Gwinnett Buzz

Kimberly Ann Gittings from Lilburn was crowned Miss Georiga USA for 2009 over the weekend in Cartersville.  The Buzz congratulates Ms. Gittings and wishes her good luck when she represents our state in the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas in April.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank is seeking a Major League Soccer franchise for Atlanta.  Atlanta will be up against Miami, Montreal, Ottawa, Portland, St. Louis, and Vancouver.  Frankly, any of those sound like a better choice than Atlanta, but if Atlanta gets saddled with a pro soccer team, Gwinnett has been mentioned as a potential site for a new soccer stadium.  Fortunately, Kennesaw State University is reported to be very interested in locating the facility in Cobb.  I say let them have it.

The Buzz has been vocal in its opposition to the Gwinnett Braves stadium and even the need for a minor league baseball team in a Major League city.  However, baseball is an all-American sport that has a rich history in American lore.  Soccer, on the other hand, is like an invasive weed that was introduced, perhaps innocently, to an area but has gotten out of control and is now a nuisance.  We don’t need it here and we certainly do not want to encourage further development of this mind-numbingly boring “socialist sport” in America.

I cannot resist offering an observation to this comment from a Kennesaw State student:

…professional soccer would give students an exciting sport to watch…

Sure, right up there with watching grass grow or watching paint dry.  Bottom line, Gwinnett should should simply saw “No!” to soccer (preferably in general, but definitely to a pro franchise!)

Gwinnett parks are the best in the nation!  Congratulations to the parks department.  Gwinnett’s parks are well-maintained and offer a variety of recreation amenities. They add a lot to our communities!

Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation was recognized this week as the number one park agency in the nation by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA). The agency was presented the Grand Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management.

Today, I was checking out the TalkGwinnett! forums for the first time in quite a while.  I came across a post entitled “Unpatriotic Display by the Grayson Marching Band.”  Intrigued what Grayson’s band could have done that was so unpatriotic and being a former high school band member and current marching arts fan, I clicked on the post.  I was dismayed at what I found.  The poster had taken exception to a set in the Grayson show which was part of a show featuring the music of Russian composers.  The set in question?  A hammer and sickle from Soviet era Russia.

This situation with the Grayson band is not that dissimilar to a controversy that arose after the first Georgia Tech football game this season against Jacksonville State Univeristy. The Jacksonville State’s band, the Marching Southerners, 2008 halftime show is entitled “From Russia with Love” and also features the music of Russian composers.  You can see where this is going.  The Southerners’ color guard used red flags with a hammer and sickle insignia as a similar logo on the guard uniforms.

At this point allow me to step back and provide a provide a little context for my thoughts on these two controversies.  I was in the Central Gwinnett band about two decades ago and I have been an avid fan of drum and bugle corps for over twenty years. I completely grasp the use of visual imagery as part of a marching show that aspires to be a production rather than a random collection of musical pieces.  In fact, drum corps have used similar imagery Soviet imagery in their shows. In 1991 the Santa Clara Vanguard drum and bugle corps ended a show based on the musical Miss Saigon with a massive red communist flag covering the field accompanied by percussion mimicing the sound of helicopters, all in order to symbolize the fall of Saigon. In 2005, the same corps, this time doing a Russian themed show, spelled “CCCP” on the field. I saw both of these shows in person and, despite being a strong conservative and completely opposed to communism, I took no offense.  Similarly I took no offense to the Marching Southerners’ show nor do I find the Grayson High school show unpatriotic.

The Jacksonville State University Marching Southerners is probably the finest college marching band in America and, unlike most college bands, they draw directly from the drum corps style so I completely “got it.”  I was shocked when I began to read reactions similar to that about Grayson High on the Tech message board. At the time, I was offended at the suggestion that there was something inappropriate about the Southerners’ show.  I have the same position on the criticism of the Grayson band. I am sure there was no political statement involved in either of these shows. These bands were simply employing a commonly known symbol of Russia/Soviet Union to convey a visual context to the music.  If there were there a political message in support of communism, I would be first with my criticism as well!  To those who might take offense, I ask what Russian image would be more readily identifiable as Russian (technically Soviet) than the hammer and sickle? I have yet to hear a better suggestion either for Grayson or for JSU. Some might  suggest the current Russian flag but poster seemed to even take issue with that.

