The Atlanta Citizen » Gwinnett County

No Dump Trucks Needed, Information Technology Is Expensive…A Quick Meeting For Gwinnett’s Commissioners

Jamie Ward — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:25:44 +0000

Department of Support Services' Steve North tells commissioners Tuesday that spending $1.2 million on trucks isn't necessary at this time.

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett County’s Board of Commissioners took action on a range of items Tuesday, none of which seemed to interest the general public much or draw any controversy.

With no public comments made, to say it was a quiet day for commissioners in the public eye would be a huge understatement. Both meetings when combined lasted approximately 45 minutes, short by normal standards.

Work was completed, though, and one highlight included approval on a swath of information technology services, with the county experiencing firsthand how expensive license agreements with software vendors can be. In renewing with technology giants Microsoft and Dell and using the state of Georgia’s negotiated agreement, commissioners approved an expenditure of $551,995.40 for the year. This covers operating systems on desktop computers, database software, exchange e-mail and the office suite of products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc). Commissioners also authorized $174,968 for renewing the Syscon jail management software maintenance agreement, a necessity since the software is used by corrections and sheriff’s personnel to track inmate activity. Director John Matelski of the department of information technology services said while the county couldn’t negotiate a decrease in the price with Syscon, they were able to secure service at the same rate as last year. Finally, the Board also approved an expenditure of $171,662.33 for continued use of FileNet’s enterprise content management system, which departments use to store and retrieve documents, images and media in electronic format.

Lynn Smarr, the acting director of the department of water resources, drew praise from District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau by saving 28 percent on a $678,000 multi-year contract with the Cleveland Electric Company for the installation, inspection and repair of electrical equipment at various water facilities. Smarr said the savings came about as a result of leaving the project open for what she called “an extended bidding period.”

Perhaps the best news, though, came from Steve North of the department of support services. With more than $1.2 million set to be spent on the purchase of dump trucks and class 8 trucks, North said the contracts at this time, “after evaluating needs,” were no longer necessary. He said the need could possibly be revisited later this year or even next year, but that after review the need wasn’t there at this time.

Chairman Charles Bannister’s Response To Cities’ Intended Legal Action Regarding Stalled Service Delivery Negotiations

Jamie Ward — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:05:28 +0000

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister issued the following statement concerning the cities’ intent to file a legal motion against the State of Georgia involving service delivery negotiations between the County and the cities in Gwinnett.

“I was made aware shortly after lunch today that Buddy Welch, the attorney for all 15 Gwinnett cities in the Service Delivery Strategy litigation, has prepared and will file tomorrow by 2 p.m. a motion to hold Commissioner Michael Beatty of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs in contempt for not imposing sanctions on the residents of Gwinnett County. Mr. Welch has informed Commissioner Beatty of this intention by letter dated today, which is accompanied by 42 pages of supporting documentation.

“Mr. Welch’s letter is based on his belief that Commissioner Beatty is in violation of an order issued by Judge Barrett on Jan. 15. I don’t think it necessary to discuss the legal issues involved as Commissioner Beatty has excellent counsel in the State Attorney General’s office, but I am deeply concerned that a Motion would be filed to speed the imposition of sanctions by the State of Georgia on all Gwinnett citizens regardless of whether they reside in cities as 20 percent do or in unincorporated Gwinnett as 80 percent of our residents do. It seems counterproductive for Mr. Welch to ask for sanctions that will, according to the Department of Community Affairs, be imposed on Feb. 28 to be moved up to Feb. 1 due to Mr. Welch’s interpretation of the law.

“It is important to note that the sanctions that will be imposed by the Department of Community Affairs will affect all residents of this County, and to urge the imposition of such sanctions at the earliest possible date seems counter to the best interests of all of our citizens.

“The argument in the past for the imposition of these sanctions is that this is the only way the County will negotiate. I disagree with this assertion. We are currently working overtime to reach a settlement with the cities that is fair to all of Gwinnett’s citizens. This takes time but can – and I hope will – happen. Recently Judge Barrett issued a Scheduling Order in this same case. It places very quick deadlines on all parties, some as early as this Friday, Feb. 5, with a pre-trial conference to take place on March 19. This order, and not the threat of sanctions, will move both the County and the cities closer to either reaching a settlement of this issue or a decision to try this case in court.

“This request by Mr. Welch seems out of tune with the best interests of all citizens of Gwinnett, including those in the cities he represents who will pay for this Motion. Think about it, even if he is successful, the sanctions are only imposed 28 days earlier and have the potential to restrict real money coming to Gwinnett or its cities within that time frame.”

