* Blogs get Haddix in hot water with PTC Council

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News | Peachtree City

Blogs get Haddix in hot water with PTC Council

Tue, 02/10/2009 - 4:51pm

By: John Munford

Three Peachtree City Council members blasted fellow Councilman Don Haddix last week about accusations he has posted online about them, including many on The Citizen’s website.

Mayor Harold Logsdon accused Haddix of lying when he posted in an online blog that Logsdon and council members Cyndi Plunkett and Steve Boone interfered with a city survey to make sure the tennis center was not on it.

“According to the reply post above you are saying Logsdon, Boone and Plunkett intentionally omitted the tennis center and you said ‘Yes, they stated they did not want it on.’ I want evidence to that because that is a bold-faced lie.”

“You’re putting my name on this out there? You know, Don, you’d better be careful,” said Councilman Steve Boone. “... You’re misquoting a lot of things that we as a council put out.”

“I am not misquoting,” Haddix replied. “I sent you guys an email saying the tennis center should be included and it was not on.”

“And you said here that I intentionally tried to keep it off,” Logsdon said. “There’s no email, no track record of me having any input into that survey.”

Haddix asked Plunkett if she wanted the survey to include language on why the tennis center should be kept. She denied the accusation and said her direction to staff was that the survey needed to explain things for citizens’ consideration.

“I think it’s unfair to ask a question from people without giving them all the information so they can provide an answer that we can work with,” Plunkett said. “... For me it was important that the survey give them background information not so we can get the answer that we want to know because some of those answers surprised me.

“... I certainly did not interfere with the fact that we were going to do a survey and Bernie asked for questions about the survey and my response was let’s make sure we provide the information so people can make an informed decision.”

Haddix said the tennis center “was not on the survey” despite him insisting three times that it should be.

Plunkett and Logsdon both said they had never seen the million-dollar offer to purchase the tennis center that Haddix has referred to. Haddix insisted that his fellow council members turned down the offer after he brought it to them.

“The three of you did. It was at a workshop,” Haddix said.

“But you said there was a million-dollar offer and none of us saw that,” Logsdon said. “... I want to see it.”

“I don’t recall ever hearing about an offer,” Plunkett said.

Haddix said that Dar Thompson approached him and Councilman Doug Sturbaum and City Manager Bernie McMullen.

“And then when I brought it up at a workshop, you guys said, ‘no way,’” Haddix said.

“I just never saw a verified offer for the tennis center for any amount of money, and so I was surprised to see that,” Plunkett said.

“My take on it is, you’re putting something out here that there was a million-dollar offer for the tennis center when there really was not, that any of us know about, but saying there was a million-dollar offer thrown out there for the tennis center,” Logsdon said, adding that he has previously said he’s not interested in selling the tennis center.

Haddix said several council members said in the workshop meeting they were not interested in selling the tennis center.

“Yeah, but saying there was a million-dollar offer for the tennis center was a little bit of a stretch,” Logsdon said.

“No, it’s not,” Haddix replied.

Logsdon then proceeded to grill Haddix about a blog he authored suggesting that two council members tried to interfere with management of the city’s amphitheater.

“You said: ‘Two tried to interfere with demands on how to handle season ticket holders.’ I don’t remember anybody talking to Nancy [Price] about how to handle the tickets. And I would like to know who the two were.”

Haddix said Plunkett said at a council meeting that she wanted preference given to gold season ticket holders, and Plunkett said she stands by that remark.

“Now that is telling the manager how to handle it,” Haddix said.

“We didn’t have a manager at that time,” Plunkett replied, noting the discussion was at a workshop meeting before a manager was hired.

“The spin on it implies that we were interfering with the management,” Logsdon said.

Steve Brown: Haddix comments

Submitted by Steve Brown on Tue, 02/17/2009 - 12:16pm.

I have no doubt that Dar Thompson offered $1 million for the tennis center. Mr. Thompson seems to be very willing to take advantage of the taxpayers of Peachtree City.

Did the City Manager hear a proposal from Mr. Thompson? If he did, why did not Mayor Logsdon know about it? I am surprised that an enterprising local reporter did not look into this.

Anyway, the tennis center being left off of the city's survey is totally dishonest. It is the kind of act we have come to expect from the power trio.

It is the same reason Council Member Cyndi Plunnkett withheld the financial and other data from the public regarding the amphitheather at the "hand-over" workshop meeting.

Seriously, Mayor Logsdon's biggest defense (see article above) is he never replied to Councilman Haddix's e-mail. Keep in mind the mayor never said he did not receive the e-mail. He simply decided to do nothing.

