Here is some interesting discussion for all of you. Maury County Commissioner Cindy Williams, Dave Huebner and Spring Hill Alderman Jonathan Duda have been having a little email conversation and they have all asked that it be shared with this website. Enjoy! I wonder what this comment means? What do you think?
I will post text from Mr. Huebner in Blue, text from Commissioner Cindy Williams in Black, text from Alderman Jonathan Duda in Green, and my commentary in Red. Hope that this is not too confusing.
Here we go...
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Mr. Huebner,
I respect your opinion regarding the Derryberry Lane issue and I sincerely hope that you will respect my opinion. I am a firm believer of one standing behind a promise, an agreement, a contract (verbal or written). The city of Spring Hill verbally committed to rebuilding Derryberry Lane to the Maury County Board of Education in 2004 when developer Dino Roberts first presented his "original" offer of 30 acres of land at the end (further down the road than the present site now being built on and a more costly road than the city is facing now) of Derryberry Lane. The city made that commitment in support of the Maury County Education System due to the city's phenomenal growth issues(The cities of Brentwood and Franklin have made similar concessions...even giving monies to the school systems to build new schools). The city also knew that at that time that Derryberry Lane would be annexed into the city and that land on each side of the road would be annexed into the city due to the location of a future school on the road. Mr. Roberts has a survey of the "original" site and will gladly show anyone the survey if requested.
The attached letter written by city administrator Ken York the following year was required by developer Roberts to confirm the city would follow up their verbal commitment with a written commitment prior to Roberts officially deeding the property to the school system. Yes, the exact parcel of the school site on Derryberry Lane changed three times in a one and one half year period, however the city committed to rebuilding Derryberry Lane during the "original" site selection. Yes, I am disappointed to see the present administration not honor the prior administration commitment.
Sincerely,
Cindy Williams
11th District Maury County Commissioner
931-486-3122
P.S. Please feel free to share this email with your fellow blog friends.
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Ms. Williams,
Also, if I recall, in January you told the BOMA specifically not to spend another dime on the road, since the BOE moved the location w/o our knowledge.
Why the change?
Dave Huebner
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Mr. Huebner,
My comment made during the BOMA work session in January was in response to City Administrator York stating that the school system was in addition asking the city to run power poles/lines to the school site. Since I was present during the "original" commitments made by the city in 2004 I told the BOMA at the work session that they were not obligated to put in the power lines as the prior commitments stated did not include that.
Sue McClure with the Tennessean was present at that work session and she can confirm what I stated.
I ask that you contact Developer Dino Roberts, Maury County School Board Member Whitney Seaton, Maury County Commissioner June Beckum or any others present during the Maury County school board meetings held in 2004 whereas the Derryberry Lane land donation was thoroughly discussed and a commitment was made by the city of Spring Hill to rebuild Derryberry Lane, run water and sewer to the 30 acre land tract proposed by Developer Dino Roberts. Anyone present at the meeting will confirm my statements.
I base my vote on the Derryberry Lane issue on principle....not personalities, not petty politics and not county versus city. In government and in business, when a commitment is made....a commitment should be honored. To no one's surprise there will need to be many more new schools built in the Spring Hill area....for the city of Spring Hill to not honor a prior commitment regarding the first of many new schools built may create future strained relationships between the city and county governments.
You stated in your prior email that since the site was moved a few hundred feet in the process of one and one half years, your felt the city's commitment was in essence null and void. I respectfully agree to disagree with you on two counts. First, re-read the letter I attached previously written by Mr. Ken York.....the letter does not attach stipulations as to where the school site is located on Derryberry Lane, nor does it identify the proposed site via map and parcel number or state any conditions if the school site were to be changed. Second, the moving of the site to the third location will now actually cost the city less money than the "original" site stated due to less linear footage of road. Why should this make a commitment by the city null and void?
Sincerely,
Cindy Williams
11th District Maury County Commissioner
931-486-3122
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Ms. Williams,
If locations of schools or other properties change, then common sense dictates that agreements, written or oral, must then be reassessed. I have no problem with changing the terms on our end, since the school location was moved. Private industry operates in this manner (agreements are subject to change if original conditions change). Governments are no different.
Mayor Leverette is doing the right thing.
Dave Huebner
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I was also at that meeting. I am almost positive that she specifically told the BOMA in January that we shouldn't spend another dime on the road, as the BOE moved the school site without our knowledge. On April 21st, when the letter to Maury County Education was written, the proposed school site was about 1000 feet closer to Port Royal Road than where it sits now.
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Possibly this sketch may help you to understand the three sites considered and the original site presented to the school board. As stated earlier, the city of Spring Hill at that time committed to rebuilding Derryberry Lane in front of school board members, commissioners and developer Roberts. The letter written in April 2005 was required by Developer Dino Roberts just prior to deeding the present site to the school board to insure that the city would not renege on their commitment to rebuild the road. I guess he meant well.
Sincerely,
Cindy Williams
11th District Maury County Commissioner
931-486-3122
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On April 21st, the proposed school site was Site 2, on the map. About aweek later, after the City of Spring Hill committed the road to Site 2, the site was changed to Site 3 on the map. If there is proof (written or confirmed by a Spring Hill official) that the city of Spring Hill committed to building the road to either site 1 or 3, I would certainly support honoring that commitment. Absent any confirmation, a decision to unilaterally change the site should have taken into account the issue of who would be responsible for improvements to the County Road from the point that Spring Hill had agreed, to the new location.