Smaller Homes Could Be Coming To 500 Block Of Old Peachtree Road Because Of Down Economy

Jamie Ward — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:17:12 +0000

Attorney Lee Tucker argues his case before the Board of Commissioners Tuesday. Despite being denied by the planning department and planning commission, Tucker swayed the Board to reduce the minimum dwelling size from 2,400 square feet to 1,800 square feet for an unstarted development on the 500 block of Old Peachtree Road.

LAWRENCEVILLE — The great recesscion has left development in flux, subdivisions unfinished and countless homes in foreclosure. On Tuesday night at the monthly Board of Commissioners meeting to deal with zoning issues, an unfinished subdivision because of this very economy was the reason Old Peachtree Road Investments, LLC was granted its wish — a change in conditions for an 8-acre piece of property that had already been rezoned in 2007. The property, which already has water and sewer lines installed and will be a gated community when finished, is located on the 500 block of Old Peachtree Road near the intersection with Rock Springs Road.

The Board’s decision by a vote of 3 to 1 (District 1 Commissioner Shirley Lasseter was not present and Chairman Charles Bannister voted against it) will allow Old Peachtree Road Investments to build 1,800-square-foot homes as opposed to 2,400-square-foot homes on what is now 35 lots. They’d asked to build 1,400-square foot homes. The Board’s decision came despite opposition from nearby homeowners and despite the county’s planning department and planning commission’s recommendation of denial. Gwinnett County Planning Spokesman Jeff West said the proposed change was “out of character with the surrounding area.”

According to the developer’s attorney, Lee Tucker Jr. of Mahaffey Pickens Tucker, LLP, the reason the change was necessary was because of the economy.

“The conditions of 2007 and the conditions of 2010 are dramatically different,” Tucker said. “What may have been appropriate at that time is not consistent with the market today.” Tucker said his client’s data showed a pricepoint for homes in the area of around $200,000. He also said the property is still owned by Old Peachtree Road Investments and not a bank and that a development in foreclosure is ”good for nobody’s property values.”

Nearby neighbors who spoke in opposition to the proposal disagreed and said they were worried smaller homes would decrease their property values. Mike Morgan representing the Edgewater Homeowner’s Association submitted a petition with approximately 250 signatures on it in opposition.

“This is totally out of line with what exists in the area now,” Morgan said. “A mistake was made two years ago in rezoning this to the R-ZT classification. It’s directly between R-75 and R-100 lots.” Morgan added that in that 2007 decision, the county’s planning department and planning commission also recommended denial yet the developer still got the R-ZT zoning.

Butch Poss also spoke in opposition to the change. “If we reduce the square footage down we’ll be stuck with it forever and it will devalue our homes and we’re already hurting,” Poss said. “We gave in back in 2007 when we accepted this deal and 2,400-square-feet was all we were able to draw the line on. Edgewater has 3,000 and 3,500-square-foot homes…We just don’t need any less square footage.”

District 4 Commissioner Kevin Kenerly in making his motion to support the project said strangely that he agreed and disagreed with both Tucker and the opposition.

“If we let those lots sit undeveloped on the ground, at the end of the day and we had a briefing on our sewer and water lines, everybody in this room will have to pay for that. The developer will be gone, the bank will sell it and we’ll have to pay for it,” Kenerly said. “It’s not going to devalue anybody’s values at all because of the gated community and all the conditions on here.”

The decision upset Eric Riner of the nearby Briar Point subdivision.

“It’s a travesty. We don’t need this in our neighborhood. We already have home values that have dropped signigicantly and traffic is already bad,” Riner said. “It’s just not right. Somebody is being rewarded in this and it’s just not fair. We have no voice and no representation in our community at all from our elected officials.”

Poss agreed with that sentiment and was asked about Kenerly’s decision despite recommendations for denial by both the planning department and the planning commission.

“We’re used to this. We’ve been in Kevin’s district for 16 years,” Poss said. “This is the way business is done in Gwinnett County, at least in District 4. We just need to get a real person in there who cares about us.”

Kenerly was asked after the meeting to justify his decision to go against the planning staff and planning commission. Click here to hear Kenerly’s justification for voting yes.

In other board business, a request to rezone nearly 46 acres of an old golf course on the 2300 block of Pond Road and the 4600-4700 blocks of Bogie Road was denied because the developer — MPM Development, LLC — didn’t show. Lots of opposition was in the audience to fight the rezoning from R-75 to R-TH (townhomes) and R-ZT.

MPM Development wanted to rezone this old golf course from R-75 to classifications that would allow for smaller homes and townhomes. The request was denied.

Commissioners Ratify Three Bridge Repairs To The Tune Of $1.15 Million

Jamie Ward — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:54:12 +0000

: Construction is still ongoing at the bridge on Club Drive over Sweetwater Creek from September’s flooding.

