TODAY'S ISSUE
Vacant house ordinance proposed by Snellville councilman
By Bruce Garraway
City Councilman, Snellville
Special to GwinnettForum

SNELLVILLE, Ga. April 21, 2006 -- With the help of City Attorney Thomas Mitchell, I have penned an ordinance calling for annual registration of vacant buildings within city limits of Snellville. This ordinance will have a sliding annual fee scale with a maximum of $5,000 a year if the property has been vacant 10 years or more.

Garraway

This type of ordinance is catching on in cities all over the country. The model ordinance for this concept is found at Wilmington, Del. There is a national group dedicated to solving this and other blight abatments at www.vacantproperties.org.

My intention is for the city to be more pro-active and aggressive, with this a "Broken Windows" type of initiative.

This preventive approach requires owners of properties that have become vacant or abandoned for a certain length of time to register formally with city hall. This provides the local government with a point of contact in case a property becomes a public nuisance. It also encourages the owner to devise a timely rehabilitation plan and demonstrate progress in attempting to lease, sell or re-develop those buildings that might otherwise fall into disuse and become havens for illegal behavior, or cause blight.

The longer the property remains vacant, the greater the fee. These fees can help cover the cost for the city to monitor, inspect and re-inspect the property routinely. Such inspection also helps prevent vacant buildings from becoming eyesores and thereby decreasing the values of surrounding properties.

A vacant building has the potential to become a de-stabilizing factor in any community. I am hoping that, by addressing this potential problem early enough, it won't become a problem and negatively impact all those who call Snellville home.

The ultimate result of vacant property is the spiral of blight. People's greatest financial investment, their homes, are reduced in value by vacant buildings. They symbolize that no one cares, which stimulates further decline and allows crime to gain a foothold. Businesses and families will want to locate elsewhere in a more attractive city. Real estate is influenced by many "psychological factors." We must stop the negative ones.
With

Snellville has always been a cutting edge community in its quality of life ordinances. It has a strict tree preservation and replanting ordinance, a tough commercial lighting ordinance to give Snellville a dark sky, and quality of life ordinance, both on commercial and residential through code enforcement. This proposed property value protection ordinance fits right in to the "smart growth-New Urbanism" style of government and objectives that have been taking place in Snellville for the last six years.

Please join the Council on May 8 at 7:30 p.m. for a second reading and hopeful adoption of this property value protection ordinance.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Minority party seeking candidates needs to offer training
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

APRIL 21, 2006 -- Come Monday, anyone interested in running for elective office this year will have four and a half days to pay their fees to run for office. That's right, "Qualifying Week" for the 2006 primary is just around the corner. You have until noon Friday, April 28, to determine if you will be a candidate. The primary is July 18 this year, with the General Election on November 7.

Brack

This year the highlight race will be for governor, perhaps followed closely by the lieutenant governor race. Other Constitutional officers will be elected: secretary of state, attorney general, school superintendent, commissioners of insurance, agriculture and labor, three public service commissioners, and four Supreme Court and Appeals Court judges.

In legislative races, Gwinnett will vote on seven different state Senate positions, and all or part of 15 House races. Then there are three Superior Court seats to be voted on, plus two state court positions, two county commissioners two school board slots and a solicitor general. Whew!

Here in Gwinnett, no doubt the Republican Party will field candidates in nearly all races. After all, Republicans have dominated the county office holders in recent years, though Democrats have made some inroads lately.

As in any county where one party dominates, the opposing party often finds it difficult to field candidates. The assumption is that the majority party will win, so why bother to run? This is a spiral, which causes fewer from the minority party to run.

What the party in the minority in any community needs to be doing (Democrats in Gwinnett) is the "heavy lifting," you might say. They need to be diligent in training potential candidates for office.

But it should not start this training this weekend. The party out-of-power, to get back in office, needs to offer this training continually, 12-18 months in advance. It needs its own "Leadership Academy," providing a curriculum of courses for potential candidates. Among the topics that should be addressed in a series of meetings over a year's time:

• Are you sure you want to be a candidate?
• What it takes to be a candidate.
• Where to find your best support.
• Techniques of effective campaigning.
• How to enlist volunteers to help campaign.
• Effectiveness of campaign consultants.
• How best to knock on doors.
• Framing issues for your benefit.
• Handling the media during a campaign.

Two years from now, when qualifying opens for 2008, the minority party could then have a bona fide cadre of trained candidates, chomping at the bit to run. Good management by the party can ensure this. Perhaps the party could even pay the qualifying fee for all the potential candidates who complete the year of campaign techniques. This would at least show the party's support of new candidates to take on the majority party.

