Jonathan Ayers - Silver Star Soldier

Cpl Jonathan Ayers to be awarded posthumous Silver Star on March 29, 2009.

The date has also been proclaimed Corporal Jonathan R. Ayers Day by Snellville Mayor, Jerry Oberholtzer.

Fallen soldier to receive Silver Star
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
But the 24-year-old soldier from Snellville did not recoil. His paratrooper instincts took over. He kept firing amid fierce enemy rpgs and small arms fire. ...

Royal Flush

Snellville mayor blows whistle on scofflaw councilman
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
Oberholtzer said he tipped off Snellville police because of complaints he had received from a dozen or so residents. “They were afraid to confront Robert, ...

City Councilman Robert Jenkins recently was issued a warning to clean up his yard, including removing an old toilet and broken-down car, or face a citation for city code violations.

The warning isn't really a big deal, as long as the offending party takes care of the situation. I had a citation for an old car myself, and donated it to the dePaul Society. So, big whoop-de-doo deal.

I'm not so interested in the citizens who were afraid to report it themselves. I'm not so interested in Mayor Oberholtzer reporting it for the citizens. But, I am wondering ....who called the newspaper?!?

In related news, the abandoned toilet has announced his intention to run for public office. As many as 80% of Snellville residents plan to vote for the toilet bowl.

Strong Words Fly At Snellville City Council Meeting

"Councilman Robert Jenkins said that Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer confronted him the in the hallway minutes earlier asking the councilman to "take it outside." Jenkins threatened to have the mayor arrested if he continues to "bully" the council about the crematory. Jenkins claims the mayor, who has said the business should be allowed to open, told Jenkins to watch what he says in opposition to the project.

"I will not be bullied," Jenkins said."

.....Crematory's impact still under review
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
By BETH WARREN For a third consecutive time, concerned
residents packed Snellville City Council chambers during
a meeting Monday night to hear updates on ...

Related Links:

Dispute over Snellville crematory continues
AP - August 12, 2008 9:54 AM ET Chris Nuzum, owner of the
Cremation Society of the South, had hoped to open the facility
in a house along US 78 this month. ...

Warren Auld Urges Zoning Inquiry

"Mayor Pro Tem Warren Auld, a civil attorney, said the controversy may merit a formal probe by a citizens panel. He has asked City Attorney Michael Williams to verify whether the city's
charter would allow the independent review.

A citizen-led investigation isn't needed, Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer said Tuesday.

He said new City Manager Russell Treadway is already tracing the history that allowed the Cremation Society of the South to transform a former house on U.S. 78 into a crematory."

...More from the AJC

Snellville News Updates

Councilwoman calls for investigation to clear up confusion
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
By BETH WARREN Snellville Councilwoman Kelly Kautz has publicly called for an investigation into an unauthorized $31000-plus check written without the city ...

Tax Commissioner Katherine Sherrington holds annual Leadership ...
Duluth Weekly - Duluth,GA,USA
The conference opened with a welcome from Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholzer and featured keynote speaker state Rep. Brooks Coleman (District 97, Duluth), ...

Evangelist Brian Fossett to be VP nominee
Town Hall - Washington,DC,USA
Rusty Newman, pastor of First Baptist Church in Snellville, said he will nominate Fossett for the post during the SBC's June 10-11 meeting in Indianapolis. ...

New football coach at Carver
Winston-Salem Journal - Winston-Salem,NC,USA
... will replace Keith Wilkes, the head coach since 1992 who resigned last month to become the head coach at Shiloh High in Snellville, Ga. ...

Oh no, he di'nt!

Name calling, infighting plague Snellville city council
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
This is how the Snellville mayor and some City Council members describe one another. So it's not surprising that politics here have been contentious for ...

Whoo...I'm not touching the stuff in this report with a 10-foot pole.

Aw, who am I kidding? You know I'll probably write about this later...
I definitely want to talk about Mayor Oberholtzer's comment about not fitting in because he's originally from the north. I can relate, and I'll tell you why later.

There are mistakes in the article though - the article makes it sound like Jerry Oberholtzer lives in Athens. He lives in Snellville, but the engineering firm he works for is in Athens.

And Kelly Kautz saying "we're as bad as Lithonia." Way to insult another city. Really classy.

Snellville City Manager issue continues

This excerpt from the Atlanta Journal and Constitution continues the saga from Wednesday's post =

"The mayor said then he could do the job just as well until a permanent city manager was hired.

