About Lake Oconee news. (Greensboro, GA) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2017)
Page A2 Lake Oconee News Friday, October 20,2017 MORGAN COUNTY Burriss challenges fifth district council seat Woody Burriss is runningforthe fifth district seat on the Madison City Council, challenging incum bent Chris Hodges. “If elected, I will accept the responsibility of serving my new hometown ofMadison as amember of the City Council with no conflicts ofinterest or obvious needfor recus als on important issues,” Burriss said. “I have had and will not have any other political ambitions. I will not accept campaign contributions from individuals or organizations with interests that create conflicts of interest or might cause me to recuse myself from an important vote or discussion on the council. My only special interest is for a progressive and prosperous town for our businesses and citizens. While relatively newto Madison, Burriss has lived in Georgia for 46 years. “I have earned a reputation for high integrity in my work and community because I believe in earnest preparation and strong ethics,” Burriss said. “I am retired and willing to devote the necessary preparatory time and effort to be an effective city council member. I earned a degree in history from Emory University and have sub stantial financial planning expe rience and education. I also have transportation logistics and data base design and implementation experience, which have resulted in greater operating efficien cies for Georgia businesses and organizations. “I believe that diligent work as a city councilman will makeMadison a better place to live, thus I will: • Work for a clear economic development strategy as a joint venture between the City of Madison and Morgan County that brings additional revenue, high quality jobs and good cit izens to Madison. We need 21st century internet services! Work to remove tractor trailer traffic from Main Street and the town square. This safety hazard handicaps tourism, retail and restaurant business. Continued non-action on this issue is unacceptable. Work to maintain our histori cal district as the crown jewel of Madison and the resulting tourism, which is a key eco nomic engine of our community. Maintain low density in the his toric district. Advocate efforts for the City of Madison, the Pearl Street school neighborhood and the Morgan County Board of Education to find progressive solutions for the adaptive use of these historic buildings and sites. • Work to hire a code enforcement officer in Madison to maintain and improve our image as ‘the prettiest village in the state.’ • Work to use building inspectors from Madison that are local and familiar with our conventional and historical building codes. • Work for a more cordial, proac tive, andtransparentrelationship between all city employees and citizens.” Burris is seeking out perspec tives about Madison: what’s good and what can be better? You can your share your thoughts on his confidential website www.woody- forCityCouncil.com or call us at Woody Burriss 706-818-1682. Contributions can be sent to Tom Sherwood, Treasurer, P. O. Box 843, Madison, GA 30650. Mayor Continued from A1 that skill helped me tremen dously. I knew I had to listen to all sides before deciding because I knew the decision thatneededtobemadewould affect the future of our great city. Growing up, good values and morals were instilled in my siblings and me. We were taught to look out for one another, tell the truth and keep your word. As mayor, I knew that I had to be a competent team builder able to build and develop rela tionships and provide service to mankind. To build an effective, moti vated and positive team, the mayor needs to be trust worthy, respectful and lead by example. With your long tenure serving in city government, what have you seen over the years? During my tenure, I have seen several changes. In servingthis great city over 30 years, I have seen a shift in our downtown businesses from five and dime stores to antique and art shops, restaurants, coffee shops, sweets, salons and spas. I have seen city hall expand from a small 25-seat meeting space toalargel50-seatmeet- ing space for public meetings and city council chambers. Additionally, I have seen the construction ofa public safety building to house our police station, fire department and code enforcement. Due to extensive growth of our city, we have had an increase in our city govern ment staff. We have been fortunate to have a great City Council over the years. Some of the council’s accomplishments: • All paved streets in the city • Sidewalks throughout the city • Curbside garbage service • ConsolidatedtheMunicipal Court and Madison Police Department • Built new municipal build ing to accommodate the needs of all city workers • Received several grants such as the Georgia Initiative Community Housing($306,000inchip funds and $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant to rehabilitate housing in a challenged neighborhood) • Numerous accolades such as • Earned 2016 Georgia APWA Historic Preservation Project of the Year Award for the