Such a template could work throughout the country. Most of the time, the party on the "outs" gives very little encouragement and help in fielding candidates. Just before qualifying, most local minority parties spin their wheels trying to find candidates. The basic qualification by then is that a person be "breathing." By then, it's too late for most people. Not much thought will have gone into candidate screening and education.

It would be a major help if any jurisdiction's local minority party were organized enough to cultivate candidates, rather than take what walks in the door.

ABOUT OUR SPONSORS

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's highlight sponsor is the Gwinnett Council for the Arts, a non-profit organization which runs the Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Arts. It is supported through the generosity of many private patrons, corporations and foundations. Now at the Hudgens Center for the Arts: Held over by popular demand! Picasso: 25 Years of Edition Ceramics, from the south of France. Now through May 20, 2006. Admission : $7. Special Rates for Students/Seniors and Groups. Hours for the main galleries are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Children's Gallery is open to the public Tuesday - Friday from 1-5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Closed Sundays and Mondays. More information is available at its web site: www.artsgwinnett.org.

For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm

McLEMORE'S WORLD
4/21: You see higher prices everywhere!

Another great cartoon from Bill McLemore:

FEEDBACK
4/21: "Lake Train" would beautifully complement "Brain Train"

Editor, the Forum:

I'm very impressed with Emory Morsberger's "Brain Train" concept along the CSX rail tracks between Athens and Atlanta, through Gwinnett.

Ironically, just as this concept was in the works, I began discussions with key leaders at Norfolk Southern about the idea of establishing a similar commuter "Lake Train" that would run between Gainesville and the Brookwood Station in midtown Atlanta. Stops would include key cities along the route in Hall and Gwinnett County.

I have been in contact with Wick Moorman, CEO of Norfolk Southern. I received a nice follow-up call from Bill Schafer on his staff who provided excellent background info on the whole history of efforts to establish commuter rail in metro Atlanta.

The exciting thing was that Schafer told me that Norfolk Southern was not opposed to exploring the possibilities. However, they have seen so many previous efforts go nowhere that they are not actively supporting any planning studies at this time. Also, they have significant issues in connection with what they call "transparency". The bottom line is that while they want to support any effort that can be properly funded, they must ensure that their future growth needs are addressed. This seems like a very reasonable approach.

Have you heard anyone else discuss this idea? Any thoughts on how we could make this happen? While the Brain Train is an excellent idea, I believe from a purely "commuter" standpoint, the "Lake Train" would be more heavily used.

-- Dave Rosselle, Pendergrass

Dear Dave:

The idea has been floated before, but as in the case with the CSX route, not much concrete has resulted. However, you can take heart from the last time there was a vote on extending MARTA through Gwinnett. While a vast majority of Gwinnett citizens were against the idea, some 43 per cent of those precincts in the Norcross to Buford corridor (along the Norfolk Southern tracks) were in favor of commuter rail.

One more aspect: around the turn of the Century, a storied train, the "Belle," had daily service between Toccoa and Atlanta, with many people from Gwinnett with jobs in Atlanta making use of the train, morning and night. Sounds like you are on to something similar. --eeb

4/21: Feels backlog of EEOC cases means system becomes useless

(Editor's Note: while we don't routinely withhold names, it's perhaps best in the case of this letter writer, since the case is pending, and there's no need to prejudice it. -eeb)

Editor, the Forum:

Employees who are discriminated against appear to be victimized twice, once by the person/group practicing discrimination and then again by the EEOC, which is swamped, or so it appears. According to their representative I was informed that because of the volume of written claims, it takes four or more weeks to get an interview and that only claims submitted in person are processed timely. According to the rep, it then takes another six to twelve months to investigate if a claim appears valid.

Therefore, 180 days afterward, an employer such as mine, who realized that they are liable, and who obviously is aware of the stagnation in the EEOC process, now has time to cover up and to prepare their defense. (My company did, a week ago, when their attorney asked me to only speak with Senior VP of HR). I am waiting to learn if I even have a case (which I don't doubt) from my representatives----EEOC.

Meanwhile several other associates, who have filed previous claims with the EEOC and sought private attorneys, have had cases dropped solely because they ran out of time and/or were told by the EEOC that their file had been misplaced/lost. How can this be allowed to happen? In claims similar to mine, over 80 percent of the cases published have been won. However, Georgia has only one case mentioned in the entire database dating back to 1995. That tells me that Georgia EEOC does not get many cases, or that there is some internal processes that are preventing them from efficiently protecting Georgia residents from discrimination.

