Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Welcome aboard!

Thanks to my friend Rick Rogers for publishing a link to my blog. Ditto for friend Sandy Feller. Patience - I am a readily admitted techno-dinosaur. If you read Rick's and Sandy's fine blogs, then you undoubdtedly know who I am and some - but certainly not all - of the things which tend to interest me. I'm sure that something will pop up very soon in the local news to provide a starting point for adult discussion. The fact that the federal grand jury in Savannah will convene next Monday to hear evidence from, I beleive, two different investigations - federal and state - of our current sheriff, William E. Smith comes to mind. But there are, of course, myriad other things of interest going on in Camden County, Georgia, the home of the east coast Trident missile submarine base, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia. For openers, I think I'll let you folks bring to the fore what is of most interst to you at the moment in Camden County tha would be of interest to us all. You have the floor. Jay Moreno P.S., To comment, just click to the left of the pencil icon, below.

16 comments:

Jay Moreno said...

We've lost a great American.

William F. Buckley, Jr., revered by most as the "father" of American Conservatism, has died at the age of 84.

For a report:

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player06.html?022708/022708_sr_rosen&Special_Report&Leaving%20a%20Legacy&Leaving%20a%20Legacy&Special%20Report&-1&Shows&188&&&exp

Jay Moreno said...

Hmm, that doesn't look too promising.

On second thought, go to:

http://www.foxnews.com/

Jay Moreno said...

Oh, by the way, if you do not already have a "Google account" (no charge, completely confidential), just click on "sign up here." You can use your real name or an avatar for "username."

I will not have access to any of that sign up info.

If you follow Ricks blog, you are probably familiar with that procedure. One Google account works everywhere on Google.

Once you establish your account - a two minute task, if that - no one can come along behind you and pretend to be you. You will have your unique identity on ALL Google blogs.

Oh,by the way, if it's not already on here somewhere, my personal e-mail address is jaymor@tds.net.

Jay Moreno said...

Okay, for the time being, you can post anonymously. Let's see how that works out.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Jay I believe your blog will do equally as well as the others. I have a topic that you are very familiar with that I would like for you to elaborate more on.

The County is now implementing "IMPACT FEES" I believe St. Marys is currently in the process. The City of Kingsland accomplishes the same goal (as they say with) "Capital Recovery fFees." They just gave about $800,000.00 back to developers who want to build apartments in Kingsland. The developers said if they charged the original amount they would not build apartments there, so the City Council rolled back the fees.

Do you feel that their actions are conducive to IMPACT FEES? If you had the opportunity to ask the City Council questions about why they choose to use the Capital Recovery Fee route instead of Impact Fees, what questions would you ask?

Denise

Anonymous said...

good luck with your blog. sandy feller

Diane said...

I've read Kingsland Topix for quite some time (but never posted). I'm glad to see you have your own site now, Topix was boring without your wit and I couldn't help but worry what horrible things were happening in Camden that I was missing. Welcome back.

Jay Moreno said...

Ding, ding ding! We have a winner.

Congrats on being my first repsondent.

You know, I saw that in the T7G the other day and was puzzled by it.

Then I remembered a very similar incident in St. Marys, back when former Councilman Gary Blount was handling ad hoc negotiations with individual developers. I seem to recall that the property involved was those condos (an apparent flop) over there next to Donnini's Florists. The problem was that the the wording on the city's tap fee ordinance was such that if you built a 25 unit high rise condo with one watermain coming in to service them all, the developer had to pay the same tap fees as it he had built 25 different buildings with 25 different taps.

Insofar as the city would realize a higher margin in the water/sewer entreprise fund by selling and processing the same amounts of potable and sewer water, repsectively, through way less water and sewer pipes (96% less - 2 pipes versus 50), the developer argued - successfully - that he should get a reduced rate.

I think that is what happened in the incident in Kingsland you referred to. I note on a re-reading of your question, though, that these were apartments rather than condos, but the same idea applies. Here at Park Place, for instance, with 300 or so units, there is one large water main from the city coming into Park Place and one sewer pipe out. All downstream pipes are owned and maintained by Park Place (with individual meters in each apartment, also owned and moitored by Park Place - I pay PP, they pay the city.) I assume that that is the system the developer in Kingsland is going with.

I'm sure you will recall my comments on the soon-to-be-all-but-extinct "TOPIX KIngsland" that I thought Kingsland was making a huge mistake with going with "Capital Recovery Fees" for water and sewer rather than a more comprehensive approach with bona fide, locally legislative and state approved impact fees.

If my understanding is correct, capital recovery fees for intial hookup to services provided by an interprise fund - like water/sewer, garbage collection - are legal, but restricted to application to the particular revenue fund's capital expenditures to initiate individual service.

Bona fide impact fees can be used to offset virtually every conceivable downstream cost tot the taxpayers resulting from new development, except new schools.

Why Kingsland mayor and council are the last holdouts in the county on impact fees is a mystery to me, though that is not to say I don't have my suspicions.

Sandy and Dianne: Thank you both for your felicitous best wishes.

Anonymous said...

Jay good luck with your endeavors, miss your good coments on the BTW bunch and the rest of the thuggies on topix, but I think it will soon be history. We will vote the rascals out and hopefully they will be gamefully employed at the federal Pent.

BOB-BOB said...

Jay

I love it and congrats to you.

Your own website. This should just drive your "buddies" nuts.

HEHEHEHE

Congrats

BOB-BOB

Jay Moreno said...

Anonymous and Bob-Bob,

Welcome and thanks for your good wishes.

It would appear that my 'pariahhood" may not have been quite so ubiquitous as the Thuggies thought! :-)

Jay Moreno said...

111 views of my profile - and no doubt more visitors who did not view my profile - in the first 24 hours of existence.

Not to shabby.

Rick,

Doesn't yours have a total visits counter?

If this one has it, I can't seem to find it. Any idea where it is?

Anonymous said...

Ricks got a very informative site as well. Used to visit it multiple times a day to catch up on the happenings around the area. Very rarely visit it anymore due to having to wait for and then immediately mute the whole musical background stuff. Only want the info, not the jukebox. You don't plan on forcing your visitors to listen to some musical background noise do you?

Jay Moreno said...

have no fear: this old techno dinosaur is not likely to ever learn to do half the stuff Rick is capable of doing.

I don't have that problem with Rick's fine blog because I never turn my speakers on unless i have soimething in particular to listen to.

But now that you mention it, I'm currently taking a tech course in college. We were introduced the other night to this program - forget the name - where you record audio files - voice in this case - and then you can manipulate it.

If I can figure out how to do it on here, you might just be able to hear Mr. Casey's harassing phone call at some point in the future.

Anonymous said...

I would love to hear the call.

Anonymous said...

I disagree with the following statement:

"These are the things that the taxpayers ( except thuggies ) want to know about".

I want to know about all of it!!! I am the one that wants the previous writers statement made into the "Motto" of governance in Camden County.

If Rich Gamble is willing to take on the challenge of restoring order, integrity, law abiding character and fiscal conservatism to the government of this County. We need him!! We can longer sit by and allow the corrupt system to drain our coffers. Hell we don't benefit in any way. They make us responsible for payment, hire all their family members/friends and spit on the law.

Clean the slate in 08.