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County adopts innovative schedules
to cut fuel costs
By
Shaunieka Taste
Special to GwinnettForum
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., July 3, 2008 -- As fuel expenses increase,
Gwinnett County government is finding ways to reduce consumption
while continuing to provide a high level of service to residents.
Gwinnett County has implemented several initiatives, from allowing
employees to utilize alternative work schedules to reducing the
number of county vehicles on the road in an effort to effectively
reduce fuel costs.
Currently 217 employees in nine departments have flexible work
schedules. As a result of the county's participation in the Clean
Air Campaign, some employees are working two-week cycles of five,
nine-hour days in the first week and three nine-hour and one, eight-hour
day in the second week. This schedule reduces the number of days
by one without reducing the hours an employee works within a two-week
period. This work schedule also applies to employees who are classified
as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act to avoid potential
overtime costs. Other employees are working four, 10-hour days per
week, reducing the number of reporting days by one per week.
The county also encourages employees to participate in the Clean
Air Campaign's Commuter Rewards Program, which provides incentives
such as monthly drawings worth up to $100 for employees who use
carpools, transit and other congestion-reducing methods to get to
work. Representatives from the Clean Air Campaign will hold clean
commute information sessions throughout the month of July to sign
up new participants for the Commuter Rewards Program.
The Department of Water Resources has joined the fuel-saving effort
by increasing their three-man work crews to four-man crews. This
reduces the number of vehicles by one for every 12 employees. The
department also reduced vehicle idling except in circumstances where
safety is an issue.
Police Services has also reduced vehicle idling and requested that
uniform patrol officers turn off their patrol vehicles for at least
30 minutes during each shift. In addition, the department has decreased
the number of in-person incident reports by dispatching minor-incidents
and information-only calls directly to uniformed patrol officers.
Fire and Emergency Services has been proactive in consolidating
or eliminating discretionary travel. For example, firefighters will
refuel vehicles when returning from calls. In addition to reducing
vehicle idling, the department has been conducting staff training
and apparatus repairs at their stations. They have also reduced
the number of apparatus visits to special events, although engagements
already scheduled for June and July will be honored. Also of significance
is the 24-hour on-48-hour off schedule for firefighters, which affects
more than 600 of the department's employees and has been in place
for years. This schedule means that employees travel to work fewer
times during the week and, once they arrive, their vehicles typically
stay parked for 24 hours. As with flexible work schedules implemented
in other departments, the firefighter schedule both decreases personal
operating costs and keeps smog-producing pollutants out of the air
in keeping with the Clean Air Campaign's objectives.
County Administrator Jock Connell says: "We're encouraging
department directors to make the best use of their resources to
provide services to our citizens efficiently and effectively, while
keeping environmental factors such as conservation and cost-saving
efforts and opportunities in mind. We will certainly continue to
explore and implement additional fuel-conservation initiatives where
we can."
Residents are also encouraged to do their part to conserve our
nonrenewable resources. For more information about the Clean Air
Campaign's programs and ways to conserve fuel, visit
www.cleanaircampaign.com.
Watch our for distasteful display of super-patriotism
soon
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
JULY 3, 2008 -- Some people wear their patriotism on their lapels.
Brack |
Some people wear their patriotism on their bodies.
We're rebuffed by both of these.
First, the lapels: since September 11, 2001, politicians of all
stripes, and many individual citizens, too, have latched onto the
American flag lapel pin as their outward sign that they are super
patriots. As for elected public officials, it's to the point that
if they don't wear the lapel pin, many people question not just
their patriotism, but the officials, too.
Folderol. Or baloney. You get the idea. Anyone who thinks they
can fool me into thinking that they believe this way or that way
merely by attaching some symbol to their clothing doesn't strike
me as a person you would want to represent you in government, nor
a person you could trust. It's too much of a short cut. I want to
know far more about them than whether they forgot their red-white-and-blue
symbol today.
A little stronger: I suspect them if they wear such a symbol.
Now about those who show their patriotism by wearing clothing depicting
the American flag: how horrible and unsanitary can you be? If you
are like me and are turned off by people either allowing the American
flag to touch the ground, or in particular if you are turned off
by those people who burned the American flag, how much more does
it desecrate the flag by actually wearing an article of clothing
touching your (sometimes sweaty and dirty) body? Ugh! Such wearing
sends shivers up my back, and again, I question the so-called patriotism
that these people think that shows!
Well, perhaps not ALL clothing. Though we would never wear one,
we would not as much be turned off when someone showed up in a necktie
with flag symbols, or for ladies, with scarves.
Yet there are people who think it is hunky-dory to wear shirts!,
and yes, even shorts and pants (and I suspect underwear!) depicting
the flag symbols. To me, that's far worse than burning the flag,
though we don't approve of that either.
How does it come by? Yes, we know, some designer or manufacturer
came up with this bad idea, put it into production, and some people
were non-thinking enough to buy these items of clothing. "How
pretty, how nice!" they said, also thinking, "And we can
show our colors at the same time."