Logsdon, Plunkett and Boone feeling the pressure

Submitted by Doug on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 11:46am.

It sounds like the three amigos are feeling the pressue. They've been staying up all night reading the blogs. That can make you grouchy and say mean things.

See,...if PTC would

Submitted by Findu Veryfunny on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 10:41am.

just let a Starship Enterprise open up shop, you "Peachtreecitians" would find things to be much more relaxed,...let's all breathe in, exhale ( Eye-wink ) and repeat after me: ohmmmmmm ohmmmmmm ohmmmmm
Now isn't that better? Smiling

DELETED

Submitted by CI5835 on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 11:01pm.

***DELETED DELETED DELETED***

Don, Don, Don

Submitted by Gene61 on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 6:06pm.

Who are we supposed to believe now? The Peachtree City Council sounds like a who done it and who will deny they it game. Frankly, one politican is no better than the next one.

What a waste of time.

Haddix: WD3246

Submitted by Don Haddix on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 7:33pm.

Unfortunately this happened. Not appropriate for a Council Meeting.

Here is part of an initial email starting a string of emails.

Notice no one on Council can claim they were not made aware.

Judge for yourself on what the facts are.

------------------------

Sent: Thu 7/3/2008 12:25 PM
To: Bernard McMullen; psalvatore@peachtree-city.org
Cc: Cyndi Plunkett; Don Haddix; Doug Sturbaum; Harold Logsdon; Steve
Boone
Subject: purchase -tennis center

certain council members and some city officials have asked me if i had
an interest in purchasing the tennis center.

the answer is yes.

can you please provide me with all loan amounts owed on facility and
current monthly expenses. I would also, need to know what the city's
asking price for this facility.

please fwd info as soon as possible as i would like to move forward on
this project as soon as possible.

thanks,

----------------------

Don Haddix
PTC Councilman
Post 1
donhaddix.com

Haddix: Looks Like You Proved Their Point

Submitted by borntorun on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 8:25pm.

Well, as much as I may hate to admit it, it looks like you just proved what Plunkett and Logsdon said was true. It looks like it was just an initial inquiry about the financials of the tennis center by a potential buyer. No million dollar offer here!

The issue is not whether or not they were aware of an offer. They never said they were unaware of someone interested in purchasing it. The issue is you said there was an offer of a million dollars to purhcase the tennis center. Where is an official offer to buy it for one million dollars? And by that I would mean a contract or some legal intent to purchase document. Not some random email.

He just makes it worse..

Submitted by Spyglass on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 9:23pm.

Haddix has nothing resembling a 1 MILLION DOLLAR offer on the Tennis Center...I would say a Letter of Intent was never tendered by any interested party either..not that Haddix would even know what that was.

Dear Don Haddix

Submitted by Ruth Kimble on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 10:43am.

Dear Don,
Your recent letter to the editor in the Citizen was a real hoot. You claimed some kind of mandate for change based on the results of the last election. What kind of fantasy world are you living in? The fact is, you are still outnumbered. DEAL with it. PROFESSIONALLY. Like an adult. Debate the issues in the council meetings and then vote. Then support the decisions of the City Council that you are part of. Or resign. But no, you choose instead, like a whiny little brat who didn’t get his way, to write half truths and bold faced lies in blogs and the Citizen. And now you’ve been called out.

Did you learn absolutely NOTHING from Steve Brown? Same methodology. Whenever Stevie didn’t get his way, he vented publicly. Your method is the same. Time to grow up Donnie or face the same fate.

The best laugh I got was when you recently announced you will be running for mayor. What a grand stroke of complete self-delusion. Do you really believe people like to read your lie-filled criticisms? It doesn’t take much effort or talent to be a critic. Critics create NOTHING. Until you show some kind of positive vision, and are able thru your powers of persuasion, to convince the other Council members to vote with you, you are a failure. Whining about it in public shows everyone just how much of a BIG FAILURE you really are.

And to all of you losers who continually thank Donnie for the great public service he is doing by venting publicly, you are all a bunch of gossiping insipid do-nothings. I guess venting on here makes you feel better. Go ahead. Better yet. Get a life.

Ruth Kimble

Critical huh?

Submitted by Insayn on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 2:42pm.

"It doesn’t take much effort or talent to be a critic".

I guess talent you have not, Mrs. Kimble.

I agree..

Submitted by Spyglass on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 12:22pm.

He's handled things about as poorly as they can be handled. Add to the fact that he's just not informed on many issues/subjects, and there you have it.

Good for you Don

Submitted by Stinger on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 9:02pm.

You and Doug are the only council members that make any kind of effort to communicate and respond to the public on a regular basis. To me, it means that you are taking an interest in what others here in Peachtree City want and I, for one, really appreciate it. Keep it up.

