Sewers and drunks and conjoined campaigners

Let’s think about some recent or ongoing local issues.

• Sewer system expansions. The Peachtree City Council woke up long enough to veto any sewer expansion to Coweta County neighbor, Senoia, although a transcript of that meeting suggests that Mayor Harold Logsdon was leaning toward approval until he discovered which way the wind was blowing.

The council members’ questions and concerns are interesting reading. That story is on our Web site (“Record of sewer meeting reveals Council motivations).

Good vote, Council. But you still seem to be all over the map on piecemeal expansion of the sewer system to individual landowners and developers in the unincorporated county. Toughen up: Just say no. Your constituents will thank you.

• City manager’s DUI. Question: What’s the largest concentration of drunks in Fayette County? Answer: The publicly-owned and publicly-managed Fred Brown amphitheater every Friday and Saturday night in the summer concert season. I’m no Carrie Nation, but does that seem right?

And the first DUI arrest in a long time comes about because the affable, but drunk, city manager golf-cart-rides right up to high-ranking police officers while carrying a glass of wine?

The second-highest-ranking officer in the department says this: “He [the city manager] was obviously under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. However, this is not necessarily something we would be alerted to. It is a common occurrence for a number of the amphitheater patrons to drink heavily, but many have a designated driver. I assumed [!] at this point that Mr. McMullen would not be driving and would be riding home with someone else.”

Come again? The parking lot is full of drunks but the police ASSUME everybody has a designated driver? Excuse me, is that assumption in place for other watering holes around town? Or just special ones?

I applaud the officers making a DUI case against their intoxicated boss, but I question the wisdom of an apparent police department policy that says, in effect, leave The Fred’s drunks alone to designate or to drive or to ramble about as they please while the off-duty police officers clock out of their part-time security jobs and concentrate on driving home.

And by the way, is not City Manager McMullen also a member of the Tourism Board, which oversees the operation of The Fred? The DUI thus becomes doubly troublesome.

• What to do with Bernie? The council is shirking its lawful duty by allowing an ad lib takeover of the police department by the mayor without any official vote of the city’s governing body.

The council should grow some intestinal fortitude, get the in-town members together, have the police report read in open session, go into executive session to deliberate and then return five minutes later to vote and announce that McMullen is suspended from all duties pending outcome of the court case. The council should then appoint an acting city manager, per the city charter and code, and adjourn.

What’s happening now is extra-legal (a polite way of saying illegal) and a disturbing precedent of mayoral power. What if a former mayor had taken over the police department? Oh, the howls to high heaven.

• The campaigns for county commission. Are Sam Chapman and Eric Maxwell running as a team to oust Chairman Greg Dunn and Vice-Chairman Linda Wells? Several of the challengers’ roadside signs are affixed jointly, Maxwell’s atop Chapman’s, giving rise to speculations.

So, we know attorney Maxwell and mortgage banker Chapman are the sheriff’s favorites. But what else will they do besides be friendly to the sheriff? Will they be the developers’ favorites, as well?

Chapman is on record as griping that the current commission has been too slow-growth-oriented. That’s right: Chapman is complaining publicly that the unincorporated county urgently needs more development, more population growth, more commercial growth. The current commission is not good for bid-nez, Chapman says.

Is his sign buddy, Maxwell, of like mind: That what Fayette really needs is smaller lots, way more dense subdivisions and way more development? (For the mathematically challenged, that adds up to lots more population and lots more traffic and lots more overcrowded classrooms.)

We know the slow-growth record of Dunn and Wells. So, don’t be stealthy, conjoined campaigning guys. Just come on out and tell the county’s homeowners whether you are fer or agin more rezonings. When the developer shows up before the commission, will you be inclined to go with the developer or with the county’s current land use plan?

Will there be more developer-driven residential and commercial rezonings under Dunn and Wells or under Chapman and Maxwell?

Those are not hard or trick questions, guys. What are your answers?

Good grief, I agree with Cal

Submitted by nuk on Fri, 06/16/2006 - 6:04am.

Especially on the City Manager/Mayor-Police issues.

Common-sense would SEEM to dictate that when an issue like this occurs, you simply place Bernie on administrative leave with pay until all facts, reports and blah,blah can be analyzed carefully. Taking-over the PD by the Mayor right away is NOT in the PTC charter of governing, no how, no way. Mayor and Council have really bumbled this incident and made it even worse. I also find it highly unusual that Bernie was apparently bailed-out of prison by a PTC councilmember. What the heck is going on with that?

While I was definitely in the ABB-crowd, I have been very underwhelmed with the New Kids on the Block so far. Next chance they have to simply follow the mandate they got when elected of "just don't screw it up, OK?" will be the Tivoli Gardens re-zoning request. If they go along with that, they need to run out of town on a rail.

NUK

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It's dead nuk

Submitted by Robert W. Morgan on Fri, 06/16/2006 - 6:40pm.

They did the right thing on Tivoli.

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Catching on at Last, nuk

Submitted by PTC Guy on Fri, 06/16/2006 - 9:57am.

Not liking one official does not justify dumping him for anyone else without finding out what the anyone else offers.

Far too often, as the old expression goes, you move from the pan into the fire. We have.

I was like a broken record on that point and you guys just would not listen.

Now, we pay for it.

Brown was not perfect. But we now have a Mayor that needs a recall election.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.

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I'm not that quick to label

Submitted by nuk on Fri, 06/16/2006 - 10:42am.

I'm not that quick to label Logsdon and the entire council as *failures* just yet. I'm just saying that the early results haven't been good at all and that's disappointing.

NUK

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Pattern

Submitted by PTC Guy on Fri, 06/16/2006 - 10:58am.

From his actions and attitudes in the election, his Good Ole Boy supporters and patterns on every issue that has come up so far, we see how he thinks and operates.