We respectfully disagree with their way of thinking. Putting items
of clothing depicting the flag against your body is a place of off-limits.
Don't get us wrong: there's nothing wrong with red, white and blue
color on clothing. Just after we wrote this first draft, we saw
a woman dressed in solid blue skirt, plus horizontal alternating
red and white stripe top that was beautiful and fitting as a show
of patriotism. It's just when it also uses white stars with a blue
background, and alternating red and white strips that gets us.
And as far as that goes, we wonder about the so-called "flaggers"
happily wearing items of clothing depicting the flag of the Confederacy,
too. That would also extend to any person from any nation, we suppose,
who would dishonor their country by wearing clothing with their
flag's design.
We plead guilty to being short-fused and limited in our thinking
about so-called clothing patriotism. It's a reflection of the way
we have been trained to respect our nation's colors.
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Gives
us locations if you want to vote in advance
Editor, the Forum;
First I would like to thank the Forum for having the courage to
publish Ms. Lynes-Miller's feedback on Constitutional redress last
Friday. It is far less heinous but equally in line with attempts
at minimizing citizen participation in our democracy on Gwinnett
County's website.
Searching for a list of polling stations throughout the County
for Advanced Voting will mysteriously turn up nothing on the Gwinnett
County website. The lack of obvious direction to something so simple
and so necessary makes one wonder if the County powers that be would
like our participation at all?
A phone call to the County Election offices and I was quickly able
to get direction to the list of polling stations for Advanced Voting
while also discovering that the main polling station for Advanced
Voting has been moved as well, with little mention either.
The Advanced Voting information can be found online under Department
- Elections - Absentee Voting (Civilians) and then you must scroll
way down the page to find the following;
Advanced Voting: Any registered voter who is eligible to vote in
an election(s) may vote advance (in person) on the Monday through
Friday, of the week immediately preceding the election date. Advanced
voting in person occurs in the absentee voting office located at
455 Grayson Highway, Suite 200, Lawrenceville, from 9 a.m. until
4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. Advanced Voting will also be held
at the following 4 satellite sites from 9a.m. until 7p.m.:
- Dacula Activity Building, 2735 Old Auburn Road, Dacula;
- George Pierce Community Center, 55 Buford Highway, Suwanee;
- Singleton Road Activity Building, 5220 Singleton Road, Norcross;
and
- Centerville Community Center,3025 Bethany Church Road, Snellville.
Here is the Web
site.
-- Roger Hagen, Lilburn
Feels Gwinnett traffic
worse in many parts of county
Editor, the Forum:
Lower traffic counts on I-85? Ha!
Might be lower between one exit point (Indian Trail/Jimmy Carter,
a one mile stretch!), but look north! Traffic still stinks and it's
getting worse on back roads and cross county streets. Gwinnett needs
to keep up with the changing traffic patterns better. Look at the
business that have moved into the Duluth/Suwanee area and more are
coming!
I've noticed that since the opening of the 316 west ramps in October
of 2007 the traffic in the mornings has been great (most days) and
it is now real easy to exit at Pleasant Hill each morning on my
way from Dacula to Lilburn.
People aren't driving into Atlanta as much as we used to from Gwinnett
so that's helping the one area you mention, but back roads and north
bound lanes are feeling the congestion of cross county commuters.
All roads lead TO Gwinnett! Let's hope our roads can handle the
traffic better soon!
-- Scott Phillips, Dacula
P.S. It looks like there are a lot of new businesses coming to
Gwinnett and I'm sure it's just a building phase, but I hope the
Satellite Boulevard warehouse zone doesn't look like Tucker is
looking these days. If you haven't been through the industrial
area of Tucker you should see all the "warehouse space available"
signs. It's embarrassing for a town that had so much hope in the
80s and 90s. --- SP.
Derides Rep. Kucinich
in attempt at impeachment
Editor, the Forum:
Tin foil hat king Dennis Kucinich recently stood in the well of
the sparsely populated U.S. House of Representatives to introduce
his 35 reasons for impeachment of the executive branch. He was summarily
dismissed by the Democratic Party leadership and sent to the corner
for a time out that should last, with luck, until Congress reconvenes
in January.
While I applaud their intentions and tenacity, my suspicions are
that the attempts of "givemeliberty.org" will meet with
the same fate. If a member of Congress can't muster up the support
of his colleagues, why does this organization think that they will
fare any better? Seems that Ron Paul's platform incorporated the
same principles. How did that work out for him?
-- Larry Partain, Norcross
Question
for the Fourth
Another great cartoon from Bill McLemore:
Duluth
has Army rock band, parachuting and fireworks!
Thursday, July 3,the City of Duluth presents "Duluth Celebrates
America" at Scott Hudgens Park. Entertainers, food and tons
of family fun will precede the fabulous fireworks display that will
begin around 9:30 pm. Gates will open at 4 pm. The entertainment
will begin at 6 p.m. with Nick Pallas performing the National Anthem
followed by a variety of other music. The Army Ground Forces Rock
Band is the featured attraction. The North Georgia Live Steamers
Train will be on site for train rides at 4 p.m. There will also
be a rock climbing wall and inflatables on the grounds.
