Divide on war spills into street

by Keith Laing, The Brunswick News

July 28, 2006

Citizens across the country are divided on whether or not the war in Iraq is worth fighting.

Some argue the effort is an issue of national security; others argue it is unjust.

The same festering division can be found in the Golden Isles, where both sides were on display Thursday.

About 40 residents, evenly divided in simultaneous rallies in support of and opposed to U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston’s backing of the war, showed up in front of the Frank M. Scarlett Federal Building on Gloucester Street, where Kingston has his Brunswick office.

Only Ellis Street separated those in favor of the war effort from those against it. Cars passing by on Gloucester Street honked their horns to show support for either side.

The first public opposition in Brunswick to the war was organized by GlynnPeace, a Brunswick-based group pushing for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

The Glynn County Republican Party, which Tuesday had asked GlynnPeace to cancel its demonstration, later said it would hold a rally in support of Kingston and President Bush.

At the end of the day Thursday, both groups declared victory.

“This demonstration is an exercise in American freedom that’s going to do a lot more to (defeat) the people who oppose our ideals than bombs and bullets,” said Robert Randall of Brunswick, organizer of the peace rally.

Randall said GlynnPeace declined to heed urgings from the Republican Party to keep quiet.

“To try to tell people that they should not be (petitioning their congressman) is falling into the trap of the so-called terrorists,” Randall said. “If you believe that no one can disagree with you, then you are just like they are.”

Glynn County Republican Party Chair Kevin Gough, who called for the show of support for Bush and Kingston, sees it differently. He said the peace demonstration sent a dangerous message to the world.

“I think the (peace) rally today hurt the war effort and endangered our troops in the field,” he said. “While I respect their right to protest, I believe it was mistake for them to do so.”

Demonstrators on both sides of Ellis Street – and on the issue – expressed obviously divergent views.

One of the residents joining the GOP side was Jim Allen of Brunswick, a war veteran.

“(I’m here) because these medals tell me I should be here,” Allen said, pointing to medals of honor he received in World War II and the Korean War.

“I fought in two wars and took an oath to defend this country against all enemies, without and within. I consider (GlynnPeace members) to be enemies within.”

Glynn County resident and former GOP Chair Kathy Strickland, 68, agreed.

“I came out because I wanted to support the troops 100 percent and support our president,” she said. “If we didn’t have guys over there protecting us, the (terrorists) would be over here attacking us.

“The people protesting against the war don’t seem to understand the concept that it takes force to protect our land.”

St. Simons Island resident Bill Freling said he felt compelled to stand on the other side.

“I can’t not be here,” Freling said before joining marchers opposed to the war. “This issue is to me the most important political and moral issue in the country today. It’s a once-in-a-century crisis that a country maybe faces.

“The direction we’re going in is scary. It’s going to take people becoming informed (to change it).”

Freling added that he expected similar rallies to the GlynnPeace effort in the months to come.

Citizens who did not fully identify with either side also had a reason for being there.

“I’ve got my own opinion,” said Brunswick resident Paul Cammon, 65. “I don’t totally agree with (either side).”

Cammon said he felt compelled to attend the events because he feels the war is not being managed well, though he is not sure he supports withdrawing from Iraq.

“I don’t know what the answer is, but something’s got to be done differently,” he said.

Both demonstrations may have fallen on deaf ears. Kingston, R-1, whose district includes Brunswick, said from his Washington, D.C., office that he was aware of the demonstrations, but said his local office was closed Thursday.

Kingston added that he was glad both sides were able to express their opinions.

“The wonderful thing about living in a free country like America is that people can hold such demonstrations,” he said. “Perhaps if people had that option under Saddam Hussein we would not have been there. One reason we’re there is to protect the rule of law and the freedom of assembly and speech so other people could experience the benefits of democracy.”

Kingston said Thursday’s events will not change his support of the war effort.

He voted against a resolution calling for immediate troop withdrawal in November 2005.

“I’ve talked to many military people and I just don’t see how pulling out of Iraq now would solve our problems with terrorism,” Kingston said. “The war on terrorism is not just about Iraq. I don’t see how we can pull out now without causing a bigger, more long-term war than we have right now.