To the other members of the council...

It is clear from this article that you do read these posts, yet you never comment. There have been a lot of controversial votes where the three of you seem to go against the wishes of your constituents, take the vote on the 54W traffic light as an example. All I can assume is that your unwillingness to explain your actions is an attempt to conceal your motivation.

If you don't agree with the views of this website or don't wish to use it as a means for communicating with the public then start your own city council website or use peachtree-city.org.

The fact of the matter is you work for us, the citizens of Peachtree City, and the way things look right now...I am afraid we are going to have to let you go.

Stinger Surely You Jest

Submitted by borntorun on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 8:34pm.

"You and Doug are the only council members that make any kind of effort to communicate..."

Surely you jest! When has Doug ever blogged anything on this site? All I read is in Don's emails "Doug and I blah blah blah".

Same at the Council meetings. Seems to be unprepared or too shy to talk about the issues.

Makes me wonder if he has a mind of his own that just might be opposed to Don. I keep having this visual of Doug sitting in Don's lap like a puppet. Sorta like Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy!

Distant Second

Submitted by Stinger on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 9:46am.

I am not considering this site as the only source. See here:

http://www.donhaddix.com/forumdisplay.php?f=10

While I would agree that Doug is a distant second to Don with regard to posting online, the other three don't even place.

I don't think they should come here with City Business

Submitted by Spyglass on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 1:41pm.

as representatives of PTC. This is no place for it. It's good for comedy at times, but not a lot else. There are numerous posters who have many names they post under. You can't possibly think these blogs are the "heartbeat" of PTC. If they were, Westmoreland would have been toast. I applaud the others for staying out of here. If they want to come as regular citizens, more power to them. For all I know they are here.

spy

Submitted by Nitpickers on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 8:25pm.

I am "regular" most of the time!

There is no "heartbeat" for PTC! Just developers and money makers.

Town wants the income from the stores on the south side of disney world west---care nothing of 7-8 stop lights from entrance to Westpark to county line!!!! Not to mention "Lennox" junction--that fender bender and helicopter pad for the wounded.

We now need to build a road around 54 west, 74 north, 74 south, and 53 east. How about an elevated circle?

I think there are good intentions here

Submitted by Insayn on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 2:25pm.

I think Mr. Haddix has the best intentions by posting information to the citizens here in the local paper, although not all information should be passed on. After all how often do city or county politicians or their Washington counterparts try to make sure that the public is informed and/or to get their feedback? When was the last time PTC got an answer other than, "Ill have to check into that" from Logsdon? Just watch CNN and you will see every other politician do their masterful double speak to not answer a single question asked.

Vote how you vote and give your reasons, Mr. Haddix, but bickering with the other members in a public forum just makes the citizens lose trust in our elected leaders.

Come now people

Submitted by yellowjax1212 on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 8:51pm.

Don Haddox has been making veiled comments of wrongdoings and possible illegalities fo some time on these blogs. Most of the time he links himself to Doug Sturbaum with the "Doug and I" phrase. I know that Doug has been voting in lockstep with Don since being elected but I would like to hear it from his mouth. It seems that Don doesn't play well with those that don't agree with his position (kinda like another politician that was recently elected).
It was only a matter of time before the others on the council began to call Don on his constant attacks and in essence tell him to "put up or shut up". I am not taking sides here but I have often asked bloggers (Don and other anonymous participants) to come forward with the facts and quit making accusations without backing them up. This approach is not, as some here say, "keeping them honest" it is just hampering the council's ability to do the business of the people.
I enjoy having fun on these blogs as much as anyone but the constant mud throwing attached to every article is lowering the "Citizen" into yellow journalism.
PTC is still a great place to live and I have trouble believing that all the politicians (with the exception of Don and Doug) are either inept or criminal. Call me Pollyanna but I choose to look for the best in everyone.

Haddix: it could be worse!

Submitted by Cyclist on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 8:06pm.

Snellville politics
-------------------------------------------
Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.

This begs the question....

Submitted by opustv on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 8:03pm.

First, thank you Mr. Haddix for keeping these folks honest.

Second, why in the world aren't these city counsel meetings webcast? And you can't say because it is too expensive. There are more than a dozen of us in PTC that do it for a living...it's cheap. Why can't we access an archive of these meetings online to see and hear for ourselves? There are cities with half our population doing this all over the country.

For that matter why wasn't that part of the city contract with Comcast when they received exclusive rights to suck money from our wallets for their lousy service. Most cities at least get a public access station for that. We should at least be able to watch our city government screw up.

Haddix: opustv

Submitted by Don Haddix on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 8:22pm.

