SPLOST unfinished business

1A PROCESS
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www.TheBrunswickNews.com
Volume 110 Number 284
AUGUST 11-12, 2012
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Unfinished business
DAYBREAK
Your weekend in Brunswick
and the Golden Isles
A decade after Glynn County started collecting the final
two Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax levies voters
approved, almost $28 million remains unspent.
The Weather
Saturday
HIGH
93
LOW
74
SPLOST 4
Project: West
Sunday
water well
HIGH
93
LOW
75
Rain most likely
starting in afternoons
Rain is possible through the
weekend, mainly between 3
p.m. and midnight Saturday
and 3 and 5 p.m. Sunday.
High temperatures both
days will be in the low 90s,
with the heat index Saturday
hitting very low triple digits
between 1 and 5 p.m. The
index Sunday will stay just
below 100. Tides and fiveday forecast, 14A
Worth doing
2002-2006
Glynn
Project: North
Epworth Park
tennis courts
COMPLETED
Both Republicans and
Democrats in straw polls on
primary ballots said they
want to limit the value of
gifts by lobbyists to legislators. Should gifts be limited
or banned? Editorial, 6A
Get involved
Tax free holiday
concludes Saturday
Saturday is the final day of
the Georgia sales tax holiday
on back-to-school items. That
means there is no sales tax
on qualifying clothing and
shoes that cost less than $100
per item, school supplies that
cost less than $20 per item
and computer equipment that
costs less than $1,000 per
item. The exemption applies
whether you are going back to
school or not.
Inside The News
2 sections/36 pages
Advice 2B
Lotteries 3A
Classified 0B Nation 7A
Comics 7B
Obituaries4A
Crossword 7B Sports 9-13A
Editorial 6A
State 3A
Graham 6A
Sudoku 7B
Local 2-4A
Television 5,6B
6
56525 10471
tank in
western part of county
Budget: $1.1 million
Amount spent: $0
Status: Bids under review
SPLOST 5
8
Simons Island
sports-related projects
Budget: $1.05 million
Amount spent: $58,064
Status: Ongoing
Project: Public
Works
Dept. renovations
Budget: $1.5 million
Amount spent: $73,450
Status: Bids under review
Project: Waste
Budget: $20 million
Amount spent: $2.3 million
Status: Ground breaking set
sewer,
water line projects
Budget: $2 million
Amount spent: $0
Status: No work started
SPLOST 4 & 5
2007-2011
Project: Sidewalks
bike paths
and
Neptune Park
Budget: $850,000
Amount spent: $64,188
Status: Under design
SPLOST 5
SPLOST 5
Project: Beach access
improvements
Project: Ballard
Budget: $57,200
Amount spent: $57,200
Status: Under construction
construction
jail
Project: Various
Budget: $1.5 million
Amount spent: $19,353
Status: On hold
Building
Project: County
2007-2011
water
treatment plant
2007-2011
2007-2011
SPLOST 5
2007-2011
SPLOST 5
2007-2011
2007-2011
What to do about
lobbying rules
Project: St.
SPLOST 5
Project: Water
Talk about
SPLOST 5
2002-2006
2002-2006
SPLOST 5
Sunday is a good day for
music on St. Simons Island:
• From 1 to 7 p.m., bands
play in the Second Sunday
music festival to raise money
for a charity (this month it’s
Coastal Care Net). The music
is at Gascoigne Bluff, at the
intersection of Hamilton Road
and Arthur J. Moore Drive.
Hamilton Road runs off Sea
Island Road, a few hundred
feet north of Demere Road.
• At 7 p.m., Sons of the
Beach play the A Little Light
Music concert of the Coastal
Georgia Historical Society
at the St. Simons Island Lighthouse, 101 12th St. Admission
is $12 for anyone older than
12 years.
