{"id":456,"date":"2012-10-01T10:59:29","date_gmt":"2012-10-01T14:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/kickoff-speeches-splost-2012-09-28.html"},"modified":"2012-10-01T10:59:29","modified_gmt":"2012-10-01T14:59:29","slug":"kickoff-speeches-splost-2012-09-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/kickoff-speeches-splost-2012-09-28.html","title":{"rendered":"Kickoff speeches @ SPLOST 2012-09-28"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=l168ZQSeT10&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=1&amp;feature=plpp_video\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017c3241af01970b\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017c3241af01970b-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\nApparently\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/09\/splost-vii-campaign-kicks-off.html\">\nWCTV&#8217;s &#8220;at the South Georgia Medical Center Parking Garage&#8221;&gt;<\/a>\nmeant actually in the nearby parking lot, because that&#8217;s where we found\nsome city and county employees and a few volunteers\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=l168ZQSeT10&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=1&amp;feature=plpp_video\">\nstanding in the shade of a Valdosta Police van.<\/a>\nAn invocation and six speeches from five speakers ensued,\nall in support of SPLOST VII,\nthe Special Local Option Sales Tax on the November ballot.\nSeveral of the speakers were not so positive off the podium about the\nlibrary and auditorium projects, and nobody from the library board spoke.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nHere are\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW\">\nvideos of all of the speeches.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=krD7sfNBmCc&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=4&amp;feature=plpp_video\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017c3241af07970b\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017c3241af07970b-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\n<a name=\"Sam Allen\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=krD7sfNBmCc&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=4&amp;feature=plpp_video\">Continue the growth \u2014Sam Allen, co-chair<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"Gail Green\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LiO7-esKFsk&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=5&amp;feature=plpp_video\">The most amazing thing I ve ever seen \u2014Gail Green, co-chair<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"Larry Hanson\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QpAtgHD06YA&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=6&amp;feature=plpp_video\">SPLOST history \u2014Larry Hanson, Valdosta City Manager<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"Joe Pritchard\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ybAZY1baOCk&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=7&amp;feature=plpp_video\">SPLOST future \u2014Joe Pritchard, Lowndes County Manager<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"Suzan Prince\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qbu1AIxTHCg&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=8&amp;feature=plpp_video\">Quality growth \u2014Suzan Prince<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a name=\"No Debate\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=61FqH_KNKV0&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=9&amp;feature=plpp_video\">Not here to debate \u2014Sam Allen<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iygzkbuYtR4&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=2&amp;feature=plpp_video\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017c3241af0c970b\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017c3241af0c970b-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\nAlso\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iygzkbuYtR4&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=2&amp;feature=plpp_video\">\nthe VDT was there<\/a>,\nand\nJason Schaefer wrote for the VDT yesterday,\n<a href=\"http:\/\/valdostadailytimes.com\/local\/x403299784\/Committee-kicks-off-SPLOST-campaign\">\nCommittee kicks off SPLOST campaign<\/a>,\n<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\nThe major theme of the event was a firm reminder that SPLOST VII is\nnot a new tax, just a continuation of a penny sales tax that has\nbeen in place since 1987.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\nFair enough.\nHowever, Sam Allen&#8217;s second talk summed up what&#8217;s wrong with SPLOST VII:\n\n<!--more-->\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=61FqH_KNKV0&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFAM127-NG42KmeojIO1HwW&amp;index=9&amp;feature=plpp_video\">&#8220;We&#8217;re not here to debate.&#8221;<\/a>\nWell, when were any of these SPLOST VII project lists debated or discussed\nin a public forum?\nThe previous\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/06\/splost-with-lowndes-county-and-the-cities-lcc-2012-06-11.html\">\npublic meeting about SPLOST, 11 June 2012,<\/a>\nwas,\naccording to\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/06\/splost-with-lowndes-county-and-the-cities-lcc-2012-06-11.html\">\nthe VDT 7 June 2012<\/a>,\nmerely a formality of finalizing negotiations among the county and the cities:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\n\u201cThere shouldn&#8217;t be any negotiations. Monday should be more of\na formality,\u201d said Hanson.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\nIt was quite clear this was not a public hearing:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\nThe SPLOST negotiations will be held on the second floor of the\nLowndes County Administrative Complex at 9:30 a.m. in the conference\nroom adjacent to commission chambers. The public is invited to\nattend.