Public Safety Building • Of all Georgia’s cities and counties, the City of Madison was selected by the state as one of 10 inaugural Plan First Communities receiving recognition and financial benefits for the quality of its planning, • Received two-state- wide awards - one from the Georgia Planning Association and one from the Georgia Urban Forest Council for a progressive and creative new transfer able development rights program • Madison was selected as one of five participat ing Georgia initiatives for Georgia Community Housing What worked: effective planning, zoning, historic preservation, minimum stan dards for building, effective communication What didn’t work: impact fees Driver Continued from A1 Deputy Patrick Paquette sawthe BMW traveling west bound near the Greensboro exit and made the traffic stop to check the windows, according to the incident report. Paquette made contact with the driver and imme diately noticed the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Paquette checked the win dows, andtheyfailedto meet What are currently the greatest challenges for the City ofMadison? One challenge I believe is making sure we have enough resources to main tain an infrastructure at all levels - water, gas, and sewer. Another challenge is being able to offer and have avail able work force housing to all our citizens especially our younger families who desire to live within our community. Additionally, if Madison is to continue growing and progressing, I believe that PRDs, if planned correctly, will be good for our city. What do you see for the future of Madison and Morgan County as well? I see Madison continuing to flourish as a great city - I envision • Nurturing strong relation ships to continue to attract clean industry and good paying jobs to our great city and community • Continued growth and development that will enhance our community and quality of life for all Madisonians • Students who are college and career ready and able to compete globally • Tourism efforts that ben efit Madison and offers tax relief • Fostering community involvement by creating more events that promote the ideals of One Morgan Do you have any advice for those who are consid ering serving in elected positions? If someone is consider ing serving in an elected position, he or she needs to consider their purpose for serving; serving has a focus on others and not self. Those interested should be willing the state requirement of 32 percent, testing at 18 percent. Pough said he was a music promoter traveling to a show in Atlanta and that his pas senger was his cameraman. Pough admitted to Paquette that he had mar ijuana but didn’t say how much when asked.The pas senger in the BMW said the only thing in the car that belonged to him was the video equipment. Both men were asked to wait in front of the vehicle while Paquette conducted the search which located the drugs. When he searched and ready to be involved in their community. They need to make certain they are knowledgeable ofthe role and qualifications ofthe position aswellasthecharter. Serving in elected positions can be time consuming and labor intensive. It can require hard work, dedication and commitment. I would advise those interested in serv ing to become builders not destroyers; to become part of the solution and not the problem; be able to make decisions that are based on what is best overall for the whole and not just apart; be a team player by communicat ing and working with others instead of against. What would you like for readers to about know about the city ofMadison? Our great city, Madison, was named No.l Small Town in America.” Although Madison is famous for its historic homes, our city cel ebrates the arts and culture. Madison is the city it is today because of leaders with a vision and commitment to secure resources to ensure that the City of Madison continued to make progress. Together, let’s keep Madison moving and continue build ing a city that we all can be proud of today, tomorrow and forever. (Editor’s note: With three contested City of Madison races, a heavier than usual turn-out of voters for the Tuesday, Nov. 7, election is expected. Early votingstarted on Oct. 16 and ends on Nov. 3. Voting takes place at the Morgan County Board of Elections and Registration Office, 434 Hancock Street, with the office open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.) Pough, he discovered 26 bundles of cash. Paquette asked Pough about the BMW, but he said he couldn’t remember who the hen holder was. After a check of the VIN,which appeared to have been altered, Paquette discovered that the car was stolen out of Aventura, Fla. But when Paquette asked Pough where he got the car, he told him that gave a man $20,000 down and finance the balance of $60,000. However, Pough said he could not remember with whom he financed it. When you’re selling a property... You need to be seen online. 92% of Buyers search online — so Coldwell Banker syndicates your listing to over 900 websites for maximum exposure. \m OJLDWLLL UIMM11<( ] AI ■ GLOBAL LUXURY. 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