“Also it would be insulting to the memory and honor of those who’ve lost lives, including three people from Glynn County.”

Public transit could roll

by Keith Laing, The Brunswick News

July 18, 2006

Buses could be shuttling passengers along major roadways of the Golden Isles year-round if the city and county get on board with a public transportation system.

County staff members will meet with city commissioners at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Old City Hall to discuss acting on findings of the Brunswick Area Transportation Study, which says the Golden Isles has enough population density to justify regular public bus service.

The study proposes a setup similar to a small-scale version of the Chatham Area Transit System in Savannah, in which buses run fixed routes throughout the city’s urban areas. It calls for 25 shuttle buses to be used to transport people along four routes, which would cover downtown, St. Simons Island, the retail are near Colonial Mall and commercial areas along U.S. 341.

Buses would run along four routes Mondays through Saturdays at intervals of from 30 to 40 minutes.

Last fall, the plan was recommended to be implemented over five years with the city and county sharing local costs that could rise from $42,000 the first year to as much as $277,000 the fifth year.

Both governments have earmarked funding for the service in 2006-2007 budgets. State and federal grants also would be utilized.

John Peterson, Glynn County Community Development director, said his staff hopes the city and county will move forward in implementing the proposed system.

“The point of the meeting is to talk about taking the next step,” said Peterson, who will be among county officials talking with city commissioners Wednesday. “We decided to go one step further and (suggest) allowing an outside consultant to come in and determine the best way to run this.

“We want to find out whether the city ought to manage it or the county ought to manage it or if it ought to be privately owned. We want to determine the most cost effective way to do this so we can provide the best service to citizens of county.”

Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson said a public transportation system could become a reality in the very near future.

“If everything works as we anticipate it will, we hope to have additional studies done and then move forward expeditiously (with implementation),” he said.

Thompson added that the system would help the area deal with anticipated population growth.

“Nothing is definite yet, but I certainly believe being able to put together a viable mass transit system for the community is something that’s needed, and I think that need is going to grow in future,” he said.

Public transportation would benefit the Golden Isles in other ways, too, said Robert Randall, a founding member Glynn Environmental Coalition. Although unfamiliar with the transportation study’s findings, Randall said he supports the idea of a local public system.

“Generally speaking, public transportation is always an environmentally friendly thing,” he said. “It reduces the amount of pollution pumping out of our cars, and also has benefits in terms of land use.

“The more people get out of their cars and onto public transportation, the less land we have to pave over.”

Bus stops:

The Brunswick Area Transportation Study calls for regularly scheduled bus service along routes in urban areas throughout the Golden Isles. Proposed routes are:

* Downtown to Colonial Mall, with service extended to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center on Saturdays.

* Downtown to the intersection of Interstate 95 and U.S. 341, traveling along Altama Avenue, Cypress Mill Road and U.S. 341.

* Downtown to the intersection of Interstate 95 and Golden Isles Parkway, traveling along Altama Avenue and Golden Isles Parkway.

* Downtown to St. Simons Island, looping the island via Demere Road, Ocean Boulevard and Kings Way.

This is the FACE of Glynn County VOTERS

And this is how CANDIDATES ARE TARGETING THEM AND YOU

by Keith Laing, The Brunswick News

May 27, 2006

Citizens hoping to grab the attention of the politicians who represent them have many tools at their disposal.

They can write letters to their representatives, call their offices, attend public meetings or join sympathetic or rival civic organizations. However, the single most effective way that the Average Joe can end up on their favorite – or least favorite – politician’s radar is by voting for or against them.

Simply put, political careers live and die by election results. Then, and only then, campaign chatter subsides and voters are heard loud and clear, said Carl Wege, an associate political science professor at Coastal Georgia Community College.

“There are many things (politicians) are not concerned with, but they respond to voters,” he said. “Voting is the most effective way to communicate (with them).”

Which begs the question: As we approach the partisan primary elections July 18, who is doing the voting, and thus deciding who makes decisions in Glynn County?

