Hampton, GA - Tell It Like It Is
City of Hampton
Hampton hugs U.S. Highway 19/41 in the southwestern portion of Henry County. Originally called Bear Creek, it was incorporated in 1873. Following the Civil War, its name was changed to honor General Wade Hampton of South Carolina.
Profile
Incorporated: 1873
Total Area: 4.3 square miles
Contact Information
Website:
www.hamptonga.org
Address:
P.O. Box 40017 E. Main St. SouthHampton, Georgia 30228
Phone: / Fax:
(770) 946-4306 / N/A
Email:
cityofhampton@hamptonga.org
posted by Larrys at 8:11 PM
21 Comments:
EDITORIAL – Hampton Mayoral Election
It is right to judge a man by his words and his actions. We have seen many people enter politics for personal gain. It is sad that so few enter the job with true dedication to public service. To those who risk personal fortune and their political career to champion the little guy; or, protect and defend the moral fabric of our communities mere thanks is not enough.
We are now facing city elections in all corners of the county, and none is expected to bring more heated campaigning than Hampton. Mayor Lewis and Councilmen Tomarchio and Jacobs represent a faction that is often at odds with the other four council members. The division became very clear in 2003 with the election of Arley Lowe, Paul Jones and Henry Byrd – rounded out with Ed Hendry - as proponents of slower, managed growth. The Hampton city election will determine the balance of power in the city.
One mayoral hopeful is local developer and Hampton resident Ronnie Huggins. Mr. Huggins favors high density development and he favors the commuter rail station in Hampton. He made his intentions clear in a 2001 AJC article:
Developer Ronnie Huggins has proposed a project that abuts the proposed rail line almost exactly between proposed stops in Hampton and Lovejoy, in Henry County. His project would convert industrial space into about 15 acres of neighborhood office and retail space, in addition to 500 housing units that would vary between condos, cluster homes and single-family homes on half-acre lots.
"I'm looking for a higher density and mixed-use-type community," he said. "It's a slam-dunk, a no-brainer to me."
In 2003 Mr. Huggins said, “The wave of the future, I think, is the greenspace program.” But he added that “the key to builder involvement is allowing the same number of lots that would be allowed on a tract where greenspace is not preserved.” Anything for a buck, but call it the wave of the future!
In 2004 the Hampton City Council members voted unanimously to deny Mr. Huggins’ rezoning request to build a 247-home subdivision on 175 rural acres (3+ homes per acre in a rural setting) near the Henry-Spalding county line.
Earlier this year the Hampton development community backed one of its own, Mr. Huggins, to fill a vacancy on the Downtown Development Authority. In a 4-2 vote, the city council refused to confirm the appointment. City officials did not want to appoint a developer to the already developer-heavy board.
Ronnie Huggins cannot hide his motivation to seek the office of mayor in Hampton. With the Georgia Transportation Board moving ahead with plans to extend a commuter rail line through Clayton County, opportunities for huge profits await Mr. Huggins. As mayor he would require support of others like Mike Tomarchio and Bobby Jacobs, who have supported Huggins in previous zoning issues. It does not matter what cost the taxpayers would have to pay. What does matter is that his plans for high density development, and huge personal gains, would go unchallenged.
It is right to judge a man by his words and his actions. What we hear from Mr. Huggins are not the words of a public servant, but a self-serving businessman.
Every person in America can, and should, join taxpayer champion Joe McCutchen of Ellijay in the war on pork. An Internet campaign is launched by bloggers who agree with him on federal pork. Folks are invited to identify pork projects in their own backyards and that could be delayed or scrapped altogether to help fund Katrina costs. The website is truthlaidbare.com/porkbusters.php. It is a sacrifice to a handful of Georgians, I know, but I'm offering up the commuter rail line Lovejoy. That will free up $106 million for the Gulf Coast.
Tourism and Commuter Rail
This letter is in response to OUR VOICE in the Sept. 13 Daily Herald. The Herald is Henry County’s News Source. I appreciate that they have a voice, but an informed voice would better suit their slogan. Representative Steve Davis has provided volumes on the topic of the proposed commuter rail, especially the untold millions of dollars taxpayers would pay in operating costs. Yet the Voice about tourism included another plug for the rail. It appears that Clayton’s misguided commissioners are the ghost writers for Henry’s Voice.
Our Chamber of Commerce also supports the commuter rail as a way to enhance tourism. They must be listening to Clayton’s politicians or developers anxious to see high density growth in Hampton. You see, the Hampton rail station is the only access point in our entire county.