Unfortunately, after much criticism, JSU changed their flags and uniforms. I saw them in exhibition this week and the flags were new and they had placed some symbol over the guard uniforms’ hammer and sickle. I was very disappointed that the Southerners caved into the thin-skinned nature of so many Americans, especially those who don’t seem to “get” the marching arts. I hope that Grayson sticks to their guns on this. There is no reason to believe they had any intent to promote any anti-American or pro-Communist sentiment.  Thus, I fail to see how this makes the Grayson band’s performance unpatriotic.  I would like to wish the Grayson Marching Band luck in any further competitions this season and hope that audiences appreciate the show for the artistic, musical, and non-political production that it is.

Here are links to YouTube clips for the Marching Southerners performing “From Russian with Love” and the Grayson High School Marching Band performing “A Portrait of Russia.” (Unfortunately, the camera position for the Grayson show is too low to clearly see the sets the band forms on-field.)

This article is a little dated but I am still trying to clear out a backlog of articles that accumulated during my recent travels.  I was intrigued to read that the Gwinnett Democrat Party (Gwinnett has a Democrat Party?  Who knew!) is hoping to use anger over the Gwinnett Braves stadium fiasco to propel their candidates in November.  As readers of the Buzz know, I am certainly not happy with the stadium situation myself.  However, I am also a political pragmatist and I can say with great confidence that voting for Democrats in Gwinnett is the absolute wrong thing to do.  Many people say vote the person not the party, but in general I think this is naive.  Often, even the reasonable, more conservative Democrats wind up toeing their party line, a party that is among it national leadership ranks, very liberal and strong believers in the nanny state.  That is precisely what Gwinnett voters do not need to empower in this county.  While our current commissioners may have tossed fiscal responsibility out the window with the latest stadium funding vote, they provide  far more instances of fiscal rationality than we would likely see from a board dominated with Democrats.  Perhaps not, but with the track record of big spending, higher taxes, and big government is that really a risk we want to take?

The time to speak against current commissioners was in this summers’ primaries when we were choosing between two or more Republicans.  That ship has sailed.  Even though I was adamantly opposed to Mike Beaudreau in the primary, I certainly will not vote for his Democrat opponent in November.  I might not vote for Mike, but I have enough sense to do nothing foolish at the ballot box - well, I might write in Georgia Tech Coach Paul Johnson but I doubt he would get enough votes to unseat Beaudreau!  The best recourse now is to be vocal, visible and active as a voter and resident for the next two to four years leading to the next elections.  Work to hold our commissioners accountable for their decisions.  Call, write or visit your commissioner during office hours.  Write letters to the editor, participate in forums such as TalkGwinnett!, or comment here or on another of the Gwinnett blogs listed at left.   (I would say start a blog but I don’t need the competition!)  Do something, don’t just go home and vent and certainly don’t cut off your nose to spite your face by voting for a Democrat!

I always think of Bartow Jenkins as the first ever football coach at Central Gwinnett High School.  Though I went to Central when Black Knight football was synonymous with Tally Johnson, I knew the name of Bartow Jenkins.  Jenkins died Wednesday of Alzheimer’s at the age of 81.

Not only was he a “first” for Central, Jenkins was also the first principal of Parkview High School.  In addition he served as the head of athletics for Gwinnett County Schools.  However, Jenkins also forged a long and successful political career at both the city and county levels.  He served three terms on the Lawrenceville City Council, won a special election for the Gwinnett County Commission and was Mayor of Lawrenceville for 14 years, retiring in 2002.

The Gwinnett Buzz sends it condolences and prayers to the family of Bartow Jenkins.

Earlier this week, I summarized the cost overruns for the new Gwinnett Braves baseball stadium that were funded by the Gwinnett County Commission.  Against that backdrop, I would now like to explore the financial wisdom behind this move.  I will set aside for the moment the non-financial question of whether government should be paying in the first place for a place of business - which, after all, is what a stadium is to a baseball team - for a private organization.  The reality is that we are in a financial strain in Gwinnett.  So why are our commissioners cavalierly throwing around millions of our dollars?

Several factors are contributing to the revenue pinch that Gwinnett is feeling right now.  On factor is the effect of slowing population growth on revenue generation.  While many would applaud this slowdown, unless the cost of government similarly slows, the gap between costs and revenue will have an impact on the county budget.  In response, several cost-savings measures have been implemented by the county:

Last week, the county announced a hiring freeze meant to put a dent in rising costs that will sap $20 million from the county’s budget this year. The tax commissioner’s office recently cut the work week to four days to save on energy costs, and police and fire employees have been asked to take measures to save on fuel costs.