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\nThe public could come hear, but not speak.\n<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\nLocal leadership is expected to have a list of estimated proposed\nproject costs, but specifics costs and projects have not been\nreleased yet.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/09\/splost-vii-project-totals-dont-match.html\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017c3241af0f970b\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017c3241af0f970b-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\nAnd specific costs and projects mostly <em>still<\/em> have not been released yet,\neven while we&#8217;re being asked to vote on this tax.\nEven\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/09\/splost-vii-project-totals-dont-match.html\">\nWCTV is confused about what the total dollar figure is.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\nNow I commend Mara Register for presenting\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/08\/five-points-steering-committee-presentation-by-mara-register-lcdp-1-august-2011.html\">\na Five Points Steering Committee report<\/a> more than a year ago.\nBut even then that committee didn&#8217;t seem to be seeking public input,\nmerely informing us all what had already been decided.\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/08\/five-points-steering-committee-presentation-by-mara-register-lcdp-1-august-2011.html\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017c3241af12970b\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017c3241af12970b-pi.png\"   width=\"198\" height=\"153\"  \/><\/a>\nAnd what had already been decided was that there would be a new library\nbuilding at a location determined mostly by projected population shifts.\nAs I asked at the time: why do they call it a steering committee, then?\nThat sounds more like a following committee.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nSince then the library board\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/07\/library-board-selects-out-of-state-architect-for-local-library-lcc-2012-07-24.html\">\nselected an out-of-state architect<\/a>\nover\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/07\/library-bid-for-architectural-services-lcc-2012-07-23-lcc-2012-07-23.html\">\nseveral local candidates,<\/a>\nand\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/rubberstamping-library-architect-lcc-2012-07-24.html\">\nthe Lowndes County Commission rubberstamped that selection.<\/a>\nWho are the library board, anyway?\nTheir chairman,\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/06\/video-playlist-lcc-2012-06-25.html#Library\">\nKay Harris,<\/a>\nwho was\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/07\/budget-boards-and-abandonment-lcc-2012-06-26.html#Library\">\nreappointed by the Commission<\/a> only a month before that architect selection,\nwas prominently missing from the SPLOST VII kickoff meeting.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nNow I&#8217;m not saying throw the baby (the many useful projects, especially\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/09\/splost-vii-project-totals-dont-match.html\">\nwater projects<\/a>)\nalong with the bathwater (the dubious library and auditorium projects).\nI am saying, as I said to several of the attendees,\nif we&#8217;d had an open public process for SPLOST VII project selection\nwe might, for example, have\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/09\/industrial-authority-goes-solar-broadband-and-conversational.html\">\nbroadband Internet<\/a>\nsuch as the Industrial Authority and others have finally discovered\nis important for local economic development; we might have county-wide\nfast Internet access in SPLOST VII.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nAnd as for the debate being over, in an open society the debate is never\nover, even if SPLOST VII passes, especially considering many of the project lists\nhave not yet been decided, and even the library project doesn&#8217;t even have\narchitectural plans yet.\nMore on those things later.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n-jsq\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apparently WCTV&#8217;s &#8220;at the South Georgia Medical Center Parking Garage&#8221;&gt; meant actually in the nearby parking lot, because that&#8217;s where we found some city and county employees and a few volunteers standing in the shade of a Valdosta Police van. An invocation and six speeches from five speakers ensued, all in support of SPLOST VII, [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[40,8,20,22,52,3],"tags":[1585,8717,8790,1649,8701,8791,136,548,8702,8792,345,8710,12,7,8734,8712,8793,1648,139,138,1647,8724,1157,1646,1650,60,8700,6],"class_list":["post-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-georgia","category-law","category-politics","category-splost","category-transparency","tag-28-september-2012","tag-community","tag-dasher","tag-gail-green","tag-georgia","tag-hahira","tag-joe-pritchard","tag-john-s-quarterman","tag-lake","tag-lake-park","tag-larry-hanson","tag-law","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-lowndes-county-commission","tag-politics","tag-remerton","tag-sam-allen","tag-sgmc","tag-south-georgia-medical-center","tag-special-purpose-local-option-sales-tax","tag-splost","tag-splost-vii","tag-splost-vii-kickoff-meeting","tag-suzan-prince","tag-tax","tag-transparency","tag-valdosta"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-7m","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}