Budget: $689,620
Amount spent: $526,789
Status: Ongoing
SPLOST 4
SPLOST 4
2007-2011
Island
Regional Park
Project: Blythe
Budget: $2.52 million
Amount spent: $1.8 million
Status: Ongoing
2007-2011
Music will fill air
on St. Simons
2002-2006
2007-2011
Glynn
Recreation Complex
Budget: $1.4 million
Amount spent: $0
Status: Out for bids
SPLOST 5
SPLOST 4
SPLOST 5
SPLOST 4
2002-2006
COMPLETED
Community
Budget: $250,000
Amount spent: $239,463
Status: Under construction
SPLOST 5
2007-2011
ns
Project: Communicatio
network upgrade
Budget: $400,000
Amount spent: $15,440
Status: Planning phase
Additional projects, 5A
Pressure on to get work done
By GORDON JACKSON
The Brunswick News
Critics of the pace at which Glynn County is starting
and wrapping up projects approved by voters years ago
have evidence enough to prove their point.
It is taking the county a long time to get all its projects
funded by two separate 1 percent Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax levies, or SPLOST, off the ground.
The fourth SPLOST is one example. Approved by
voters in 2001 and collected from 2002 through 2006,
SPLOST 4 includes projects that remain incomplete
nearly six years after the tax revenue was collected.
Some residents claim it is the very reason – the fact
that the county still has millions of dollars in unspent
sales tax dollars in the bank – they rejected SPLOST 6
in 2011 and the more recent, but unrelated, state Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.
But it’s an argument that will soon be moot. Glynn
County Administrator Alan Ours says his mandate since
his hiring two years ago has been to move SPLOST
projects to completion.
“We’re working on the list as expeditiously as we
can,” he said. “Everything is in the design, planning or
construction phase.”
It’s a challenging goal. Projects such as bringing
Blythe Island Park in compliance with the Americans
with Disabilities Act should have already been done,
‘We have
moved
very fast to
complete
these
projects’
Alan Ours,
Glynn County
administrator
Police Chief Matt Doering
Firms
stumble
on illegal
alien rule
Police chief says
officer will begin
follow-up calls
By NIKKI WILEY
The Brunswick News
More than 150 Glynn County business owners are in violation of their
licenses under a new state law targeted
at illegal immigrants, and Police Chief
Matt Doering is hoping to explain the
consequences of it to them before he
orders a crackdown.
With 172 business owners having
failed to provide required documentation of legal residency, Doering says
the county plans to spend the coming
weeks educating owners on documentation required by the state immigration law.
Under the state’s Illegal Immigration
Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011,
business owners must prove legal residency to receive a new business license
or to renew an existing one.
Businesses that are in violation have
failed to provide one or all of the required documents – an affidavit stating the owner is a legal resident and a
form of verifiable identification, such
a driver’s license, passport or military
identification.
Some business owners may have been
Please see RULE, 5A
Sediment
threatens
shipping
Port channel depth
becoming too shallow
By MICHAEL HALL
The Brunswick News
critics say.
The good news, Ours says, is work on Blythe Island
is ongoing and expected to be complete in about six
months.
Three other SPLOST 4 projects – a water well in
western Glynn County, recreation improvements at the
St. Simons Island sports complex and North Glynn facilities – are also under way.
The county expects to complete all SPLOST 4 projects in coming months.
So far, $83.1 million has been spent on SPLOST 4
projects, with about $11.9 million waiting to be spent
on projects before the county can close the books, said
Phyllis McNicoll, county finance director.
Then there is SPLOST 5, which was collected from
2007 through 2011, and has about $16 million remaining to be spent. Its list of uncompleted projects is more
extensive.
The list includes everything from $1.5 million in renovations to the public works complex to $400,000 to
enhance the county’s communications network.
The scope of some of the projects on the long list of
uncompleted SPLOST 5 projects was modified from
original plans because of changes in the economy and
needs of the county.
“There is flexibility, but the flexibility is very limited,”
Accumulating sediment in the start
of the ship channel from the Atlantic
Ocean to the Brunswick docks is becoming so deep that it is likely to slow
down commerce.
Harbor pilots who steer the massive
cargo ships in and out of the Port of
Brunswick are warning shipping companies that shoaling of the outer channel has become so severe that ship captains should expect the shallower depth
to delay their travel.
