Hall County Commission screws it again

The Hall County Commission has been cutting employees and services since 2010 with the election of Gibbs and Lutz.

Lutz has an Arnold Schwarzenegger complex, much worse than having a Jesus complex.

Gibbs is a toadie whatever that means.

So how did they screw it up again?

Converting a closed library into .... a doctor's office to be used only by county employees! OMG! Socialized and mandatory medicine.

Had Obama proposed this, the Commission would have gone all postal on socialized medicine, forcing employers to provide women with birth control, and 32 violations of secret agreements with dead men.

There are two versions of the real story. One at Access. Another at the Gainesville Times.

So we shut down this special needs library, fired the staff, and let it stand empty, justified by ... we don't have the money for non-essential services. Yup. A library geared to children with special needs really isn't life and death. Nope.

So it is small. Not much parking. Only one conference room. Single story. Rural.

Now we have the money to refurbish it into a medical office and pharmacy, hire a pharmacist(s) at $100,000 per year, several pharm techs, upgrade security for medicine storage, storage of medical records, medical wastes, hire at least one doctor for at least $200,000 per year, several nurses, ae receptionists, an office manager, and some one to have audit and oversight power.

Yeah.

Then who gets to go there?

County employees only.

Will they have a choice of providers?

Yes, as long as they chose the new health clinic.

Can they use a pharmacy located close to their homes.

Yes, As long as they live near Exit 24 in Hall County, Georgia.

Here's the fine print:

Hall County cut the budget for the Public Health Department to find the money for this government mandated medical clinic.

Do you know what that means to families with school aged children?

Yeah. It means we just shit on them.

Rowing the same direction on road construction

Oh! I can mix my metaphors as well as the next idiot.

"Let's all row in the same direction on this road project."

So why don't I like that one? I heard it at a Republican meeting.

“I think it’s important for everybody to be rowing in the same direction on this one,” said Craig Lutz, the Hall County Board of Commissioners’ South Hall representative.

Followed shortly by, “'Trust me when I say we’ve been knocking on every single door to look at other funding opportunities,' Yamala said."

Of course we got the usual blame game quote, “'The problem is the federal government, and we’re not sure what’s coming there,' Mecum said."

Since the Goobernator is from Hall County, Georgia, no Republican mentioned the state's lack of funding. The local reporter did.

The state has made the road a temporary state route so funding can be sped up on the work — widening it between I-985 and Thompson Mill Road in Gwinnett — but so far, no money has been set aside.

So the state has no money. That's okay. The federal government has no money for roads. The county has no money for roads.

But, damn we have been rowing door to door begging other governments to fund a road widening project to nowhere. Well, from Stering on the Lake subdivision to the interstate known as I985.

So I attended a GOP meeting in an underfunded public library which the government hating, tax cutting residents of Stering on the Lake hate at the entrance to their subdivision.

But their lives would be enhanced if their commute including a State funded 4 lane road to the interstate.

Ain't that a bone headed love affair?

Hall County Commissioner Craig Lutz flip flops on property rights

I don't regret my wasted youth. I regret all the time spent around Commissioner Lutz.

Here he goes again with his political flip flops.

When property in Flowery Branch would come up for re-zoning, he was always for business rezonings often saying, People have a right to do whatever they want with their property.

I even remember one of his blog posts saying something like, I ignore people who want no change. They don't matter.

Now he flip flops again. He doesn't want any property owners in Hall County to have an 'adult business,' whatever that might mean.

Guns in bars. Okay. Guns in Churches. Okay. No conflict with private property rights.

Penises and vaginas on private property? Oh Gawd we can't have that. Next, he'll be passing a law that we can't have more than 11 people gathered in one home at a time. If you don't get that remark, jump back to the efforts to have him recalled.

He claimed the recall effort was harassment. Next is making sure no jury of his peers meet in private?

Here's the link to Access North Georgia's story on preventing penis envy.

Craig Lutz and Ashley Bell

This is the week for candidates to make an official declaration for public offices in Georgia.

Two candidates catch my good eye, Craig Lutz and Ashley Bell.

Mr. Lutz is currently a Hall County Commissioner. He's declared himself a candidate for the Public Service Commission. Which means he must quit his current job as Commissioner when he makes an official filing.

I'll believe it when I see it in writing.

Commissioner Lutz does not have the backing to run for that office. He'll need serious money. He has used Ashley Bell's help in raising about $10,000 for his County Commission campaign account.