Commissioner BJ Mathis, who serves Hampton, is opposed to the Hampton rail station because the costs outweigh the benefits. The Hampton City Council passed a resolution against it. They understand the services will be limited to only morning and evening trips. There is no option for mid-day or weekend service. There will be no off-and-on, stop and shop convenience that tourism would require. The rail will move worker bees from Hampton to Atlanta, and back home again. They understand that Clayton’s chairman Bell is selling a pipe dream when he talks about tourism, dining cars and exposition centers. There is no possibility the commuter rail will support itself.
A commuter rail station in Hampton will be a major cost to Henry’s taxpayers. Clayton County has already agreed to a 50-year plan to pay for the rail’s operational costs. The only winners are private businesses, like Norfolk Southern Railway and developers, at taxpayer expense. This is not a good thing!
If our Chamber of Commerce and our News Source insist on cheerleading for this boondoggle, they should accurately tell the whole story. No spin, no deception. They should not use their bully pulpit to foist a tax burden on the citizens, especially to benefit private businesses. To impose something upon another by coercion or trickery is not honest.
Larry Stanley
McDonough
HAMPTON ELECTIONS
On another vent Little Bobby Jacobs vows we have to beat Ed Hendry, and if R.W. Coley gets elected Mayor he is moving. How many of us would volunteer to help him pack.
Folks, we have no choice except to Elect R.W. Coley Mayor and Ed Hendry, Charlie Hearn, and Marty Meeks to the Council.
We have been controlled by the Developers and Real Estate people long enough.
"NO" to commuter rail
The Commuter Rail will be USELESS to Henry County, so why should we subsidize it.?
Response: I agree and Amen! Answer me this, who really is going to benefit from this commuter rail thing? Oooooohh, I have the answer.... not the ones who pay the taxes! Do you think that I want to wait on a train to and from work? Do you really think that is going to save time and money when I have to come home from work to pick up kids at daycare or at school. No, because when I get off the train, I still have to get in my CAR and drive...probably in another direction to pick up kids. Volia, increased traffic on the side roads. Have you read the October edition of Atlanta magazine? There is an article regarding how Marta is NOT Smarta. It is only "economicable" when you are going to an event; not for everyday commuting. Soon Marta prices will increase because of fuel cost and do you think it will still help the community? NO....just stop all the building around here and let this county breathe!
Both Hugh Lewis, incumbent mayor of Hampton, and Ron Waits, candidate for city council have withdrawn from their candidacy and will not run in this year's election.
Against the Rail
They are for big government and against the private sector. If there was a market for a commuter rail in Henry County, I'm sure a private company would supply that demand. But H.O.T. wants a government controlled monopoly. But the problem with these people is that they are like crack addicts and the government is their dealer. No matter what the experts tell them, they won't listen, they just keeping looking for their next big government fix.
Please visit http://www.jasonpye.com/blog/2005/10/cute_names_little_substance.html at Jason Pye's website to read a very insightful essay!!
"H.O.T. Pac Verses The H.I.T. Team to bad our city is so divided"
Cattle vs Sheep. Water rights. Where to build a fence. Will the railroad come here, or a few miles away. Same problem has plaqued settlements and towns since America awas founded.
It is about money, not a place to live and raise your kids. It is about money, not keeping the needed services at reasonable costs. It is about money, not valued community standards. It is about making the Almighty Dollar, then moving on.
For a place to live and raise your kids...
For keeping the needed services at reasnable costs...
For valued community standards...
YOU NEED Honesty, Integrity, Truth: H.I.T.
HOT Members - "Don't drink the Kool-Aid".
NEWSLETTER
Vol. 2, No.5
No City funds used, entirely financed out of the pay I receive as a Councilman. Please share with your neighbors and friends until this expands to include all citizens of Hampton. In these messages I make every effort to stick to purely factual statements. Being human, I will be unable to keep out opinion in all cases, but the opinion expressed will be mine, unless specifically indicated otherwise. If you would rather receive this via email, please let me know, and if you do not want to receive this in the future please let me know that too. I am constantly expanding the distribution list. Contact me at councilman@arleylowe.com or 678-458-1061, Arley Lowe.