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett’s Board of Commissioners officially ratified on Tuesday $1.15 million in emergency repairs to three roadway bridges that were damaged in the flooding last September.

The bridge work, which took place at Garner Road over Garner Creek, Martin Nash Road over Turkey Creek and Club Drive over Sweetwater Creek, began immediately under emergency contracts issued to to minimize road closings following the flooding. Two were completed and opened to traffic within 30 days and the third on Club Drive, while remaining open to traffic, is now nearing completion.

Gwinnett Department of Transportation Director Brian Allen said the work was initially paid for with 2009 SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) funds, although the county expects to receive reimbursement from federal disaster-recovery funds, either from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Federal Highway Administration.

“We greatly appreciate the ability of our contractors to get started immediately on emergency repairs so we can keep our roads open and safe for Gwinnett motorists,” Allen said in a released statement.

According to Gwinnett DOT Deputy Director Kim Conroy, E.R. Snell Contractor, Inc. of Snellville was one of three local contractors contacted following the floods as part of the county’s emergency procurement procedures. As it turns out, E.R. Snell was the lone bidder. Conroy said Sunbelt Structures of Tucker and another firm did not submit bids for whatever reason. He also said procurement and purchasing officials with the county thought Snell’s bid was reasonably priced.

Gwinnett County To Study Potentially Privatizing Airport’s Briscoe Field

Jamie Ward — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:39:34 +0000

Opponents of privatization fear pilots who fly small planes like these could be forced out of using the airport to make room for larger commercial aircraft.

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett’s Board of Commissioners unanimously supported a resolution Tuesday which will allow Gwinnett’s Department of Transportation to go forward with preparing a preliminary FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) application as part of the FAA’s Airport Privatization Pilot Program.

Chairman Charles Bannister read a statement in response to the Board’s action because he said there were misunderstandings, mainly because of the media, as to what this resolution meant for Gwinnett County.

“We do not know whether privatization or commercialization of Briscoe Airport is in the best interest of Gwinnett County,” Bannister said. “However, we have enough information to think studying the concept is the right thing to do for the county. The studied process will involve extensive environmental and financial analysis and would include extensive public involvement in advance of any decision being made by this Board.”

Bannister made a point to emphasize the phrase “extensive public involvement.” He also said Gwinnett County was not applying for any grant money for the pre-application process.

Click here to hear the rest of Chairman Charles Bannister’s statement on the FAA Privatization Program.

The resolution didn’t come without public opposition, though. Speaking against the measure was Lawrenceville resident Duane Huff, a member of the local Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 690, which operates out of the airport.

“I think it will very much hinder the general aviation population of the Gwinnett County Airport,” Huff said to the Board. “My second thought is, and I know you’ve already approved this study, but to spend this kind of money to study this proposal in this economy I just think is out of the question.”

Department of Transportation Director Brian Allen said the county was approached with the privatization idea by New York-based Propeller Investments. He said $250,000 was included in the 2010 budget for “studying economic development at the airport” after it had been stricken from the budget the previous year. He said from an operating standpoint, the airport supports itself and covers its own expenses. He also said this process of studying whether or not to privatize would not be easy and would be lengthy.

Gwinnett County’s Airport is located just off Ga. Highway 316 in District 4. Its commissioner, Kevin Kenerly, said the issue on whether or not to privatize the airport could become a hot, election-year topic. Kenerly has already announced that after 16 years he will not seek another term. His advice for candidates in District 4 was research the issue and do what’s best for Gwinnett County.

“Folks will make this a campaign issue,” Kenerly said. “I hope the folks who are running understand how big an issue this could be.”

Kenerly said he supported the study because it could lead to more economic development and more jobs, and said if that was the case and privatization eventually occurred, then the money spent on the study would pay itself back.

Debi Huffman, an aerospace educator with the Fernbank Science Center and another member of the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 690, said privatization could ultimately force the group out of the airport all together. Along with Huff and Suwanee resident John Reitz, they estimated 98 percent of their 200 members were against the privatization idea.

“Aviation has tightened up since I was a kid going to Charlie Brown Airport in Atlanta and this would tighten things up even more,” Huff said. She mentioned Europe privatizing most of its airports and said she’s seen firsthand how many Europeans come to the United States to get their rating because they can’t afford to do it in their native country.

“I don’t think it will fly,” Huff said. “Why spend the money on a proposal when it’s already bound to fail? There is not enough land around the airport to make this a feasible operation. It’s not a good place to have a reliever airport for Hartsfield. There are other places. It just doesn’t make good sense here in Lawrenceville.”

Huff also wondered who owned land around the airport that might benefit from such a privatization deal and if they might be politically connected to any commissioners.

