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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2021
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 7A
Winder City Council candidate questionnaires
Chris Akins (incumbent), at-large
BNJ: Please provide a
brief background/biogra
phy of yourself.
Akins: I have served
four years on the council.
I am the general manager
at Akins Ford-Chrysler-
Dodge-Jeep.
BNJ: Why did you de
cide to run for election or
re-election and what in
your background makes
you the most qualified
candidate for this seat?
Akins: I made the deci
sion to run four years ago
because I knew I could
make a difference and help
move Winder forward. I
also made the decision to
run for re-election because
we have so many things that
are not finished that I want
to see through. What makes
me the best candidate is the
experience.
BNJ: What should the
city’s approach to the con
tinuing growth in popula
tion be? How can the city
best position itself to han
dle the inevitable contin
ued growth?
Akins: Quality land-use
planning. Best practices in
growth management. Pro
fessional input.
BNJ: Aside from
growth, what do you con
sider to be the top three
issues the city is facing
and will face in the com
ing years? If elected, how
would you work to address
those issues?
Akins: 1. Roads.
TSPLOST. another 1-cent
sales tax, can raise $60
million for Barrow Coun
ty. 2. Long-term financial
planning. The council has
already started this process.
3. Long-term future water
needs. The council has start
ed the process (of identify
ing and planning for those
needs).
Chris Akins
Stephanie Britt, at-large
BNJ: Please provide a
brief background/biogra
phy of yourself.
Britt: Hello, my name is
Stephanie Britt, and I am
running for the Winder City
Council at-large seat. A na
tive Georgian, I grew up in
Gwinnett County, graduated
from Shiloh High School
and continued my education
at the University of Georgia,
where I received a Bachelor
of Science in Ecology and
Mathematics as well as a
master’s in the Art of Teach
ing in Mathematics. I have
lived in Barrow County for
13 years and in the city of
Winder for three and have
proudly taught at Wind
er-Barrow High School for
the last 10 years.
BNJ: Why did you de
cide to run for election and
what in your background
makes you the most qual
ified candidate for this
seat?
Britt: Throughout my
days of playing team sports
and working with groups,
I've thrived in opportunities
where I can lead and help
others. One of the reasons I
enjoy teaching is the ability
to help others and build fu
ture leaders in our commu
nity.
Recently, I watched the
current council members
raise the millage rate to 6
mills and it didn’t sit well
with me. While it’s only one
issue and I know there will
be dozens to consider, the
millage issue compelled me
to want to do more to help
our community. It was heart
breaking to see how many
people begged and pleaded
Stephanie Britt
for the council to reconsider
the millage increase because
of the tough choices they are
having to make during to
day’s tough times. Whether
it’s the millage rate or oth
er issues, I want to help our
community and bring fresh
thinking and a new attitude
to our city council.
BNJ: What should the
city’s approach to the con
tinuing growth in popula
tion be? How can the city
best position itself to han
dle the inevitable contin
ued growth?
While I completely agree
that Winder should wel
come and embrace growth,
I believe we should be open
to new thinking and oppor
tunities and not place the
burden on growth on the
backs of those that are here
now. We need to work with
all cities in Barrow as well
as the county to tackle this
opportunity together. We
also need to remember that
Winder city limits includes
more land than just the
downtown area. Working to
gether, we can explore new
opportunities to improve
Winder for our current and
future residents.
BNJ: Aside from growth,
what do you consider to be
the top three issues the city
is facing and will face in
the coming years? If elect
ed, how would you work to
address those issues?
Britt:
•Water runoff. Due to ex
pansion in our community,
many citizens are noticing
an increase in our storm
drainage taxes and excess
waterflow. We need to work
with local organizations to
explore improvements in
places where water floods
yards and residences. And
we need to transparently
share how we are using the
excess revenue to improve
the overflow situation.
•Street maintenance. Ex
pansion and growth have led
to increased traffic through
out our city. The additional
traffic is leading to degrad
ing roads that we need to
maintain and repair. We
need to work closely with
the Department of Trans
portation and our local
county departments to ex
plore ways to repair our
roads in a timely manner
and explore future traffic
patterns.
•Destination Winder.
We have an opportunity to
make Winder a destination
and a place for the millions
of consumers in Atlanta to
visit and give back to our
community. In order to
provide the best experience
for visitors, we need to up
grade shopping areas and
work with retail and com
mercial partners to deliver
an attractive destination
through unique avenues
for people from outside the
city to visit and enjoy.
Jerry Martin, at-large
BNJ: Please provide a
brief background/biogra
phy of yourself.
Martin: My name is Jerry
Martin. I’ve lived in the city
limits of Winder for over 30
years. I’ve raised my chil
dren here and my grand
child. I’ve been blessed to
own over 32 businesses and
five of those have been with
in the city limits of Winder.
I have a full understanding
of how important it is for
the city to support and at
tract local businesses. This
helps with economic growth
which helps the city as well
as the citizens.
I am very strong in my
faith. I lead with honesty
and integrity. I always pray
for guidance in all decisions
that I make. I’m a registered
Republican, but I understand
that everybody has different
political views and passions.
My goal is to reach middle
ground in an effort to move
the city forward.
BNJ: Why did you de
cide to run for election and
what in your background
makes you the most qual
ified candidate for this
seat?
