About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2011)
£) RoUM O TOuJ^ SH6<*T£r Denson, Commission Square Off Over EDF A battle of wills is brewing between Mayor Nancy Denson and Athens-Clarke County com missioners who—in Denson's view—have held "illegal" meetings out of public view in an effort to get three commissioners appointed to the board of the Economic Development Foundation. The EDF (initially set up by former Mayor Doc Eldridge to take politics out of local eco nomic development efforts) works to draw new businesses and jobs to ACC, and to retain existing ones. Several commissioners have voiced unspecified dissatisfaction with EDF's efforts, and earlier this month voted 7-1 (with Doug Lowry dissenting, Jared Bailey absent and Mayor Pro Tern Andy Herod sitting out the vote while filling in for the injured Denson) to withhold funds from EDF beyond July "for later discussion." They offered little explanation at the time, but Herod told Flagpole last week the group wants three commission seats on the EDF board (in addition to the mayor, who is already on it): the two superdistrict commis sioners (each representing half the county) and the mayor pro tern. Presently those posi tions are filled by Kelly Girtz, Mike Hamby and Herod—all of whom apparently met with the EDF's director and chair before the budget vote, asking to be put onto the board. But EDF board members say they are awaiting a written request from the ACC Commission before act ing, and did not discuss the proposal at last Monday's board meeting. No commissioners attended that meeting. Local economic development efforts have been criticized for years. A 2008 task force study by local industrialists said the Athens area's "fragmented" marketing effort "creates confusion among prospects" and "a negative perception among some key state government and business leaders and the statewide devel opers network." Athens failed to draw a couple of prominent biotech prospects, and the lJF's last director was asked to resign. Judging from last week's EDF board meeting—and perhaps spurred by the threat of funding cuts—the organization is getting better organized, at least on paper. Board members (with some pushback from Eldridge, now the Chamber of Commerce president) are more closely specify ing the duties of director Matt Forshee and of the Chamber, which is one of the EDF's partners and funders, along with UGA and ACC government. A "community assessment" due in July should provide "a snapshot of our local economy," Forshee told the board; a study of the proposed "Blue Heron" river district is expected soon. "It's about time" the EDF got organized, Hamby told Flagpole. "You can worry about the process all you want to, but at the end of the day this organization hasn't shown results." Hamby wants to see the EDF seek donations of private funds and communicate better with the elected commissioners. Herod said in a comment on the Athens Banner-Herald web site that "a number of commissioners have been approached independently by several EDF board members with concerns about the EDF's seeming lack of direction. Additionally, when we inquired directly with EDF about its strategic plan and overall direction related to economic development, we were given a vague and overly general response." Denson is the ACC government's official rep on the EDF board, but "never once" has a commissioner brought up any issues with her, she told Flagpole. (Both Herod and Hamby dispute that.) Nor does Denson approve of the "strong-arm tactic" of withholding funds to get additional seats on the board: "It's wrong in so many ways," and wouldn't necessarily improve EDF, she said. Besides, EDF is chang ing: "There's some self-examination going on," she said. "It's going to come out a much stronger and better organization... I don't think packing the board with commissioners is the right answer." Nor does the mayor plan to put such a request on the commission's agenda, which she sets. "I see no impetus to do anything with it," she told Flagpole. John Huie Prioritized T-SPLOST List Agreed to by M&C Attending her first public meeting since her car parked itself on her leg last month, Mayor Nancy Denson sat to one side with her foot raised but participated attentively. Denson AT TH6 AMW/K $H£cTeQ'iX>oCA VOLUNTEER T& £ Do&S On ft/E 6jAv (Foonq An Ocr> CevvieTeRY J3V the AfROOR. 7" ^—W—• 1 -^l. ~~ ■ W ,mmm m — I.fc M I — DAviO W)Acl< So ROD£ OUR BiKE-SOOl TH£R6 LA<,r UJEO/OES DAV SOT UJHEV fcjf 6oT To TH^ SHC-CfEP. IT UM5 SEO .wer said she expects to recover full use of the leg, and has been "so frustrated" to be sidelined from a job she loves. "I was doing 10 to 12 hours a day before this happened," she told Flagpole. "Saturdays and Sundays were just another weekday." Although she remains hobbled by the injury, she is recovering well and expects she'll be back up to speed in five weeks. At that work session, commissioners agreed to a prioritized list of 18 local transportation projects, some of which will be submitted to voters next year. The top pick: a new Loop 10 exit to Mitchell Bridge Road (between the Tallassee Road and Atlanta Highway exits) intended to provide better access to Atlanta Highway. The priorities were recommended by ACC Transportation Director David Clark, based largely on their relevance to regional transpor tation needs; other, more local projects can still be built with local-option money that will also be available if the 1 percent T-SPLOST passes in 2012. ACC's prioritized list now goes to a multi-county committee that will pick which projects actually are submitted to the voters. Commissioners approved the list despite concerns about some projects—especially those that didn't make the list. Three-laning Mitchell Bridge Road (with bike lanes and sidewalks) wasn't included, Kelly Girtz pointed out. "We still want to move that project for ward," Clark said, but meanwhile, the new overpass should reduce cut-through traffic that now uses Mitchell Bridge. How about building sidewalks along Lexington Road, Doug Lowry asked. "We have been reluctant to fund projects along state highways when we have so many local road needs," Clark said. Still, the state transportation depart ment's veto power over projects to be funded by the local tax will enable it to build some projects of its own choosing, said Clark and Commissioner Alice Kinman, who (along with Denson) represents ACC on the regional T-SPLOST "roundtable." "We are going to be spending a lot of this money on the state roads system," Kinman said. The complete prioritized projects list— from which local projects will be chosen—is available in the online edition of this article. John Huie Republic salon • ENTRANCE ON JACKSON ST. * WWW.REPUBLtCSALON.COM JUNE 22,2011 FLAGPOLE.COM 5
