Oconee County, GA Politics

Lee Becker once again effects positive change on the Oconee County, Georgia government with repeated and successful Open Records requests making more public and noticed. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lee Becker < lbbecker@mindspring.com > Date: Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 9:51 PM Subject: County Agrees to Follow Open Meetings Law To: lbbecker@mindspring.com Dear Friends, Without admitting any wrongdoing in the past, Oconee County has informed the state's Attorney General that it plans to notify the public of meetings of its Drought Contingency Committee and of meetings of other advisory committees in the future in keeping with the state's Open Meetings Law. Documents provided by the county in response to an open records request I filed on May 13, 2008, showed that the Drought Contingency Committee met on Feb. 19, 2008, and approved an increase in water rates for residential users of the county. The county did not provide any evidence of advance notice of ...

Lee Becker never ceases to amaze me, taking a topic as dry as water and making it as moist and vital to every voter. Dear Friends, Unless you've been doing a lot of sprinkling of your lawn, you probably have not noticed that Oconee County increased its water rates on April 1. Under the guise of conservation pricing, the increase for those using more than 12,000 gallons per month was 30 percent. The head of the citizen committee that reviewed and approved these increases acknowledged, however, that it isn't clear these rate changes really will reduce demand for water–which is the stated goal of conservation pricing. Moody's Investors Service viewed the increase simply as an attempt by the county to increase water revenue as a run up to the sale of revenue bonds for the Hard Labor Creek reservoir in Walton County. The push for the rate increase came from Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis, but the other members of the Board went along with the increase with little d...

Dear Friends, I want to call your attention to two items of significance to those of us concerned about water and other environmental issues affecting Oconee County. First is a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday (January 22) in Masters Hall in the Georgia Center on the University of Georgia campus to discuss the proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, which would be located on South Milledge avenue near the Middle Oconee River separating Clarke and Oconee counties. At the meeting, Edward Hammond, U.S. director of the Sunshine Project, an international watchdog agency opposed to biological warfare, will be speaking. Hammond is being brought to Athens by FAQ, a local group trying to make sure people are informed about the project. The second item is the public notice that Walton County is seeking a reissuance of its permit to discharge 3.4 million gallons per day of treated sewage water to Jacks Creek, a tributary to the Apalachee. As a point of reference, the proposed upgrade to th...

Please take advantage of one of the upcoming opportunities on December 5th, 10th, and 11th to learn more about the draft Statewide Water Plan. Your involvement is needed to create a plan that works for all Georgians. Details on the meetings may be found below. Georgia’s rivers, lakes, and streams are the lifeblood of our state. A draft Statewide Water Plan was released this summer and Georgia’s Water Council is working to finalize it January. However, there are serious flaws in the draft plan that must be fixed now to ensure there will be enough clean water for all Georgians. We Want a Water Plan That : · Protects downstream communities · Is adequately funded · Requires efficient water use everywhere, always · Ensures water clean enough to drink and fish safe enough to eat · Provides for public input and local action The Current Plan Does Not Meet These Goals Because: · It cannot require the Metro North Georgia Water Planning Distric...

Diane Cronin is a concerned homeowner in the Eastern part of Oconee County, much closer to the river than Watkinsville. She has battled clear-cutting developers tearing virgin forests and rare old growth tree thickets to no avail, but now she has State Representative Bob Smith in her sight . Her rage stems from Smith's approach to the exceptional and historic drought crisis, which is give back to landscapers the right to water the lawns. Even the slightly yellowed lawn at Athens Academy's Slaughter football field has survived the drought and frost reasonably well. Now I do not know if the fine landscapers at Athens Academy or elsewhere have used lake water or gray water to keep their fields and lawns reasonably hydrated. I hope no more area landscapers have to deal with the drought to the point of going out of business, but I also know the plans for the Charmar closing were in works for years. Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties are forever joined at the hip legislatively, ec...

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 The hearing to validate the $66,000,000 Oconee County bond issue for its 3.5 million gallons per day share will be held at 9:30AM Nov. 6th at the Walton County Courthouse, Monroe, GA. Citizens who wish to intervene should read the legal announcement published in the Oconee Enterprise 10/25/07 and proceed accordingly. The Tuesday night Board of Commissioners meeting was quite a spectacle, primarily for what was missing. While they spent a considerable amount of time congratulating themselves on how well they have handled the water "crises" and how much water consumption has dropped, not a word was mentioned about the fact that water revenue drops along with reduced water consumption. All that projected revenue used to justify spending so much on so little in Walton County will evaporate just as quickly as the Bear Creek water has evaporated. Not a word was mentioned about long term w...

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Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Just when you think you have heard all the bad news about the Walton County reservoir, comes this. Some will remember that Oconee's cost share for the first phase of the project was originally estimated to be $43,000,000. Sometime later the number being used was $48,000,000. The number used during the very short discussion of the bond issue last night was $49,800,000. Not only that, the Citigroup bond salesman who did part of the presentation recommended the Board approve a bond issue of $66,000,000 at up to 15% interest which the BOC approved with little discussion. The vote was 3-1 with Hale, Luke and Norris voting for the issue. (Hale voted against the original motion, go figure) It now appears that Oconee will have to validate the bonds and the stated reason for the $66,000,000 issue at up to 15% interest was to avoid going back to court to validate each issue of bonds plus a significant amount o...