According to statistics from the Glynn County Board of Elections, 72 percent of the more than 38,000 registered voters in the county reside on the mainland and 28 percent live on one of the Golden Isles. Moreover, registered mainland voter turnout in the 2004 countywide elections was nearly 20 percent higher than the number of registered island voters casting ballots on Election Day.

Additionally, the Glynn County electorate is majority Caucasian and female. Through April, there were nearly 4,000 more women registered to vote than men in the coming election and roughly four times as many white voters signed up than any other race listed on the voter registration form – white, black, Asian and Hispanic.

However, the race and gender combination that experienced the biggest increase in registered voters between 2004 and 2006 was black females, which went up four percent in that span.

But how important are those numbers? Very, says Wege. In fact, they play a big role in determining which policies are advanced by politicians after they are elected, he added.

“Demographics that do not vote in significant numbers tend to be the first to lose in confrontations with politicians,” Wege said. “In governing, politicians have to make choices, and they usually make choices that affect demographics that are voting positively.”

Wege added that its natural for elected officials to be concerned with having to earn enough voter confidence to win more time in office.

“If I’m a politician, one consideration (in decision-making) is how this is going to affect my re-election chances,” he said. “If I’ve got to cut a program, I’m going to cut a program that doesn’t negatively affect people who are voting.”

Former campaign manager Anita Collins said that voter demographics are just as vital to those hoping to replace elected officials. Collins, who ran 2005 Brunswick mayoral candidate Elaine Brown’s bid for office before it was derailed by a legal challenge late in the campaign, said her campaign’s first step upon entering the race was checking the numbers.

“Any time you run a campaign, you have to look at the voter rolls,” she said. “It’s very important. What are the demographics? What are their jobs? What’s the median income?”

That type of information, Collins said, helped her campaign identify voters with whom its message would best resonate.

“We paid very close attention to who the voters were,” Collins continued. “We knew who the voters were and where they lived, so we could knock on doors and let people know who we were and why we were in the campaign.”

With that in mind, Robert Griffin, who managed Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson’s successful run against Brown and two other candidates last fall, said future local campaigns would be wise to also pay attention to who is going to the polls and why.

“This county and city still votes on racial and party lines,” he said. “I’ve been active in politics for 42 years and I have yet to see a minority candidate run and win in Districts 1, 2 and 3.

“District 5 is really the only district that minorities can be guaranteed a seat and that seat was set up by the (U.S. Department of Justice) years ago,” he said.

However, state House Majority Leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons Island, cautioned that depending solely on demographics to shape a candidate’s message can be perilous. Keen, who faces no opposition in the primary but will square off with Democrat LeRoy Dumas in November, said that successful candidates sometimes have to go with their instincts, even if they are contrary to what the numbers say will be effective.

“I think you have to be who you are and say what you believe regardless of who you’re talking to,” he said. “You have to go out there and say ‘these are the things I believe in and these are things I stand for.’”

Keen added that doing so helps candidates reap the political nirvana of long-term electoral rewards.

“Voters respond to honesty and integrity a lot more than some message contrived by a consultant,” he said. “When you start altering your message, you’re not going to succeed, long-term.”

Glynn County Commission Chairman Don Hogan, who will be challenged by former county commissioner David Dowdy in the primary, also said that voter demographics can be overvalued.

“When I run for office, I run countywide,” he said. “I don’t try to see who lives here and who lives there. I just get out there and work the whole county.”

Hogan, an at-large commissioner, added that covering all the bases was especially important in countywide contests.

“I represent the whole county, so I try to reach everybody I can,” he said. “I think every voter is important.”

Troops Are Home

Brunswick Guard unit returns from Iraq

by Keith Laing, The Brunswick News

May 6, 2006

Since May of last year, Brunswick resident Michele Tipton has waited to kiss her husband, Mark.

She got that chance Friday, when he was among troops in the 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery – part of Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team – returning from Iraq to Fort Stewart in Hinesville.

Her husband was among the 70 returning soldiers who were part of the single largest deployment of Georgia’s Army National Guard since World War II who call Glynn County home.