Some of you are receiving this Newsletter for the first time and some of you may not have received all of my Newsletters since I began sending them out after taking office in January 2004. With each issue I try to expand my distribution list. It is now over 400 households. While this is only about a quarter of the households in the city, I try to cover every part of the city and a cross-section of the population. If you do not want to continue receiving this Newsletter please advise me and I will remove your name from the distribution list. If you do want to continue receiving it and would like to receive it by email, a much easier and less costly method than the U. S. Mail, please advise me. And, if you would like to receive copies of the previous issues please let me know and I will gladly provide them to you. Then you can see for yourself some of the things that have gone on since January 2004.
The fourth newsletter from the H.O.T. PAC contains this sentence; “A $500,000 T. E. Grant has been available for beautifying downtown since 2004, yet all we get are excuses and stonewalling about who owns the sidewalks.” The first part of that sentence is true, however the second part is not. Earlier this year the council, unanimously, voted to award a contract to the engineering firm of Stevenson & Palmer in the amount of $86,000 to develop and submit a streetscape plan to the citizens of Hampton and to the D. O. T. Thus far there have been two public hearings on the proposal, with input coming from the attendees. A schedule of events and projected completion has been published. Where is the stonewalling?
Mr. Wayne Selman, the Special Projects Manager for the city, hand delivered notices and invitations to all the downtown merchants for the first event. Two of the people listed as contacts on the H.O.T. PAC newsletter are part of that group. I personally observed the H.O.T. PAC mayoral candidate attending both public hearings. H.O.T. PAC Council candidates and contacts attended these public hearings also.
Why is this important to you? It should be obvious that the H.O.T. PAC, as well as the candidates they support, know full well the status of the T. E. Grant for downtown, yet they continue in their newsletter, and in person, to present false information.
Another small thing that is not being told by the H.O.T. PAC is that $100,000 earmarked for fixing your sidewalks by using SPLOST funds is now being used to cover part of the matching funds required to receive the T.E. Grant.
Government grants are not free, in spite of what the H.O.T. PAC candidates are saying. They all carry some stipulation and most require some matching funds. The T.E. Grant for downtown requires a 20% match. The way that is figured by the state, it will cost the city $120,000 to get $500,000. That is your money, Citizens of Hampton.
Any time I mention that it is your money, Councilman Jacobs likes to jump in and tell you that you do not pay taxes in Hampton. True, you do not pay property taxes to the city, however, you and I do pay a variety of other taxes, and some of that filters its way back to Hampton. Government grant money comes from taxes, whether it be state or federal, you pay a part of the grant money. SPLOST is your money. It belongs to the citizens of the city. If we spend it on downtown sidewalks and beautification, it is not available for sidewalks in your neighborhood. We all agree that some improvement in downtown is needed, the rub has always been as to who will pay for it. YOU, the citizens of Hampton are paying a fair amount of that cost by not having that $125,000 available to you.
One other thing on downtown and I will drop it. We, the council, especially four of us, wanted to put in an application for this year’s submissions for another T.E. Grant so we could tie it on to the one we currently have been awarded and finish the downtown project, one that the most vocal members of H.O.T. say is so important. When an attempt was made to enter the State D.O.T. website to file the application it was discovered that the mayor had gone into the web site and changed the password so that no one was able to apply for the grant. Now, why did he do that?
He didn’t want anything interfering with a grant application made for the walking and biking trails being promoted by whom? The principals are Ronnie Huggins and Burke Sisco. In fact, the mayor has named Burke Sisco, who is not a city employee and has no official standing in the city, to be the administrator of the applied-for grant. This completely bypasses Mr. Wayne Selman, a city employee. The entire project is estimated to cost 3.96 million dollars. If the city has to come up with 20%, the standard for T.E. Grants, it will cost the city, you, roughly $1,000,000. In addition, something not being fully disclosed, based on similar projects in other communities these trails will cost roughly $65,000 a year to maintain. These are their figures, not mine.
What is more important; finishing a downtown beautification project, already started (in spite of the propaganda that H.O.T. is putting out) or having 10 foot wide walking and biking trails around the city and from behind City Hall to the racetrack? It is obvious which H.O.T. prefers.
A great deal continues to be made of the dissension on the City Council. Why is there dissension? In November 2003 the citizens of Hampton went to the polls and overwhelming said they did not like the way things were going and wanted a change. The mayor and Councilmen Jacobs and Tomarchio chose to ignore the fact that an election had taken place and tried to continue business as usual. The trouble started when the majority of the council tried to implement the wishes of the people. These three, the minority, fought virtually everything the majority tried to accomplish. The minority, in this case, did have veto power and barely enough votes to uphold a veto. That is why we do not have an ethics ordinance in this city. I have asked the question before, and will again, what were those three people afraid of that they felt it necessary to veto an ethics ordinance and refuse to work out a compromise?