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Following is a message from Lee Becker with more detailed information on the points residents along Barber Creek hope to have included in the resolution approving the treatment plant expansion. Charles Baugh Dear Friends, The Oconee County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on Sept. 4 on the upgrade to Rocky Branch sewage plant. I will make a presentation justifying our three requests of the Board. We are asking the Board to: 1. Agree to hold discharge water from the Rocky Branch sewage treatment plant in storage facilities when Barber Creek is flooding or threatening to flood, rather than discharge into the Creek; 2. Treat effluent from the Rocky Branch sewage treatment plant to the highest level possible with the technology available and, at a minimum, to the level of treatment at the Hill Plant in Gwinnett County for water being discharged into Lake Lanier; and 3. Set up a system of independe...

Go to the meeting Tuesday night at the Oconee County Board of Commissioners chamber at the Oconee County Courthouse on Main Street in Watkinsville and put in your two cents worth on this multi-million dollar mortgage of our water drinking future. Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Citizens Following is my review notes on the latest version of the intergovernmental contract the Oconee County Board of Commissioners is, I am afraid, about to enter into with Walton County. The draft is posted to the Oconee County web site. I encourage all to read the contract and would appreciate any feedback, particularly if you do not agree with my assessment of the contract. I know that many did read the first version which was approved by the Walton County Commission and I heard from some of you. The contract is on the BOC agenda for discussion at the Tuesday 8/28 meeting. The Board may take citizen comments on the contract. It would be good if citizens c...

Here is the article from the Athens Banner-Herald and below is a letter from Charles Baugh. I think it is well past time that we need to get some quality candidates to run against Luke and Norris and even Chairman Davis. Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 The Board of Commissioners voted to join with Walton County in the troubled Hard Labor Creek water project. Commissioners Davis, Norris and Luke voted to enter into an agreement which will ultimately cost Oconee in excess of $105,000,000 plus interest with the initial cost to be in excess of $45,000,000 and only 3.5MGD of water. Here is how the vote went. Commissioner Horton moved they vote not to participate in the Walton project and Commissioner Hale seconded. Commissioners Luke and Norris voted against the motion and Commission Davis voted against to break the tie. Commissioner Luke moved to enter into an agreement with Walton County which was seconded by Commissioner Norris. Hale a...

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 This is a reminder that the BOC will probably vote on the water reservoir at tomorrow nights meeting. It is the first item on the agenda. I know many of you have called, written and emailed the Board on this issue. Many also attended the 2 meetings at which the issue was discussed. Please do it one more time. The Commissioners should be looking at a full house when they vote. I have sent a great deal of information on the issue and the alternatives so I won't recount those now. I am including the text of a letter that was printed in the Banner Herald on the 26th written by Jerry Studdard that summarizes the issues quite nicely. Please turn out one more time. Charles Baugh The Athens Banner-Herald http://onlineathens.com/stories/022607/letters_20070226002.shtml . February 26, 2007 LETTERS . Jerry Studdard: Major questions linger on Oconee water issue ....

As expected the water issue is on the agenda for the Board's 2/27 meeting. There are several issues around this decision that have not been adequately worked and resolved. Less costly alternatives, inflated population estimates, and lack of an intergovernmental agreement are most important. Once again call, email or have a direct conversation with as many Board members as you can before the 27th. Plan to be there for the meeting. The vote is number one on the agenda. The Board needs to be looking at a standing room only crowd when they vote. The agenda follows this message. Charles Baugh AGENDA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF OCONEE COUNTY, GEORGIA Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Commission Meeting Chambers Oconee County Courthouse 7:00 p.m. 1. Consider future water sources for Oconee County. 2. Consider approval of Comprehensive Plan Community Assessment. (Wayne Provost) 3. Consider approval of Community Partici...

Citizens for Oconee's Future, Inc. P. O. Box 1301 Watkinsville, GA 30677 The Oconee Board of Commissioners did not vote on the water project tonight. The Chairman ran the meeting as a meeting to get more citizen input. It is probable that a vote could come at the next agenda setting meeting which is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 27th. Hold this on your calendars and I will let you know once I confirm that it is on the agenda. Thanks to all who came out tonight. The meeting room was full with some standing outside. Ten citizens made presentations. A representative from the Jasper County Water and Sewer Authority discussed the proposed South River (Snapping Shoals) project as a less expensive option. An Oconee citizen with an interest in the proposed Jacks Creek project discussed the project as a less expensive alternative and another Oconee citizen with extensive experience in the use of groundwater as a source presented a paper on the feasibility of meeting our needs with grou...

Dear Concerned Citizens, I hold everyone's email addresses with the greatest of reserve and use them only to advise you of an up coming educational program being offered by OCRG or an issue I find to be of utmost importance to us all. It is this reason that I am forwarding to all of you the following email I received. Until I read the following argument, I felt the only argument for not being in favor of the Hard Labor Creek reservoir was the desire to contain growth. Though this is an argument many of us make it is an argument that has proven futile. The following letter from Mr. Tal Thompson a citizen of Walton County is an argument we all need to be aware of. I will be following this email with a second email from Mr. Thompson containing a letter from Mr Charles Jones the former CEO of Oconee County's consulting firm JJ&G. Please take the time to read these emails and come to the Commission Meeting this Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm in the Court House. Mary Mellein p...