But, what will Lutz do since Bell has declared himself a candidate for State School Superintendent?

I think crying is one option. Begging Bell for a donor list is another.

Lutz has made some ugly remarks about the former Democrat, Ashley Bell. I hope he remembers the public meeting where he called out for the Democratic Party to take Bell back.

Democrats didn't want him in the many months just before he kissed some serious Republican butt. They should have tossed him out like week old garbage.

So what about it Mr. Lutz and Mr. Bell? BFF or keep your hands where I can see them, dude?

Commissioner Craig Lutz accepts responsibility for canceled air travel in USA

A record number of domestic air flights have been cancelled since December 1st. Over 14,000 flights were canceled last week.

Today, in a press conference, Hall County Commissioner Craig Lutz accepted full responsibility for the cancellations.

"As you know, we have been confronted with an unexpected storm that has hit America," Commissioner Lutz did not say.

"'Some in the public, social media or decision-making positions have been ‘blameing’ the meteorologists. I began to hear things like ‘this was not expected in America’ or ‘they said this was going to all be South of America’ or there were no Watches or Warnings until snow started falling or ‘weather is just unpredictable.’"

Invoking President Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, "Kennedy in the aftermath of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, sought to spread the blame to the U.S. news media, particularly the New York Times. On separate occasions in 1961 and 1962, Kennedy told the Times‘ publisher and its managing editor that had the newspaper printed all it knew about the pending invasion, the country and his administration would have been spared a major foreign policy embarrassment. That is, the pre-invasion publicity would have made an assault untenable."

Lutz, had he been present for a news conference would have said, "I am not Kennedy. I am not Goobernator Deal. I'm not even Kasim Reed.

"The greatest difference between me and these failed leaders, I'm more responsible!

"This is true in my personal life where I took responsibility for $90,000 in credit card debt through the opportunity of bankruptcy.

"Now it is time for me to take responsibility for the massive number of flight cancellations in American history.

"It was my responsibility."

Hall County Commissioner Scott Gibbs walking to re-election

He allegedly runs. I've never seen it. He's announced his intention to campaign for another term on the Hall County Board of Commissioner.

Commissioner Gibbs takes a lot of credit for Obama's economic recovery. But no blame for firing the County Attorney, Mr. Blalock, in 2011. And then rehiring him.

Blalock and 3 others were terminated after Gibbs, Lutz, and Bell held illegal closed door meetings on or before January 6th of 2011.

Many called the firings illegal. I called the closed door meetings of Gibbs, Lutz, and Bell a violation of the Open Meetings Act.

All three admitted to making the decision prior to any public meeting. Lutz called it a mandate of the voters. So his concept was all along to make these firings.

Bell said the timetable had to be moved up a day when the story leaked to the press.

Gibbs was along for the ride ... another pun about running for office. Such a bad one that I had to point it out.

So the merry threesome fired the county attorney, hired a temporary replacement firm at 4 times the going hourly rate, and then rehired Blalock.

How about a quote from our hero? “The County was on dangerous financial ground when I first took office and the board had to make some big changes very quickly," Gibbs said.

Yeah. They had to fire the existing attorney who charged $150 per hour and hire a company out of Atlanta which charged more than $400 per hour, plus per diem, and travel time.

And, that new attorney swore to the public that no deal had be struck between him and the county.

Why, there had been no discussion of fees. And, even when Gibbs voted to hire that Atlanta lawyer, there was no agreement on fees.

Great fiscal planning. Hiring a company which would not disclose or discuss fees until after being hired.

Want another four years of Gibbs?

I think he should be ... run ... out of the county.

Flowery Branch Outreach

Much has been made of the efforts by the current Flowery Branch City Council to work with others in the community on annexation and rezoning at Gaines Ferry and McEver.

I've heard stories of over 300 homeowners being mailed.

BULLSHIT!

Less than forty homeowners were contacted by mail according to an ORA response made today by the City Clerk. It might be that the city didn't have to contact the owners of adjacent properties or it might be a requirement in rezonings.

But there is no record of any other mailing besides the less than 40 homeowners living right next door to the future manufacturing plant.

Plant. That is so ironic isn't it? Council Member Craig Lutz already wants Hall County to 'redo' some plants on the other side of the possible manufacturing site. Seems the area doesn't look enough like an industrial corridor to help sell that land for manufacturing.

Let's hope the County Commission tells Craig to go play tennis.