CLICK above for larger image of ALL attendees
Audio of meeting is a one hour long MP3 file - size is 57MB.
| 30 seconds - You
Tube video http://youtu.be/HbSiHIBeggQ Don Tussing represented
P&Z Executive Director, Jim Thomas in his absence at
the meeting.
Tussing dismissed the CAC request that "any Action Item on the Policy Committee Agenda must be reviewed by the CAC before any final vote by the Policy Committee". Regarding these TIP Amendments, Tussing said "It is basically a courtesy for P&Z to submit this to the CAC for review... It comes under 'administrative changes' to the TIP since it is small and insignificant... , so that is basically where we stand on that." Commissioner Elmo Richardson immediately moved for Policy to accept the agenda, Com Lonzy Edwards seconded and the agenda was voted on and accepted with items that the CAC never had a chance to review. The "small and insignificant change to the TIP" was the multi-million$ Sardis Church Road Extension. |
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Anonymous Attendee said that his construction Projections
are more Precise than Actual tube ADT Counts.  |
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| From: Lee Martin [
mermaidlover@bellsouth.net] Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 1:52 PM To: Cox, Jonathan; Murdoch, Michael Cc: 'Daniel P. Fischer'; 'James Webb'; 'Louis Michael Ryan'; 'Marc Lewis'; 'Peg Jones'; Lindsay Holliday; Mike Stucka Telegraph; Susan Hanberry Martin Subject: GDOT official refuses to give his name...MATS Policy today Jonathan, Michael, What gives with a GDOT official refusing to give his name to a citizen? Has the Department now gone incognito and unaccountable to the public it serves?! ? I’m not sure that’s a public relations/business model the Department wants to perpetuate. Please forward to the appropriate person(s) if the answer is not to be found in either of your departments. Lee Martin |
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| Cindy VanDyke State Transportation Planning Administrator Georgia Department of Transportation One Georgia Center 600 W. Peachtree St, NW Atlanta, GA 30308 404-631-1987 From: Cox, Jonathan Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 9:44 PM To: VanDyke, Cindy; Bowman, Glenn Cc: D'Avino, Gail Subject: FW: GDOT official refuses to give his name...MATS Policy today Cindy - I received the email below today. Not sure who all attends the MATS meetings for GDOT. Any idea of who Mr. Martin is talking about?
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| To: VanDyke_Cindy <cyvandyke@dot.ga.gov> From: Holliday Dental <teeth@mindspring.com> Subject: GDOT official refuses to give his name...MATS Policy today Cc: "Jonathon GaDOT Cox" <Jocox@dot.ga.gov>, ...snip... "Lee Martin" <mermaidlover@bellsouth.net>, Date: Mon, 06 Feb 2012 Dear Ms. VanDyke, We are sorry if Tom McQueen felt intimidated by being photographed. That was not the purpose of the record. We have found on numerous occasions that having a recording of a meeting is very important. Mr McQueen is a public official, and this was a public meeting. Other GDOT officials like the one behind him in the photo(attached), clearly wore their official credentials prominently on their chests. Mr McQueen was asked 3 times to identify himself before the camera was used to document his appearance at the meeting. Is it not policy for GDOT employees to make their identity known when they are acting in an official capacity? Mr McQueen made some comments during the MATS meeting about how his traffic projections were actually more precise than the ADT counts. When questioned during the meeting to explain himself, he said the matter could be discussed later with those who were interested in the issue. After the meeting I sat down to discuss traffic counts/projections with Mr McQueen. I asked him for his name so I would know who to attribute his comments to. He refused to disclose his identity 3 times before the camera was used. His comments parroted those of some profiteering contractors on various road projects in Macon, so I felt the public should know who this person was - a contractor or a government official? Had the man turned out to be an imposter who was impersonating a GDOT employee, would not GDOT be thankful for the photographic evidence provided? I think so. The camera was not put "in his face" as anyone can see from the attached, non-cropped version of the image. This "anonymity" problem/protocol issue should not be confused with the issue that is more important -- That being the veracity of Mr. McQueen's statements about the traffic counts that he made during the meeting. The Macon Telegraph has described GDOT's traffic projections as the "stuff of Houdini" -- meaning magic, sleight of hand, tricks like "pulling a rabbit out of a hat", unreal, made-up; "Possessing distinctive qualities that produce unaccountable or baffling effects" - - [ from Answers.com. ] Please have Mr McQueen or another GDOT official to explain to the public what is meant by "traffic projections are more precise than the GDOT published ADT counts". Thank-you, - Lindsay Holliday MATS CAC member http://www.macon-bibb.com/FHR/traffic.htm http://www.macon-bibb.com/MATS/Policy20120201.htm |
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Note: No GDOT person has responded to this inquiry as of 4-12-2012. |
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Here is the List of MATS-Regional Splost-Projects_as of March-30-2011 |