After finding her husband in the sea of affection, Michele Tipton could barely contain her excitement.

Although her husband cannot come back to Brunswick yet, she said she was quite content.

“It’s been a long year,” Michele Tipton said. “Just to know he’s here safe is enough for me. I’m very happy.”

Only soldiers with residences within a 50-mile radius of Fort Stewart were allowed to go home for the night Friday, but were to return Saturday morning to the base, where they will remain for a week with the rest of their unit.

The highly charged and emotional family reunions followed a ceremony that included the troops marching onto Cortell Field at the base and saluting the American flag as the national anthem and Army fight song blared over loud speakers.

Moments later, a mob of men, women and children sprinted to be the first to welcome their returning heroes. Some were holding balloons and banners; some had babies in their arms.

Sharing his wife’s joy was a subdued Mark Tipton, fatigued from the long journey.

“I’m glad to be home, (but) everything you have to do to get (back) takes a lot out of you,” said Mark Tipton, a sergeant.

Just notifying his wife that he was coming home was a challenge, he said.

“I was trying to call her to tell her when we were coming home without compromising any security,” he said. “I called her from Kuwait and said we’re not getting hit with rockets anymore, so you can sleep better.”

The Tiptons were not the only Glynn County family resting easier Friday night.

Iris Wolff of Brunswick was also among those breathing a sigh of relief Friday at Fort Stewart. She welcomed her husband, Walter, and her brother-in-law, Buddy Wolff, with open arms.

She said there were no words to describe how happy she was.

“Today is the first day of the rest of my life,” she said.

When Sgt. Walter Wolff does get home, the family’s activities will be up to him, she said.

“(We’ll do) whatever he wants to do,” she said. “If he wants to sleep all night, we’ll sleep all night.”

The Brunswick contingent of the 1-118th suffered only one casualty – Sgt. Charles Gillican Jr., who was killed in a non-combat accident in Kuwait during preparations for the 118th deployment to Iraq.

Longtime Glynn employee enjoys helping

by Keith Laing, The Brunswick News

January 24, 2006

There are those who say change is the only constant.

And then there is Ed Whittle.

In the time that Whittle, 58, has worked for Glynn County’s Public Works Department, six different department heads have come and gone.

However, at 36 years and counting, Whittle is Glynn County’s most tenured employee, having worked for the government since December 1969.

“Over (time), you meet new people and there are plenty of changes in who you deal with, but it’s a good challenge to do things differently (under different leadership),” he said.

Twenty-seven of Whittle’s years of service have been spent working as a dispatcher and administrative technician in public works. Whittle answers citizens’ calls and points them in the direction of the resolution they are seeking.

Before joining the department, he spent nine years registering county voters for the office that later became the board of elections.

Leaving has never been an option, Whittle said.

“Glynn County is a good place to work,” he said. “They’ve treated me just great. They’ve given me a good job and the opportunity to meet new people.”

Whittle said sometimes he wonders how the lives of people he’s met while working for the county have changed.

“I bet some of the people that I helped register to vote (have) children out in the work force now,” he said.

Either way, for Whittle, it’s meeting those people that’s made his job worth keeping all these years.

“I love dealing with people, and whether I was with voter registration or (public works), I’ve dealt with people,” he said.

Another perk is the varied nature of the work, Whittle added.

“Sometimes I have a phone or radio at my ear all day, and sometimes I’m doing paperwork all day,” he said. “Every day is different because my job depends on the needs of the customers.”

Acting public works director Jimmy Horton said in his 12 weeks on the job, he’s already seen Whittle’s penchant for meeting the needs of residents.

“Ed’s an outstanding employee,” Horton said. “He’s got a great rapport with the public. I could probably count the number of complaints I’ve received on Ed on one finger. He’s very courteous and has that natural talent to deal with folks.”

Horton, who’s worked with the county for 26 years himself, added that the very nature of Whittle’s job made that skill a must-have.

“A lot of folks are upset when they call,” he said. “He’s got a knack for soothing them and calming them down.”

