About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2019)
3365 Cypress Mill Rd. Brunswick • 912-262-0974 PERSONAL & COMMERCIAL INSURANCE ♦ LIFE & HEALTH INSURANCE • EMPLOYEE BENEFITS * RISK MANAGEMENT Page 2, January 7, 2019, The Islander 3 AG IE 2 N Conference Center Continued from Page 1 Harris said, “Defer.” After the meeting, Com. Williams was asked why he voted against his own motion, and he said he made the motion to get the ball rolling so the commission could move on to other business. Also after the meeting, The Islander reporter asked Atkinson how she re corded the vote based on Com. Har ris’s vote to “defer.” Atkinson said she counted it as an abstention resulting in the 3-1-1 vote. At the start of the Dec. 19 city com mission meeting, prior to any discus sion and vote regarding the conference center, a large number of concerned citizens spoke in opposition to it. Bob Blackwell started the public comment period pointing out that the city would have to go into debt to build the center. He cited the debt service and op erating losses the city would endure were based on a consultant who pre dicted the conference center would lose money for at least the first five years of operation as reasons to halt the project. After noting that City Manager Jim Drumm had made the statement that the conference center could be done without a tax increase, Blackwell sug gested the commission return to the taxpayers the unspent Special Pur pose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds that were intended for the proj ect according to state SPLOST law. Next was Jeff Kilgore who admitted he was late to join the opposition to the conference center, but he had believed that common sense would prevail and it would not be built. Citing the Georgia Supreme Court, Kilgore said SPLOST law was changed in 1992 to allow for a project to be abandoned or the money redirected if the project was deemed to be unfea sible. He said the money could also be returned to the taxpayers. He suggested deferring the item to make sure the public has all the infor mation regarding the project and the finances. Downtown business owner Sandy Dean spoke next saying a “bond rat ing” determined what kind of interest rate the city would on the borrowed bond money. She pointed out the city has no bond rating and suggested that the city may be paying a higher inter est rate for the borrowed money. Dean also asked if the city has the money to pay the debt service and cov er the operational losses, why do they need to borrow money for the confer ence center in the first place? Alex Muir, the Coastal Advocate with the 100 Miles environmental or ganization, spoke asking the commis sion to defer action on the conference McGinty-Gordon Associates Connecting clients to confidence LET US HELP YOU PROTECT YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET—YOUR FAMILY! Brighter and more secure futures come with protecting those parts of our lives we hold most dear To learn more about our future-minded solutions for all your insurance needs, please contact us at 912.638.8600 or www.mgassLcom center. Muir said, “There is no doubt that everyone is ready for Brunswick to thrive, and this may very well be ac complished by building a conference center. But before we put our limited resources and tax payers’ dollars on the line, we need to be sure that the out come is a win-win for our community.” “It’s important that we heed the in formation and studies provided by the experts we’ve hired,” said Muir, “To date, the information necessary to con vince our community to get behind this project has not been provided. Delay ing these votes will allow an opportu nity for this to happen.” If the vote was deferred, Muir of fered for 100 Miles to host a town hall meeting “to allow an opportunity for a constructive community dialogue around this issue and how we can move forward with projects to revital ize downtown with broader commu nity support.” Janis Schnellman spoke saying the commissioners were using “OPM” (other people’s money), which she pro nounced “opium,” to build the confer ence center. “It is very frustrating,” said Schnell man, “to watch people stand before you expressing what appear to be salient arguments to your most recent plans for the use of OPM, which by the way can be very addictive.” “Misuse of OPM easily becomes the scourge of many government entities,” said Schnellman, “And we’ve tried to express our concerns that it is hap pening right here, right before our eyes with this issue of the conference center.” “It is also sad we have no opportuni ty for two-way dialogue on this issue,” Schnellman continued, “We speak to blank stares in this, the only arena where you gather as an official body. There’s no chance for an actual group conversation about our concerns and your intended solutions.” ‘We continue to ask you not to do this,” said Schnellman, “You don’t know what the actual costs are to build this project, nor does there seem to be a pro forma on the cost of running it. You do know that it will be a huge money loser for several years.” Suggesting the city commission “re purpose the money, Schnellman said, “Think for a moment what another near miss hurricane could do to our tax base. Note that I said near miss. What if we’re struck by the real thing? What about another serious economic downturn? Remember what the last one did to us, with numerous foreclo sures? I beg you to use our money to plan ahead, to be able to help our citi zens should we have a disaster of those sorts again. Use our money to improve the infrastructure and our citizen’s safety.” “One more thing,” said Schnell man, “The taxpayers did not elect the Turn to Page 5 Conference Center • Provide a unique combination of business information and services to help small business owners succeed. • Provide current & relevant information to clients which allows them to spend more time building their business and focusing on their customers. • Our team of specialists has the expertise and skill to assist the business owners of Sole proprietors, Partnerships, and Corporations with all their financial reporting issues and tax matters. • Dependable and Reliable. Pick up and deliver your monthly bookkeeping. Specializing in and Guiding Small Business in Brunswick and the Golden Isles since 1992.
