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City, county propose three-way swap

Posted by
Walter Geiger
in News
Monday, June 13. 2011
Comments (27)
The Barnesville city council and the Lamar County commission are proposing a three-way swap to solve the ongoing debt crisis at the county water authority.

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#1 Anonymous on 06/14/11 at 08:05 AM
hmmm, I'll wait and see on this one
#2 Anonymous on 06/14/11 at 09:08 AM
The fish of the day: "SUCKER"

You figure out who is who. Hint; you ain't the one holding the fishing pole.
#3 What's next? on 06/14/11 at 09:15 AM
Lets see.

The county takes over city pond which is in the county but on city property.

In exchange, the city gets the county jail and trades it to the college, to use as extra dorm space, for use of their athletic facilities for recreation activities after the county rec property is reverted back to landfill space.

The county gets Summers Field out of all this and nixes plans for a duck pond and turns it into a golf cart race track.

The chamber combines Buggy Days and BBQ & Blues into one event to be held the eleventeenth of Juvember so as to not upset the status quo. Awards are offered for the most inebriated and the most sober. The main event is chasing pigs in a buggy in which all porkers caught are bbq'ed on the spot. PETA and the National Vegan Society stage protests which are aired nationally on CNN.
#4 H B on 06/14/11 at 11:01 AM
What appears to be left out is the City and the County should trade 2 politicians, that way the 4 politicians become non descript. Then the 4 Politicians would have no power or vote, so the voters could have replacement elections.
#5 Anonymous on 06/14/11 at 11:33 AM
let me see if i got this right.
the city will take over the water department and pay all the bills.then they will be stuck paying to have water lines put in along the roads.
the county gets the library so they will start seeing a profit right away right?
now the rec center. lets see i know theres upkeep and overhead to it. but what about the fee's they charge to do things there?
what i see here is a money maker for the county and the city gets screwed. come on commisioners look at this more closely.
what i would like to see is the accounting books from all 3 places and then make a decision
#6 Anonymous on 06/14/11 at 12:40 PM
didn't gm try to sue lamar county over the agriculture authority scandal that now kind of looks like another authority gone bad and a bail out is happening before it gets out of hand by the water authority. how much splost money is involved in this one and who gets it? is it still under a splost referendum? does the state legislature have to get involved in this under the table trade. will the georgia rural water association be linked in this in any kind of way? what happens to the current members of the authority? one authority member is a commissioner, that don't look to good for the county to have one managing authority failure managing the affairs of the county taxpayers. why don't the city sell homesites around city pond to pay for water flunkies. oh my what a tangled web some people weave then escape the spiders wrath.
#7 Anonymous on 06/14/11 at 06:38 PM
Ahh, great move to hang that water bondoogle back on the city where it came from.

Everyone is directed to remember the city enlarged their water supply systems to meet the demands of Carters Mill. Carters walked away shortly after leaving B'ville holding the financial bag.

The bright lights in B'ville decided that county water would be the solution to their problem. No one in the county voted on this brilliant plan and our leadership proceeded regardless.

It is excellent that this grey goose is hung back around the necks of the ones that started the problem in the first place. Stupid city government allowed Carters to walk without penalty, so they deserve the pain.
#8 Anonymous on 06/14/11 at 06:48 PM
First off, career politicians have ruined this county and its funding. The water authority has been soaking up money from grants and whatnot to benifit the former/current wigs of barnesville running it. They were making a killing in their pockets from this. xxxx amount of money to run these lines and contract it out for a fraction of the cost yet pocket the rest. Good deal and honest people. Way to go.

I think Mr lanier said it cost 180 bucks per child to participate in sports at the rec dept. (i dont have the paper right in front of me. Dont quote me)
Sure, ok, whatever. I can create a spread sheet to show all kinds of BS and make it look like anything uses just tons and tons of money. Its all a bunch of junk. He thinks that they will do fine and come in under budget. Ok, whos pockets are gonna get fat from that. If he comes in too much under budget, they will cut funding even more. They have to break exactly even or go over to keep that place running. There is too much stuff that needs to be done out there for them to come in below budget. The parents association is a joke. Theoretically its good but you gotta look below the surface. Things get mentioned and suggested and Lanier shoots them down before words get out in the air good. Its all a front. There is no way in hell it cost over 100 bucks for a child to play sports. Take a baseball team. 70 per child times 12 children. Thats 840 per team. 1680 for 2 teams to play 10 games. Chalk the field one time per game day. Maybe just maybe it cost $4 to chalk it. So $40 in chalk a year. Umpires get $25 or 30 per game. Ok we are up to $290 bucks for 10 games of tee ball, wee ball, softball, or what have you. No nights games so no lights. Its all a bunch of BS that gets thrown together to poor mouth. Do that with football, soccer, and other sports. The rec makes an ass load of money but it all goes into a general fund. How fair is that. Mismanaging money from the big wigs up at the county commisioners office. I bet JM has something to do with that and the rual water deal too. You keep seeing peoples name pop up here and there.
#8.1 Anonymous on 06/16/11 at 05:35 AM
The County is already maintaining the Recreation Complex. The City is just giving the property to the County.
The fees you mention... When someone writes a check for their child to play a sport, is the check written out to the County? Or is it written out to an Association? If the money is paid to an Association, someone is making money off of it. How much of that money does the county receive? But if the fees are paid directly to the County, at least we get all of it. It costs money to operate that facility. Not just chalking the base lines. Cutting the grass, picking up trash, bathroom repairs...all cost money.
#8.1.1 Anonymous on 06/18/11 at 06:49 PM
The money is already paid for the maintenance for that facility. It doesnt matter how many sports are paid. The rec dept employs 6 or 8 people right. The grass gets cut reguardless. Trash gets picked up reguardless. Restrooms (supposed) to get cleaned reguardless. This county facility should have county inmates doing this job and repaying their debt to society or working it off as restitution. Some employees dont really do a whole lot anyway there. Do like more companies are doing and do more work with less people. It can happen, you will just have to light a fire up under someones butt. Cant ride on the gator all day. There should be a 5 man detail that takes a 15 minute break then a 30 minutes lunch and then another 15 minute break. Work from 7am til 3 or 4.
#8.1.1.1 Anonymous on 06/22/11 at 03:22 PM
You want to complain about how many are employed at the recreation dept. Go ask people in Monroe how satisfied they are with their few people working. And sure as inmates are put out there to work, someone will complain about inmates being around their kid. So there really is no easy answer and why isn't anyone talking about the road dept? Cut some of those slackers that ride around "checking roads" all day. What a joke. Have you taken a good look at the roads in the county lately? Atleast the rec dept looks decent and isn't an embarrassment to our county.
#9 Ron on 06/14/11 at 07:14 PM
I still want to know who came up with the name "authorirty"