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DATE: Wednesday, February 1, 2012 TIME: 9:30 a.m. PLACE: Bibb Co. Engineering Annex, 760 Third St., Macon, GA 31201 --Roll Call – establishment of quorum --Approval of meeting agenda & minutes --Election of Officers --Committee Reports (CAC & TCC) --Public Input (5 min./person limit) Agenda Items MPO Boundary Area – Review of area TIP Amendment - Sardis Church Rd. Extension I-16 / I-75 Project – Discussion of noise impact Project Status Report – Presented by GDOT - [received by CAC only 2 days before this meeting] --Old Business --New Business --Adjournment MATS POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING ATTENDANCE LIST November 29, 2011 Those Attending Representing 1. Jim Thomas* Sarah Gerwig-Moore, Macon-Bibb P & Z Chairman 2. Nick Pietrzak CAC 3. Steve Layson* Elmo Richardson, Bibb Co. Commission 4. Robert Reichert* Mayor, City of Macon 5. Andrew Heath Georgia D.O.T. 6. Ken North Macon-Bibb Co. Planning & Zoning Comm. 7. Ken Sheets Bibb County Enginneer 8. Jack Reed Georgia D.O.T. 9. Tony Rojas* Frank Amerson, Macon-Bibb Water Auth. Chairman 10. Rick Hutto* Lonnie Miley, Macon City Council 11. Lonzy Edwards* Bibb County Commission 12. Mike Stucka Macon Telegraph 13. Van Etheridge Road Improvement Program 14. Bill Causey Macon City Engineer 15. Greg Brown Macon-Bibb Co. Planning & Zoning Comm. 16. Sam Hart* Chairman, Bibb Co. Commission 17. Pat Weiss Lundy Terrace HOA 18. Mary Wimberly Greenbriar Neighborhood Assoc. 19. Michelle Caldwell Georgia D.O.T. 20. Dan Fischer * Chairman, CAC 21. Tom McQueen* Keith Golden, GDOT Commissioner 22. Don Tussing Macon-Bibb Planning & Zoning Office 23. Michelle Caldwell Georgia D.O.T. 24. Louis F. Tompkins Macon City Council *Voting Member |
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To: the Bibb County Commissioners Monday, January 13, 2012 Re: Ken Sheets, the Bibb County Engineer - slandered a citizen at a public meeting on 1-17-2012, and he continues to mislead the Bibb Commissioners about a multimillion dollar road project in the Macon-Bibb Road Improvement Projects (RIP) list. Dear Sirs: Your employee, the Bibb County Engineer, Ken Sheets slandered me at a public meeting, and he continues to mislead the Bibb Commissioners by misrepresenting the facts concerning the Forest Hill Road project. At the regular meeting of the Bibb County Commissioners on Tuesday evening, January 17, 2012, the Bibb Chairman, Sam Hart told me that one of the reasons he is disinclined to help the Forest Hill Road neighbors to get a better designed road is because he (Hart) understands that compromises have already been given to the neighborhood concerning the road's design. I stated that no substantive changes have been made to the Forest Hill Road design since the 1st public meeting in 2001. I stated that Macon-Bibb P&Zoning Director, Jim Thomas had recently confirmed this in an email to me. I further stated that the only reason the Commissioners feel that reasonable compromises have been rendered to the citizens is because the Commissioners have been repeatedly misinformed about this situation from Moreland-Altobelli (M-A) as repeated to them (Commissioners) by the Bibb County Engineer, Mr Ken Sheets. At this time, Mr Sheets blurted out to say that "Doc, you should have to be 'under oath' to talk to the Commissioners" implying that I was a liar, and that I was misleading the Commissioners about the road design having no changes since 2001. Mr Sheet's statement was slanderous, and it was publicly insulting and demeaning to me; as it was spoken in front of dozens of people attending the meeting. The people at the meeting included a Telegraph reporter, Mike Stucka who reported this fiasco in the paper on page 4B on Saturday 1-21-12. Other witnesses at the meeting were delegations from two large constituencies: retired Bibb Sheriff's Department personnel and humane-animal-shelter proponents. I demand a written apology from Mr Sheets, or else an enumeration of any facts I might have misstated. Engineering documentation should be included as to the validity or veracity of Mr Sheet's opinion(s) concerning those facts. I will publicly apologize to Mr Sheets and to the entire Bibb Commission if I am given documentation that the road design has been substantively modified to accommodate the citizens since the 1st public meeting in 2001. Otherwise The Bibb Commission will be proven to be a part of the obfuscations and misrepresentations promulgated by M-A to confuse the Bibb County citizens concerning a very expensive and costly part of the 1994 SPLOST Road Improvement Program. I have documentation that the northern section of Forest Hill Road has actually been enlarged by at least 5 feet of pavement since the 1st public meeting in 2001. This is contrary to any claims by Sheets and M-A that citizens requests for downsizing have been accommodated. Mr Sheets needs to explain why he has failed to get the facts straight about the size of this project in the six years since it was brought to his attention at the Bibb Commission meeting of Oct 3, 2006. He has continued to mislead the Commission in this regard for 6 years. Mr Sheets needs to admit in writing that the major length of the FHR project; that is the northern section; that is scheduled for construction later this year -- That this northern section is planned to have at least 5 more feet of pavement than the design that was shown on the plans at the first public meeting in 2001. Mr Sheets must admit that this project has become wider despite the overwhelming sentiment from the public that the project needs to be downsized. This is what I keep telling the Bibb Commission and this is what Mr Sheets keeps denying. Mr Sheets is wrong and he needs to admit it to the public. Sincerely, - Lindsay D Holliday Documentation: http://www.macon-bibb.com/FHR/Letter-Bibb-RIP-Sheets.htm |
