Joe Walter and Melvin Davis lay out their T-SPLOST plans
There is a long way to go and much winnowing down of desires before Oconee County gets to vote on whether to add a penny to pay for transportation projects in August of 2012, but we have our lists better ready than our neighboring counties to begin construction of many needed potential T-SPLOST projects.
That was the gist of the presentation to an intimate gathering of concerned Democratic committee members Maundy Thursday evening who listened to Watkinsville Mayor Joe Walter list three and Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis discuss a dozen different decisions where this added cent could facilitate projects like the long sought after bypass around Bishop.
Traffic circles could be in the future for Oconee County. These have been implemented successfully in the Druid Hills section of DeKalb County near Emory University where traffic is horrendous very near 24 hours a day and seven days a week anywhere inside the Atlanta Perimeter. Chairman Davis talked about the many widening projects to Jimmy Daniel and Union Church, to name just a few.
Bike lanes and sidewalks will be coming to Mars Hill Road widening regardless of whether these T-SPLOST, as will the new Jennings Mill Connector provide a route from Lowe's across the 10 Loop. Will these impress enough Oconee County voters to make them want to pay a penny more tax to do so? We shall see. The list will be finalized in the coming weeks after some roundtable discussion and going back and forth with the chair of the GDOT.
Watkinsville may get the sidewalks and buying of the rights of way on Harden Hill and Simonton Bridge, working with the county on that latter project. The much-ballyhooed Simonton Road bypass which would basically connect the car wash/Chicken Express area past the cemetery to somewhere down by Morgan Manor may not see the turning of dirt until 2020, but at least it is on the project list, agreed Walter and Davis.
Davis was the man of the hour as the news of State Representative Hank Huckaby's apparent appointment to the Chancellor of the University System as the only finalist will take a fortnight to formalize, but had been on the mind of the Chairman for at least a little while as he has been discussing the possibility of discussing it with his wife. He was coy when I asked him how long he had known about the impending Huckaby resignation of the statehouse seat. Davis also did not balk at my depiction of the seeming political logic of him getting out of the way of the Chuck Horton - Sarah Bell battle for the BOC Chair in 2012.
Thank you to Oconee County Middle School nurse Kathleen Fitzgerald from the Oconee County Cycling Organization for coming to explain what they needed in four volunteers Saturday morning, May 7 as part of the Tour D'Oconee - Tame the Lion. Thank you to Oconee County Democratic committee member Diane Jeffreys for always being so positive and happy. Thank you to Terry Wilkerson for bringing a fresh and seasoned perspective to a lot of issues at the meeting. I am really grateful we are getting new people in the tent of the Democratic Party in Oconee County, Georgia, if even one vote at a time.
Next month we will have Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Mike Berlon appear at 7:30 pm Thursday, May 19. His predecessor Jane Kidd and I were in discussion about a powerful, well connected female Democratic candidate for the 113th versus Davis or whomever.
Governor Nathan Deal has the power to announce a nonstandard special election day in advance of the special legislative session August 15th. That would probably mean a late June or no later than mid-July date (pure speculation on my part) because you have to factor in a possible run-off election a week or two later.
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| Mayor Joe Walter and Chairman Melvin Davis |
That was the gist of the presentation to an intimate gathering of concerned Democratic committee members Maundy Thursday evening who listened to Watkinsville Mayor Joe Walter list three and Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis discuss a dozen different decisions where this added cent could facilitate projects like the long sought after bypass around Bishop.
Traffic circles could be in the future for Oconee County. These have been implemented successfully in the Druid Hills section of DeKalb County near Emory University where traffic is horrendous very near 24 hours a day and seven days a week anywhere inside the Atlanta Perimeter. Chairman Davis talked about the many widening projects to Jimmy Daniel and Union Church, to name just a few.
Bike lanes and sidewalks will be coming to Mars Hill Road widening regardless of whether these T-SPLOST, as will the new Jennings Mill Connector provide a route from Lowe's across the 10 Loop. Will these impress enough Oconee County voters to make them want to pay a penny more tax to do so? We shall see. The list will be finalized in the coming weeks after some roundtable discussion and going back and forth with the chair of the GDOT.
Watkinsville may get the sidewalks and buying of the rights of way on Harden Hill and Simonton Bridge, working with the county on that latter project. The much-ballyhooed Simonton Road bypass which would basically connect the car wash/Chicken Express area past the cemetery to somewhere down by Morgan Manor may not see the turning of dirt until 2020, but at least it is on the project list, agreed Walter and Davis.
Davis was the man of the hour as the news of State Representative Hank Huckaby's apparent appointment to the Chancellor of the University System as the only finalist will take a fortnight to formalize, but had been on the mind of the Chairman for at least a little while as he has been discussing the possibility of discussing it with his wife. He was coy when I asked him how long he had known about the impending Huckaby resignation of the statehouse seat. Davis also did not balk at my depiction of the seeming political logic of him getting out of the way of the Chuck Horton - Sarah Bell battle for the BOC Chair in 2012.
Thank you to Oconee County Middle School nurse Kathleen Fitzgerald from the Oconee County Cycling Organization for coming to explain what they needed in four volunteers Saturday morning, May 7 as part of the Tour D'Oconee - Tame the Lion. Thank you to Oconee County Democratic committee member Diane Jeffreys for always being so positive and happy. Thank you to Terry Wilkerson for bringing a fresh and seasoned perspective to a lot of issues at the meeting. I am really grateful we are getting new people in the tent of the Democratic Party in Oconee County, Georgia, if even one vote at a time.
Next month we will have Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Mike Berlon appear at 7:30 pm Thursday, May 19. His predecessor Jane Kidd and I were in discussion about a powerful, well connected female Democratic candidate for the 113th versus Davis or whomever.
Governor Nathan Deal has the power to announce a nonstandard special election day in advance of the special legislative session August 15th. That would probably mean a late June or no later than mid-July date (pure speculation on my part) because you have to factor in a possible run-off election a week or two later.
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