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WHAT'S UP IN NEW DEVELOPMENT
Rutherford: I reckon I've hung out at least a
few times in just about every dorm on cam
pus, from visiting high school friends who
graduated before me and went on to Georgia,
or during my years as an undergrad. Each dorm
had a different flavor, and while you could
call them each a community, the strength of
that sense of community varied from hall to
hall. The freshman dorms tended to be wild,
but ultimately, that kind of flame burns bright
and fast. The new apartment-style high-rises
on East Campus were defined by stark and
lonely hallways. Myers, Reed and some of the
other historic dorms had a pretty good thing
going. It was Rutherford Hall, though, where
that notion of an academic community was
most fully realized.
Redistricting: In thinking about the whole
question of redistricting at a local level, I
can't help but think of some of those iconic
neighborhoods around the country which are
defined by their history as electoral pre
cincts. The Ninth Ward in New Orleans, hard
est hit by Hurricane Katrina, and Old Fourth
Ward in Atlanta, home to some of the city's
initial Beltline projects, are two examples that '
come to mind. Once upon a time, the cultural
and political divisions of a city were cotermi
nous; it's worth looking at what opportunities
revisiting that ethic might present.
Another aspect worth considering is how
political boundaries relate to physical and
ecological ones. The water wars between
Georgia, Alabama and Florida ultimately hinge
Residents of Rutherford Hall celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Franklin Residential College this spring.
What better home tor UGA's take on the residential traditions of universities like Oxford. Cambridge. Harvard and
Yale than a historic dormitory 7
Home to the Franklin Residential College,
an academic residency program that is
intended to emulate the residential aspects of
Oxford, Cambridge and the Ivies, it is unique
on campus. In spite of the ailing infrastruc
ture of the building itself, Rutherford and the
FRC are two halves of the same coin. There
are aspects of that building which have been
integral to creating a true community on
campus, and regardless of the outcome of the
current controversy over whether or not to
tear it down, Rutherford should be studied to
understand what about it works now.
The decision, as its been laid out by the
campus planners, is between two options:
Renovation of the existing building, or
replacement (netting an additional 100 beds),
for the roughly same price. The idea that it's
worth losing a historic resource and a model
academic community in order to eke out a
few more beds suggests that dorms are mere
barracks to warehouse students, rather than
special places where lifelong friendships are
formed in the shared pursuit of knowledge.
Of course, there are also questions of what
to expect next. Most recent construction
projects on campus have been grandiose and
overwhelming in scale. Even the more modest
buildings like the fraternity row above River
Road have a pretty imposing demeanor, so I'm
skeptical that the university can successfully
recreate the low-slung, welcoming character
of Rutherford Hall as it stands today—a nice
secondary building that frames Myers Hall
along with its sister Mary Lyndon.
on a conflict between natural boundaries,
like watersheds, and political ones drawn
arbitrarily by colonial surveyors. In a way,
it's the service areas of gravity-fed sanitary
sewer lines that best represent the ecological
divisions of Athens. The county is divided
up into three major watersheds—the North
Oconee and Middle Oconee rivers and Cedar
Creek—each flowing to a different sewage
treatment plant. The ridges which divide these
watersheds are the lines that matter most,
since they contain our most essential natural
resource: water.
The easy answer when it comes to draw
ing these maps at a local level is to use roads
as boundaries, and while some old roads like
Milledge Avenue do follow the ridges, those
roads aren't one-sided places. In more urban
areas, to divide down the main street is to cut
a neighborhood in half.
There are a lot of ground rules to the
redistricting process, regarding population
and equitable representation of minorities,
but there may be other opportunities that a
well-grounded division of the county could
open up. One example might be the expansion
of the Neighborhood Notification Initiative
into a full-blown Neighborhood Planning
Unit approach, which could utilize commis
sion districts as a basis. Either way, a map is
an illustration at its simplest, and whatever
new map is drawn may reveal some previously
unseen relationships.
Kevan Williams athensrising@flagpole.com
TIME TO WORK ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
T he recent discussions about economic
development have been a good thing for
our town. Many people in this commu
nity are committed to making sure we create a
strong, diverse and sustainable economy that
provides various opportunities for people in
Athens. Raising questions about how effective
we are at doing that is a healthy start.