Whittle’s presence is not just felt in the public works department. Glynn County Commissioner Cap Fendig said that Whittle has also been an invaluable aid to him.

“Ed is what I call the public relations guru for Glynn County, so I often check in with him to get a sense of what citizens are calling us about,” he said.

Fendig said he has regularly received updates from Whittle since he first sought office in 1998.

Upon reflection, Whittle said his service to the county has been worth it.

“It’s been enjoyable,” he said. “I have worked with a great group of people, and the citizens are great to work for.”

Incorporate St. Simons and Sea islands? Yes No

Sides begin debate

Legislators will get first say

by Keith Laing, The Brunswick News

December 14, 2005

Glynn County residents turned to the Bible and patriotism to make their stands Tuesday on whether St. Simons and Sea islands should be allowed to shun county control and become a new city.

“We are our brothers keeper, (so) St. Simons Island should continue to help finance the rest of the county and keep sharing our wealth. Incorporation destroys that because of selfishness and greed,” Roger Frobe, a 20-year St. Simons Island property owner opposing incorporation, told about 100 people attending a town hall meeting convened by state legislators.

Among the arguments against allowing St. Simons and Sea islands to keep their tax money at home in a new city is the effect it would have on raising taxes elsewhere in the county to make up for lost revenue.

But whether the islands ever would get to the point of becoming a second city could hinge on who would be allowed to vote on creating it in the first place.

“If the Founding Fathers said that the whole British Empire would have had to vote on (America’s) independence, we’d still have King George on our money,” said Jack Sullivan, a 10-year St. Simons Island resident who is a member of a pro-incorporation group, explaining why he favors an island-only vote.

Glynn County delegates to the Georgia General Assembly – Sen. Jeff Chapman, R-Glynn County, Reps. Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons Island, Roger Lane, R-Darien, and Cecily Hill, R-St. Marys – who must unanimously back an incorporation resolution in the Legislature for the issue to go to a citizen vote, organized the forum Tuesday to help them decide what to do.

A key part of that resolution would be who could vote on the issue – all county voters or only those on St. Simons and Sea islands.

Chapman had previously said he favored a countywide vote because of the effect a new city would have on the rest of the county, but Keen cautioned during the meeting at Coastal Georgia Community College that no decisions have been made.

“That’s still to be decided through the listening process,” he told attendees. “Whatever the delegation decides, we have to decide as a group. Whatever we decide will have to have unanimous consent, and I’m confident that within the coming weeks we can come up with a consensus position.”

Chapman said Tuesday that he had yet to decide whether incorporating the islands is right for Glynn County. He said much thought would go into that decision.

“The information gathered here, and as we move forward (will be taken into account), but there’s no one item I can think of that would cause me to make a decision (either way),” he responded to a question on what factors will influence his decision.

Should residents ever get to vote their sentiments on a city, Keen wants the process to slow down and to be as wide open as possible.

Organizers of The Coalition to Incorporate St. Simons and Sea Islands have said they want a citizen vote in July so that a city that could be formed would elect a city council in November and begin operation in 2007.

Keen said Tuesday he did not like that schedule.

“I believe that a vote of this magnitude should be held when there’s the highest turnout possible, and that’s the general election,” Keen said near the close of the meeting. “I personally would like to see a vote on this in November, if one is to be held.”

In addition to telling the full General Assembly who would be allowed to vote in a local referendum, the county delegation also must have a proposed charter. The only one that exists now is a proposal from the pro-incorporation coalition. The legislators must either adopt that one or draft their own.

The next step for them, Chapman said, would be to discuss among themselves the positions and information presented at the meeting Tuesday. Chapman, Keen and Lane also will have to brief Hill, who did not attend the forum.

The meeting Tuesday was, in effect, a public hearing to brief legislators on the underlying issues of incorporation and to give them a sense of public sentiments on it.

“This is not a debate about incorporating or not incorporating,” Keen told the crowd, composed mostly of St. Simons Island residents, based on a show of hands. “That decision cannot be made by us. If it comes to a vote, it will be up to the voters.”