Instead, the County Commission voiced concerns about the proposed location of Site 2:
Columbia Daily Herald #1
"Several commissioners have expressed concerns about drainage problems on one tract of donated land on Derryberry Lane. Director of Schools Eddie Hickman said the suitability of the 20-acre tract donated by developer Dino Roberts has not been determined."
Then, on April 25th, the Facilities Committee voted to move the school site:
Columbia Daily Herald #2
"Moving potential Spring Hill school sites to higher ground should help ease flooding concerns, said a senior project manager with SSOE, Inc. The School Board's Facilities Committee approved Monday moving the proposed sites 700 feet east, contingent on a pending geological report. Architect Dwain Hibdon said moving construction to higher ground should help eliminate drainage problems, although poor soil could hamper construction."
The Maury County Commission and the Maury County Board of Education have a history of not seeing eye to eye, as evidenced each July and August during annual budget discussions. It is sad that Spring Hill is being dragged into their mess as well.
Columbia Daily Herald #3
What is missing from any of these discussions is a simple 'thank you' for the city stepping up to the plate on the fees and the portion of the county road that we had committed to finish. Instead, we hear phrases such as 'reneged', that we have 'not honored' our commitment and most appalling to me, that we are jeopardizing our future relationship with Maury County in addressing the need for a Middle School in our community. To my knowledge, no other community in Maury County has made the same investment as what Spring Hill has offered.
On a side note, Franklin has their own Special School District, i.e. they fund their own schools. Brentwood does contribute each year to each Williamson County school. Personally, in the future, I would like to see Spring Hill budget a similar contribution to Williamson and Maury County schools.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Duda
City of Spring Hill Alderman
jonathan.duda@charter.net
The most interesting quote in this whole dialogue from Cindy Williams:
"I base my vote on the Derryberry Lane issue on principle....not personalities, not petty politics and not county versus city. In government and in business, when a commitment is made....a commitment should be honored. To no one's surprise there will need to be many more new schools built in the Spring Hill area....for the city of Spring Hill to not honor a prior commitment regarding the first of many new schools built may create future strained relationships between the city and county governments."
Friday, March 31, 2006
Derryberry Ln. Continued
Posted by Gorilla in the Corner at 7:43 AM
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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is a series of personal opinions and is not meant to reflect an official position by the City of Spring Hill.
5 comments:
Daily Herald 05/06/2004
Williams, an opponent of the shelter, said her opposition to the project had nothing to do with her concern over the price increase. She said she felt the county had a bid from the developer and should not be forced into paying more.
"Basically it is kind of like blackmail. We do it or ... else,"Williams said."I've never done business that way."
Ms. Williams, what has changed on how you do business? The tone of your statement on "strained relationships" is basically like a kind of blackmail.
Good find anonymous @ 10:43!!
Here's more in the Daily Herald from our beloved County Commissioner (please don't be mad at me, I am just now learning how to paste these links and format text in the comments area...)
June 30, 2002
Williams said all taxpayers should be treated fairly regardless of the area of the county in which they reside.
She also said she feels strongly about taxation, voting alliances and economic growth in Maury County.
"I would like to see Maury County government gravitate toward being more independent with less dependency on state and federal funding ..." she said. "In addition, I am adamantly against elected officials forming voting alliances -- in other words, 'you vote my way and I'll vote your way,' scenario."
...
August 24, 2002
Newly elected 11th District Commissioner Cindy Williams said the decision to park school buses, eliminate school resource officers and lay off 200 workers was done to get attention by hurting people.
"It's games and games aren't very nice," she said. "What I'd like to see are cuts in the fat and not cuts that threaten the children's safety or their ability to attend school."
...
October 5, 2002
Morrison said the annual budget battle is part of the continuous war over the budget.
County Commissioner Cindy Williams concurs, and has suggested getting rid of the school board in its present form as a way to end the struggle. Her proposal would eliminate the central office and make each principal a county department head. Each school would receive equal funding on a per-pupil basis, she said. The school board would still exist, but as a policy-making body only.
Williams said Friday that changes in the present structure have to be made.
"It doesn't take me long to figure out, hey, this isn't working," she said. "I don't want to look for my next four years of serving on this board and go through this year after year."
Morrison called Williams' proposal "asinine."
"What she is proposing is against the state law," he said. "She needs to get a little bit better educated in the way the school's financing works and the way the money is appropriated and the way the money is spent."
...
February 23, 2005
A resolution banning all weapons, including small knives, from all county buildings passed 21-1, with Cindy Williams voting against the resolution.
...
August 2, 2005
Williams said after the meeting the schools had offered scare tactics instead of meaningful cuts in the past.
"I think they could make more of an effort instead of just saying 'we'll slash this and slash that,'" Williams said. "They rely on a fear factor."
Williams mentioned threats by the board in previous years to shut down the schools or end bus service.
Whew!! They worked!!
That is good stuff.
I, of course, a newcomer to this blog, but the author does not agree
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