However, State Attorney General Thurbert Baker reviewed the issue and issued a written opinion earlier this month making it clear that a mayor cannot also serve as city manager under Georgia law. Mayors aren't supposed to give direction or orders to city employees publicly or privately because that's the duty of city managers, Baker wrote in his opinion.

The mayor said Wednesday that Baker's opinion is not binding, a comment that angered Auld.

"His comments suggest he believes he is above the law," Auld said."

Full AJC Story

I asked around to friends and family for opinions and one said,

"The people of Snellville didn't elect him [Oberholtzer] to serve as City Manager, they voted him in to be Mayor.

Isn't it amazing that simplifying something does give you the answer you need?

Can Mayor O also be Snellville City Manager? GA Atty General Says No

"A power struggle in Snellville gained new momentum this month with the Georgia Attorney General ruling that the mayor can not legally fill the vacant city manager's position."

Attorney General Thurbert Baker sent his opinion that -

"The mayor is not authorized to both act in his capacity as the elected executive leader of the city and also as the city manager because such dual service is inherently incompatible and inappropriate."

Mayor Oberholtzer's comments were:

"Just because the attorney general gives an opinion, that's not a binding opinion," the mayor said. "Is he going to have me arrested or sue me? He can't."

Full AJC Story Here

Well, what do you think? On one hand, I'm concerned about the Mayor's full-speed-ahead, my way or the highway approach...but then again, we are saving tons of money not having to pay a City Manager!

My opinion is that Mayor Oberholtzer may be able to serve in the capacity well, making suggestions and recommendations as he says in the article....but it sets a bad precedent, because in the future, Snellville might not have a Mayor who is able to ethically serve well in that position and could take advantage of the dual role.

Speak out on Oberholtzer's self appointment as City Manager

What do you think about Mayor Oberholtzer appointing himself City Manager? Opinions are all over the place on this. Depends on who you ask...

Some people say he was totally right to do it because it was an emergency situation - the Mayor himself says that previous Snellville mayors Clower and Harrell did it - yet others say it's Oberholtzer's fault that it became an "emergency" situation in the first place - and I've even seen other comments that this was Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer's "plan" all along.

Some folks are likening it to dictatorship. Mayor Oberholtzer says that the City of Snellville has great department heads and that the city practically runs itself.

Attorney and City Council member Warren Auld is looking into the legality of it all, looking for a precedence and he said he hadn't found any as of the date of the AJC news article.

Check out this AJC article, but remember to come back here and tell me what you think!

As my mom would say, at least this gives us something to talk about.

SNELLVILLE SHOCKER: Oberholtzer Appoints Himself City Manager of Snellville

Painting Shown: Napoleon crowning himself Emperor

We have an outraged Snellville City Council.
There are also accusations of misappropriated funds....
$34,000 to be exact....to the Gwinnett Municipal Association.
The money's already gone, but I would love to know what we are
getting for that $34,000.
AJC Article

Snellville City Council and Mayor at Odds Again

Mayor Oberholtzer asked Interim City Manager, Jim Brooks to hold off on doing employee reviews until Brooks' contract expires February 13th, his reason being employee morale. Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer would like Mr. Brooks' successor to conduct the reviews and pay raises.

People without any management experience would wonder, "why wait on the reviews?" The reason is that when a predecessor has done reviews and pay raises, employees will generally be more loyal to the reviewer. By allowing the new City Manager of Snellville (when hired) to conduct the reviews, it will help the employees bond with the new supervisor. It just generally makes sense from a people perspective...but it probably generally angers the employees when they hear that their reviews (ie pay raises) have been stalled. This is only good for employee morale if the employees involved do not know about it. If they know about it, it will backfire and hurt morale. Oops. Who talked?

According to this news story, Mayor Oberholtzer felt attacked by members of the City Council, so he walked out on the meeting. I don't really blame him. The frustration must be really...well, frustrating! Better to walk out than to cuss out people. LOL!

But Hubs has a different perspective - he says that what should and needs to happen should just happen on schedule (the reviews and pay raises) and that the problem with management types (like me?! LOL) is that we try to arrange things to fit our business agendas, and we should just keep things simple. Hmmm. Good point there.