To help them decide if voters will get that chance, the legislators heard a presentation from representatives of the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute, which produced a study more than a year ago on the financial feasibility of creating a second city in Glynn County.

The study predicted that the total amount of taxes paid by St. Simons and Sea island residents could be more than $3 million less than now if a new municipality would be created, but acknowledged that the remainder of the county could lose more than $8 million in tax revenue.

City election costly affair

Mayor’s race tops $70,000

by Keith Laing, The Brunswick News

November 5, 2005

Two candidates who have been in the race for Brunswick mayor – including one no longer on the ballot – have spent more money each on their campaigns than the post pays in one year.

Campaign finance reports filed with the city clerk show that candidate Bryan Thompson and former hopeful Elaine Brown have each spent more than $30,000 on the election.

The mayor’s annual compensation for the part-time job is $13,500.

Thompson had raised more than $50,000 and spent a little more than $36,000 before the Oct. 25 reporting deadline and Brown raised more than $29,000 and spent more than $31,000 by a Sept. 30 report before she was removed from the ballot.

By contrast, candidates Otis Herrington and Betsy Bean, a write-in, had spent only a little more than $4,000, combined.

Combined, the four have spent more than $70,000 on advertising, signs and campaign events.

Thompson, who spent $36,194 through the close of the last filing period, said the cost of the campaign had initially caught him off guard.

“It’s costing more than I had anticipated before I started fund-raising and putting together a budget,” he said.

“I figured it would cost about $2,500, but then you start to think about the things you need to do in order to run an organized and effective campaign,” he said.

Brown said she is not surprised by the size of her expenditures or Thompson’s.

“If you look at the spending in the last election, (the successful mayoral candidate) spent around that much,” she said. “I don’t think of it as an unusual amount.”

Outgoing Mayor Brad Brown spent more than $18,000 on his 2001 re-election.

Bill Bozart, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, a non-partisan citizen’s organization that tends to champion populist causes, said that the stakes of a local election can make it easy for the receipts to pile up.

“We are beginning to see big war chests in sleepy little places that never had much action,” he said. “Brunswick may be a small place, but there may be land or rezoning decisions to be made by city officials, so the candidates for those positions tend to attract big donations.”

And former candidate Elaine Brown said the stakes are definitely high in this year’s mayoral contest.

“With a billion-dollar project on the horizon, this mayor’s race is important, and everyone knows why,” she said. “I wish I had spent more and had more to spend. I wish I had put up more signs and had more legal help.

“If I had spent money on a lawyer for my cases, they might have turned out differently,” added Brown, who represented herself in her hearings before both the Glynn County Board of Elections and a Superior Court judge.

In comparison to the big-spenders, Herrington, the only other mayoral candidate on the ballot with Thompson, reported about $1,000 in expenditures. Write-in Bean reported spending just $2,584.

Bean said that her spending was dictated by the nature of her contributions.

“My contributions came from friends and people who know me through my civic activism,” she said. “These aren’t wealthy people. Most gave (small donations). I didn’t have any corporate money.”

Bean said that is the way it should be in all elections.

“Raising that much money for a position that pays $13,500 should give voters cause to wonder,” she said. “I’m not indebted to anyone for any tit for tat. I think that’s the way it should be at all levels.”

Like Brown, however, Thompson said his expenditures were necessary.

“Based on the advice I got from people who’ve done this before, you are going to spend money, so you plan on raising it and you plan on spending it,” he said.

Brown agreed with that position.

“A lot of people probably thought they’d walk into office without a fight, but I knew I’d have to fight and so did (Thompson),” she said. “The bottom line was I wanted to win.”

Brown said the duration of the campaign was also a huge factor.

“When you consider that I’ve been operating since May, I think I’m operating at a very low level,” she said. “I have all volunteers, but I still had to pay rent (for campaign headquarters), phone bills, and keep the lights on since May.”

Though he was surprised initially, Thompson said he is now where he expected to be financially.

“We are right on budget and doing exactly what we planned to do,” he said.

In the two city commission races also on the ballot Tuesday, none of the seven candidates for the two seats – one from each ward – reported spending more than $4,000. City commissioners are paid $9,500 per year.

