Athens Dims - But at What Cost?

At our Agenda Setting meeting, we discussed the plan for cutting off many, many streetlights across our community.  This plan was agreed to as a cost-saving measure during our mini-budget crisis.  As an added bonus, it also is an energy conservation measure.  As the article indicates, some of us expressed some concerns about the process.  I asked that we just cut off power to the lights but not remove them for some fixed period of time so that we can assess any severe negatives for particular locations.

Keep in mind that these are not our lights - they belong to Georgia Power.  But they have indicated they are willing to work with us.  Others voiced concerns about turning off light in high crime areas.  These were just execution concerns, not concerns about the entire concept of cutting off the lights, which is why this editorial is the most inane, unfounded, misleading, and mean spirited thing i have read in the paper in a while.

It starts with “Actions have consequences, and it's a bit disturbing that Athens-Clarke County commissioners apparently don't have a grasp of that self-evident proposition.”  For anyone who was at the meeting, it is clear that everyone grasps that quite well, and we were merely looking to make sure the lights-off made the least impact on safety possible.  That is our duty as elected officials.  Commissioner Lynn was merely making the point that maybe we could add crime stats to our list of criteria for selecting the lights to remove.  

Maybe that will not work out and maybe it is not possible, but it was a very responsible question to ask and it did not deserve the wrath of that editorial.

Look, Up in the Sky - it's Charter Service!

John Wolfe, our auditor, released the airport audit.  This is not breaking news as it has been out a while, and you can read it here.  There were a few proposals for more regulation of charter service, which I pointed out at the time was moot for now since all the charter was gone. 

I am very happy to say that we do indeed have charter.  Airstar, which was going to move to south Georgia, is staying to serve us.  That is great for the airport.  Also, we have two Athens to Atlanta services coming.  I know this is going to be a difficult challenge for these companies to sustain and profit, but I wish them the best.

I have a lot I would like to say about the airport, but I remain pretty darn silent on it all since I am an airport business owner.  Boy, is that frustrating! I am the one pilot and aviation business owner on the Commission, and I feel compelled to be silent as  I never want to create any perception of a conflict of interest.

However, all that will change soon once the sale of my business is complete.  So be prepared for 3.5 years of pent up opinions to be unleashed in true Dodson fashion as soon as my perceived conflict is lifted.

Criminal Justice Task Force Update

Solutions to complex issues demand complex data.  We have been hard at work for several months in the Criminal Justice Task Force addressing the myriad problems facing this community in regards to incarceration and our system of justice.  As I have stated before, the team we have is fantastic and I feel great about our progress.  We have taken a small hiatus for the past few weeks as we await the final report from the Unified Government's consultant on this issue.  

Our Assistant Manager, Richard White, along with Amy Gellins (who we are extremely lucky to have assigned to us from the Attorney's office) have been working diligently to make sure the report is accurate and on point.  Early in the CJTF process, we set-out the work plan for the report itself.  I will summarize the report here once it is finalized.  Expect numbers on the diversion/work release number and stats on our jail population among many other things.

At the end of the day, the central issue is the county lock-up.  When does it need to be constructed (yesterday) and how big does it need to be?  That last question is a factor of so many complex things, like "how long does an accused stay in jail awaiting some procedural issue before they are bonded out?"  Or, how effective can a diversion/work release center be in rehabilitation efforts so that our jail population gets smaller? Or, how can we work with local organizations (like the Athens Justice Project) more effectively to combat recidivism?  

Our proposals are scheduled to be unveiled to the Mayor and Commission at our September work session.