The Brunswick Bar Pilots Association has written two letters outlining
the problem. One notified shippers
to expect delays because sediment is
reducing the depth of the St. Simons
Sound outer bar channel. The other
expressed the association’s concerns to
federal and state legislators.
Edwin Fendig III, a pilot and an author of the letters, says recent tropical
storms deposited more than 1.3 million
cubic yards of additional silt and sand
on top of the 2.2 million cubic yards
of material already in the channel due
to insufficient maintenance because of
funding shortages.
The extra material has forced pilots
to set the channel’s anytime draft – the
amount of draft a boat can have and
Please see SPLOST, 5A
Please see PORT, 5A
Call 265-1104 for convenient home delivery
5A
The Brunswick News / Saturday, August 11, 2012 5A
Page One, Part 2
SPLOST: Projects moving forward
Continued from 1A
Ours said.
For example, the planned $12
million expansion of water and
sewer in south Glynn County
was scaled back to a $2.1 million
project after the housing market
crashed. The $9 million originally
budgeted for jail expansion was
increased to $20 million to build a
new jail, instead.
Ours says the goal is to have
the majority of remaining projects
completed by the time the new
county detention facility is built,
in about 18 months.
The only thing holding up some
projects, such as sidewalks and
bike paths, is the environmental
permitting process.
“We have moved very fast to
complete these projects,” Ours
said. “With the exception of projects with special consideration,
most should be completed or under construction.”
County Commission Chairman
Richard Strickland is optimistic.
If county officials can show voters
they can complete the projects in
a timely manner, he says he and
other commissioners may consider
asking voters to consider another
SPLOST referendum.
Voters rejected a SPLOST last
still enter the channel at any given
time – at just under 30 feet.
Most vessels calling on the port
need more than that and have to
wait for higher tide.
As the channel becomes more
shallow, ships have a smaller window in which to get in or out of
the port, Fendig said. The proper
depth of the channel should be 36
to 38 feet.
“We are encountering daily the
negative impact on port operations of increased shoaling and
decreased/underfunded dredging
maintenance,” the pilots association stated in the letter to legislators.
Fendig says the lack of maintenance will have serious economic
ramifications if not addressed
soon.
“Ultimately (with the delays),
you are dipping into the pockets of the shippers, which will
be passed on to the consumers,”
638-4868
SPLOST 4
SPLOST 4
SPLOST 5
Project: Brunswick
Project: Storm
drain
improvements
Project: Altamaha
2002-2006
2002-2006
Conference Center
Budget: $500,000
million
Amount spent: $442,380
Status: On hold (city project)
Budget: $20
Amount spent: $390,911
Status: Ongoing
SPLOST 5
2007-2011
Project: Mallery
office
Park
Budget: $457,000
Status: In
year, so Strickland says he is aware
of what it will take to convince
county voters to approve another 1
percent tax.
“This is a personal opinion, not
the commission’s, but I would have
no opposition to a SPLOST list of
eight to 10 projects that would be
Amount spent: $5,750
Status: Permit
Project: City
million
Amount spent: $1.1 million
Status: Ongoing
planning
Budget: $5,750
Island
Authority projects
Budget: $1.89
Amount spent: $0
Regional Park
SPLOST 5
Project: Jekyll
collected over two to three years,”
he said. “I’m talking about absolute, bare bones, necessity projects
the county needs.”
Strickland says he believes voters would support the replacement
of several older fire stations and
road improvements with another
Fendig said. “Brunswick doesn’t
need that. Georgia doesn’t need
that. The country doesn’t need
that.”
Chris Crawford, spokesman for
U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-1, says
funding for harbor maintenance
is a problem around the nation,
because money from the Harbor
Maintenance Trust Fund, which
generates between $1.3 billion
and $1.6 billion annually, has not
been used properly.
“We continue to be concerned
about the lack of sufficient funding, not just for Georgia’s waterways but those all around the
country,” Crawford said. “The
Army Corps of Engineers reports
that 30 percent of commercial
vessel calls at U.S. ports are constrained due to inadequate channel depths.”
By not spending money to
maintain harbors, American
companies lose money and become less competitive, and the
government loses tax revenue,
Crawford said.