Account of a Rotary Club of Gwinnett Daybreak meeting with Jim Brooks as Speaker

Jim Brooks' visit to Rotary Club of Gwinnett Daybreak – 12/11/07

By Guest Blogger: Scott Henle
(Scott was a Past President of the Snellville Rotary Club/Rotary Club of Gwinnett Daybreak, and is the current Club Administration Chair)

Mr. Jim Brooks, Interim City Manager of Snellville, was the guest speaker for the Rotary Club of Gwinnett Daybreak (formerly Snellville Rotary Club) this last Tuesday morning. He was an excellent speaker, who seemed very comfortable in the spotlight. After listening to him for a few minutes, you realized that he has a wealth of experience in the public service sector. He mentioned his work with local law enforcement and state agencies, along with the FBI and other government agencies. After listening to him, I really have no idea how little ol’ Snellville snagged him for this latest tour of duty.

Within his first few phrases, you realized that this man has a great sense of humor, and one who is not afraid to poke fun at himself. He shared quite a few anecdotes with us from several of his past encounters.

Brooks, describes himself as the consummate business man and a facilitator for change. This was evidenced after sharing with us what he does on the side…he owns 28 rental properties in the Macon area. I can only imagine what goes into the upkeep for that!

He is a strong believer in a proactive government, which he described as using planning as a means to an end, rather than just the end. He paraphrased his style with…cities need to make use of what they have and know how to maximize those assets...he does not manage people, but rather the resources, and leads the people. For example, improving our city website (www.snellville.org) was one of his first steps. He mentioned that he gathered the department heads together to learn about current projects in the city…unfortunately nobody knew how many were active. So utilizing the current city software available, he compiled the list from each department and was able to build Department Projects List. Which includes 22 projects from the Administrative Department, 2 for the Parks, 15 from Planning & Development, 7 for the Police Department, and 6 from Public Works for a total of 52 open projects! (By the way all this information with detail is available on the website.)

Brooks feels his largest impact has been with the administrative staff of our city. He really likes Snellville’s current staff and mentioned they are obviously talented as they are starting to be lured away by other cities.

After I tried to pin him down and ask him how Snellville compares to other municipalities he has worked with, he laughed and mentioned that he was not going to fall into that trap. He stated that it is hard to compare cities, as everyplace has a different set of values and needs. He did mention a few challenges he sees for Snellville in the near future though:

• Hiring new city manager. Still estimated the hire as 2-3 months out, but mentioned the candidate will need to give a 3-5 year commitment to Snellville to see any real progress.

• Improving infrastructure. Estimated that there is probably $7M worth of ‘fair-price’ improvements that should be made within the city limits.

• New revenue stream. Currently 28% of the funding for city operations comes from property taxes (and he mentioned that ALL citizens should know this fact). With the proposal of HR900 before the House calling for the abolishment of ad valorem and local taxes, this would exhaust that source. Meaning the funding will have to come from somewhere else.

• Mayor & city council relationship. He stated the obvious fact that any of us here who have witnessed any local politics already know! They really just need to get along, remember who they work for, and why they hold their positions…he actually did not say that last piece, those were my own thoughts.

Brooks mentioned that he is under contract through February 13^th, but may be available for further consultation if needed. As you may know, the council is currently split on his position. I believe council members Robert Jenkins, Warren Auld, and Kelly Kautz may want to hire him, while Barb Bender, Tod Warren, and Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer want to continue the search for a replacement. I assume someone has asked him, but I do not think he wants the position. He mentioned that he was hired as INTERIM City Manager and believes that he should be here just to assist through the transition. His feelings also are if the vote was not unanimous among the elected officials, he would not want to stay…and frankly, I do not blame him. He gave me the impression he is a successful man that was hired to do a job and now after accomplishing that feat he is ready to move on. By all accounts, from what I have read (on this blog), I think by slashing our budget alone he was worth whatever we paid him.

When asked what he thinks we could do for this city, he declared that any changes here will probably need to come from the citizens. We need to get 4 to 7 movers and shakers in the community, making sure not to get more than 8; because the 8^th one will be an idiot (he said he found this out through experience, as we all chuckled). Get these people together to create a summit and give input on crucial matters. A ground swell will need to start from the citizens and once it gets large enough the government will join in and follow.

It was a pleasure to listen to Mr. Brooks, and although I have not seen him in action, I have to believe that Snellville is better off for the time he spent here. I am sure his business-like leadership, fresh perspective and new insights may have been a shock, but were much needed.

As I mentioned, speakers like Mr. Brooks come visit the Rotary Club of Gwinnett Daybreak every week. I would like to invite anyone interested in learning more about Rotary to visit our website. Here you will also be able to keep abreast of any upcoming speakers we have lined up. We meet every Tuesday morning at 7:30 for a delicious breakfast at Summit Chase Country Club.