“It’s going to squeeze out the general aviation people,” Huff said. “It will be more difficult to have flight schools and give tours to the kids. Leave it a general aviation airport.”

People can watch planes take off and land on the airport's 6000 foot runway while also looking at this memorial to Thomas Briscoe, whom the field is named after.

Commissioners Pass Budget While Beaudreau Asks Board To Be More Transparent

Jamie Ward — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:15:13 +0000

Gwinnett County Chief Financial Officer Aaron Bovos explains to commissioners the 2010 budget.

LAWRENCEVILLE — Kicking off the new decade in the midst of what’s been dubbed “The Great Recession,” Gwinnett County’s Board of Commissioners passed its 2010, revised, $1.3 billion budget Tuesday.

The vote wasn’t unanimous, though, and the 4 – 1 vote clearly indicated that a political divide exists between Chairman Charles Bannister and District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau.

Matter of fact, the public hearing served as a sort of sparring match between Bannister, who supported the revised budget submitted after the public hearing process of December 13, and Beaudreau, who didn’t support the revised budget and instead wanted to vote on the December 1 budget as it was presented to the public.

What Beaudreau seemed to be irked about the most was the $1.2 million previously earmarked for the Archer community park in the Harbins area. In the revised chairman’s budget, Bannister proposed moving those funds to Lions Club Park in Lilburn, perhaps in a move of political payback directed at Beaudreau for not supporting December’s millage rate increase. Beaudreau even went on to question the legality of that move without a public hearing.

“This board has come under immense scrutiny for its lack of transparency with the public, some I think justified and some not really justified,” Beaudreau said. “What I ask this board is, ‘How does approving this modified budget without a public hearing address this criticism?’ The budget shown to citizens on December 14 has been altered significantly…The public was once again left in the dark.”

Bannister disputed this claim, even at one point saying he wasn’t a lawyer. To make his point, though, he asked County Administrator Glenn Stephens and County Attorney Karen Thomas to chime in. This eventually led to District 1 Commissioner Shirley Lasseter’s candid question to attorney Thomas.

“If we pass this budget, are we doing anything illegal which has been alluded to by Mr. Beaudreau,” Lasseter asked.

“No ma’am,” Thomas said.

In supporting the revised budget, Bannister said it would include money to bolster a police department force that lost many to retirement last year and that it would also enable three additional fire stations (29, 30 and a replacement for 18) to open. He also praised the budget for allowing the Hamilton Mill branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library system to open as planned without having to close another branch elsewhere. But Bannister cautioned the budget can’t ignore the economic realities of the day.

“We’d really like to do more but we can’t,” Bannister said. “Please understand, that while last month’s millage rate increase helps us keep pace with most of our county’s needs for this year and next , it does not further my goals to increase public safety, and Gwinnett County and the current economic climate will continue to negatively impact our revenues.”

To this end, Bannister warned residents that the county is expecting a sharp decline in the commercial property tax revenue this year, possibly seven percent or more, and that more operating cuts could be on the horizon.

When it came to the public comments portion of the hearing, only one citizen had anything to say about what had transpired regarding the 2010 budget. And Rick Sammons of Dacula wasn’t happy with what he’d just witnessed.

Matter of fact, Sammons wondered aloud whether politicians, instead of asking if their actions are legal, ever ask themselves whether their actions are right or ethical.

“I find it very interesting that there is $1.2 million taken out of the Archer community and $1.2 million put into another community, a community where the athletic association is nowhere near what ours already is,” Sammons said. “Hopefully this isn’t the end of the battle.”

Asked to expand on his comments after the hearing, Sammons said, “This just seemed like backroom politics to me. It seemed like something done in the 11^th hour to better the position of certain members of the commission,” he said. “I think it’s obvious there are things going on that we should all be ashamed of.”

Beaudreau’s version of what happened was what he called “Chicago politics hitting home in Gwinnett County.”

“If you don’t kiss the ring, you get mistreated,” Beaudreau said. “I’m not going to stand for it. I’m certainly by no means giving up. This just further emboldens me.”

Asked to clarify what he meant by questioning the legality of the budget switch, Beaudreau said he stood by his comments.

“If it’s not illegal, it’s certainly unethical and not the way to do business,” Beaudreau said. “I mean, if you’re interested in public input (about the revised budget), why do you wait to put it on the Web site until Monday morning? Nobody has yet to give me a good answer on that.”

Commissioner Lasseter called the Board’s work “a work in progress.”

“I can tell you this government wants to be transparent,” she said. “It is your government. If it doesn’t seem transparent, I beg you to call up here.”

From left, Chairman Charles Bannister, Commissioner Mike Beaudreau and Commissioner Kevin Kenerly listen to Gwinnett County CFO Aaron Bovos explain the 2010 revised budget.