Who's Sending the TSPLOST Mailers? We investigate. Giant Double-Sided Mailers measuring 11"x17" toting 'TSPLOST facts', were sent to Johns Creek Voters this week. Much of the information and images are from the City of Johns Creek. Even the City's website is listed 3 times.
Does this look like an official communication from the City of Johns Creek?
Who sent this mailer?
Who are they?
Jeff Wansley is the Executive Director for Georgia Construction Aggregate Association (GCAA), primarily a foundation for highways and infrastructure construction industry. According to its website, the organization is highly engaged with GDOT, listing the GDOT board members contact info, GDOT meeting dates, events, and other regulatory & legislative information.
In GCAA September 2016 newsletter, Mr. Wansley wrote:
"GCAA is playing an important role by supporting the Fulton County TSPLOST initiative. I will be serving as chairman of the Fulton County education initiative which will be managed by the Georgia Transportation Alliance. Both the Fulton County initiative as well as the City of Atlanta opportunity are very important to our industry and we urge you to engage and educate yourself as much as possible about the various referenda."
Georgia Construction Aggregate Association is located in Johns Creek, in an office building on Medlock Bridge Rd, (also known as Mark Burkhalter Highway) and owned by GDOT Board Member Mark Burkhalter.
Interestingly, Stefan C. Passantino, Jeff Wansley & Mark Burkhalter have all worked for former U.S. Representative Newt Gingrich at some point in their careers.
Currently, Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Passantino, & Mr. Burkhalter all work for Dentons' Public Policy and Regulation practice.
If the TSPLOST passes, with the anticipated addition of $570 million tax dollars collected, the infrastructure construction industry will have a windfall of business and profit.
Sources: Secretary of State, Dentons.com, gcaa.org
They fooled me, thought it was from the city.
Why am I not surprised? Also seems like GDOT and the Billboard company have a Cozy Relationship. John's Creek Residents wake up!
It is time to stop the corruption. Vote no to TSPLOST and the Parks Bond. Let the Emperor and his Minions know you have had it and are not going to take it anymore. It's your hard earned tax dollars they are throwing away.
Anyone who does not vote against these proposals should stop complaining about the city government. The only way to change things is to VOTE.
Vote NO.
They already waste enough of our hard earned tax dollars.
So, you think there's no value in this infrastructure improvement?
There's plenty of value if it is done properly.
There's a loss of value if it is done the way we have been doing things the last ten years.
Government is the only group that when they fail at their assigned jobs, says that more money is the solution.
Johns Creek has had plenty of money and suggestions from residents on ways to improve what we have and what we are doing.
They are mostly ignored.
If you have not noticed, Johns Creek starts with their solution and then works backwards to justify it once they start getting questions from the public.
Have you heard specifically what the issues are with Johns Creek Traffic? Have they defined the problems other than the generic "we have lots of vehicles coming from Forsyth or Gwinnett"?
Demand better clarity on the problems and what we are trying to resolve BEFORE giving them more dollars.
And, less than 1/3 oi TSPLOST will go to traffic congestion as they define it.
Not as you and I experience it.
If the problem is too many vehicles, then why is it not bumper to bumper throughout the ENTIRE 141 corridor? It isn't.
It's really about the lights....
Also, if you understand that Johns Creek Residents have more disposable income than the rest of the county, on average, then you will also understand that a formula that distributes the tax dollars collected based on population alone will give more to those areas that have below average incomes than what they are contributing and give less to the high income areas than what they are contributing.
So, Residents of Johns Creek will get far less in return than what they are taxed.
Once again. ask yourself who negotiated on our behalf.
Then you need to ask him to stop negotiating bad deals for the residents of Johns Creek, Please!!!!!
There is no value in increasing our taxes, to give money to the county, so the county can give Some of it back to Johns Creek, to regain control of the roads in Johns Creek. We formed Johns Creek to get AWAY from Fulton County, let us keep it that way.
The city of JC paid a consultant to come up with the value of the T-Splost projects after the city approved the list. What the consultant showed was that the tier 2 and tier 3 projects are more beneficial than some of the tier 1 projects. The consultant did not come up with any benefit to over $20 Million of projects on the tier 1 list! Projects being built in Alpharetta are more beneficial to Johns Creek than the ones being built in Johns Creek itself.