One of the things the Athens-Clarke County
Commission has been grappling with is evalu
ating the organization tasked with being the
lead agency for economic development in
Athens. Our Economic Development
Foundation was started by the ACC
Commission in 2001. At that time, the
local government budget was healthy,
unemployment was fairly low (at least
by today's standards), the university
wasn't dealing with as big a budget
problem, the housing market wasn't in
shambles, small businesses were devel
oping, and Athens started to become
known as an entrepreneurism-friendly
town. So, the EOF was tasked with
keeping the ball rolling and making
sure that there would always be oppor
tunities for Athens. Starting the EOF
was a smart move then, and keeping a
structure similar to the EDF would be a
good thing for today as we address dif
ferent and more stressful situations for
our local economy and for people.
When the EDF was first started, it
was understood that this would be a
public-private partnership arrange
ment that would get support from the
taxpayers as well as generating sup
port from private dollars. This is an
economic development structure that
has worked very well in places like Hall
County, GA and Gastonia, NC. However,
since its inception, and for whatever
reasons, the foundation hasn't capital
ized on any private fundraising dollars. Some
on the commission would like for there to be
a stronger plan and effort by the EDF to raise
money from the private sector so that we can
all share in the responsibility of creating a
stronger economic development program.
The founding structure of the EDF also
made sure the original funding partners had
a seat at me table. This included the mayor
of Athens, a Chamber representative, a UGA
representative, and a member from the Athens
Industrial Development Authority. Over the
last 10 years, the amount of money coming
from the government side of the table has
grown to represent 95 percent of EDF's budget.
Last year the commission, and other govern
ment authorities, allocated a total of almost
$500,000 to EDF. Since this is the case, some
on the commission believe that greater tax
payer representation is needed at the table.
Having an extra voting seat for the mayor
pro tern, who leads our budget discussions,
would add an extra level of accountability and
responsibility for the people we represent.
It would also enable our community to learn
more about the economic development activi
ties happening in Athens. And, this person
could help, along with the mayor, to commu
nicate problems the EDF identifies as obstacles
for economic development in Athens so that
we can get them solved.
The Economic Development Foundation is
made up of good people who have done, and
continue to do, good things for Athens. They
are people who give of their time and energy
to help make Athens a better place. When the
EDF was first formed, the local economic situ
ation was fairly good. Today, that certainly
isn't the case. It is the changes in economic
circumstances—the poverty rate, the unem
ployment rate, the underemployment dilemmas
that many of us know all too well—that have
required us to take a hard look at how we cre
ate opportunities in our town. The pressure
that the EDF is under, and the pressure that
the commission is under, are nothing com
pared to the stress and pressure of someone
looking for a job.
Even though Athens has its challenges, we
still have a good story to tell. We are home to
a major research university and other impor
tant colleges. People who live here are dedi
cated to their neighborhoods and to helping
their neighbors. We are committed to creating
good transportation choices. We are serious
about having all sorts of recreation opportuni
ties. People in Athens are loyal to businesses
that provide goods and services to our town.
Athens has teachers who are devoted to their
jobs, and a school system always looking for
ways to improve. We have great restaurants.
We are proud to showcase our creative talents.
And, we always seem to make the top lists of
everything, from Best Place to Retire to Best
College Town to Best Music Scene. The com
mission would like the EDF to come up with
a detailed plan for how they can market our
town in a more effective way.
More importantly, we (the commission, the
EDF and really everyone) need to do a better
job of letting existing businesses know that
we appreciate them for being here. The com
mission would like to help the EDF identify
ways that we can help our existing businesses
grow and stay in our community.
We will vote on the EDF funding matter on
Tuesday, Aug. 2. The discussion has been good
and healthy; now it's time to get to work.
Mike Hamby
Mike Hamby is the Athens-Clarke County commis
sioner for District 10. a superdistrict comprised of
geographic districts 5-8.
Mike Hamby
JULY 27, 2011 • FLAGP0LE.COM 7
