Toby Smith comes to office in Watkinsville with an open mind
I wrote the following questionnaire to probable new Watkinsville City Council (barring an unforeseen write-in candidacy) member Toby Smith to try and get some feeling from where he is coming from. To his credit, he responded quickly on an otherwise busy Thursday afternoon.
My memory is somewhat sweaty and cloudy of Toby being a steady (if unspectacular) lanky basketball player from the Herman C. Michael hoops days of 1989 - 94, but I did mute a certain apprehension based on the fact that I had never seen him at any Watkinsville City Council meetings before.
I have not attended every Watkinsville City Council meeting in the last five years, but I would reckon I have witnessed about 70% of them in the last half decade. There is not a true numbered correlation with the answers to the questions, but wanted to leave the numeration on to see how Toby received them.
1. Do you intend to try to reverse any of the actions of the recent council's decision in regards to beer and wine?
2. Are you in favor of a new courthouse in Watkinsville?
3. What are your intentions for the City of Watkinsville as far as improvements?
4. How many Watkinsville City Council meetings have you been to before, and why were you there?
5. How does having two members who live in Christian Lake subdivision alter or change the new Watkinsville City Council?
6. How does your professional experience as an accountant improve your outlook on the city matters?
7. Who do you know previously on the current city council, and have you worked with them in the past in any way?
The following is from Toby:
Dan,
I’ll try to address as many of these as possible. Let me start off by saying, before I attemepted do anything regarding these issues I would make sure I had a clear understanding of the pro’s and con’s of each. While I have initial thoughts about all the items you have listed, I would want to be fully informed before I commented.
My family attends church regularly on Wednesday nights and I travel with work a decent amount of time, which obviously conflicts with the City Council Meetings. That being said, I have not yet attended a council meeting but look forward to doing so and working hard on behalf of the city. I do follow things very closely and read the minutes of the meetings. I also follow several of the Watkinsville blogs and enjoy hearing peoples opinions and thoughts that I may have not been aware of.
One thing having two members of Christian Lake could potentially offer is some exposure to issues a decent size neighborhood faces as opposed to stand alone homes, etc. However, I believe individual’s particular skill sets and background will have more impact on the efficacy of the council, then where they reside. I also don’t view myself as a representative of just Christian Lake on the council and would approach how issues affect all of Watkinsville, not just my neighborhood.
I think my financial background will be of benefit, especially when we start to approach the SPLOST funds Watkinsivlle will be receiving. Matching the actual cash flow of these funds with the execution of the expenditures will be critical, as well as other financial areas. I have a lot of respect for the hard work the current council members have put in. I want to concentrate first on learning quickly about the works in progress, logistics, and where and how I can contribute.
Brian Brodrick and are were in high school at the same time, although he graduated a year before me. Our kids also go to Colham Ferry. However, outside of that I have no professional or personal relationships with any one on the city council.
Toby
My memory is somewhat sweaty and cloudy of Toby being a steady (if unspectacular) lanky basketball player from the Herman C. Michael hoops days of 1989 - 94, but I did mute a certain apprehension based on the fact that I had never seen him at any Watkinsville City Council meetings before.
I have not attended every Watkinsville City Council meeting in the last five years, but I would reckon I have witnessed about 70% of them in the last half decade. There is not a true numbered correlation with the answers to the questions, but wanted to leave the numeration on to see how Toby received them.
1. Do you intend to try to reverse any of the actions of the recent council's decision in regards to beer and wine?
2. Are you in favor of a new courthouse in Watkinsville?
3. What are your intentions for the City of Watkinsville as far as improvements?
4. How many Watkinsville City Council meetings have you been to before, and why were you there?
5. How does having two members who live in Christian Lake subdivision alter or change the new Watkinsville City Council?
6. How does your professional experience as an accountant improve your outlook on the city matters?
7. Who do you know previously on the current city council, and have you worked with them in the past in any way?
The following is from Toby:
Dan,
I’ll try to address as many of these as possible. Let me start off by saying, before I attemepted do anything regarding these issues I would make sure I had a clear understanding of the pro’s and con’s of each. While I have initial thoughts about all the items you have listed, I would want to be fully informed before I commented.
My family attends church regularly on Wednesday nights and I travel with work a decent amount of time, which obviously conflicts with the City Council Meetings. That being said, I have not yet attended a council meeting but look forward to doing so and working hard on behalf of the city. I do follow things very closely and read the minutes of the meetings. I also follow several of the Watkinsville blogs and enjoy hearing peoples opinions and thoughts that I may have not been aware of.
One thing having two members of Christian Lake could potentially offer is some exposure to issues a decent size neighborhood faces as opposed to stand alone homes, etc. However, I believe individual’s particular skill sets and background will have more impact on the efficacy of the council, then where they reside. I also don’t view myself as a representative of just Christian Lake on the council and would approach how issues affect all of Watkinsville, not just my neighborhood.
I think my financial background will be of benefit, especially when we start to approach the SPLOST funds Watkinsivlle will be receiving. Matching the actual cash flow of these funds with the execution of the expenditures will be critical, as well as other financial areas. I have a lot of respect for the hard work the current council members have put in. I want to concentrate first on learning quickly about the works in progress, logistics, and where and how I can contribute.
Brian Brodrick and are were in high school at the same time, although he graduated a year before me. Our kids also go to Colham Ferry. However, outside of that I have no professional or personal relationships with any one on the city council.
Toby
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