Letters to the editor
Posted on Friday, October 10, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/69948/
Lioneld Jordan, definitely !
As a friend and co-worker of Lioneld Jordan for the past 26 years, I know Lioneld to be an honest and trustworthy man of passion, conviction and seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm for all of Fayetteville. I’ll definitely be voting for Lioneld Jordan for mayor on Nov. 4 and I hope you will, too !
Larry West
Fayetteville
Why not Dan ?
When people ask me who I support for Fayetteville city mayor, my answer is Dan Coody. Why Dan ? Experience. Dan Coody has a level of experience that cannot be matched by any other candidate. Business. Ask any candidate what they plan on doing when the phone rings and a new business is on hold, waiting for the mayor. Dan Coody has a complete, detailed plan showing them why Fayetteville is the place to locate. From the 2025 growth plan, to the tax base, to the cost of 1, 000 gallons of water for a business, to a visit on Mount Sequoyah for a view of Fayetteville, Dan Coody can illustrate in concrete terms the strengths of Fayetteville. Trails. Dan Coody’s administration is building trails. This is a difficult task that requires administrative perseverance and consistent focus from all departments in the city. It shows that he has a cohesive organization that gets the job done. The re-election of Dan Coody means we keep the administration intact, ensuring the citizens of Fayetteville will continue to get better use of our tax dollars. Service. Dan Coody is a servant of Fayetteville. He has dedicated the last eight years of his life to this town. Four more years as mayor of Fayetteville is a marathon, and he’s already run two. But here he is lacing up his shoes, pushing Fayetteville’s 2025 plan, promoting Fayetteville late Saturday night to a firm from Sweden, and sitting in on yet another city council meeting (96 and counting ?) until 11 p. m. Gee whiz, give me a ballot already.
John Firmin
Fayetteville
A water tower ?
No thanks. This letter is in response to your editorial dated Sept. 9, in which you advocated prompt placement of a 139-foot water tower in a populated 30-year-old Fayetteville neighborhood. As president of Hyland Park II Property Owners Association, I’d like to offer perspective. Through various meetings with the city, including the engineering office and at public forums, our neighbors have tried to inform city representatives of the following. (1 ) The city does not own Lot 22, which is not only in the front yard of one of our residents but is within 100 feet of their home (within the fall zone ). (2 ) The POA never deeded the lot to the city and there has never been a dedication. In fact, our association has maintained the property for more than 30 years and tried to pay property taxes (before these current events ) yet were rebuked by the county collector. (3 ) The city engineer has not explored enough alternatives regarding his decision to place a 14-story, half million gallon water tower in a front yard. (4 ) We have (unfairly ) been asked to coordinate a land swap to the city so that they won’t condemn Lot 22 to build a water tower. Our POA has suggested several options. We have asked that the city consider the abandoned fire station property on Crossover Road or an “ undeveloped” elevated site to use for water storage. We have asked them to consider underground storage on our common property with a variable speed “ smart ” pump or at least some combination that results in a smaller above ground storage unit. A site has even been freely offered by the Stone Mountain Developer. In one of the early water commission planning meetings, my neighbors were asked by City Attorney Kit Williams to “ prove the city does not own Lot 22. ” While this struck us as odd to be asked to prove a negative, we complied with a nine page legal summary to validate that the POA owns Lot 22 and never dedicated it to the city. It has since been implied that if we fight this in court, the city will take by condemnation. Adella Gray, a proponent of the water tower, suggested that our POA should be responsible for securing land to give to the city in exchange for Lot 22. She has forgotten her pledge to us when seeking office and currently on her web page to “ closely monitor growth for least amount of disturbance to existing neighborhoods. ” We are unaware of the city ever placing such a huge piece of infrastructure in a front yard in an established neighborhood. Engineering solutions that protect the citizenry of Fayetteville and cause less detriment to our neighborhood are available. A smart pump will be less expensive than the requested monstrosity towering over Fayetteville, and expense should be a consideration in today’s economic climate. I guess at the end of the day, the city can take my neighbor’s front yard. But should it ?
Rob Stevens
Fayetteville