Martin: I want to be a part
in making Winder a vibrant
place for our citizens to
enjoy. With my extensive
business background, I fully
believe that the government
should be run like a busi
ness, which means before
raising taxes we should look
at budgets and where we can
cut first to help streamline
expenses. If we do end up
needing to raise taxes, we
Jerry Martin
need to have full transpar
ency as to where these funds
will be allocated.
I’ve learned that one of the
key components in growing
a business is being proac
tive. I feel that the current
administration has been re
active instead of proactive in
many recent decisions that
have been made.
BNJ: What should the
city’s approach to the con
tinuing growth in popula
tion be? How can the city
best position itself to han
dle the inevitable contin
ued growth?
Martin: I believe the best
way to handle the amount of
growth coming our way is
for the city, the Chamber of
Commerce, and the county
to START working togeth
er and come up with a plan
that’s best for the overall
community. Unfortunately
they don’t see eye to eye on
many issues, which makes it
difficult to move our com
munity forward. It is imper
ative to get everyone on the
same page and working to
gether to handle the growth
coming our way.
BNJ: Aside from growth,
what do you consider to be
the top three issues the city
is facing and will face in
the coming years? If elect
ed, how would you work to
address those issues?
Martin:
1. The increasing home
less situation is soon to be a
big problem: unfortunately
this is not on the city’s radar.
At the rate we are growing,
if we don’t get a plan to
gether soon our homeless,
the crime and drug rate will
go through the roof. This is
another area where the city
should be proactive, not re
active. We will have to get
support from local nonprof
its to best handle this prob
lem. I have a plan that will
not only help with the home
less, but also help some of
our local nonprofits.
2. Keeping a small town
feel. Most of us moved to
Winder because we love
being part of a small town.
How do we grow but keep
that small town feel? How
do we slow down growth?
How do we get more people
involved? These are ques
tions that need to be asked
so we can work on a plan.
3. Let’s not leave out traf
fic. Winder has had traffic
problems for many years.
The new bypass should
help redirect some, but we
still need to be looking
at ways to relieve traffic
downtown. The best thing
we can do now is to keep
the red lights synced on a
monthly or even weekly ba
sis. This should be a topic
talked about at every coun
cil meeting.
Greenway
contimied from 6A
schools when submitting
applications. The annex
ation/rezone applicants need
to give detailed answers to
the questions instead of yes
and no answers. All applica
ble departments should be
able to address the council
answering the question, ‘At
what COST can the city
service this request? Will it
have to build additional fire
stations, police stations, wa
ter facilities, sewer facilities,
roads or schools?”
I believe if the council is
presented with the best op
tions for sustainable growth
from department heads, it
will be the most beneficial
for all of the citizens. Every
situation involves multiple
viewpoints and expecta
tions. The key to all requests
is knowledge and informa
tion. I have much concern
and love for this city because
my roots are deep. I will lis
ten to all of my constituents
and make the best decision
for all parties involved, ap
plicants and citizens.
BNJ: Aside from growth,
what do you consider to be
the top three issues the city
is facing and will face in
the coming years? If elect
ed, how would you work to
address those issues?
Green way:
1. Transparency in city
employment. A significant
number of employees have
left in the last 12 months,
and many of the positions
are still vacant or are filled
with employees with no ex
perience in their current po
sition. Contractors are being
used to fill many of these
positions, which is not in the
best interest of the city. The
fees from the contractors
greatly exceed what would
be paid to a city employee.
I believe all vacant positions
should be posted and filled
within 3-6 months of being
vacated and eliminate as
Town of Carl
The Town of Carl will hold
regular town meeting on
October 21, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
in Carl City Hall.
many contracted positions
as possible, (finance direc-
tor-CFO, planning director,
etc.). Several of the employ
ees of the vacated positions
offered to assist with tran
sitions. The expertise and
knowledge of these former
employees would have been
very beneficial to the city
to keep operations moving
smoothly.
2. Transparency in spend
ing. Some city services are
served best by contract
ed services. However, if a
contracted service/position
is necessary, it should be
bid through the RFP (Re
quest for Proposal) process.
Contracted services should
not be given an open check
book for the citizens’ mon
ey. The bid process requires
contractors to be competi
tive and give the city and the
citizens the best price for the
service provided. There is at
least one contracted service
that has a budgeted amount
of over $500,000 that has
never been bid out. This is
not spending the citizen’s
money wisely. If a service is
provided to the city over the
$25,000 threshold, it must
October 6, 2021
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be required to abide by the
city’s RFP policy by city ad
ministration.
3. Transparency in meet
ings. While all meetings
are open to the public, the
meeting agendas are not
posted until the last possible
minute. These agendas are
usually hundreds of pages.
It is not fair to the council
members or citizens to re
ceive an agenda packet with
less than 72 hours to review
the contents. I propose that a
deadline for agenda items be
set for every agenda. All em
ployees. citizens, mayor and
city administrator MUST
be held to the deadlines.
Agendas should be posted a
minimum of five days prior
to the scheduled meeting.
This gives the citizens and
all council members time to
review the items for discus
sion and voting, ask ques
tions and have the ability to
make informed decisions.
The citizens have the right
to be involved and heard.
Failure to make the agenda
information available in a
timely manner reduces the
time for citizens to ask ques
tions.
Select Fence Group: (678) 201-6548