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| Ken North Transportation Planner Macon-Bibb Planning & Zoning Comm. 478 751-7462 |
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| MATS POLICY MINUTES November 29, 2011 A meeting of the MATS Policy Committee was held on November 29, 2011 in the Bibb Co. Engineering Annex. There were nine voting members present, thereby establishing a quorum. The agenda and minutes from the previous meeting were introduced and approved. Dan Fischer discussed the results of the previous CAC meeting and Jim Thomas reviewed the TCC meeting. Under public input, Pat Weiss from the Lunday Terrace Homeowners Assoc. discussed the Forest Hill Rd. project. She asked that a more conservative approach be taken for this project that would involve repaving and the addition of roundabouts and turn lanes. Furthermore, she commented that the only time this street was busy was when the churches let out. Mary Wimberly from the Greenbriar Neighborhood Assoc. talked about Log Cabin Drive. She stated that pedestrians could not walk on the shoulder of the road and the bridge contained potholes. Mayor Reichert stated the recently passed SPLOST contained funding for street/sidewalk improvements and the engineer should review this matter. Subsequently, Chairman Hart stated that the upper section of Forest Hill is scheduled for construction in July. Therefore, the county had already signed off on the project and it was not subject to any further changes. Dan Fischer stated that modern transportation planning techniques such as traffic calming have not been applied to this project. Therefore, the Rich Chelman plan should be reviewed for this project. Chairman Hart commented that a mediation process had taken place for this project which resulted in no changes to the plans. Under the Agenda Items, the draft Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) was presented to the committee. Ken North reviewed the draft UPWP and stated the document contained the future work tasks for FY 2013. The projects contained in the UPWP would be funded through FHWA and FTA sources. Some of the specific work tasks discussed were the Long Range Transportation Plan for 2040 and the Transportation Improvement Program for FY 2014 - 2017. Mayor Reichert had a question about why the MPO area map in the UPWP did not contain either Monroe or Houston County. Don Tussing stated that the population levels were not dense enough in Monroe Co. and Houston Co. had their own MPO. Lonzy Edwards was concerned about the dissemination of information to the public regarding the Forest Hill Rd. project. Tony Rojas commented that he didn’t know how much more could be done in regards to that since the county had provided the information that was required. After further discussion, a motion was made by Dan Fischer and seconded by Lonzy Edwards to approve the draft UPWP. The motion was subsequently passed by the committee members. The next item discussed on the agenda were the amendments to the Transportation Improvement Program presented by Ken North. He stated that the two of the Ocmulgee Greenway projects had been combined in the TIP to be included in the walkway trail project from Waterworks Park to Central City Park. Funding for the construction of this project had been moved to FY 2012. In addition, he also stated the New Freedom application in the TIP had been revised in order to combine the funding requests for 2010 and 2011. A motion was made by Dan Fischer and Lonzy Edwards to amend the TIP to include the changes that were presented and the motion was approved unanimously. Jack Reed from Georgia D.O.T. presented the project status report. He reviewed the latest report and gave an update on the status changes of the road projects. There were several questions concerning the right of way acquisition for the Jeffersonville Rd. project. It was commented that the ROW acquisition has been authorized for June 2012. Under New Business, Mayor Reichert stated that the MPO boundary area should be examined for possible revisions. A motion was made by Mayor Reichert and Steve Layson for the MATS Technical Committee to review this matter which was approved by the committee members. In addition, Mayor Reichert stated the Transit Authority was searching for a maintenance facility location and that one of the alternatives was the old maintenance facility on Lower Poplar. He asked that this matter be reviewed by the TCC. Dan Fischer also requested that a public forum sponsored by the Policy Committee should be held to discuss the noise impact regarding the I-16/I-75 project. A motion was subsequently approved that this matter should be referred to the TCC. Mr. Fischer also stated that he would like the upper section of the Forest Hill Rd. project to be reviewed applying modern traffic calming techniques. Steve Layson stated that a commitment had already been made to Georgia D.O.T. regarding the plans for this project. Ken Sheets also commented that the right of way has already been purchased for this project and plans have been approved. If there were any further review, it would be send a bad signal to Georgia D.O.T. After further discussion, a motion was made by Dan Fischer and seconded by Rick Hutto to refer this matter to the TCC for further review. However, the motion failed due to the lack of a majority vote. Being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned. |
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