Public meeting set for Dec. 2

October 30, 2008

Public meeting set for Dec. 2

By Lucy Weber
lweber@mcherald.com

A town hall meeting to address Madison County's transportation needs and efficiency in government is planned for Dec. 2.

The aim of the meeting is to explain what's going on in the county and to get citizens enthusiastic about having a voice in government, said state Rep. Rita Martinson, one of the planners.

"We're concerned about openness in government. We don't want people to be caught unaware," she said.

In the discussion stage for several months, the town hall forum is being promoted by individuals like Martinson, former Supervisor Doug Jones, current Supervisor D.I. Smith and Central District Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall. The Federation of Madison County Homeowners Associations on Tuesday gave its support to helping sponsor the meeting, the details of which are still in the planning stage.

Martinson said other individuals and groups, as yet unidentified, are also working on the forum that they would like to see attract at least 200-300 residents.

"We're not trying to be the supervisors. We need to have more input into government," she said.

The move in September by the Board of Supervisors to increase the tax millage rate by more than what was advertised sparked a public outcry that resulted in more than 7,000 faxes and emails being sent to the board in opposition of the tax increase. About 100 people crowded a board meeting to protest the 3-mill increase that the supervisors ended up voting down.

"With the recent events with county government, people came up with the idea for this forum," said Al Sage, president of the federation. "People are complaining (about government) but they don't make the time to find out. This meeting will give people the opportunity to learn in a different forum."

A neutral party, not an elected official, will serve as moderator to present the issues, Sage said. The forum is not intended as a political event, pitting one side against the other, he said. "This is not a meeting to address specifics -- we'd be there all day - but to lay the facts out."

One of the key issues to be addressed, Martinson said, is the $32 million the county has remaining from a $50 million bond issue that is now dedicated to the widening of Gluckstadt Road, the Reunion interchange and parkway and Calhoun Station Parkway.

"What concerns me that these three projects can be completed without another bond issue," she said.

The town hall meeting is intended to look at those projects and other road projects, including maintenance on existing roads, and "energize the people" on what issues they would like the Board of Supervisors to address, Martinson said. Citizens want the supervisors to "show the value" of projects and to address concerns in an open manner so everyone knows what's going on, she said.

In its quarterly meeting Tuesday, the federation, which represents 22 homeowners associations and about 15,000-20,000 residents, approved a resolution calling on supervisors to shelve plans for the Reunion Parkway project until funding is secured from other sources so the county is not responsible for the majority of the cost. The resolution, presented by board member Mike Smith of Dinsmor, generated a lengthy discussion from the 30-plus members in attendance.

"A lot of the comments (by the federation members) will be addressed in the town hall meeting. This resolution helps jumpstart that town hall meeting," said Jones. "That meeting will be addressing exactly what we're talking about tonight."

The Reunion Parkway has been a hotly debated project by residents for the past several years. The supervisors have approved using primarily county funds to build the interchange linking an extension of Reunion on the west side of I-55 with U.S. 51 on the east side. The county has $6 million in state funds but no federal moneys so far, and an unannounced commitment from private landowners to help with the project.

Mike Smith said supervisors promised that the Reunion interchange would not require a tax increase but negated that when they asked for the additional 3-mill increase over the advertised 3.3-mill increase in September.

"The county is moving forward (on Reunion) without state and federal funding being there," Smith said. "That will be a hardship on getting other projects funded. If they continue down this path, it will be a tremendous drain on county resources.

"We want to make sure that is clear funding, rather than it coming out of our own pockets," he said.

The federation voted to table another resolution presented by Mike Smith that covered a variety of initiatives intended to "ensure that the principles of good government and fiscal responsibility are observed."

The resolution called for county supervisors to hold a public vote on any future county bond issues, to hire a full-time engineer on the county staff and included detailed specifics of that job, to obtain a consultant to prioritize road maintenance, to hire of a firm to develop a long range plan and included detailed specifics connected with that, and to implement a formal budgeting planning from all county departments.

In regard to some of the sections of that resolution, board member Ray Butler said: "There's so much detail in there. It's telling the Board of Supervisors how to do their job."

Sage said the issues presented in the tabled resolution would be likely topics at the town hall meeting.

The federation members agreed to discuss the specifics of that resolution later. "There's good stuff to discuss in this," Sage said.