Fresh Loaf

Sally Bethea

In addition to crime, finances and transportation, Atlanta’s next mayor has a sizable task on his or her to-do list: continue fixing the city’s antiquated sewer system. Sally Bethea, executive director of the Upper Chattachoochee Riverkeeper, reminds the candidates not to lose sight of the estimated $4.1 billion project.

Eight short years ago, Atlanta’s aging sewer system was a disgrace to its citizens and to the state of Georgia. It was also illegal.

When the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper sued the city of Atlanta in 1995 for violations of the Clean Water Act, hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated sewage were routinely dumped into our streams and the river.

Although a federal judge ruled that the city had to clean up its act, then Mayor Bill Campbell did little but stall, leaving it to the next mayor to solve the problem, even while the judge threatened a moratorium on new development because Atlanta did not have the sewage infrastructure to support such development.

(more…)

Bookmark It

State Sen. Jeff Chapman

This is several days old, but since there’s been quite a buzz about a recent op-ed by state Sen. Jeff Chapman, R-Brunswick, we thought we’d share it for the rest of the world.

Chapman’s one of the Gold Dome’s greatest enigmas. He’s one of the few Republicans who doesn’t march in lockstep with his fellow pachyderms and isn’t afraid to butt heads with leadership over his constituents’ concerns. Last year, he won an army of fans when he pointed out problems with Jekyll Island’s proposed redevelopment.

One day after Sen. Chip Pearson, R-Dawsonville, published an op-ed banging the reservoir drum, Chapman released an op-ed titled “Fixing the holes in Georgia’s water bucket.” It was a welcome response to Pearson’s call to simply build more holes.

In it, Chapman says the state should first offer incentives and tax credits for low-flow toilets and fixtures, tighten up its infrastructure, and dredge existing reservoirs. To do so would save money, prevent intrastate water wars, and send a clear signal to Alabama and Florida — and Congress — that the state is serious about its precarious situation.

After the jump, for posterity’s sake, Chapman’s full op-ed.

(more…)

Bookmark It

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES MEETING: Blessed are the new-fangled showerheads. For they restricteth thy flow. (Credit: Sonny Perdue)

This is weird.

The list-generating business consultants at Mercer say Atlanta has the best city infrastructure the United States.

Mercer says the ranking is based on “electricity supply, water availability, telephone and mail services, public transport provision, traffic congestion and the range of international flights from local airports.”

Um, Mercer, what the f@$k is wrong with you?

Atlanta’s long-terms water use planner is Jesus.

Atlanta’s mass transit funding is controlled by Satan.

Metro commuters endure the worst traffic in the nation and the city’s biggest transportation project of the past decade consists of forcing Ryan Gravel to pose for photos by a disused rail line every six months.

I suspect the massive number of flights in-and-out of Hartsfield-Jackson is throwing off Mercer’s magic formula. If that’s the case, the formula needs tweaking.

Mercer, people pay you a lot of money to know stuff. Earn your money. Know stuff. Read a newspaper. Visit some local blogs, such as this one. AtlantaWaterShortage.com is pretty good, too.

Bookmark It

Nothing kicks off a Monday morning like a 170-page audit of Atlanta’s $4 billion sewer system overhaul. We’re still combing through the beast, but Atlanta Unfiltered’s Jim Walls has already found some tidbits.

Walls:

Atlanta’s water department has illegally kept $4 million that should have been refunded to 29,000 customers who closed their accounts, a city audit shows.

Apparently, part of the problem is that no one ever told customer-service reps in the water department about changes last year in the city code. Auditors said employees who handle refunds were unaware of consumer-friendly changes in refund procedures.

On Friday, the AJC’s D.L Bennett wrote a good overview on some, uhm, financial hurdles facing the city and the project:

Atlanta officials fear the city’s $4 billion water and sewer system overhaul could collapse because the city’s crushing debt and already low credit rating threaten the city’s ability to borrow money in ever-tightening credit markets.

The city hopes Monday to issue $500 million to $700 million in new bonds for the program, with much of the money to refund old debt that must be repaid before interest rates or other factors send payments skyrocketing.

“We’ve got some considerable issues facing us,” city CFO Jim Glass said Friday.

No joke. And we’ve got some considerable reading to do. The audit is available here. (Warning: large PDF)

Bookmark It

Jeez, guys, didn’t you read that he was taking a train to Washington, D.C.?

The Georgia Public Interest Research Group has just released its analysis of the state Department of Transportation’s wishlist for President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed stimulus funds. And the group says the state agency’s list favors asphalt over rails.