I am no longer surprised to hear the reluctance of Georgia attorneys who practice in this area. I am also not surprised that employers such as mine believe they can get away with discriminatory practices. In fact, the statistics for Georgia are so low that one would assume that it would be the ideal place to ignore such rights.

Employees wait for months to get heard by the EEOC, only to discover that they are turned away, but then allowed to pursue their own civil suit. Not many attorneys are willing to touch a case that the EEOC has denied. It's disheartening and leaves one to ask "Is there justice or just a perceived notion of it?"

I now have doubts about my own case. Not that I don't believe I have a case, but are the resources available that are suppose to be? And are they capable of enforcing the law?

Is there a gap in the system? Maybe. In any case, if you have ever been discriminated against regardless of your background, it makes you wonder, "Is there justice or just-us?"

-- Name Withheld

4/21: Compassionate friends walk third of way toward goal

Editor, the Forum:

Let me update you on the progress of our team in the The Compassionate Friends Walk to Remember. After only 30 days we have raised more than $1,800 and are more than one-third of the way towards our goal of $5,000.

Most of you know that I have been very involved in TCF since my son, Lance, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1995. TCF helped me recover from that tragedy and I want to help insure it is there for other parents in the future. The Walk to Remember is a major fundraiser for TCF and more that 80 percent of every dollar raised goes directly to programs and services for bereaved parents.

If you want to be part of the Team Malone effort simply click on:
http://www.walktoremember.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=158227&u=158227-120892376&e=573031233

Thank you for your past and current support.

-- Pat Malone, Snellville

UPCOMING
Gwinnett Community Band plans next concerts April 22-23

The Gwinnett Community Band will present two patriotic concerts honoring the nation's military, on Saturday, April 22, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 23, at 7 p.m. The event will be at the Mormon Church on Suwanee Dam Road. The Sugar Hill Stake choir will join the Band in the concert.

The Gwinnett Band is an adult band of approximately 60 members, who play about 12 concerts a year. The Band performs a variety of music; symphonic, pop, swing and Broadway musicals.

New musicians are welcome to join the band. No audition is required. The Band is looking for French Horn, bassoon, tuba, and trumpet players, as well as percussionists. However, all who play instruments are welcome.

For more information, call the director, Ron Brooks, at 770-945-8734 or Mike Fogle, president, at 770-813-8810.

The Gwinnett Community Band Web site is http://www.gwinnettband.org.

Future concerts are:

* May 9 - A joint concert with The Meadowcreek High School Band at 7 p.m., to be held in the High School Fine Arts Center.

* May 21 - A concert in Duluth at 3:20 p.m. for the "Barefoot in The Park" Art Festival.

* July 3 - An evening concert celebrating Independence in Norcross. Bring a picnic dinner, and enjoy the festivities and fireworks after the concert.

Stormwater utility offers open house on April 26 at night

Gwinnett County will give residents a chance to meet the staff of its newly formed stormwater utility and ask questions about the drainage and pollution control services they will provide.

The Open House will take place on Wednesday, April 26 between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the auditorium breezeway at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville.

The new utility will support activities such as fixing drainage problems, reducing stream bank erosion, fulfilling regulatory requirements and reducing pollution carried by stormwater to our waterways. It will be funded by an annual user fee that property owners will receive beginning this summer.

An informal meeting format will offer information on stormwater utility basics, service fee estimates, floodplain mapping, the watershed assessment program, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Dams, water quality management, pollution prevention, Gwinnett Adopt-A-Stream, detention ponds and other stormwater best management practices (BMPs), and drainage system repair.

NOTABLE
Braselton smallest finalist for All-America City honors

The National Civic League announced today that Braselton is a finalist for a prestigious national recognition, All-America City.

Braselton is one of two Georgia cities to be listed as finalists; Marietta is the other. However, Braselton is the smallest city in the nation to make the 34-city list. The 2000 census listed Braselton with 1,206 citizens. Columbus, Ohio, with a population exceeding 725,000, is the most populated finalist.

Braselton Mayor Pat Graham says of the announcement: "It is an honor to be a finalist in the National Civic League competition as we're the smallest city competing for the award. We're glad to be recognized for the wonderful attributes and unique quality of life that makes Braselton an All-America City."

Founded in 1949 by the famed pollster George H. Gallup, the National Civic League's annual award recognizes communities of all sizes that work collaboratively to overcome local challenges. It is the nation's original and most prestigious community recognition award.

All finalists will be judged by a screening jury in June in Anaheim, California. Tom Flynn, chair of the screening committee said, "the applications we received this year were as strong as we've seen in some time." For further information, visit www.ncl.org.

