Two categories of local government officials

There are times when we look at local government and wonder what in the world they were thinking.

Consider how many times you have heard someone running for office stating how much they love the community, desire to protect the community, and want to improve the community. Then you watch in utter disillusionment as they take one action after another that makes no sense at all.

You can easily divide these wayward local government officials into two categories: don’t care and intentional deceivers.

Category 1: Don’t know, don’t care

The first category is officials who do not know what they are doing and do not care to learn.

The most recent example of this grouping is the total bungling of the new county government animal shelter. In past years, local animal advocacy groups attempted to promote changes in how dogs and cats are processed under the county’s animal control system. The county’s board of commissioners rejected all those efforts, ordering county staff not to even speak to the advocacy groups.

Thinking they knew better, the commissioners proposed to keep the worn, outdated policies and procedures, building a new $3.2 million animal shelter instead.

Upon completion of the new animal shelter, it was extremely apparent that there was no attempt to research how to design an adequate shelter. County taxpayers are shaking their heads in disbelief.

The local animal advocacy groups were kept at arms-length during the design process, and our tax dollars were rolled into an ill-designed project that is less effective than the old shelter facility they abandoned.

Red-faced, county officials began pointing fingers at and blaming the animal advocacy groups who never asked for a new shelter in the first place.

So, did the commissioners and county officials intentionally build the deficient excuse for an animal shelter on purpose? I seriously doubt it because it hurts them politically. However, they certainly proved they were ignorant of how to build such a facility and did not care enough to seek professional guidance, wasting a significant amount of our tax dollars.

A non-government Fayette County Community Animal Task Force has been created to force the county government to resolve the issues with the new animal shelter (see: https://thecitizen.com/2024/06/04/fayette-county-needs-help-steering-the-bus/).

Historic defeat

Unfortunately, the county board of commissioners landed in the “don’t care” category, again, with the approval of a gas station and strip shopping center across the road from the historic landmark Starr’s Mill site. The mill has long been considered one of the most photogenic sites in Fayette County and Georgia, appearing all over the internet.

While on the board of commissioners, I put a lot of effort into preserving the few historical structures remaining in Fayette County. Those structures include New Hope Primitive Baptist Church, the old county courthouse building, Starr’s Mill, and some historic cemeteries.

I worked with the county planning staff on creating an overlay zone on the adjacent properties around the mill site that created additional zoning restrictions for site design and architecture that blended with that of the mill. At the time, the board was pushing to have professional buildings (doctors, dentists, attorneys, etc.) on the surrounding properties because it would be easier to match the architectural style of the mill building.

To the dismay of many, the board of commissioners approved a rezoning for one of the worst-case scenarios with the gas station and the strip shopping center in 2022. The approval flew under the public radar as the Covid-19 drama was a primary focus.

The problem with the gas station and strip shopping center is it’s a horrible idea to have a fuel station or chemical usage near the confluence of Camp Creek and Whitewater Creek (our drinking water supply). It’s a genuine water quality issue.

Likewise, the modern gas station is a horrible architectural blending issue for the Starr’s Mill site. And from a practical perspective, the traffic from a gas station at the intersection of Georgia Highways 85 and 74 is a really bad idea.

The renderings of the buildings proposed by the developer are low-budget horrendous. The rezoning was approved by the commissioners with those cheap-looking architectural drawings.

Did the board ever research previous commissioners’ prior work on the overlay zoning and the discussions related to the sites adjacent to Starr’s Mill? It looks as though that never happened.

Did the commissioners ever care about preserving the historical feel and integrity of that very small but notable slice of Fayette County? Apparently, they did not.

Fayette County resident and FOX 5 news broadcaster Doug Evans also covered this issue (see: https://fox5atlanta.com/news/fayette-county-debates-impact-gas-station-beloved-starrs-mill-landmark).

Shocking results in Fayetteville

When the city council in Fayetteville began working on the then-secret project, later revealed as the huge data centers, did any of them research to see what was required? I can answer that: no, they did not.

There was no evaluation of electrical capacity requirements and the impact on Fayette County residents and their property values. Chalk up another one in the “don’t care” column.

Local homeowners were blindsided by Georgia Power playing the role of the 800-pound gorilla, planting high-voltage power lines right in their backyards.