I voted YES to TSPLOST. I am not afraid to spend a few pennies to invest in my own infrastructure. I know, I know, all of it doesn't go to congestion relief, but seriously, it's a non noticeable amount. If people would max out their 401k and focus on their own finances with the same passion, they would not be crying over pennies. Funny how Indians and Koreans in Johns Creek do so well, but the Americans who have been here for generations cry over pennies. I think things are great here in America. Sure, they are not perfect, but it sure is the best place in the solar system. If it wasn't we would not have to talk about a wall going up. I realize there will always be some who will always find something to complain about, but they only have themselves to blame. Mortgage rates are low, stock market is at record highs, gas prices are low. Those who are complaining clearly have refused to invest in America, their local community or themselves....if they had invested, they would be laughing their way to the bank. May God Bless those who actually invest in America.
Mortgage interest rates are low because of Fed quantitative easing, and these EXTREME government measures haven’t changed much in the last 8 years. The stock market is doing well because the destructive corporate downsize curve finally crossed the demand curve a while ago. Also, since interest and bonds are so heavily manipulated by the Fed, there are fewer alternatives to stock investing. Sadly, you have bought the shallow liberal narrative hook line and sinker.
The FRB is also indirectly purchasing stocks and bonds to hold up the prices of the stock market in the hopes we will believe the "things are getting better" myth.
I agree with you on why interest rates are low and why the stock market has tripled. However, I am glad I bought into the shallow liberal narrative...as a result my net worth has surged over the past eight years, since I never turned my back on America and I practiced fiscal responsibility and capitalism by buying up properties with low mortgages and I kept investing in the stock market. Had I listened to the doom and gloom of the conservative narrative, I would have cashed out of the stock market and loaded up on guns and ammo and missed out on the second longest stock market surge in modern times. Ironically, it seems many claiming to be conservatives are the ones that practice socialism by refusing to invest in America or themselves and ultimately relying on someone else to take care of them when they have in adequate resources at retirement or when they lose their job. I will never turn my back on America. I will always invest in it. It's the American thing to do.
You contradict yourself with nearly every sentence. I don’t know any stock investor who hasn’t seen a surge in the past 8 years, especially after Barney Frank’s deception with sub-prime lending launched the huge financial crash of 2008. I explained why the market and interest rates are where they are, and you agree, yet you continue to act like we have a robust economy and everyone in Fulton County should pay higher and higher taxes. Hilarious! What you should do is stop investing in the market and properties, and voluntarily pay a much higher tax rate. For you, it’s an investment, the American thing to do. This way, I could be taking care of you in my retirement.
I will vote against T-SPLOST. I voted against E-SPLOST. I will also vote against A-SPLOST, B-SPLOST, C-SPLOST, D-SPLOST, and E-Z-SPLOST. And when you consider the municipality extortion element with this SPLOST vote, I just hope I don’t crack the touch screen pushing NO on this one.
I have stayed on the sidelines on this TSPLOST proposal until I received the misleading mailer subliminally insinuating the City of Johns Creek was behind it.
This is crony capitalism at work. These stinking lobbyist and lawyers are doing what they ALWAYS seem to do--SCREW OVER THE TAXPAYER.
Is it just me, or does the city of Johns Creek seem to have an inordinate number of these STINKING proposals with NASTY connections (can you say "BillBoards"? How about "37Main"?)
Mark Burkhalter's corrupt past seems to be bubbling up, again.
Just great.....
I proudly voted against both. I am not certain we are better off as a city. This all stinks just like Fulton County.
I've also voted against both the TSPLOST and the Parks Bond.
It's not just the National Swamp that needs to be drained. It's the local swamp as well.
This much money coming in over the next five years, with the leadership we have today would be a major mistake.
Too many mistakes have been made so far. One does not reward that type of leadership with massive increases in taxpayer funds.
[…] Fulton Issues Education Forum recently mailed a similar flyer in Johns Creek about that city’s TSPLOST question, according to the Johns Creek Post website. […]