the case”. The decision to sue had been precipitated when shortly after and even before Ordinance 454 was passed in February 2004, Valerie refused a business license to Deyton’s tenant Tyrone Transmission (George Steadham). See Tyrone minutes Dec 2003-2004. Afraid that a lawsuit would upset his plan, Amos made a special trip to Deyton’s home and later issued the license to Steadham, thereby illegally over-ruling council’s denial. Barry realized that Deyton owned over 40 acres in the Palmetto, Arrowwood and Senoia Road triangle and that this large tract was key to moving ahead with his and Smola’s plan for redevelopment. Barry then got with his favored development buddy Burt Clark and promised Clark a high density rezoning and sewer if Clark could buy Deyton’s property. By 2006, Clark & Deyton had come to an agreement and the land deal was closed in January 2007. In the Summer of 2006 Clark was so confident that Barry would deliver the rezoning that he formed Olde Town Tyrone LLC, drew up plans for the rezoning and offered an investment in the development to Jeff Alexander, owner of Whistle Blow Station, six months before he closed and didn’t even put a contingency in the contract for the rezoning. The rumor got out and a property owner on Palmetto Road called Valerie in January 2007. She tried to keep it a secret by lying that she knew nothing about the rezoning or the development. Knowing the secret was out, Barry called the Citizen Newspaper, announcing the development and one week later, the headline read, “Downtown Tyrone to Get a New Face”. Thereafter, all hell broke loose and the rezoning was defeated. Immediately, Clark sold his interest in the development and left town. For months, issue after issue of the citizen carried big articles about the citizens dissatisfaction and lack of knowledge about the Comprehensive Plan. So Boxwing is right and Shaquita is wrong again.

The current Comprehensive Plan was a secret conspiracy of some town officials and developers to hoodwink Tyrone citizens. Ordinance 454 and the bogus citizens survey were the key vehicles used to implement the plan. The lone conspirator remaining in the government, except Valerie, is Planning Commissioner David Nebergall. For he was on the Planning Commission that approved Ordinance 454. That’s why Nebergall made the motion on March 27, 2008 not to replace land uses deleted by Ordinance 454.

Submitted by oldbeachbear on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 9:50am.

was done without much knowledge by the people who lived on those roads and a lot of knowledge by the old mayor and Barney. The old Mayor lives on Tyrone Palmeto road. Truely it is a straight shot over to 85, everyone knows that. I see no reason to go ...around...and through the boonies to get to that road. It needs to be widened all the way to 74. Going around by way of Trickum Creek and Mann road waste any time you could possible save and ruins a beautiful area in the process.

Submitted by TyroneConfidential on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 6:32pm.

Planning Commission David Nebergall supports the Comprehensive Plan in its original form. He was on the Planning Commission that approved the plan and voted for Ordinance 454 which was used to implement the plan. As the law of negligence states: He knew or should have known that Ordinance 454 was an improper motive for the downtown redevelopment plan. He voted this year not to change the illegally taken land uses which violated the 5th Amendment. He supported the downtown overlay district which had an official purpose to “eliminate non-conforming land uses and structures”. He made the motion on March 27, 2008 to deny an amendment to notify land owners if the Town abandoned any of those uses. He is in fact a protégé of Amos and Smola. But David Nebergall knows there’s a big legal flaw in the Comprehensive Plan. That’s why he did not correct Manager Chris Venice on April 10 when she handed the Planning Commission a map of Town Center and said it was part of the Zoning Ordinance. Nebergall knows there is no such ordinance. But he let the big legal cat out of the bag when he pointed out that some additional areas needed to be included. Nebergall knows what very few do; that the Comprehensive plan at this point is legally incomplete. Watch out for the Fly in future plan discussions on redevelopment. He has undermined the citizens desires since at least 2003.

Submitted by Margot on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 8:19pm.

who often makes comments at Council meetings. Like her opposition on April 17 to Howard Guthrie’s request to give back his land uses for a gas station and restaurant. Remember Nancy’s husband David voted to take away those uses in 2004. There’s a lot of money riding on the Comprehensive Plan - State and Federal Funds vs. Property Rights lawsuits and Citizens Future Tax Increases.

Submitted by oldbeachbear on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 7:08am.