Let’s consider this scenario.  If you are having to cut back on your living expenses - eliminating those premium cable channels or eating out less each week - because your household income has taken a hit, is that the time to go out and buy a new car that you don’t really need?  What if you pay for that car by drawing money from your rainy day fund, a fund that you have already been tapping in recent years to make ends meet?  Consider now that you are buying the car for a friend of the family.  This friend has the money to buy the car himself, but you are going to buy it and let him have primary use of the vehicle.  Also consider that, rather than getting a nice, serviceable Chevrolet or Buick, you and your friend decide that you are going to get a fine Cadillac.  After all, if you are going to buy the car, you might as well do it right.  Would you consider this wise management of your money?  Well, this is basically what the Gwinnett County Commission is doing with the Gwinnett Braves stadium.  Yes, it is an oversimplification and it does not adequately capture the expectation that the stadium will generate additional revenues from various sources for Gwinnett County, but I think this is a pretty fair representation of the situation.

This reckless use of our money is further compounded by the fact that the County denied quite a few law enforcement funding requests during the 2008 budget process.  I understand how budgeting processes work and I understand that departments ask for more than they expect to get so that their basic needs are met.  However, funding only a quarter of requested county positions seems too thin to account for normal budget inflation.  Some of the key positions denied include:

• Two victim assistance positions
• One prosecutor for Juvenile Court
• Two assistant district attorneys for the drug task force
• One criminal investigator for white-collar and computer crime
• Three additional investigators
• 20 Sheriff’s deputies and staff for criminal warrants
• 18 Sheriff department positions for jail operations

I do not know the total cost in compensation, benefits, training and other expenses that these positions would entail, but I think it is probably less than the $19 million that the commission just spent on upgraded leather, wheels, and navigation system for the their new stadium.  This failure to fund law enforcement positions is especially galling with today’s news of the impact on crime by illegal immigrants.

While Gwinnett County government does not have as poor a record of wasting taxpayer dollars as some other government entities, the Gwinnett Braves stadium shows absolute disrespect by our elected officials for the taxpayers of Gwinnett.  Bert Nasuti and Kevin Kenerly were quite smug in their comments defending this move.  County Administrator Jock Connell exhibited a similar tone in saying the reserve allows the County to pursue “opportunities,” noting, “We knew a time was coming when we would use these funds.”  What about opportunities that Gwinnett taxpayers would like to pursue with their funds?

$31 million of our money is being given to the Atlanta Braves organization, a business that can afford to pay four of its employees $14 million or more apiece in just 2008 alone.  This amount by itself could pay for the entire “enhanced” Gwinnett Braves facility!  The $31 million represents a transfer of $150 from each Gwinnett household to a business that pays multi-million dollar employees to play a game that you have to pay for your kids to play at a local park.  (Note:  This value uses the 2000 census count of households in Gwinnett County.)  I do not subscribe the wealth envy/class warfare politics so often used by Democrats.  Pro sports is a free market business and the Braves can spend whatever the market will bear on their players.  However, forceibly taking money from families that cannot even dream of making millions per year and giving it to a private business with such an enormous payroll is irresponsible on the part of elected officials.  To do so in a time when crime is a significant issue and those officials cannot even fully fund law enforcement budget requests is a dereliction of their duty to county residents.

One of the topics that I highlighted during my recent hiatus from the Buzz was the announced cost overruns for the Gwinnett Braves stadium currently under construction in the Mall of Georgia area.  We first learned a week and a half ago that the cost for the new stadium would come in at $59 million, $19 million more than the original estimate of $40 million.  This represents an overrun of nearly 50%! The overrun itself does not make this inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars any more egregious than it already was, but it does highlight the cavalier attitude our elected officials take to using our money.  Once committed to a project, going back to the virtually bottomless well of the public funds is an easier political move than defending the full level of spending at the outset.  Politicians don’t have to carefully consider the business case for the additional costs since the funds can be taken by force from Gwinnett taxpayers.  They only have to calculate the political impact and count on the fact that many voters either fall in line like sheep and gleefully hand over their money or that they are too absorbed in trivial pursuits until a week or two before an election.