The Georgia Department of Transportation’s wish list requests:

• Georgia would spend only 34.3 percent of funds on public transit/intercity rail projects.

• The state DOT has allocated 69 percent of the two billion dollar highway project funds to the maintenance needs of the state’s infrastructure. This is a higher portion than most other states but would still leave many bridges and roads in a state of disrepair while building new highways.

• GDOT also lists three bike/pedestrian projects in Fulton County: West End Rail Multi-use Trail ($2.2 million), Fourteenth Street ($7.6 million), and Downtown Atlanta Pedestrian ($6.7 million).

There are some worrisome aspects to these high-dollar and ambitious wishlists, too.

(more…)

Bookmark It

According to Stateline, cash-hungry zombie politicians are already tossing ‘bows to compete for “Obamabucks” — the huge pile of at least $500 billion the president-elect hopes to dole out for infrastructure investments that he says will spur the economy. And cities and counties want the bulk of the loot.

The disagreement over the stimulus money partly reflects the increased tension between state and local governments during a worsening recession.

Many city and county leaders already are upset at state officials who are slashing aid to local governments to cover budget gaps. Their anxieties over being shortchanged were heightened Dec. 2 when 48 current and incoming governors met with President-elect Barack Obama to ask Obama to direct much of the stimulus money to states.

….

“We must make sure that the funding is spent quickly, and not stuck in federal or state bureaucracies,” said Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The mayors have submitted a $90 billion infrastructure plan to the transition team.

State officials doubt that channeling the money to cities and counties would save time. More to the point, they believe that state governments should oversee the money, because they can determine transportation priorities for the entire state, not just one area.

According to some reports, the Georgia Department of Transportation is asking for $3.4 billion from the incoming Obama administration. In Atlanta, Mayor Shirley Franklin has requested assistance for sewer repairs and the Beltline, among other projects.

Bookmark It

No one loves “free” money more than state and local governments. And Georgia’s are no exception.

Anticipation surrounding  President-elect Barack Obama’s $500-billion proposal to re-invest in the nation’s infrastructure continues to build, and cities, counties and states are already starting to drool.

In Georgia, the state DOT has already outlined $3.4 billion worth of road, bridge and rail projects — including more than $1 billion for cash-strapped MARTA.

After the jump, read about some of the projects Peach State lawmakers hope the incoming president will deem worthy of the taxpayer coin. We’ll have more on Atlanta’s potential projects later, as well as some interesting thoughts from one Democratic insider who says we — or more like some of our elected officials — may have already shot ourselves in the foot when it comes to trying to kiss Obama’s ring. (If you’d like to know what’s on the wish lists of 427 U.S. mayors, including six in Georgia, visit this PDF.)

(more…)

Bookmark It

Were you anticipating a giant man-made hole near you sometime soon? Thanks to that pesky economy thing, you’re going to have to wait.

From the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority:

As you may be aware, due to the recent economic downturn affecting the U.S. economy, the state of Georgia is facing a sharp decline in revenue. In consultation with the leadership in the Georgia General Assembly, Governor Sonny Perdue is reallocating funding to safeguard essential government services and programs. Accordingly, in order to keep all options open as the state develops a funding plan for the budget shortfall, the Office of Planning and Budget (OPB) instructed the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) to suspend the Georgia Water Supply Competitive Grant Program funded through an Amended Fiscal Year 2008 appropriation of $40 million. OPB also notified GEFA to suspend distribution of the Fiscal Year 2009 allocation of $10 million in grant funding for the Georgia Land Conservation Program (GLCP).

The agency says it’ll work with current and future grant applicants to find alternate funding sources. It’ll also continue to offer its low-interest loan program for local water supply projects. Click here to download the full announcement or read it after the jump.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

(more…)

Bookmark It

Atlanta entrusted one of mankind’s most vital resources to a private French company called United Water way back during the glorious days of Mayor Bill Campbell. It didn’t work out too well.

The rabble rousers at the Fulton County Taxpayers Association have been pushing Mayor Shirley Franklin to take a walk down memory lane and reconsider doing business with the company. They say it would save taxpayers $20 million annually.

If ever there were an example of peace of mind being worth paying for, this is it.

Franklin politely told them no:

In the past several weeks I have received a series of letters requesting that the city renew a relationship with United Water, a private French company that ran the City’s water operations in the late 1990’s through 2002. This request first appeared in a mailing from the Fulton County Taxpayers Association. I write now to explain we are not interested in pursuing your recommendation.

Whew. View the organization’s response to Franklin here.

Bookmark It

A resolution that encouraged municipalities to start loving the tap and phase out spending city dollars on bottled water passed today at the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors convention in Miami.

