Citizen¹s Questions from July 27th BAC Meeting with Councilman Roy Campbell
1. Do you think that CNS being owned by the City of Thomasville impedes other broadcast media companies such as WCTV, WALB and others from having full access to broadcast all city functions such as Rose Parade, football games, etc.?
Follow-up: Why did the city attempt to block WALB from televising the Rose Parade? We have a copy of the letter from WALB to the city that clearly shows the city did not want WALB to broadcast for free to 400,000 viewers in the South GA area. Those 400,000 viewers might have been convinced to come to Thomasville in the future, shop, spend money and help merchants.
2. How much does the city collect over what it pays for electricity? Was the latest electric rate increase equal to or larger than the increase passed on to the city from MEAG?
3. What is the total debt load of the City of Thomasville, including any leases, for all utility, cable and landfill operations?
4. What are the total cash reserves held by the City of Thomasville?
5. Is the depository and banking relationships for the city still rotated around among the local banks? Are the two sitting council members that are also local bank directors considered to have a conflict of interest when decisions about banking are made and abstain from voting?
6. Is the city aware of the tremendous financial difficulties many government owned cable systems are having around the state? Ex: City of Tifton, system for sale; city of Cairo, tremendous losses and unable to support debt load; City of Newnan, suing their consultant for advising them to enter the cable business, millions of losses; City of Acworth, raising taxes because they can¹t make money on their cable system
Follow-up: Is the City of Thomasville¹s cable system really profitable on it¹s own? Will the city consider selling the cable system before ³wireless² competition in the future renders it obsolete? What consultant did the city use to advise it to enter the cable business, was it the same person the City of Newnan is suing?
7. Why will WALB not be carried on CNS as of Jan. 1, 2006? WALB is the preferred local news source in Cairo, Camilla and Moultrie and those systems not having this station will hurt them. Many viewers in Thomasville prefer the additional Univ. of GA coverage WALB provides. Does City of Thomasville feel an obligation to help their partners stay profitable and allow Thomasville to continue to provide support services and receive income from those partners networks?
8. Mr. Campbell, how many hours per week do you average spending on city business per week?
Follow-up: Is this much time necessary? Do you think we have a competent city manager and why does he need to be micro-managed by city council to this extent?
9. Recently the City Council adopted a significant change to city zoning codes with the establishment of a Planned Urban Development (PUD). Mayor Singletary spoke in favor of this change and voted for it. Now it appears he will be the first developer to take advantage of the favorable aspects of this zoning with his new project on Remington Avenue. This appears to be a clear conflict of interest. What will the city council do in the future to prevent council members from personally benefiting from action they take as council members?
10. Was an independent market and financial analysis done by the city prior to entering the local telephone business? If so, what was the expected return on investment?
11. Have ongoing investments been made to keep ROSE.NET equipment and processing times up to date in the rapidly changing and very competitive Internet service business? I recently moved my Internet business from Rose Net Express to BellSouth and had four times faster connection speeds and lower costs per month cost. Why is that?
Follow-up: Should the city consider selling this business before it becomes non-competitive and obsolete since so many other private companies provide superior service now to city residents?
12. Why are workshops being held prior to City Council meeting in a small room that does not provide adequate space for citizens to sit down and participate? Can a group of citizens speak during the workshop sessions when the council is discussing issues affecting them? What purpose does the workshop session serve, why not have the discussions involving city business done during the actual council meeting?
CLARIFICATIONS
1. We are still confused about what whether someone can have repairs done on rental or commercial property they own without having to hire a licensed contractor. We understand the ³handyman² exemption Mr. Campbell told us about only relates to work on your own personal residence. Why is the city enforcing the new licensing provisions of the state laws ahead of time or will they wait the maximum amount of time allowed before they require contractors to pass the new tests? Will the city agree to not require anything in excess of state requirements for any type of contractor?
2. Mr. Campbell told us that all Building Department personnel are qualified except one. We have reviewed the documentation we were given to demonstrate this and believe it only shows that personnel have been sent to various seminars and that they have passed the review tests at the end of these seminars. This is a long way from having personnel that have: 1. Hands on experience in the building trades 2. Professional qualifications via testing or holding a license themselves 3. Taking an exam the equal of exams that contractors themselves have passed that the inspectors try to regulate 4. Experience and the ability to review building plans and site plans without having to send all of them to city engineer¹s office for their review delaying the issuance of permits. 5. No supervisory personnel have qualifications at this time to be supervising inspection staff
Please provide additional information including written job description and minimum qualifications for inspection field staff and supervisors.
3. There are continuing long delays in permits being issued for signs, repairs and commercial construction in comparison to other cities nearby. Thomasville seems to have more layers of review now than other cities and it takes much longer to have a permit issued in our city than in Moultrie, Valdosta or Cairo. What can be done to speed up this process?
4. Which contractors will the city consider ³grandfathered in² as Mr. Campbell mentioned? Will it include all trades and types of contractors that are now licensed by the city or the state?
5. We are still confused about whether a homeowner can act as his own general contractor and hire sub contractors to build his or her own personal residence? What is city policy?
6. When will the city hire a pro to properly run the city¹s important planning, zoning and building inspection department? Will it be Kha Thomas¹ decision from a ³human resource² standpoint or will that decision be made by the city council with an eye towards better service to the community determine when and if a qualified person is hired?
7. We are confused about the city council¹s position on the use of EMINENT DOMAIN. Mr. Campbell said the council would never use it unless it was an absolute last resort. As an example: the needed safety area for the airport. The Mayor, however, was recently quoted by several media sources as saying ³the Supreme Court decision regarding easier use of eminent domain was a good thing. I could see a situation where it would be good for a private developer or the city to make use of eminent domain to improve a part of the city². Did not see any mention in the media of any other council member speaking up and saying anything to the contrary.
Thank you for your kind response to these important questions and to providing additional clarification.