Snellville News Alerts: MLK Day, Hwy 78, Wisteria, More

MLK holiday funds held up
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
The naysayers were Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer and council members Tod Warner and Barbara Bender. The deadlock has some city leaders and residents ...

Hotel/shops plan for US 78 would expand on other work
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
By MICHAEL PEARSON When developer Emory Morsberger launched his Brookwood Village mixed-use project on US 78 near Snellville, he hoped the project would ...

What's with the bridge in the field?
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
The delays are not really related to an oversupply of housing in the Snellville area, as in some areas, he said. It is more the psychological effects of a ...

Albert Chai, 45, championed traditional Chinese dishes
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
At his Mah Jong restaurant in Snellville, Mr. Chai's fresh vegetables and perfectly prepared Chinese dishes were a hit with customers. ...

Churches offer taste of Christmases past
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
I'm happy to say that after a shopping trip to Snellville today, I heard real Christmas carols in Belk's and Linens & Things! I told the manager of Belk's ...

Gwinnett adds land to new Lee Park site
Duluth Weekly - Duluth,GA,USA
The future Lee Park is located where Five Forks Trickum Road crosses the Yellow River between Snellville and Lilburn. "This land purchase allows us to ...

Who won the Snellville Mayoral and City Council elections?

Jerry Oberholtzer has won re-election as Mayor of Snellville. It was a very close race - Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer had 1,101 votes and Bruce Garraway had 1,082.

For Snellville City Council Post 1, Kelly Kautz was the victor, with 1,230 votes. Marilyn Swinney had a decent showing with 951 votes.

If you would like more data, as well as election results for other counties, see this LINK

The Mayor's race was so tight that there could possibly be a recount. Here are some recent articles about the Snellville election:

Snellville Mayor retains his seat - AJC

ELECTION 2007: Recount likely in 19 vote win - AJC

Trivia tidbit: Snellville has 11,000 registered voters and only 20% showed up to vote

Of note: Loganville voters approved the liquor by the drink referendum. LINK
"I feel that the public has spoken about what they want," said city councilman Chuck Bagley, who has helped to rally support for the referendum. "They really saw it as an economic issue, not an alcohol issue.".....

..... "Neal Byrd, a realtor, said he was relieved that the grassroots fight against it didn't work this time. He stood on a corner rallying votes for the "economic development tool" early Tuesday morning.

Already, there is talk of new restaurants moving to Loganville now that the referendum has passed, said Byrd."

Ask the Candidates Meeting - Snellville

"Ask the Candidates"
Presented by the Hickory Hills Homeowners Association

Monday, October 29th

7:30 pm - 8:30 pm

at the

Masonic Lodge

(on Lenora Church Road across from the Library)

On Monday night, October 29th, candidates running for the Snellville offices of Mayor and our City Council Seat have agreed to attend our homeowners' association meeting to answer OUR questions about the issues in Snellville.

After providing each candidate a brief opportunity to present their platforms, we will then open up the floor for YOU to ask questions of the candidates!

Come and take advantage of this opportunity to become more informed about the candidates and their stances on the issues.

If you have already voted (via absentee ballot), or have already decided on a candidate, then this will be an opportunity to become better acquainted with your candidates of choice.

The meeting will end at 8:30pm. There will be an opportunity afterwards to visit informally with the candidates.

Two of the four candidates WILL be representing you on City Council. So take this opportunity to get to know them. All four candidates have agreed to be present on Monday night.

Candidates for Mayor:

Bruce Garraway

Jerry Oberholtzer

Candidates for City Council:

Kelly Kautz

Marilyn Swinney

What goes on

This information is from this page of the Atlanta Journal & Constitution's website, and is a bit dated. It's dated 3/25/2007. But the information on how the city works and how the citizens can be involved in meetings is good. Some people may no longer be serving. I have noted in red any who have left. I have also changed the @ in email addresses to [AT] so those dang email harvesters intent on spamming won't hassle anyone. If you need to email, just remove the [AT] and replace it with @.
---------------------

SNELLVILLE

PLANNING COMMISSION

The Planning Commission makes recommendations on zoning matters to the mayor and City Council. Members are:

Chairman Tod Warner, twarner[AT]snellville.org

Vice Chair David Foster, dfoster[AT]snellville.org

Ray Mokhberi, rmokhberi[AT]snellville.org

Joe Williams, jwilliams[AT]snellville.org

Ida Graham, igraham[AT]snellville.org

Patricia Port, pport[AT]snellville.org

Phone messages also can be left with John Dennis of the Planning and Development Department at 770-985-3514.