That was brought up in January of 2008.

Something about wiring issues and the question of what about satellite TV.

Also ties into my proposal for a forum for Staff, etc, to get information out more effectively at the same time. Rejected.

Matt in IT would be the best to answer that fully.

Don Haddix
PTC Councilman
Post 1
donhaddix.com

So, make it a political issue instead of a technical issue.

Submitted by Robert W. Morgan on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 8:11am.

Seems simple to me. Take a position - a simple yes or no - on webcasting city council meetings and archiving them on the city's website. Simple - yes or no.

You all can debate funding and technical details later, but the question is simply support of (or opposition to ) the idea of webcasting.

Then when people vote in November (another low turnout is almost certain) they can figure out where people stand. This challenge has to come from the candidates since Cal runs a newspaper and sees any type of TV as competition, but Cal can't prevent the candidates or the Rotary Club from asking that question. I can guarantee that question will be asked exactly the way I stated it above at the Rotary forum since I am on that committee.

In fact, since you, Mr. Haddix, seem to want to start the campaign early, why don't you propose that now and smoke out the 3 stooges and their position. We know Doug will vote yes, so another 3-2 vote is likely. Better yet, put Doug up to the task of bringing that up. He needs to say something on his own once in a while.

Then, when candidates come forward and decide to run against one of the incumbents they will know that a position on webcasting is not optional.

Haddix: Morgan

Submitted by Don Haddix on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 9:40am.

Well, I said after the rejection last year I would bring the forum back up in 2010, and will.

I do support the webcast as well in 2010.

But bringing it up now is a waste of time. Nothing to smoke out since they made their thinking crystal clear last year when they said no. Unless they change their position that is already record.

So yes, I support both.

Don Haddix
PTC Councilman
Post 1
donhaddix.com

Yo Don, forget the IT issues

Submitted by cowtipn on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 9:20pm.

I repeat; Twitter. It's free.

Haddix: cowtipn

Submitted by Don Haddix on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 9:41am.

Twitter. That would be interesting, wouldn't it?

Don Haddix
PTC Councilman
Post 1
donhaddix.com

Ladies and Gentlemen, cease and desist

Submitted by ptcmom678 on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 7:13pm.

If everyone's arguing over who said what when, maybe the council meetings should just get broadcast live on YouTube. This kind of fussing 1) doesn't set kids a very good example, and 2) is really pointless. It keeps reminding me of what kids are doing on MySpace - slamming each other in cyberspace and instigating.

Go Haddix

Submitted by Arf on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 6:53pm.

Thanks, Don. You finally got the attention of these three jokers and their deplorable decisions that have taken PTC down and further down.

I personally would like to see them defend a lot of their past actions.

From the malarkey they're coming up with on these things, they never did have brains for leadership. I'll be very glad when we can get rid of 'em!

Technology is scary

Submitted by cowtipn on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 7:02pm.

Sounds like Logsdon, Plunkett, and Boone aren't used to getting their hands caught in the cookie jar, (or rather caught and posted online).

Keep it up Don. Don't let the haters deter you from putting comments here. You might even want to consider Twittering the meetings.

The information age is here and the council has to wake up and assume the new responsibilities that come with it.

Oh my.

Submitted by Cyclist on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 6:43pm.

Local politics exposed. This coming form someone that lives outside of the "big city".
-------------------------------------------
Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.

TURN YOUR KEY SIR

Submitted by mysteryman on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 8:39pm.

THE DAY AFTER, a classic movie about nuclear protocall, Hey Haddix rotate on my count 1....2.....3.....rotate lets blow up the city council for wasteing the taxpayers money to even discuss freedom of opinion and speech, they do not like it oh well, proofs in the pudding, guess they dont like it when they got caught dippin in the Kool-AID.... P.S. I stirred it with my hand ha. ha. ha...BLESS

The Day After a classic?

Submitted by Cyclist on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 8:53pm.

Surely you jest! You must have enjoyed "Red Dawn".
-------------------------------------------
Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.

Actually my favorite is FAIL-SAFE

Submitted by mysteryman on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 9:01pm.

A tit for tat classic kinda like todays politics, MONOPOLY ANYONE....

Fail Safe had a good plot however,

Submitted by Cyclist on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 9:21pm.

the cockpit views in the movie of the B58 Hustler (Vindicator Bombers as noted in the movie) were not correct as the B58 had a tandem cockpit. Pilot, then the navigator/bombardier seated behind the pilot and finally, a defensive systems operator (DSO) seated behind the navigator/bombardier. The B58 was one mean machine for its time.
-------------------------------------------
Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.

Dr. Strangelove mine