GwinnettViews
What are your feelings Gwinnett?
Land Deals Gone Wild highlights the plight of Gwinnett County
Sep 23rd
A great article by Tim Eberly of the AJC: Doubts didn’t stop deal: Land purchase made as Gwinnett County faces huge budget shortfall
Also a great follow up article on this by Bob Griggs at TalkGwinnett.com:
First of Many Bad Land Deals Finally Exposed.
The next time you hear Chairman Bannister try to blame anyone but himself for the mess Gwinnett is in then please read this article. It highlights the true cause of the mess. Is this the only mess? I wish but deals and work like this highlight how bad it has gotten. From Land Deals, to Trash Plans to an unnecessary Stadiums its a wonder we have a county anymore.
Also after reading this article I have to ask those in District 1 what the heck were you thinking when you voted.
From the AJC article:
The purchase, made as the county faced a huge budget shortfall, is another in a string of land deals that have raised questions about the board’s financial stewardship and cozy relationships between some commissioners and developers.In August, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published stories detailing similar and questionable purchases the county has made, or attempted to make, since 2007.
After reviewing the AJC’s reports, District Attorney Danny Porter last week asked for a special grand jury to investigate those land deals and others by the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners. After hearing from the AJC about this purchase, Porter said he would review it for possible grand jury consideration.
Though Lasseter said she made the best decision she could, she acknowledges now that it might not have been the best use of taxpayer money.“I’m not perfect. Maybe I made a bad decision,” she said. “Maybe we should have had Lorraine Green vote on it.”
You think?
Full list of Engage Gwinnett Members released
Sep 17th
From the GDP Article by Camie Young: Engage Gwinnett committee members announced:
Engage Gwinnett Citizens Committee Members
Stakeholder Group, Representative
District 1, Kelly Kelkenberg
District 2, Kevin Kovalchik
District 3, Bob Griggs
District 4, Jeff Mahaffey
HOA, Paula Hastings
Citizens for Responsible Government, Lan Nguyen
FreedomWorks, Julianne Thompson
Environmentalist, Carol Hassell
Not-for-profits, Demetrius Jordan
Unity Gwinnett, Herman Pennamon
Asian Community, Cookie Lee
Hispanic Community, Jose Perez
Faith-Based, Norwood Davis
Young Professionals, Asif Jessani
Seniors, Bill Atkinson
Rotary, Scott LeCraw
Gwinnett Municipal Association, Randy Meacham
BOE, Rick Cost
Post Secondary, Julie Post
Community Improvement Districts, Chuck Warbington
Hospital System, David McClesky
Partnership Gwinnett, Mark Tibbetts
Council for Quality Growth, Michael Sullivan
State Delegation, Charles Swain
Constitutional Officers, Jim Pack
Courts, George Hutchinson
DA and Solicitor, Charlotte Nash
Athletic Association, Chris Whitlock
Small Business, Dave McMullen
Large Employer, Renee Byrd-Lewis
Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Millicent Crawford, Duluth
Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Dick Goodman, Suwanee
Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Dan King, Duluth
Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Paula Krone, Norcross
Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Laurie McClain, Suwanee
Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Jack Mason, Buford
Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Keith Roche, Lawrenceville
Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Keith Shewbert, Norcross
Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Kip Stokes, Auburn
Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Glen Williams, Snellville
Citizen members have been chosen for budget study group.
Sep 10th
GDP Article by Camie Young: Public members chosen for budget study
10 citizen members (and 12 alternates) of an eventual 42 total members of a group that will study the Gwinnett County budget were chosen last night. The remaining 32 members will come from other segments of Gwinnett County. They will provide feedback and recommendations to the BOC on budget matters. The group called Engage Gwinnett will be led by Bill McCargo and Mike Levengood.
The committee will begin meeting Oct. 8 and will meet every other week through March. Two more public meetings are planned – one for the mid-point of the study and one for near the end.Each of the sessions will be televised on the county government cable channel, and residents can also receive information at www.engagegwinnett.com.
In addition to the member selection, nearly 150 people provided feedback and suggestions on how to conduct the study, which Chairman Charles Bannister called for after a public outcry over a proposed tax increase, which was defeated, then a public outcry over cuts in services.
“This is a very complex situation we are dealing with,” McCargo said. When we have financial issues, we have to make tough choices. … It’s not easy to take a look at a government the size of ours. … We need to be able to determine what are our needs as a community and what are our wants.”