CITY COUNCIL

The mayor and Snellville City Council make the final decisions. Members are:

Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer, 678-898-2659, joberholtzer[AT]snellville.org

Robert Jenkins, 404-281-0567, Rjenkins[AT]snellville.org

Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Garraway, 770-982-9843, Bgarraway[AT]snellville.org

Barbara Bender, 770-972-3435, Bbender[AT]snellville.org

Kelly Kautz, 770-972-7441, kkautz[AT]snellville.org

Warren Auld, 770-972-3693 wauld[AT]snellville.org (corrected 27 October 2007)

MEETINGS:

The Planning Commission discusses zoning matters at 7:30 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month.

After the commission makes a recommendation, a public hearing is held by the mayor and City Council for final action. Those hearings are at 7 p.m. the fourth Monday of the month, unless alternative dates and times are necessary. Meetings are held in the City Hall council chambers at 2342 Oak Road.

AGENDAS: Agendas are generally available two weeks before the meeting. To view an agenda, visit the city's Web site, www.snellville.org, or go to City Hall. To automatically receive agendas and other planning and zoning information, sign up for the city's e-mail distribution list available to any resident. E-mail Planning Director Jessica Roth at jroth[AT]snellville.org.

NOTE : Jessica Roth has resigned her position.

Acting Planning Director Jason Thompson can be reached by email at
jthompson[AT]snellville.org (corrected/added 27 October 2007)

IF YOU'D LIKE TO COMMENT: Public comment is allowed at Planning Commission meetings after presentations from the planning staff and applicant. You must give your name and address for the record. The process may be a little different when the mayor and council allow for public comment. If it's a big case, the mayor will allow each side to speak for 30 minutes, which encourages residents to get together and make a more formal presentation. Written comments are accepted and can be sent via e-mail to jroth[AT]snellville.org or to City Hall, 2342 Oak Road, Snellville, GA 30078.

ON THE WEB: The city's Web site, www.snellville.org, provides blank zoning applications, staff reports, maps that show the location of the property in question as well as meeting minutes and agendas.

NOTE : If you have Firefox, you will find that the city of Snellville's website doesn't seem to like it, so the site is best viewed in Internet Explorer.

AT CITY HALL: At the Planning Department at Snellville's City Hall, 2342 Oak Road, you can view zoning applications. You'll need to provide the general location of the land in question. Copying fees are 25 cents per page.

Many thanks to Tod Warner for the corrections dated 27 October 2007

Snellville's Election Campaign as Viewed by a Loganville Resident

Looking for Snellville Election Results 2007? CLICK HERE

---------------

Excerpt of article by Sharon Swanepoel of the Walton Tribune:

"......we [in Loganville GA] haven’t seen the usual personal attacks but it’s certainly a welcome change. Maybe it will allow the different factions time to heal and that can only benefit the city.

However, the same can’t be said for Snellville. Wow — I think they’ve even got some of the previous Loganville elections beat this time around. The mayoral race between incumbent Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer and challenger former councilman Bruce Garraway is a doozie. You would think politicians would learn the citizenry doesn’t really care about their personal differences and gets pretty tired of hearing about them. How about just focusing on what’s good for the city?

I saw a recent flyer that Garraway sent out with a picture of Oberholtzer holding a “drink” with a caption that read something like “have you had enough?” For all we know the “drink” could have been a coke but the inference was pretty obvious (why does that ring a bell?). How about just sending out a flyer telling citizens what you the candidate are offering them and not a personal attack on your opponent — now there’s a novel concept.

Garraway has also had to duck a couple of darts from another former Snellville councilman who in all probability would like to see the current mayor stay in office. Garraway has had to defend his alleged preferential use of the city’s police force by calling them to unlock a car when he and another Snellville councilman had locked the keys in it while having a meal together. Apparently this was viewed as an abuse of power because they were outside the city limits and it was a service that wouldn’t have been offered another resident had they asked for it from outside the city limits. The result is the service has now been taken away from all Snellville residents. Was it petty for the resident to complain — probably? Would it have come to light had it not been an election year — probably not? However, those rules are set up to make sure nobody in power abuses them at all. Weren’t there some Atlanta politicians taken down a while back for using city employees to work on their rental properties?

If you are looking to run for public office, you had better be very careful about anything that is viewed as improper because it is certainly going to come back and bite you in today’s election process — from the presidential elections down."

---see entire October 26, 2007 article here: LINK