I have been attending the Fayette County Board of Commissioners meetings since April as one of the Animal Advocates Task Force members. Needless to say I am very disheartened with what I am seeing and hearing.

I will admit that my reason for attending was solely to share my displeasure with the new animal shelter and the conditions the dogs and cats are kept in. As I sit through the meetings week after week, I have become so disillusioned with our county government concerning most issues.

For example, the meetings are now at 5:00 p.m. instead of 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. because it is better for the commissioners. It makes it extremely difficult for the working citizens who elected them and have 9 to 5 jobs to attend. Perhaps that’s what the commissioners and county administrator want. No citizens are there to object to their decisions.

One issue our commissioners don’t seem to care about is large group of property owners being affected by the new data center and Georgia Power. Georgia Power is trying to steal their property through eminent domain and run high voltage power lines through their yards. Both the Fayetteville city government and the county government have jerked around these folks.

Our county commissioners listened and offered no help just excuses. I do have to applaud Commissioner [Charles] Rousseau, as I know he has attended gatherings the homeowners have had and is trying to show support.

Did you know that a new gas station complex is being built across from the historic Starr’s Mill? This beautiful Fayette County landmark is being disturbed by this new development. It is also being built near a water source with the potential of polluting the water, not to mention added traffic in an already congested area. Already passed with no recourse for citizens being affected.

At the August 22 meeting our commissioners passed several proposals for rezoning for new home construction. They were impressed that some of the homes would go for close to a million dollars. At the same meeting they denied a military family a special exception to live in an older existing house on the property they inherited while building a new home. There is a current ordinance that says an existing structure can’t be on the property while a new home is being built on said property. The family will tear down the existing home once the new home is finished.

Commissioner Hearn led this family to believe that this kind of exception could be possible only to vote no when the time came. The gentleman has made a career of serving our country and keeping us safe. He is going to retire in a year and wanted to go ahead and get his family settled. He is commuting home every other weekend to be with his family. To try and find a rental home for his family so the existing house can be torn down before the construction of a new home is a financial impossibility for them. Exceptions have been made in the past, but not this time.

It is time for the citizens of Fayette County to show up to meetings or view them from home through the live feed. So much is being decided in a public forum, but since few citizens pay attention, many things are being passed without public knowledge. Once issues are voted on, it’s too late.

They certainly slipped the plans for the new animal shelter right under our noses because we weren’t paying attention. Since April we have complained, begged, nagged for every little improvement made, and we still aren’t getting any of the big-ticket items that are so desperately needed.

As a side note, we the citizens voted in the most recent SPLOST for a $14 million multi-purpose recreation center. It is now in the planning stages. The commissioners and our county administration wasted $3.2 million dollars on the animal shelter because they wouldn’t seek professionals who knew best practices in animal care. Imagine how badly they can misuse $14 million in an attempt to build a new recreation center.

The Animal Advocate Task Force speaks at every meeting asking for much needed improvements to a shelter that is already having system failures in air conditioning, drainage and sewage, electrical issues, etc., not to mention kennels that are already falling apart. They keep saying they are listening and things will get done, but they have a “process” and it takes time.

It is my personal belief that their process is to stall until November. Three of the five commissioners are up for reelection. They seem to believe reelection is a given, and once they are securely back in office they can then ignore us completely. We need change in November, either in our current commissioners’ attitude toward serving the people who elected them or new faces.

Commissioner Maxwell, District 1, Commissioner Hearn, District 2, and Commissioner Oddo, District 5, are all up for reelection. I strongly encourage every one to do some research before early voting begins. (Early voting begins Oct. 14 in Fayette County)

I am in no way telling you who to vote for, but I am asking that you be fully informed. Check out their opponents and make a wise and educated decision on your county leadership. Vickie Butler is challenging Commissioner Maxwell, Bobby Jones is challenging Commissioner Hearn, and Commissioner Oddo is being challenged by Darryl Hicks.

I live in District 2 and plan to attend the meet the candidate for Bobby Jones at the log cabin in Fayetteville on September 7 from 11-4. My plan is to ask questions and be informed. Being informed on who governs us starts at the local level with us. So many decisions are made in plain site and we turn a blind eye.

Information on all six candidates can also be found on the Internet. Let’s make our vote count in November starting at the local level.

Laura Line

Fayetteville, Ga.