He has not learned or changed one iota.

King of the Castle and Inform the Peasants has proven way right on the money.

What possible hope do you hold out for him to change after all this time? Or that you missed some gold nugget hidden away some where in him?

As for the rest of the Council, the observations of their thinking, so far, has been very disappointing. But maybe they will get scared of being labeled 'in Lodgson's pocket' and step out more individually, or as a group.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.

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Bailing out?

Submitted by Sailon on Fri, 06/16/2006 - 6:59am.

I guess anyone can bail someone out of jail. One might think family would do it, or an attorney, which I would do. Anyway most town management crowds watch each other's back. It is one of our problems.

Secondly, since I can't comment on the hospital BC/BS thing on those blogs (system sends me to some other blog instead--a problem for awhile now) I will say it here: Don't get concerned with BC/BS dropping Piedmont and vice/versa. It is not going to happen. It is all a ploy to charge the patients more and neither one wants the blame. Everyone will be so glad to see it resolved, they will accept the usual 20-25% increases, and say "thank goodness." I wish BC/BS would hold out. I assure you Piedmont will yield--the doctors and employees will just have to "make out" with less. We can't afford anymore!

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drunks?

Submitted by bladderq on Thu, 06/15/2006 - 11:22pm.

I really don’t know whether Bernie is a good city manager or indifferent. I have dealt with him and found him to be a bureaucrat (& Harold a politician). This is all quite the tempest in a teapot being brewed in a very small pond. 1) There is no evidence he was drunk. He was given some field test but a proper test would be conducted 20 min after he was observed not drinking not after a drink was taken out of his hand. He was not observed being a danger to anyone. He wasn’t driving crazy. 2) Evidently Cal doesn’t attend Wed court very often “And the first DUI arrest in a long time comes about “ or his reporter doesn’t portray what cases the officers are bringing. This is not the 1st by any means in a long time. It isn’t even the most absurd. 3) In the entire history of PTC there is only 1 recorded cart death which was not a DWC. There is NO record of carnage & mayhem on the cart paths involving DWC. I guess after 30 years we'd better nip this in the bud.

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Hands On

Submitted by PTC Guy on Thu, 06/15/2006 - 10:07pm.

Remember a complaint of the Anyone But Brown crowd? Brown was too hands on in the daily affairs of PTC?

How much more hands on can you get than taking over oversight of the Police? WHERE are they now!

And they complained about things not being done correctly. WHERE are they now with Brown decreeing he is overseeing the police? Meaning illegally.

Is this administration by input and vote? Or by decree?

Really, does not Logdson decree where decisions and issues should end up even before an official meeting takes place?

And where are the other members of the City Council stopping him?

This is very troubling. And dangerous.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.

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Co-Campaigning via Signs

Submitted by 30YearResident on Thu, 06/15/2006 - 8:42pm.

In my opinion, it's not good for any candidate to associate with another and intermix signs.
But I know for a fact that Maxwell has not agreed to do a "joint team approach" with Chapman. They may be friends, but have totally different philosophies on county growth and development. If in doubt, ask them.
For commissioners Dunn and Wells, it may be a different story. There again, ask.

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NOT co-campaigning

Submitted by susieq on Thu, 06/15/2006 - 10:54pm.

When you see Maxwell and Chapman signs in the same location, it does not mean they are co-campaigning. Property owners request signs to place on their property, and if they wish to support Maxwell AND Chapman, it's their business. Do people honestly believe politicians go out and place signs where they want them? NO. They must get permission of the property owner.

Signs placed on the right-of-way? That's another story.

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They are co-campaigning

Submitted by vox on Thu, 06/15/2006 - 11:59pm.

How did their signs become attached? Sam is plastering both their signs everywhere without permission just like he did for Horgan. Look at the ones on businesses. They are right on the property line so each side will think the other gave permission. He puts them on vacant places, too. Now come on, you know he did not get permission. But, that is OK because he plans to buy the election. He paid $50,000 for his name to be on the Villages Amphitheater. Now we all know the name of the bank is not SAM CHAPMAN Talbot Bank. Sounds like sleazy business to me. What kind of commissioner would he make? More growth and me, me, me.

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Cal's Editorial

Submitted by Don Rehwaldt on Wed, 06/14/2006 - 9:00pm.

Cal is right on! Sewerage in Fayette County is a contentious issue not easily solved. Peachtree City is being hounded by Coweta for a share of their capacity while Tyrone is looking to Fairburn to increase their allocation from Fulton County to Fayette County. This option seems unlikely based on Fulton County's growth to the southern part of their county and the fact that Fairburn is extending their growth to the Fayette County line on Ga Hwy 74. Tyrone has squandered their limited capacity by voting against their own ordinances and giving a developer the go ahead to develop two houses on one acre lots. Now, when additional capacity is desired, Tyrone expects Fairburn and Fulton County to sacfice their own needs to assist another County. I don't think so!
A recent blog suggested that Peachtree City annex Tyrone as a cost saving and improved management measure. It still makes sense! If Peachtree City has the capacity and they are already developing up to the Tyrone Town line, why not annex Tyrone and extend their sewer system into Tyrone. This would allow Fairburn to reclaim their capacity, allow Peachtree City to gain revenue and Tyrone to meet their needs - all within Fayette County.

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What's in it for me?

Submitted by bladderq on Thu, 06/15/2006 - 10:31pm.

I imagine alot of the people in Tyrone live there because they didn't want to live in the "sanitized" PTC (I hear this from people in Senoia also). So what's in it for PTC? Sewer revenue? They have no parks, they have no rec program, they have no library. I ask as a resident of PTC, what's in it for me? I'll pay a little more for sewer. Thanks for asking.

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