At 8:30 pm the United States Special Operations Command Parachute
Team will jump into the area. Following the jump, the Army Ground
Forces Band will take the stage again and perform until 9:30 p.m.,
when the fireworks will begin.
Suwanee implements
façade improvement grant program
A façade improvement grant program is being implemented
by the Suwanee Downtown Development Authority (DDA). It will provide
grants for exterior improvements to buildings in downtown Suwanee,
which encompasses Town Center as well as historic Old Town.
The program is funded through a $3,000 contribution from the Suwanee
branch of BB&T bank, located in Suwanee's Town Center. Denise
Bradley, branch manager of BB&T at Town Center, says: "We're
supporting the Façade Grant Program because it's a strong
incentive for reinvestment in downtown Suwanee. Good design and
maintenance are key factors in the economic success of downtown
Suwanee and contribute to increasing values of properties as well."
DDA Chairman Kevin R. O'Brien says: "By offering dollars to
help pay for enhancements, we hope to improve the aesthetic appeal
of the downtown district. We'd like to see these grants spur owners
to make improvements, from a little sprucing up or needed maintenance
to complete renovations. We're also encouraging the preservation
of historic buildings by giving these projects higher priority."
Suwanee's façade improvement program offers matching grants
up to $750 for residential projects and up to $2,500 for commercial
projects. Eligible projects include repairs to exterior facades,
exterior painting, repair or restoration of trim, replacement of
non-conforming signs, architectural lighting, and landscaping, among
other types of improvements. Property owners and tenants (with long-term
leases and landlord approval) may apply for the grants. The Suwanee
DDA Design Committee will review applications and award grants.
Funds will be paid as reimbursement for eligible expenses after
completion and final approval of the project.
The first round of applications will be accepted through September
2. The DDA anticipates two rounds of funding each year, depending
upon available grant monies.
Application materials and guidelines are available from the City
of Suwanee's Downtown Program office, located in the Crossroads
Center at 323 Buford Highway. For more information, contact Downtown
Suwanee Manager Jane Keegan at 770/945-8996 or jkeegan@suwanee.com.
Two new fire stations
coming to northern Gwinnett County
Gwinnett's Fire Station 18 will soon relocate to a bigger facility
and new Fire Station 29 will be built in northeast Gwinnett under
a $4.7 million construction contract approved by the board of commissioners.
Both stations will be built by low bidder, C.P. Richards Construction
Co., Inc., and paid for with funds from the 2005 SPLOST program.
Richards Construction recently completed the new Station 1 in Norcross.
Station 18 will be located on four acres at the corner of Mineral
Springs Road and Hog Mountain Road in the growing Hamilton Mill
area. It will be a three-bay station with 12,800 square feet. It
will replace the current smaller station on Braselton Highway.
Farther north, Station 29 will be at 2800 Thompson Mill Road just
east of Sardis Church Road. The two-bay station with 8,600 square
feet will occupy a five-acre site. Construction will begin soon
and take about a year.
- 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
What home
rule doesn't do can be source of contention
What local home-rule
governments may or may not do is a source of contention. Georgia's
list of areas that local governments must avoid and areas that they
are permitted to regulate is not unusual in constitutionally described
(as opposed to legislatively described) home rule systems. Even
so, these areas can be quite broad. In addition, what about situations
not covered by the lists but that materialize as conditions change?
Generally, one of two approaches has been taken. The Dillon Rule
has been the more popular and widely supported by the courts. Basically
the rule says that local governments do not have powers that are
not specifically listed in the document (constitution or law) creating
the home-rule government. In the 1950s the Fordham Rule began to
gain at least modest support. The Fordham Rule says that home-rule
governments should be allowed to do whatever they want except in
the areas of civil relations and felony criminal law.
Governments provide services first by describing what they intend
to do. These descriptions are labeled variously as laws, acts, rules,
regulations, services, policies, statutes, and ordinances. As a
general rule, the word ordinance is reserved for local (county or
city) use. Early in American history ordinance also applied to very
broad general law. An example is the Ordinance of 1787, which provided
for the government of the Northwest Territories. This use of the
term appears to have faded over time.
Ordinances differ from the other possible labels in that they are
limited to smaller geographic areas such as cities and counties.
The other terms refer to what is known as general law or law of
general applicability. Some scholars have tried to distinguish between
ordinances and other terms by suggesting that the other kinds of
descriptions are made by legislatures. But city councils and county
commissions are legislatures as well, so that distinction is not
very helpful.
"Free at last,
thank God almighty, we are free at last"
"When we let freedom ring ... when we let it ring from every
village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will
be able to speed up that day when all of God's children: black men
and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics will
be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual,
free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last."
-- From speech in Washington, D.C., by The Rev. Martin Luther
King, Jr. (1929-1968), via Cindy Evans, Duluth.
Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves
or comments on any issue to Gwinnett
Forum for future publication.
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MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
© 2008, 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.
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