So what items are contributing to these overruns?  Surely, this is a case of unexpected increases in the cost of materials, labor, services and other costs associated with a building project, right?  As football commentator Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend!”

More than a third of the increased cost comes from upgrades from the original plans that include an addition to the concourse to make it completely circle the stadium, a canopy over parts of the stadium and upgraded finishes.

Another third results from additional site work to put stormwater detention underground, build beefier retaining walls necessary to maximize use of the site, increased sewer costs and unexpected rock removal costs, Tucker said.

The increase also includes $1.5 million to make the stadium more environmentally friendly, in part by using partially treated wastewater to irrigate the field and flush toilets.

These enhancements do not seem to fall into the category of unexpected hurdles found after construction began that had to be addressed.  Convenient that they did not get included in the initial design that was foisted upon taxpayers.  And “upgraded finishes?”  Much easier to splurge when the money is there for the taking.  Of the $19 million overrun, only $3.2 million or approximately 17%, can be attributed to the typical cause of higher than anticipated project costs.  However, if you consider this from the perspective of a politician, this all makes sense.

Had the enhancements been included at the time of the stadium proposal, the initial cost would have been over $50 million.  Much easier to commit to the cheaper base model then upgrade to the top-of-the-line model after you have begun  the project.  The Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau admited that the “cost had escalated dramatically because of design decisions made since work at the site began.”  Consider the defenses of members of the County Commission.  District 2 Commissioner Bert Nasuti said, “We’ve got only one opportunity to build it right.”  He was also reported as calling this a wise investment that would produce more revenue than cost.  A large business or factory would bring significant revenue to Gwinnett County, but we don’t see the government building these type facilities for private companies - nor should they!  Perhaps a company locating to Gwinnett may get a preferential tax deal, but that falls far short of building a $59 million facility using $31 million of taxpayer dollars.  District 4 Commissioner Kevin Kenerly said, “I don’t want just to go to a high school field.  I want a first-class facility there.”  Easy to do when you can just take the money from others to realize your goal.  At least District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau displayed some concern about this misuse of taxpayer dollars and implied that he had considered the various business cases available at this juncture.

But I’m not pleased about it, obviously, at all.  I’m very frustrated. But at this point, I looked at every other recourse possible, including plowing it under, and it would all end up being more expensive.

I also take exception to the fact that the board put this question among the “non-controversial” items in their recent meeting.  While I doubt that the comments of citizens would have changed the vote, Gwinnett taxpayers, the very people who are funding the dreams and aspirations of Nasuti and Kenerly, were denied by the board the chance to be heard on the record.  Again, this makes sense from the political point of view: you are about to pick someone’s pocket, so don’t give them a chance to call attention to your actions, especially when you have to go and ask these same people to keep your job when you are next up for reelection.

There is more to say on this issue, but I wanted to first summarize the issue and provide some first thoughts in this initial post before offering a broader framing in a subsequent post.

Very cool!  Play-by-Play Advertising will bring radio broadcasts of Gwinnett high school football games to a web browser near you this fall.  The company also provides tape-delayed television broadcasts on both Comcast and Charter.  I used to enjoy listening to the Gwinnett game of the week on Lake 103 before that station’s format changed to Latin music.

The biggest game on Play-by-Play’s schedule this fall?  Central Gwinnett at Brookwood, of course!  Once a Black Knight, always Black Knight!  Go Knights!

Technically, the drum and bugle corps is coming to Fulton County.  The Atlanta Brass Classic is at Milton High School Thursday night at 6:30P in Milton (north of Alpharetta) so it is only a short drive for North Gwinnett residents. One of the corps, however, The Cadets of Allentown, PA, will be “housing” at Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee. (Corps typically house at a high school near shows in which they appear. They usually sleep on gym floors and rehearse on the school campus.)

For the uninitiated, drum and bugle corps is very similar to marching band but is quite different. Corps are independent organizations and are composed only of brass and percussion instruments along with a color guard. Performance quality of the top corps is orders of magnitude above even the best high school and college marching bands.  Corps tour the country from mid-June to early August competing multiple times each week and practicing almost all day, every day during tour.

If you enjoy high quality music, are a fan of marching band, or simply want to experience something new and exciting, I encourage you to come to Milton High Thursday night.  Also, Cadets rehearsals at Peachtree Ridge should be free and open to the public.  The corps will be housing there both Thursday and Friday and their daily schedule can be found here.