Questions About Melvin Davis' $ 26 Million Road Project

Today's special guest blog appearance is courtesy of former BOC chair Wendell T. Dawson. Lucy Rowland and Heidi Davidson make a cameo appearance....

6-21-08 Questions About Melvin Davis’ $ 26 Million Road Project

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Rowland also called the circumstances of the special meeting, which quickly was scheduled last week, "strange."

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"I don't recall something coming in like this (in the past)," said Rowland, a longtime MACORTS member and current chairwoman of the Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission.

 

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June 20, 2008

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Questions About Melvin Davis’ $ 26 Million Road Project

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By Wendell Dawson, Editor, AVOC, Inc

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Despite Melvin Davis’ claims, this project just recently went public.    There is more to it than has been reported.   Who will benefit from this short, expensive project?

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Who was paid $ 6 Million for right of way?

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The Oconee County Grand Jury and Citizens Groups need to investigate this deal!

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6-21-08 “The Melvin Davis Record” – Road Improvements Falter – Part 4

4-25-08 GA DOT - Funds Shortage – Sales Taxes –Romance- Local Projects Status

4-7-08 Oconee Connector $ 26 million Project is more than a Name Change

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The Athens Banner-Herald

http://onlineathens.com/stories/062008/news_20080620015.shtml

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June 20, 2008

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Mayor to DOT: Are road projects frozen or not?

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By Adam Thompson

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Athens-Clarke Mayor Heidi Davison on Thursday asked state transportation officials to make up their minds - are future road projects frozen or not?

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Davison said she was confused recently when DOT officials green-lighted more construction money for a new road in Oconee County, just weeks after saying they were shifting projects and narrowing focus because of a budget crisis.

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"This is not about Oconee County, and it's not about the project. It's about fairness," Davison said Thursday at a called meeting of MACORTS, the tri-county transportation planning committee.

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Though the committee later voted unanimously to increase the Oconee project's budget to $ 26 million, Davison and another MACORTS member, Lucy Rowland, said they'd like a letter from DOT officials explaining exactly what "frozen" means.

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Rowland also called the circumstances of the special meeting, which quickly was scheduled last week, "strange."

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"I don't recall something coming in like this (in the past)," said Rowland, a longtime MACORTS member and current chairwoman of the Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission.

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A DOT planner, meanwhile, maintained Thursday there's no difference between what the department has said in recent months and what it's doing now.

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DOT simply is funding projects that are ready to go, planner Cindy VanDyke told Davison.

The Oconee Connector - expected to ease traffic and open up land for development between Epps Bridge Parkway and Georgia Highway 316 - already was budgeted for 2009, VanDyke said.

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When DOT officials realized their estimate for the project was too low, they had to ask MACORTS to amend its transportation improvement program, she said………………….

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The extra $ 4.5 million in federal money for the Oconee Connector will come from other projects in the 10th Congressional District that aren't as far along, officials said.

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Officials have been pushing hard for the road for years because it's needed, said Oconee County Commission Chairman Melvin Davis.

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"This project has been on the books for, God, I don't know how long," Davis said…………………