If any candidate closes out the campaign with unspent money, according to the Georgia Ethics Commission, those funds must be given to a charitable organization or a national, state or local political party or candidate, used to repay campaign debts or fund future campaigns for the same office, or be returned to contributors.

Liberty Harbor looks up

Commission gives OK for structures as high as 250 feet

by Keith Laing, The Brunswick News

October 20, 2005

Buildings in Brunswick could be quite a bit taller along the city’s waterfront.

The city commission at its regular meeting Wednesday gave developers of the proposed Liberty Harbor project the freedom to build residential high-rises as tall as 250 feet.

Commissioners cleared the way for the taller structures by approving rezoning requests for the new waterfront village proposed in the shadows of the Sidney Lanier Bridge.

In doing so, the commission granted the developers permission to build structures 14 stories high, with each floor taking an estimated 15 feet of height, said Bryan Thompson, president of Blueprint Brunswick, a nonprofit development agency that helped facilitate the independent Liberty Harbor project.

By contrast, the St. Simons Lighthouse is 104 feet high and St. Mark’s Towers, currently the tallest structure on city waterfront property, is six stories high. The towers of the Sidney Lanier Bridge reach 486 feet into the air from the top of the footing, while the highest vertical clearance of the road itself is 186 feet.

But don’t worry about the waterfront becoming a forest of tall buildings. City planner Arne Glaeser said the additional building height would be used only on select areas of the 110-acre facility, preventing it from becoming a block of skyscrapers.

During a public hearing the commission held before the voting on rezoning requests, several citizens asked if allowing Liberty Harbor to build tall structures would set a precedent for future development. City attorney Lynn Frey said that the height allowance would come in the form of an ordinance specific to the project.

“From my perspective, this is a unique piece of property because of the proximity to the bridge,” Frey said. “I don’t (think) it sets any precedent for other pieces of property.”

Mayor Brad Brown, an advocate of the project, said the structures would be unlike anything else in the city and offered his own prediction.

“The height we’ve allowed is definitely going to change the skyline of Brunswick,” he said.

Developers have previously targeted late November for putting properties in the site on sale, with mid-2006 as the goal for groundbreaking.

In other business, the commission:

* Discussed flooding resulting from Tropical Storm Tammy Oct. 13. The commission said it will see what can be done to improve the situation after about 20 city residents requested assistance from City Hall in dealing with flood damage in the College Park and Magnolia Park neighborhoods.

* Adopted a resolution in support of Georgia Senate Bill 86, which restricts the use of eminent domain, by which governments can force the sale of private property for public use. The measure, introduced by Sen. Jeff Chapman, R-Brunswick, would prevent government from condemning private property purely for the sake of economic development.

* Received but did not act on a resolution calling for removing the petition requirement in the candidate nomination process for future elections. The resolution follows a controversial qualifying period in which four of 11 candidates seeking election on the city’s Nov. 8 ballot were disqualified because of petition problems.

Big game can be big boost

by Keith Laing, The Brunswick News

September 15, 2005

Brunswick could soon be on the same playing field as cities more than 10 times its size.

That is, Brunswick City Commissioner Cornell Harvey says, if the community embraces Saturday’s Lomax Gold Coast Football Classic at Glynn County Stadium.

Harvey said the annual contest between Clark Atlanta and Fort Valley State universities, which is being held in Brunswick for the second time in three years, could grow to rival similar classics held every year in places like Atlanta and Jacksonville.

“When (Florida A &M University) and Tennessee State play in Atlanta or when the University of Georgia and the University of Florida play in Jacksonville every year, people come from all over,” he said. “We could have that here with this game.”

Harvey said the game’s presence – which drew 7,215 people when it was last played here in 2003 – is great for the city and should be something people work to see continue.

“It’s an opportunity to showcase our city,” he said. “We can get people from middle Georgia and Atlanta to come down and spend some time and money here. We can bring in revenue and put Brunswick on a higher level.”

