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Sunday, November 06, 2011

Milton Peoples Forum Online - FINAL QUESTIONS!


Courtesy Accessmilton.com & The Milton Herald


As we roll into election day this Tuesday, we are proud to share with you the final questions and answers for The Milton Peoples Forum - Online.


Candidates are limited to a maximum of 200 words per answer and are listed alphabetically. The final two questions, districts, and answers will be
listed here out of respect of time.


Many thanks to the candidates for participating.



5. If you are not elected, what do you believe Milton will be like in ten years?

DISTRICT 2 CANDIDATE MATT KUNZ=>

5. Mr. Kunz did not respond to this question.

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DISTRICT 2 CANDIDATE JULIE ZAHNER BAILEY=>

5. "My 20 years of experience, dedication, and stewardship on behalf of all of Milton’s citizens is an asset that is irreplaceable. There are many special interest groups poised to take advantage of a recovering economy. If I am not re-elected, development pressures will be allowed to undermine our existing land use policies. Consequently, Milton will not retain the same level of rural character that citizens have expected since long before we were a city. In addition, citizens in the Highway 9, Crabapple, and Arnold Mill areas would not have the quality of life they would otherwise have if I were involved in the master planning of these areas.

My analytical approach to decision making and my proactive citizen engagement are critical to ensuring a balanced, transparent government. Without me at the table, many decisions involving zoning, variances, and ordinances will merely be rubber stamped and run the real risk of being counter to citizen's expectations.

Lastly, if I am not re-elected, the conservative financial acumen I bring to the table will be lost. This will result in a government that is less efficient and effective and less accountable to our citizens."

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DISTRICT 6 CANDIDATE LANCE LARGE=>

5. Mr. Large did not respond to this question.

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DISTRICT 6 CANDIDATE ALAN TART=>

5. "What will Milton be like in 10 years if I am not re-elected? Easy answer…Johns Creek or Alpharetta, take your pick, depending on how quickly the recession ends and development picks back up. I believe you will see new commercial nodes on community septic within Milton’s rural, equestrian interior. This is something my opponent has said he is in favor of during meet and greets with citizens. I believe you will see a massive expansion of high density, commercial development which will be accompanied by lower property values, traffic, and an increase in the inventory of low value housing, apartments, and townhomes to accommodate the employees of these businesses. Horse farms will gradually be replaced with neighborhoods like they did in Roswell and Alpharetta. No doubt Milton will meet their same fate unless we have council members like me who have PROVEN their commitment to protect our rural, equestrian character. The choice is up to citizens as to whether we stay unique or become like our neighbors."---------------------------

6. Accessmilton.com and The Milton Herald made the decision early on to include youth in this years Peoples Forum with the participation of teens Zack Eller and Ret Thomas.

What suggestions do you have to get young people more involved in the city and it's future?



DISTRICT 2 CANDIDATE MATT KUNZ=>

6. Mr. Kunz did not respond to this question.

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DISTRICT 2 CANDIDATE JULIE ZAHNER BAILEY=>

6. "I have been a strong proponent of our community's youth for the 25 years I have been a resident of NW Fulton (now Milton). As a parent, teacher, volunteer, PTA member, and community leader, I have set a positive example for Milton's youth across multiple disciplines. As a steward of environmental conservation and education over many decades and more recently as founder of the Milton Grows Green Committee, I have involved our youth in understanding the importance of protecting our community and have engaged them in such activities as Rivers Alive, Adopt a Road Program, Arbor Day celebrations, Earth Day festivals, recycling, and other special events.

Our youth represent our city’s future, and they are among the best and brightest in our country. We need to continue to leverage our relationships with local schools, churches, and scouts to solicit their thought provoking ideas and opinions. I am a proponent of having an official youth council to help generate ideas and evaluate policies involving land use, parks and recreation, trails and pathways, special events, and community outreach. We also need to actively engage our youth through surveys and focus groups to help the city identify priorities that benefit them."

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DISTRICT 6 CANDIDATE LANCE LARGE=>

6. Mr. Large did not respond to this question.

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DISTRICT 6 CANDIDATE ALAN TART=>

6. "Most of our community activities to date seem focused on adults or families with young children. These need to continue, but we need to place more emphasis on programs for middle and high school aged kids. Realizing how difficult it is to get teenagers interested in doing community activities, I asked my 13 year old daughter and her friends for their opinion on what they would like to see in our city. Their answer was simple: develop our parks and have recreational activities that are targeted to their age group. I think we should hold focus groups with middle and high school aged kids to determine the kind of program offerings they would like to see in our city and then involve them in the planning and execution of these activities. I am in favor of developing Birmingham Park, acquiring Providence Park from Fulton County, and expanding Bell Memorial Park. Other ideas include “mayor/council member for the day” programs and mock council meetings where they can learn about civics and the role of local government. I also think the annual Rivers Alive program and other community service projects are very positive for our community and get young people involved. "

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kunz and Large couldn't deliver their final answers because they were stuck in the mud.

Anonymous said...

That's pathetic. Large and Kunz couldn't be bothered? I can't say this changed my mind but it sure helps cement it for tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

We don't need a focus group on parks.

We don't need another survey.

WE NEED FIELD SPACE!

Our elementary and middle school kids are already playing sports - but they are playing in Alpharetta, Roswell, Johns Creek and Forsyth because Milton does not have field space.

Ask any parent whose kids play sports - they will tell you that this is a huge issue. The deal the City made with the BOE made it worse, not better - we have not added any fields, but now we have to pay more to the City to use our own school fields.

You can't have it both ways. You can't say that the City of Milton can sustain itself financially and then also say that the City does not have the funds to develop Birmingham Park.

Anonymous said...

As a parent, I can attest to the lack of field space but at the end of the day it's not the end all, be all. I'm not going to sell my vote and community out for ball fields for ugly commercial development and dense residential. Trading pennies for dollars.

Anonymous said...

NO ONE - is trying to add density or add more commercial areas.

Please stop lying!

Same lies used 2 years ago by the 3 that lost the election.

Anonymous said...

Man…. You JZB zealots are a one trick pony. It is all about evil developers who are going to destroy Milton. What is your angle going to be next election when Matt and Lance win this time and there are then 7 evil pro developer nuts on council for two more years and NO destruction of Milton has occurred?

This argument worked the first election and then the second just one year later but now it has been 5 years and most citizens realize what a sham that argument is.

Milton is anti-business and that hurts everyone. There is a place for quality business in Milton in the already defined areas - Period. If anyone on Council ever tried to change that they would be crucified.

Maybe this will mean the crazies will even stay out of any Council races in two years – one can only dream!

Anonymous said...

The only development available land is on Hwy 9 and Crabapple.There is no where else, so stop lying.

Anonymous said...

12:21 Read your own message again. The reason Milton has been preserved is because we have had Julie and Alan asking the hard questions no one else is willing to ask because they can't..they owe too much to the development community that paid for their last campaigns.

Anonymous said...

please give us an example of a development interior to Milton that Alan or Julie has stopped?


Thanks for that answer of zero!


Well Julie did screw up Birmingham crossroads. it looks good but but it had failed before the downturn. Business owners there begging for help fell on deaf ears!

Anonymous said...

Does she leap tall buildings in one bound too? She'll have to if Kunz gets all those highrises shown on his mailer.