BOMA meeting on Dec. 19th @ 7:00 PM

I am still writing all of the information that concerns me the most and saving it in draft form until I finish. I will try to post a couple of concerns each day.

I need to take a break from posting issue after issue to let everyone know what is happening on the BOMA this week, and what will be happening at the meeting on the 19th of Dec. It seems to me that the BOMA needs to be reminded that they do in fact answer to someone. They have been skating along thinking that the citizens of Spring Hill really are not paying attention. We need to show up, stand up, and give voice to our thoughts before their lack of concern spoils a great opportunity. Without community involvement, we will be led by the housing developers of the area to a world of urban sprawl.

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Just to give you a heads up on what to expect when attending a meeting I will give you tips and common practices.

* "Citizen Concerns" are currently placed at the end of the meeting. Anything that you have to say that does not pertain directly to the agenda will be addressed at this time.

* When a topic arises on the agenda that you strong feelings about, and a prepared statement, stand and be acknowledged by the mayor. Once you have been noticed, go to the podium and you will have 5 minutes to address the board. Do not be afraid to speak your mind. They NEED to see that this community is finding its spine. If the mayor is not going to stand up for the platform that he ran on, the city needs to for him.

* Any of the problems that arise throughout the meeting that concern something a city planner might be involved with, feel free to step to the plate and tell them so.

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Back to the items that might concern us as a group of concerned citizens. I attended the various work sessions on Monday the 12th and for the most part the agenda is pretty typical. There are however a couple of issues that need our attention.

The majority of the time will be taken up by various annexations of land. There will be some discussion about a few pieces of land, but for the most part they will all pass. Somewhere near the end of the meeting, they will begin getting to the meat of some issues.

At some point, there will be a discussion about limiting the Planning Commission powers and possibly that of every board or committee that currently exists in our city. The BOMA (or at least the majority of it) seems to think that every issue that is not under their control should be. This will be quite fun to watch but is really quite serious, and by all means speak up and let your feelings be known regardless of where you stand.

Realize that in the end this was all started by a developer (Charles Raines) that does not want to be forced to show trees and elevations on a site plan that is submitted to the planning commission for approval. This developer (Charles Raines) does not like to get grief from his developer pals that would rather the planning commission and BOMA rubber stamp every little piece of entry level housing with a lack of imagination. This fight is not about checks and balances on the Planning Commission, Board of Appeals, Parks and Rec. Department, etc. The BOMA can overturn anything that any commission does, RIGHT NOW, on a case by case situation.

Make no mistake. This issue is not about wanting "accountable" aldermen to be responsible for the decisions that affect the city. This is about the BOMA controlling other legally sound commissions......appointed by the mayor.......answering to the BOMA already.......and taking on hours of work and research...........only to vote on every issue two months later without doing any of the legwork. Not only will decisions be made on poorly formed opinions, because aldermen do not want to sit in on every single meeting that takes place in this city, but they will take at least 2 months to make any decision.

Speak up from now on, and bring 5 friends with you to speak up as well. Pick a topic because we all know that there are plenty to chose from.............

* Port Royal road? Is it ever going to be fixed? Last month Ken York stated that you should see progress in the next month. Well, next Monday will be a month and I live on it and have not seen any progress.
* City Planner? Have we ever looked into taking on a needed expense? I don't care if we have to pay a full time planner with the studies included. It could cost $200,000, I don't know. But someone other than this board needs to become involved in creating this city into something conducive to young vibrant families. Dream big! We have a blank slate here.
* Density, a buzzword that you will become familiar with soon. How many homes can we fit on top of each other before we decide that a community needs a certain amount of USABLE public greenspace per house.
* Expanding fire and police departments. Maybe even add an ambulance service. I wonder how long it takes to get to a hospital if something were to happen. And what if the 1 ambulance for this county is already in use?
* Put your concern here.


Like I said.....there are plenty to choose from. Bring a friend or two and let your concern be heard! Talk to you later, maybe in 12 hours or so.