How about the Lamar Public Water Service

How about showing accountability...how about getting rid of all the relatives of the Mathews'

Hey...How about getting rid of Mathews

How about handing over and electing a citizen commission rather than an "elite" punk commission
#10 high water bill on 06/14/11 at 08:17 PM
At the water authority meeting Monday night, general manager Amberly Ferris said the authority's debt for 2011 has been covered.

sounds like someone is trying to keep their job!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kinda LATE to make the books balence NOW!!!!!!!!!!

i am ready for my water bill to come down!!!!!!!
#11 Anonymous on 06/14/11 at 10:23 PM
Would someone run out and pick up a couple of Big Mac's?
#12 Anonymous on 06/14/11 at 10:26 PM
Would someone run out and get me some Days End I need to chew and spit a little on this.
#13 Anonymous on 06/15/11 at 06:34 AM
sounds like the old switch a roo game, at days end the debt is still there, and the citizens both city and county are still holding the bag..can't wait to see what is next...again I am so disappointed in Jimmy Hearn, Charles Glass..isn't Jay Mathews in some kind of water business?
#14 Anonymous on 06/15/11 at 06:35 AM
With all this borrowing from Peter to pay Paul it should be plainly specified (with a balance sheet) to the tax payer just how and who is providing the revenue to pay this debt. Instead of a three way swap it looks more like the three way shell game to me.
#15 Tom Rauch on 06/15/11 at 12:34 PM
The rec department and library certainly cost money to operate and maintain, and we know the Water Authority is also a money loser beside accumulating a big pile of debt.

How much will the county's share of operating costs increase from all of this?

My only other concern is the water supply might become something like city electricity, with the price jacked up to produce income for the city like it is with city electrical rates. That could be a sneaky way of extending city "taxes", hidden in water rates, out to people in the county.
#16 gab on 06/15/11 at 02:01 PM
I know this doesn't have anything to do with this particular subject but why is it not possible for the county, or whoever it is, to put up a "No Through Traffic" or "Detour" sign at the R.R. tracks when they are closing 36 east to haul out logs from the tornado site? They close the road at Howard road instead and everyone heading out to the east have to backtrack all the way back to town to get around. Local traffic out to Howard road would know they can get through but others would know to go around.
#17 Anonymous on 06/15/11 at 10:24 PM
The city did take a hit when Carters bailed. However the city had a financial plan in hand in the event this happened. The city had nothing to do with county water since the inception of the operation. With good management practices the county water system will thrive and be a compliment to the overall community. No one has lined their pockets or taken anything. The books are open. Do an open records check and you find something amiss entertain the grand jury. Thank you.
#17.1 Anonymous on 06/16/11 at 10:23 AM
Anonymous,
The only people smarter than the few that are making money are the ones keeping the books. Of course their take is a bit more too. Just like the bridge to knowhere, those figures would equal a book to knowhere.
#18 Anonymous on 06/16/11 at 06:31 AM
I'm soooo glad I decided to not hook up to the county water system and instead put in a well.
#19 Angry Birds on 06/16/11 at 04:11 PM
This does not surprise me one bit. The "powers that be" here have been practicing swapping for a long time. It just wasn't always with property.
#20 Roach Prufe on 06/16/11 at 07:16 PM
The city's doing the county a huge favor and I cant believe there are wannabe 'leaders' in these parts who even THINK they could ever emulate KDR at city hall..

HaHaHa!
#21 Anonymous on 06/21/11 at 02:38 PM
Looks like, at least according to the paper today, the commissioners are once again entering into a bad one sided deal and telling half-truths.
#22 Unknown on 06/21/11 at 07:50 PM
http://www.efc.unc.edu/ga/rates.html to compare rates

Question: If the city is going to charge the same rates as LCWSA, how much more will they rake in as they are now selling retail rather than wholesale. Wake up Lamar County.
#23 Anonymous on 06/22/11 at 02:05 AM
What's up with cancelling tonight's meeting? When was that decided? Can they do this? I heard the budget has to be finalized by June 30. They moved the meeting to June 28. What are they going to try to sneak in?
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