Vic Jones is Macon's most prolific letter writer. Among the projects to which he devotes time and considerable energy is the proposed Forest Hill Rewidening which would, as I look at it anyway, ruin one of Macon's finest neighborhoods.
Many citizens are concerned with what appears to be boot-jack, heavy-handed attempts by the GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION to force compliance with favorite though ill-considered schemes to re-arrange geography, topography, and communities. The Forest Hill propsal is one such. The anticipated I-75 I-16 junction is another.
If you are a Maconite, please click MORE to read Mr. Jones latest broadside. If you are not from here, read it anyway and see for yourself that not everybody goes quietly into the dark night of governmental tyranny.
You can fight city hall, folks. But the operative word is 'fight'....not 'piss, moan, and roll over'.
From: "Victor Jones"
Subject: Bibb County Town Hall Meeting Notes re FHR 9/10/07
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 23:41:22 -0400
Monday September 10, 2007
Bibb County Commission Town Hall Meeting
Museum of Arts & Sciences
Macon, (Bibb County) Georgia USA
Meeting Highlights:
1) State Rep Allen Peake, Senator Cecil Staton and 8th District GDOT
Board
Member Larry Walker will meet with GDOT Chairman Harold Linnenkohl in
Atlanta next Monday to discuss Forest Hill Road.
2) A Forest Hill Road Condominium Association Leader quoted a Lane
Elementary School Crossing Guard as expressing serious concern over the
Safety of the Lane School Children if FHR was widened to three lanes.
3) Dr Holliday said that he placed the scaled outline of a Roundabout
over
the
FHR, Lockchape & Old Lundy Intersection Blueprint and that it was a
perfect
fit without having to enlarge the proposed Right of Way. This right
after
Commissioner Bishop had tried to lead us to believe that Roundabouts
would
take out more trees.
4) Forest Hill Neighbor Troy Edwards stated that Property Taxes were
LOWERED on FHR properties two years ago. Mr Edwards questioned if this
was
done so that the Right of Way land could be purchased from homeowners
at a
reduced price. Chairman Bishop said that he didn’t have anything to
do with
property values. Mr Edwards said he was offered $1100.00 for his 190
foot
of road frontage on the proposed Right of Way.
Let’s do some quick math: FHR from Forsyth Rd to Wimbish Rd = .88mile
or
4646 feet and from Wimbish Rd to Northside Dr= 1.78 miles or 9398 feet
X
(two sides of the street). At $5.79 per linear foot, the entire Right
of
Way, (including tree value?) is to be purchased for $162,628.00.
Another
neighbor on FHR was advised by a certified Appraiser that FHR residents
were
only being offered 20% of the going rate for their property; which from
this
quick estimate leads me to believe that residents should be offered
$28.95
per linear foot. The higher price would necessitate the ROW
Acquisition
budget being raised to $1,013,148.00... Mr Edwards prefers the whole
FHR
project being scrapped or redesigned.
5) Details of the meeting minutes for the Bibb County Commision’s Dec
11,
2006, “Called Meeting” concerning the Houston Avenue, I16/75 and
Forest Hill
Road Projects were debated at length. Due to differing recollections,
unclear memories, written minutes and altered minutes, the true essence
of
this meeting is still unclear.
6) Van Etheridge of Moreland Altobelli, the Bibb County SPLOST Road
Improvement Program’s Adminstrator said that the current “Tree
Inventory”
that was supplied by Stantec was incomplete (Bibb Officials made no
reference to this when they furnished the tree Inventory on Friday). Mr
Etheridge went on to lead us to believe that only 36% of the trees
surveyed
would be cut down. How could he know how many trees are to be cut if
the
inventory is incomplete? I am awaiting more Open Record details on the
Tree
Inventory, which should arrive Thursday.
7) (MATS-CAC) Macon Area Transportation Study, Citizens Advisory
Committee
Member Lee Martin, who is also a regular participant at our region’s
Clean
Air Coalition meetings said; “Centerville Mayor Bubba Edwards, after
learning that Roundabouts decreased accidents and reduced fuel
consumption
made implementing the usage of Roundabouts a high priority in
Centerville.”
Chairman Bishop said he was also a member of the Clean Air Coalition
but was
not at the last meeting when Roundabouts were discussed.
8) Upon questioning, Van Ethridge of Moreland Altobelli was unable to
answer
if Georgia Power Right of Way acquisitions would reach further into the
land
of the FHR property owners. An audience member answered that in the
rest of
Georgia USA, the Georgia Power Right of Ways extend an additional 15
feet
beyond what the road and sidewalks necessitate. Which of course means,
more
trees to be cut and further intrusion on what used to be the private,
tree
filled properties of Forest Hill Road.
With all of our SPLOST tax money having been spent, Mr Ethridge of
Moreland
Altobelli, who is paid by Bibb Taxpayers to oversee our Road Projects
and
who is supposed to know the answer to these questions still doesn’t
know…
Tell me again, what did we just spend the $130 million in Bibb County
SPLOST
money on?
The meeting, which was held at the Museum of Arts and Sciences lasted
from
7p.m. til 9:30p.m. I was one hour late, due to a previous commitment at
the
City Wide, Macon Neighborhood Watch Association Quarterly Meeting. This
summary is from the last hour and a half of the Bibb County Town Hall
meeting. It is ironic that at the last Bibb County Commission Town Hall
meeting that I attended, held at Macon State College, Chairman Bishop
stated
that he thought the Bibb County School Board should take over funding
of the
Museum of Arts and Sciences to relieve the Bibb County Commission from
having to do so.
More updates as things unfold. Keep your fingers crossed that Rep
Peake,
Senator Staton, GDOT Rep Larry Walker & GDOT Chair Harold Linnenkohl
understand Roundabouts as they relate to public safety, fuel
consumption
reduction, clean air and Forest Hill Road, prior to their meeting next
Monday.
Several Neighborhood Associations are meeting at the Bibb County
Commissioner’s meeting next Tuesday; Sept 18, 2006, 6p.m. at the Bibb
County
Courthouse, 4th floor to once again request the redesign of Forest Hill
Road. Hope you can join us, we are a fun bunch…
Your friendly, neighborhood, paperless scribe,
Victor Jones
Macon, (Bibb County) Georgia (USA)
http://www.macon-bibb.com/FHR
BEWARE BIG BROTHER 2007