Did the city council negotiate with the electrical utility and the developer as part of the development agreement on the least harmful placement of the new huge high-voltage lines leading to the data centers? I can answer that: no, they did not.

Did the city council meet with adjacent homes and subdivisions to brief them on their intentions and ask for feedback? No, they did not. Had they done so, the homeowners would have done the research that the city government should have performed.

To say the local residents are very concerned is an understatement (see: https://thecitizen.com/2024/04/29/warning-high-voltage-lines-for-data-center-bring-health-risks/).

The city council was most likely too busy planning the next allotments of huge stacked multi-family residential complexes in what used to be a place with a great small-town vibe, attracting quality families.

Citizens in Fayetteville are dreading the announcement of another top-secret project landing on 178 acres near the downtown (see: https://thecitizen.com/2024/04/22/still-secret-178-acre-project-moves-forward-with-unanimous-go-ahead-vote-by-fayetteville-council/). The city council has a bad habit of thrusting the large developments on the citizens with almost no citizen input.

Do the council members care about quality of life issues like traffic, school crowding, and public safety? I do not see it. The city is pondering yet another annexation and rezoning for 273 apartments on East Weatherly Drive off Ga. Highway 54 East. Will your property tax bill continue to grow to pay for the city council’s urban development folly?

Category 2: Pulling the wool over constituents’ eyes

The second category is intentional deceivers. The most prominent actor in this category has been Peachtree City Mayor Kim Learnard.

Learnard knows how the system works, knows the law, and is acting intentionally. She took over all the communications of the city to the exclusion of all other council members (see: https://thecitizen.com/2024/05/06/welcome-to-the-taxpayer-supported-mayor-kim-learnard-channel-all-kim-all-the-time/).

Now, she wants to create an $80,000-per-year communications director position to consolidate and focus on her agenda messaging even more. Meanwhile, you buy fewer groceries for the dollar while paying more taxes.

Learnard’s deeds have been deliberate and covered in political puffery (see examples: https://thecitizen.com/2024/02/19/mayor-wants-her-way-heres-a-list-so-far/).

A recent example is when she gave significant across-the-board employee pay and pension increases and bonuses while telling the television news stations it would “not cost the taxpayers a dime” (see: https://thecitizen.com/2023/04/10/mayor-misleads-about-cost-of-city-pay-raises/). She thinks you are stupid enough to believe it.

Another recent example would be her harsh restrictions on public speech in public government meetings (see: https://thecitizen.com/2024/04/01/warning-subversion-of-public-access-to-the-agenda-for-the-peachtree-city-council-is-coming/). There is only one reason to squelch public speech.

Under the direction of then-Mayor Vanessa Fleisch and current Mayor Learnard, the city’s planning department is being used as a weapon against our planned community (see: https://thecitizen.com/2023/08/21/planning-department-warring-against-long-standing-peachtree-city-plan/).

Where the other jurisdictions either do not know what they are doing or do not care, Learnard is on a mission. She knows that to forward her change-the-city agenda she must restrict opposing measures from her colleagues and silence public criticism.

Unfortunately, Learnard has two council members who are uninformed and inexperienced enough to help her achieve her goals.

So, what now?

Someone once said, “The quality of our lives depends not on whether or not we have conflicts, but on how we respond to them.” How do you intend to respond?

If you do not vote in local elections, blame yourself for local problems. If you do not communicate your displeasure to our elected officials, do not expect them to change course.

It’s sadly staggering how things have deteriorated. We are a unique metro Atlanta community and most local folks I speak to do not want to be another Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, or Gwinnett County.

Regrettably, many people do not respond until those bad decisions impact their personal property. By that time, it’s too late.

Those who legislate

If you are in elected office or deciding to run for elected office, you need to understand why people moved to Fayette County and not some other county. Would radical changes in development patterns make us more like the counties our citizens chose to avoid?

Serving in an elected office is not a part-time job if you do it correctly. If you are unwilling to take the time necessary to learn how things work, do not enter the race. If you are not willing to care about the impact your decisions might have on people’s lives and the future of the cities and county, do not enter the race.

Allow someone who is knowledgeable and cares to do the job.

[Brown is a former mayor of Peachtree City and served two terms on the Fayette County Board of Commissioners. You can read all his columns by clicking on his photo below.]