“Cities are sending the wrong message about the quality of public water when we spend taxpayer dollars on water in disposable containers from a private corporation,” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said in a release. “Our public water systems are among the best in the world and demand significant and ongoing investment.”

Mayor Shirley Franklin attended this weekend’s conference but was not present for today’s vote. A spokesperson says she left early to Savannah for the Georgia Municipal Association’s annual convention. A spokesperson says Franklin helped clarify language in the resolution that wouldn’t prohibit bottled water outright, but use municipal water when it was most feasible. The legislation was sponsored by mayors from 17 U.S. cities including Seattle, Chicago and New York City.

(You didn’t think the city that was bailed out by the world’s favorite sugared-water manufacturer in 1934 would snub its nose at said bottler, did you?)

According to Corporate Accountability International, a big-business watchdog group who applauded the resolution, cities spend an estimated $70 million each year on disposing of plastic bottles. The group says cities such as San Francisco spend more than $500,000 on annual contracts for bottled water.

“It’s just plain common sense for cities to stop padding the bottled water industry’s bottom line at taxpayer expense,” said Gigi Kellett of the group and national director of its Think Outside the Bottle campaign. “This resolution will send the strong message that opting for tap over bottled water is what’s best for our environment, our pocketbooks and our long-term, equitable access to our most essential resource.”

The clarifying language makes clear that municipalities may need to turn to bottled water in the case of emergencies. To view the resolution, click here.

Bookmark It

Just came in via e-mail. City officials plan to lay off 125 workers in a first round of restructuring to chip away at the estimated $140 million deficit. Mayor Shirley Franklin has suggested several cuts and said that 788 positions — of which 441 are currently filled — will eventually be eliminated. Plans include raising taxes as well.

Click here to view Franklin’s letter to the city council that outlines her plan. Included in her proposal:

• Reduction of 135 personnel in support departments

• Reduce the number of operating municipal courts from nine to seven; consolidate the Office of the Solicitor with the Department of Law

• Eliminate 59 positions in Solid Waste Services and shift to bi-weekly collections of recyclables and yard trimmings

• Close 11 recreational centers for repairs and permanently close two recreational centers

• Eliminate city shuttle service

• Reduce the city’s contribution to health care plans from 77 percent to 70 percent

CL staff writer Scott Henry’s been at City Hall for most of yesterday and today and will provide more analysis.

In the meantime, I’m combing through the details to see if she uses any of the chatroom parlance with the council which she showed off when she made her most recent appearance here on Fresh Loaf.

Bookmark It

UPDATE: A city spokesperson said in a phone interview that the bridge is showing signs of “major deterioration and section loss.”

Just arrived from the City of Atlanta Department of Public Works. (Emphasis added.)

Mitchell Street Bridge to Close Effective Immediately

Effective immediately, Mitchell Street between Northside Drive and Spring Street will be closed to all traffic. This closure will remain in effect until further notice.

The Department of Public Works’ Office of Transportation and Georgia Department of Transportation are responsible for the maintenance and inspection of the Mitchell Street Bridge and will close the affected area this afternoon. An inspection of the bridge revealed that it is in need of replacement and has been deemed unsafe for vehicular traffic at this time. “We will do everything we can to minimize the impact and inconvenience of this closure; however the safety of those who travel on our roadways is our priority,” said Sandra Jennings, Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Transportation.

The Department of Public Works suggests the following detour route: Northside Drive to McDaniel Street to Peters Street to Spring Street to Mitchell Street.

When a lobbyist recently told me we need to invest in infrastructure, he wasn’t kidding.

Bookmark It

The Supreme Court of Georgia has unanimously ruled that the use of school-tax revenue for non-educational purposes — in this case, to build the Beltline — violates the state constitution. John Woodham, a Fulton County resident opposed to the tax allocation district funding mechanism, represented himself in the case.

What does this mean? Well, it means the Beltline project is now without a whole lotta’ money. About $200 million. Trying to get the exact amount here…getting ranges from $200 million to $1.7 billion.

From the court’s press release:

But in today’s unanimous ruling, written by Justice Hugh Thompson, the Court agrees with Woodham that the use of school funds for non-educational purposes violates the Educational Purpose Clause of the state Constitution. The Court cites two earlier Supreme Court decisions in concluding “that school tax funds levied and collected by the school system cannot constitutionally be applied to benefit the BeltLine project.”

Full press release after the jump. More to come on this later.

(more…)

Bookmark It

North Avenue westbound was flooded this morning at 9:35 a.m. underneath the Northside Drive overpass. I had to take a detour to work.

It didn’t even rain that much.

Bookmark It