AMOS VOICE OF REASON IN GOP DEBATE
CUMMING -- Brant Meadows once again demonstrated that he is a single issue candidate for District One Commissioner at the GOP Debate on June 28. He continues to blame the City of Cumming for all of Forsyth County’s problems. In his opening remarks, Meadows said that his No. 1 goal is “to keep the City from milking the life out of the county.”
And that blame-the-City-first mentality manifested itself throughout the debate.
When Meadows called for consolidation of City and County water services, Pete pointed out the obvious: The City of Cumming doesn’t want consolidation and Forsyth County can’t afford it. Reason instead of rhetoric.
On the key issue of the economy, Meadows’ solution was to take more money from the City in the form of SPLOST and LOST revenue. Amos said he would balance future budgets by doing a better job of attracting quality businesses to Forsyth County. Reason instead of rhetoric.
Pete said he believed in negotiating the best prices for county residents for sales tax splits, but “we need to work with (city leaders) and not have a pre-set agenda that the city is only going to get 3 to 4 percent of the whole thing. You should look at the projects they want to do, if it is helpful to the entire county, why not let the city do a project. Why does all the money have to come out of the county part of it?” Reason instead of rhetoric.
On the issue of increasing revenue for the county’s water and sewer fund, Meadows again accused the City. “You’ve got to consider what the water rates are and where we’re purchasing the water and how much you’re paying for the water,” he said. Meadows’ blamed the City for the current water rates, saying the county needed a “more favorable” rate and that the City intake was “illegal.”
Pete once again proposed negotiation instead of confrontation. “We’ve got to work with the City of Cumming to insure we have good, clean water at a fair cost and then go from there,” he said. Reason instead of rhetoric.
One topic where Pete’s opponent had only himself and the county commission to blame was the issue of Lanier Golf Course. When course owners asked to have the course rezoned from agricultural to Master Planned District in 2007, Meadows voted to recommend denial prompting course owners to file a lawsuit against Forsyth County.
Earlier this week, Appalachian Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Robert E. Bradley ruled that denying that rezoning was unconstitutional. Settlement terms have not yet been announced, but the poorly-considered recommendation of Pete’s opponent is likely to cost Forsyth County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. Meadows was Commissioner Laughinghouse’s appointment to the Planning Commission, replacing Pete Amos as Chairman of that board. There was no voice of reason in the majority on that vote.