Why is that important? Those three, and some of their family members, are actively campaigning for the H.O.T. PAC candidates. It looks to me like they are hoping for business as usual.
Several city people, including the mayor and Councilman Byrd and myself attended a meeting with the Henry County Water and Sewer Authority representatives Monday, Oct. 17, 2005. In my next letter you will learn that the figures Mr. Byrd had at the last Council meeting were correct, and the Mayor and Mr. Tomarchio and Mr. Jacobs were not quite so well informed.
Remember, these are the people telling you to vote for Hutchison, Austin and Mitcham, or, as they like to put it, HAM. Someone suggested that HAM was pork for the developers. Not me, but, I have heard it.
Arley Lowe
From a post at The Henry Vent:
"This is to: Mr. Larry Stanley...
Why do you despise Pat Tyson (Huggins) of Hampton, so much? Do you feel threatened by her? I am just curious?"
Response -
I do not despise the lady. My complaint is not personal, but political. I understand she did not deliver Meals On Wheels inside the City of Hampton until this year - as her hubby's campaign began in January. I see it as a real conflict to confuse charitable community work with political campaigning.
Further, so much talk about how she and her hubby are so active in their church and free with their financial resources makes me think of a large McDonough church. In McD we have a political incubator, and I would hate to think of the Hampton church in the same way. In this campaign season I believe the duo are selling more than real estate. LS
Response to "Please vote NO to H.O.T. candidates, Huggins, Hutchenson, Austin and Mitchum. Vote NO to agenda driven leadership. Vote NO to a group that states they are for unity but have already proven to promote division and negativity in the community."
Hampton, like all our cities, is important to the future of the entire county. Placing HOT candidates in office is a return to Joyner, Crosby & Spraggins holding court over the county commission.
There are too many petty pesonalities in local government already. Look at the Harper letter to McD residents: reliving the feud between Copeland and Craig. Harper tok $5000 from Potts and we got Kelly Plantation with 1200 dwelling units. Hampton can avoid this mess!
There are too many crooks in local government now. Look at pure abuse of eminent domain in Stockbridge - and nobody is running against Rudy Kelly for mayor. We must pray that new blook like Thibodeaux and Phillips get elected to the council.
Heck, even sleepy Locust Grove has a felon running for city council. And nobody seems to care. Let's hope LG folks do not elect him!
In Hampton, Please vote NO to H.O.T. candidates, Huggins, Hutchenson, Austin and Mitchum.
Response to "This is to: Mr. Larry Stanley... Why do you despise Pat..."
This is the mentatlity of the HOT folks. Bobby has to cry and tell you how he is personally upset. McNorton has to address the messenger, and not the candidates or issues. Pat goes on TV and rambles about personal lives. Even Huggy relies on his "former UGA football star" status.
HOT and their candidates have no clue that we are in need of professional management and governing. Operating a city is not just about so-and-so is a wonderful guy!! It is not about forming a Hampton Social Club. If you want the HOT bunch, you just as well elect the cackling hens from The Perspective show!!
Hampton needs people with the ability to do the job. PLEASE elect Coley for mayor -- and put Hendry back on the council -- and put Marty Meeks on the council. Real people with real abilities.
DAILY HERALD
Coley wins Hampton mayor's race; Mitcham, Hearn and Meeks win council seats.
By Michael Davis
Hampton's next mayor will be R.W. Coley.
Elected to the council were Mary Ann Mitcham, Charlie Hearn and Marty Meeks.
Coley took the most votes in the hotly contested mayoral race in Hampton's western-most city.
Huggins, a real estate developer and former University of Georgia football player, took 345 votes, while Coley, a retired air traffic controller and long-time Hampton resident, got 505.
The new mayor will take office in January.
Coley, 70, ran on a decidedly slow-growth platform. The former Federal Aviation Administration employee, believes Hampton should slow its rapid growth and improve its infrastructure.
Huggins, 58, a developer, worried members of the opposition, who have been trying to depose members of the development community from city boards and authorities. Huggins said his business sense and knowledge of quality development would be an asset to the city.
He had the backing of the city's current mayor, Hugh Lewis, who qualified for reelection in September but quickly withdrew from the race because of medical reasons. Huggins was also supported by the Hampton Our Town (HOT) political action committee, which counts among its supporters two city councilmembers who were up for reelection but did not run: Bobby Jacobs Jr. and Mike Tomarchio.