Kingston is seeking to pass
the Realize America’s Maritime
Promise Act that would ensure
funds collected from the trust
fund are used to maintain the nation’s harbors, Crawford said.
The Brunswick harbor, which
requires more than $6 million in
maintenance annually, produces
more than $8 million a year for
the trust fund.
Curtis Foltz, executive director
of the Georgia Ports Authority,
says keeping the ship channel to
Port of Brunswick at its proper
depth is important.
“We are working closely with
our Georgia delegation in Washington and the federal and state
agencies to address and correct
this situation,” Foltz said. “It is
imperative that the Brunswick
channel is maintained at its proj-
caught off-guard by the new law.
Denny Woods, owner of Woods
Landscape & Irrigation, said he
was not aware of the change.
Originally from Honduras and
a legal U.S. resident since 1981,
Woods says he believes business
owners should obey the law, but
says he thinks better communication is needed.
“I am licensed by the state of
Georgia,” Woods said. “I think
that people should be able to
prove that they’re legal or not. I
came here legally, and I’m a hard
worker.”
Glynn County Finance Director
Phyllis McNicoll says her department is not allowed to issue an
Occupation Tax Certificate unless a business has complied with
the law.
“We’ve contacted (business
owners) and let them know that
they need to do it,” McNicoll said.
“If they haven’t, I assume they’re
operating without an occupation
certificate.”
A business owner who does not
obtain a business license by providing proof of legal residency is
then in violation of the business
license requirement and subject
to those penalties.
Doering did not give a specific
time frame for when businesses
have to be in compliance before
the new mandate is enforced. He
said he plans to study the law further and assign an officer to follow
up with businesses by telephone.
“We’re trying to get ahead of
the curve and be proactive and get
compliance before we do enforcement,” Doering said.
His first step will be to educate
owners who are in not in compliance.
“My goal is to remind businesses of the new immigration law.
They have to fill out an affidavit
(saying they are legal residents)
and provide forms of verifiable
identification,” Doering said.
Brunswick Finance Director Kathy Mills said she was not
aware of any widespread problems with business owners failing
to provide residency documentation, but her department has
turned business license applicants
away in the past because they did
not have the required paperwork.
“If they don’t have the documentation, we will not issue a license
for them,” Mills said. “That’s the
case for our renewals.”
Len Schmauch, a Brunswick
police officer who oversees business licenses, says he is also not
aware of far-reaching violations
in the city. “I have not run into
that as a problem at this point,”
Schmauch said.
First man on moon recovering
Associated Press
CINCINNATI — The wife of
former astronaut Neil Armstrong,
the first man to walk on the moon,
says he’s “amazingly resilient”
and making progress toward recovering from heart surgery.
Carol Armstrong said Friday
that in the days since the surgery,
her 82-year-old husband has been
able to get out of bed and sit in a
chair, and then walk up and down
the corridor. She says: “Neil is
amazingly resilient and on track
with his rehab schedule.” She
credits her husband’s drive and the
expertise of his doctors.
The name of the hospital where
the surgery occurred hasn’t been
disclosed. The Armstrongs live in
a Cincinnati suburb.
you NEED a REALTOR
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2007-2011
SPLOST 5
2007-2011
denied
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2007-2011
of
Brunswick projects
Budget: $16.37
Amount spent:
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$16.29 million
Status: Ongoing
SPLOST.
The city of Brunswick is also
trying to complete projects from
both SPLOST 4 and 5. The city
has $203,722 in SPLOST 4 funds
remaining to be spent and $11.1
million in SPLOST 5 projects on
the books.
ect depth of 36 feet to keep this
critical economic engine thriving.”
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Effective August 3, 2012
The Brunswick Police Department’s Records Section/Business
Office will be relocating due to the renovation of police headquarters.
Citizens can conduct all police business at the new location,
Brunswick Old City Hall, at 1229 Newcastle Street
(next door to headquarters).
Hours of operation are 8am to 5 pm, Monday-Friday.
Records/Business Office Telephone: 912-267-5559
Brunswick Police Headquarters at 206 Mansfield Street will
be closed to the public during renovation and is expected
to re-open in early summer of 2013.