Town Hall Meeting August 27 sponsored by FreedomWorks at 7pm at GJAC
Aug 22nd
Town Hall Meeting August 27 at 7pm at GJAC
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – Gwinnett Citizens for Responsible Government is hosting a Town Hall Meeting sponsored by FreedomWorks at the Gwinnett County Justice and Administration Center on August 27th beginning at 7:00pm in the auditorium.
A citizen’s blue ribbon panel will address topics such as budget cuts, taxes, trash plan, land use and county land acquisitions.
“The purpose of this event is to gather citizen input and recommendations from business professionals in Gwinnett County. We formed this organization so that the true feelings of Gwinnett taxpayers could be heard. For too long our government has been influenced by a small group of people rather than by needs and opinions of the voters. We plan to change that and strongly encourage Gwinnett citizens to attend this Town Hall,” said Sabrina Smith, one of the event coordinators. She continued, “In recent months we have seen what a difference can be made when citizens become active and stand up and are heard.”
Elected officials will be invited to make statements at the beginning and be available to answer questions that may arise.
For more information contact Sabrina Smith at gcfrg@yahoo.com.
Since this post was originally made there has been a list of names on the panel. While some, all, or none of the names may be appealing we think this is one more opportunity for the citizens of Gwinnett to get to ask questions and HOPEFULLY get some answers. You need to be there and be heard.
Those to be involved with the panel:
Mary Kay Murphy – Gwinnett County Schools
Sabrina Smith – Gwinnett Citizens for Responsible Government
Demming Bass – Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
B.J. Van Gundy – E2 Assure
Butch Poss – United Gwinnett Community HOA Alliance
Bob Griggs – Talk Gwinnett
Jim Pack – President (retired) Gwinnett Federal Savings & Loan
Jeremy Brand – What a Waste Gwinnett
Bruce Levell – Gwinnett Village CID
George Thorndyke – Commercial Property Consultants
Sgt. R.E. Long of the local Police Union
A Representative of Save Our Dacula Library
Danny Porter – Gwinnett District Attorney
Butch Conway – Gwinnett Sheriff
And Gwinnett elected and appointed public officials
Please feel free to call Sabrina at 770-572-5888 or send me an email at GCFRG@yahoo.com if you have any questions or suggestions.
Trash Report due out in October… Who got called?
Aug 20th
AJC Article by Patrick Fox: Solid waste plan report due in Oct.
The firm hired to draw up a study for Gwinnett County’s solid waste plan told officials Tuesday the report should be completed by mid-October.
So we have to wait until October to see what the consultants are going to recommend. I find it interesting it that it takes that long to compile feed back from 600+ people when the majority of those said they wanted their own choice. So who was one of the 328 that were contact by phone? Would love to hear from you.
At a special briefing held at the courthouse in Lawrenceville, Abby Goldsmith of the consulting firm R.W. Beck reported it had collected opinions from about 650 people. Of that number, 330 had registered opinions at one of the eight public forums held this summer. Another 328 had been contacted by phone or e-mail.
Kenerly will not seek reelection in 2010
Aug 18th
GDP Article by Camie Young: Long-time Commissioner to step down.
Among a crowd of friends and colleagues, Kenerly announced he would not seek reelection in 2010, ending his 16-year career representing District 4.
We are changing and growing
Aug 15th
Welcome to the new format and changes for GwinnettViews and TrashGwinnett. Please let us know what you think and be patient as we grow our site.
If your previous log in does not work please re-register. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Thanks
Alan
County Administrator Jock Connell to step down
Aug 12th
GDP Article by Camie Young: Connell to leave post
County Administrator Jock Connell will step down at the end of the year, the county’s chief executive officer said Wednesday.
Commissioners have chosen Planning and Development Director Glenn Stephens to replace him, a move expected to become official Tuesday.
“Jock has been the king pin, if you will, since my Day 1,” said Chairman Charles Bannister, who took office in 2005 when Connell became administrator. “He’s performed admirably. … He’s been a great teacher to me.”
“What A Waste Gwinnett” has started an online petition
Aug 12th
“What A Waste Gwinnett” has started an online petition.
Please click on the link above to sign the online petition.
“What A Waste Gwinnett” has joined the trash fiasco fight. Go to their blog to find out about them.
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