RECOMMENDED MOVIE
Match Point, from Woody Allen

"Match Point is a modern Macbeth, depicting mayhem with a twist. Woody Allen's Match Point shows the worst circles in hell are for murderers who do not get caught. Allen's protagonist Wilton murders his pregnant girlfriend to maintain his upper class lifestyle. His crimes were sloppy; clues were left. Wilton more than half-wanted to be caught; that would be at least evidence of a cosmic justice that Wilton despairs is absent. He stoically waits, even yearns, to be caught and punished. For Woody Allen's modern Macbeth, there is no punishment, which turns out to be, for at least one criminal, the worst punishment of all."

-- From James J. Murtagh, Atlanta.

• An invitation: What Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus what book you plan to read next. --eeb
  
  

GEORGIA TIDBIT
Ludowici, famous for red tiles, once known as speed trap

The small town of Ludowici, incorporated in 1905, remains the only incorporated municipality in rural Long County, located in east Georgia. Located between Hinesville and Jesup, Ludowici is accessible by U.S. highways 25, 84, and 301.

Speed trap warning

The area was an agricultural region until the 1840s, when the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, running from Savannah to the western sections of the state, cut through the area. Near the cotton plantation of Allen Johnston, the railroad established a stop referred to as "Four and a Half."

In the early 1900s, the Ludowici-Celadon Roofing Tile Company of Chicago, Illi., began purchasing land along Jones Creek, a tributary of the Altamaha River, on the western side of Johnston Station. Chosen for its supply of quality ceramic clay, mild winters, and transportation facilities, the land became the site of a new "Dixie" plant for the production of ceramic roofing tiles.

Under the direction of German native William Ludowici, the plant covered more than 1,100 acres and was built at a cost of about $75,000. The company employed around 100 local laborers, who produced a daily average of 10,000 tiles, each stamped "Ludowici Dixie." This orange-red tile can still be found throughout Georgia and Florida on such prominent buildings as the U.S. Federal Building in Savannah and Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla. In 1905, when the town erected a new high school, the Ludowici family donated $1,000 toward its construction and provided the roofing tile. In honor of the family's generosity, the citizens renamed their town Ludowici that same year.

In 1914, the tile company closed the plant in Ludowici and moved its operations to a plant in New Lexington, Ohio. Traces of the old plant, known as "the factory," still exist untouched by town expansion.

During the mid-20th century, Ludowici attracted national attention and negative publicity as a speed trap that snared tourists on their way to and from Florida. According to the 2000 U.S. census, the population of Ludowici was 1,440, an increase of 11.5 percent since 1990.

• To access the Georgia Encyclopedia, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
  
  

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Hey! Just what does everyone mean by progress?

"Those who speak most of progress measure it by quantity and not by quality."

-- George Santayana, philosopher, poet, literary and cultural critic, (1863 - 1952).

• Another invitation: What's your favorite saying? Share with others through GwinnettForum. Send to elliott@gwinnettforum.com.
  

MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com

© 2006, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.

Our sponsors

GwinnettForum.com
Number 6.06, April 21, 2006

TODAY'S ISSUE: Snellville Councilman Proposes Ordinance on Vacant Houses
ELLIOTT BRACK: Any Minority Party Needs To Train Potential Candidates
McLEMORE'S WORLD: You See Changing Higher Prices Everywhere
FEEDBACK: How About "Lake Train";' EEOC Complaint; Funds Well on Way
UPCOMING: Community Band Plans Concert; Stormwater Utility Open House
NOTABLE: DBraselton Is Smallest City Competing for All-American City Honors
RECOMMENDED: Match Point, from Woody Allen, via Jim Murtagh
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Ludowici in South Georgia Famous on Two Fronts
TODAY'S QUOTE:Considerations on What Is Meant By Progress


BARBER SHOP. The first businesses are moving into Suwanee's Town Center mixed use area. Executive Barbers is one of the first in the 42,000 square foot facility, along with Sweet Temptations, offering coffee and desserts, and Kevin O'Brien of Ameriprise Financial. (O'Brien and his father own the building.) Other firms signed for the location include BB&T Bank, Imagix dentistry and Ippolito's Italian Restaurant. An open house is set for May 5 at the building.

Click above image to find
lowest gas prices in Atlanta

© 2001-2006, Gwinnett Forum.com is Gwinnett County's online community forum for commentary that explores pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.

PHONE: 770.840.1003
EMAIL: elliott@gwinnettforum.com

Site designed and maintained by
The Brack Group.