Mayor Brad Brown said that he, too, would like to see the game join the junior college Sea Island Co. Golden Isles Bowl Classic as an annual Brunswick sporting event.

“This community is traditionally very supportive of football, and this will add another avenue for that,” he said. “It would be a good attraction for us if we could get it here every year.”

And doing so makes perfect sense, said Woody Woodside, president of the Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce.

“We have a strong core of Fort Valley State alumni here, and they know that we have one of the nicest stadiums in the state,” he said.

Woodside said a successful classic would be a financial, as well as a social, boon to Brunswick.

“Getting those schools and their followers here is good for the tax base,” he said. “Anyone that comes down to watch this game will be spending money. Merchants ought to be very grateful if they pull it off.”

Some merchants, like Bruce Dixon, already are grateful. Dixon, who owns two local hotels, said he would love to see the game become a tradition.

“We’re hosting the Fort Valley State football team at one hotel and the alumni group at another,” said Dixon, who owns the Marriot Fairfield Inn and the Holiday Inn on Interstate 95. “It’s a win-win.”

Dixon said this year’s game could just be the beginning.

“There would be a significant amount of tourism money coming into the community, and if they have it every year, it is likely to grow and get bigger,” he said.

Harvey said the game could also have an even more meaningful impact on the community.

“It’s an opportunity for the high school kids to see the college level a little bit,” he said. “Maybe it will inspire some of (them).”

County eyes speed plan

‘Speed humps’ on roads would try to slow down traffic

by Keith Laing, The Brunswick News

September 14, 2005

The dead-end street where Harrison Aiken lives on the backside of St. Clair subdivision on St. Simons Island hardly seems like a spot for high-speed driving.

But looks can be deceiving.

“We have people running up and down here like you would not believe,” said Aiken, who resides on Dunbar Creek Point. “I just can’t understand why some folks want to get wide open like that before they get to the end of the street.”

Aiken said speedsters have become quite a problem in his residential neighborhood, and that something should be done about it.

“We have children and pets on this street,” he said. “The speed limit is 25, but it should be 15.”

In an attempt to slow down lead-footed drivers like those Aiken sees, the Glynn County Commission will consider a proposal Thursday to allow citizens to ask the county to install speed humps - broad, gradual rises and falls – across certain roads.

Roads people use as bypasses to primary streets are particularly susceptible to speedsters, said Glynn County Public Works Director Joe Pereles.

Among popular cutoffs on St. Simons Island, for example, are streets such as Broadway Street, to avoid parts of Demere and Frederica roads, and Leake Street, to avoid parts of Mallery Street and Kings Way.

County Commission Chair Cap Fendig said the county receives complaints about residential speeding all the time.

“We consistently get calls about speeding through neighborhoods,” he said. “They call and ask us to do something about it.”

If the commission approves the speed hump proposal by the public works department, citizens would be able to ask the county to install humps on a street at least 1,000 feet long with a posted speed limit of 25 mph or less.

If those requirements are met, the county would do a traffic study to determine the severity of the problem, Pereles said. For the problem to be serious enough for possible installation of speed humps, at least 85 percent of traffic on the street on a given day would have to travel at more than 10 mph above the posted limit, regardless of volume.

The actual installation of humps would then have to be approved by 70 percent of the property owners residing on the street. Neighborhoods that want speed humps, but do not meet the requirement of 85 percent of traffic speeding through, would need the approval of 90 percent of the owners for humps.

Pereles said he made the recommendation because he thinks speed humps are the most effective deterrent to speeding.

“Some people want to put up stop signs, but that doesn’t always solve the problem,” he said. “Speed humps are the best method that doesn’t cause havoc or damage vehicles.”

The humps Pereles proposes are gradual rises over several feet, as opposed to speed bumps, which are short and more jarring to the bottoms of cars. Each hump would cost about $2,000 to install, Pereles said.

“I don’t foresee (the number of requests) being rampant,” he said. “This is not the public works department saying we need to put these in. It will only be done if the citizens (bring it to our attention).”

Fendig said the move gives residents that opportunity.

“We would be providing a procedure for neighborhoods to do what they feel like they have to do,” he said.