What was your interpretation of what people wanted for downtown? What I heard them say was they wanted no sewer at high prices so the developers could leave us with children displaced from Tyrone Elemenary and big wads of money in their pockets, to deal with the aftermath. Sort of like what happend to people in the McIntosh school area now having to graple with the fact that their children are displaced by builindg houses on postage stamp lots across from the school.

You guys wanted 8 houses to an acre, that was voted down. Are you talking about what the developers wanted? If so, you are quite right, they are very unhappy. But they don't live here.

Submitted by boxwing on Wed, 05/14/2008 - 5:11pm.

I think you're really over the top (again) with the comments on the turning the parks into a "septic cesspool". Most of us in Tyrone have septic tanks on our property which if properly maintained do not emit odors. This type of hyperbole makes it impossible to have a rational conversation about the future of the town.

As for the sewer that was a campaign issue and it should not be any surprise that the current Council and Mayor are not in favor of sewer in the downtown area. Many citizens see the installation of the "limited public sewer" as a trojan horse to bring in sewer for the higher density developments proposed by some.

In fact if anyone takes the time to read the recently released Tyrone Comprehensive Plan (which can be downloaded from www.tyrone.org) you will find that installation of sewer is the key assumption for most of the downtown planning. And the Comprehensive Plan does not discuss how the Town will cover the multi-million price to run sewer down Senoia Road.

So the debate on sewer is a much larger issue than just the fire station; it is the keystone of the current Comprehensive Plan for downtown. So we don't need another bombastic tirade again the current Council (see above), but instead the people of Tyrone need to have a reasoned debate on the future of the downtown area and let the sewer decision flow from that.

Submitted by Margot on Wed, 05/14/2008 - 1:08pm.

The Planning Commission is currently making changes to the Comprehensive Plan by deciding themselves what the citizens want. In other words, five inexperienced Planners are taking an unscientific survey and substituting their own desires. The business community which is most affected has never been consulted since many of them don’t live in Tyrone and never received the survey as well as some who do live in Tyrone. Shaquita, why don’t you file an injunction to stop this activity until the legal aspects can be heard in court. A temporary restraining order (TRO) can be heard in a few days.

There are other concerns, like Executive Sessions to Discuss Litigation. The public rarely is told what all this litigation is about. Who is suing? Why? Does the insurance pay for Tyrone’s defense or are the taxpayers picking up the bill on attorney’s fees?

We know that Valerie has been personally sued for failure to follow ministerial duties, negligence, illegally issuing business licenses to regulate land uses and improper use of an occupational tax, fraudulent misrepresentation and altering of public documents. And whatever happened with the financial audit and the missing funds that Valerie is responsible for? The Town is liable for their employees’ actions. All Council members have been notified of these allegations. Why have they ignored them - Why haven’t they done their own internal investigations? Once the Council has been notified, they have a duty to investigate for the protection of the public welfare; otherwise they are negligent. Again Shaquita, why don’t you ask these questions at public comments? Why don’t a lot of citizens ask these questions in council hearings?

Submitted by too bad on Wed, 05/14/2008 - 11:04am.

Shaquita's hand called about her gibberish. If Shaquita had only led the Yankee troups, the South would have won!

Submitted by oldbeachbear on Wed, 05/14/2008 - 7:17am.

You constantly twist the truth. No one has plans to turn Shamrock Park into a septic pool and you know it. You are making innuendos, and trying to ride the wind of the Peachtree soccer fields using sewer water.

They didn't throw away anything for downtown. They did see to it that the new library wasn't built...OVER...Shamrock Park. They ...SAVED...Shamrock Park, much to the chagrin of the old council I must say.

You're always taking the truth and looking at it through a kaliscope to see what you can make out of it. If you ever throw common sense into the picture, you would notice that Triangle park is on higher ground that the fire station. Are you hoping the fire station with throw 'this dog' a bone?

Submitted by oldbeachbear on Wed, 05/14/2008 - 10:27am.

on the land that Barney stated John Whieland donated to the town? It is next to Publix. It is 2 acres and has to be worth at least $200000.00. Come to think of it, I haven't heard that much about that land recently...what happened? another Barney and Thelma booboo?

Submitted by oldbeachbear on Wed, 05/14/2008 - 9:02am.

for the results of the audit. I'm gonna stand out front and sell popcorn. I wonder who has been overpaid? I wonder what kind of 'perks' have gone unnoticed? I wonder why we haven't heard of Barney being snapped up by someone else. I'm sure Thelma Lou would let everyone know, one way or the other.

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