Vote for ROBBIE TUCKER
Glynn County Commission
District 5 on Tuesday, Aug. 21st
Rule: Licenses need
proper documentation
Continued from 1A
Art House
437-2661 in Darien
bgsartstudio.com
bgsartstudio.com
Senior Home Care • Companionship
Port: Vessels must wait for high tide
Continued from 1A
The Best Li�le
Thank you to all who voted for me on July 31st. We almost won outright
but now I ask for your support in the run off election on Tuesday, August 21st.
My opponent, Tashawnta Wells, and her committee placed an ad in The Brunswick News on August 4th that was misleading
about my past. It stated that I have a “long criminal history”. The fact is, the only conviction on my record is a 1994 misdemeanor
criminal trespassing. Regretfully, this was when I was 21 years old and it was a girlfriend/boyfriend situation. I’ve grown up a
lot since then and have nothing to hide. Please remember, in this country we are all still innocent until
proven guilty in a court of law. I encourage people to check out the criminal history of ALL candidates. Since my
opponent brought it up, I thought I’d follow up.
TASHAWNTA WELLS
Her ad claimed that she had “Impeccable character” and is an “Integrity-based decision maker”. We’re seeing her true
character and I question her decision-making skills:
•SheispracticingasaBondsmanwithoutalicense.
•Has19liensonherproperty(perGlynnCo.Sheriff’sDept.)
•Votedtoprivatizeservicesatatownhallmeeting.Trueconservativesdon’tvoteouttheworkingpeople.
•Shehassurroundedherselfwithpeopleofpoorcharacterandmorethanquestionablebackgrounds.
LAURA McKINLEY–CommitteeTreasurer(8/4/12BrunswickNewsad)
•WasPresidentandCEOofOglethorpeBank.Thebankfailed.
•HadtaxlienreleasesinCarrollCountySuperiorCourt
•$8,621–8/30/11
•$8,621–8/20/10
•HadtaxlienreleasesinHaralsonCountySuperiorCourt
•$647–6/15/10
•$108–6/15/10
KENNETH ADKINS – TashawntaWells’CampaignManager
(perSecretaryofState/GA)
•SmallclaimsJudgmentGlynnMagistrate–Peterson&PartnersLLC$8453/7/11
•SmallclaimsJudgmentGlynnMagistrate–GeorgiaCoastRealty$2,2058/31/11
•Etc.(Morefilingspending)•GlynnMagistrate
According to Florida Duval Clerk of Courts record:
•ChargedwithLeavingthesceneofanaccidentwhilelicensewassuspended.
•PledGuiltytoNovaliddriver’slicense/failedtoyieldatintersection
•ChargedwithImpropertag
•FoundGuiltyasChargedasFugitive–wantedinotherjurisdiction
•PledGuiltytoWorthlesscheckcharge
•PledGuiltylessermisdemeanorLeavingthesceneofanaccident/driving
while license suspended
•PledGuiltytoWorthlesscheckcharge
•PledGuiltytoPetitTheft
•FoundGuiltyasChargedasFugitive–wantedinotherjurisdiction
•PledGuiltytoGrandTheft$300<$20,000
•ChargedwithDrivingwhilelicensesuspendedorrevoked(after2ndconviction)
•Arrested(Noprosecution)forEscape
•ChargedwithPetitTheftofanypropertynotspecified<$100
•PledGuiltytoNovaliddriver’slicense/nomotorvehicleregistration
According to The State of Florida:
•OutstandingWarrantHardeeCounty,FLforFraudulentActivities
•Sentencedin2003forWorthlessChecks
According to Brunswick Police Department Crime Report:
•ChargedwithLarcenyOffense–TheftbyDeceptioninamountsof$5,000
and$28,000.3/8/2011
Political ad paid for by Robbie Tucker
Let the record
speak for itself.
The Only Thing
Robbie Tucker
is Guilty of is
Fighting for What’s
Right and
Standing Up
Against Injustice!
The TRUE Choice
is Yours on August 21st!
ROBBIE TUCKER