Ed Hendry, who is often aligned with the other three councilmen - Arley Lowe, Henry Byrd and Paul Jones, who were all elected in 2003 - did not win reelection to his seat.
In addition to Huggins, the HOT committee threw its support to former District II School Board member Mary Ann Mitcham, Vincent Austin and Steve Hutchison. The trio, whose initials spell “HAM” was dubbed HOT HAM by the committee.
Mitcham received 385 votes; Austin 368, and Hutchison 354.
Charlile Hearn received 434, Marty Meeks 421 and Darwin Jackson 161.
I would like to thank the citizens of Hampton that came out and voted yesterday. I would also like to thank my opponents for their positive campaigns. I would especially like to thank those who elected me to office. Please join with me in praying for our city and its people.
Sincerely,
Marty Meeks
Y'all remember this. Hampton's HOT campaign strategy and platform.
"I happen to know Ronnie and his family. They attend our church. He and his family do a tremendous amount of charity work for our community with no acknowledgment or credit for their good work. They are the first ones to donate their own money to someone in need and they give a tremendous amount of time and energy to take care of others in or community, including helping he elderly." Patti McNorton as published in the Henry Herald
I stand corrected!
There will an election recount in Hampton tomorrow (Monday 11/14) at 9:00AM. Pat Tyson has been all over the Henry County elections supervisor to come over and get involved. Rumor has it that Tyson is claiming Tommy Smith voted twice. I guess that second vote got in there, multiplied and produced the kick in the rear Huggins received in the election. Let's hope that nothing happens to the ballots between now and in the morning. Wouldn't that be convenient?
The County elections supervisor didn't get involved, it's not a County issue - but she did ask the State to come down and observe the process.
Stay tuned.....
Folks, I promise this was written exactly as it was told to me earlier today!
Election Update
Dateline: Hampton, Nov. 14th
Today a recount of all votes cast in the recent citywide election was performed with no changes in the outcomes. Mayor–elect Coley lost one vote and Councilwoman-elect Mitcham gained two votes. A representative of the Georgia Secretary of State was on hand to observe and oversee the recount.
Mr. R. W. Coley won as mayor in the 504 to 346 recount. Some folks were not happy with the campaigns, voting or vote counting. Although Mr. Huggins received only 41-percent of votes cast his outspoken wife, Pat Tyson-Huggins had plenty to say.
Old People & Crickets: Scourge of Hampton
Tyson-Huggins has corresponded with the Secretary of State stating, “The election should be nullified.” She reportedly wrote that HOT tried to bring diversity to the city. But many of the older people were heard to say, “We don’t want that kind of person here.” It is not clear who the local residents were talking about, or in what context. But Tyson-Huggins apparently thinks the older, established residents cast their votes for Non-HOT candidates; and, younger citizens who recently moved into the area were more inclined toward the HOT platform.
Another deplorable situation occurred during the initial vote count on November 8. While poll workers were diligently counting each vote by hand, an unexpected visitor came into the room: a cricket. Yes, an insect of the family Gryllidae (Acheta domesticus). The ferocious beast reportedly attacked a poll worker and distracted her during the task of vote counting. Tyson-Huggins says the current mayor can attest to this disruption. Today’s recount validated the earlier count, and the cricket apparently did not heist any ballots.
It would appear that Tyson-Huggins wants a city election nullified, campaigning to resume, and a new election held. Maybe the outcome would be different without interference by old people and crickets. Citizens must now wait for possible action by the Secretary of State. Defending the election results could cost the citizens thousands of dollars in legal fees.
Looks like the City of Hampton will be contracting with the County Police Department for police services, like the City of Stockbridge. This will certainly save the City of Hampton tax money.
http://www.henryherald.com/articles/2005/11/22/news/news1.txt
BJ Mathis is in the pocket of the real estate people. She makes up the rules as she goes, as when she approved of Taco Bell on Hudson Bridge clearing all the way to the private property owners in a residential subdivision and no holding them to the 40' buffer of undisturbed land. Would you like to have a drive through window in your backyard going full blast until all hours of the night.
Hello Hampton, Georgia...
I am wondering how many parents have had issues with Luella Elementary School. Some of the teachers are dedicated and really strive to give our children 100%. However I have found several who appear to have no concern for our children, their education in fact they find it a laughing matter. Let's respond and post this information!
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