This past Albany Journal has an interesting tale that didn’t get much mention anywhere else. It’s a tale of a development company who the city managed to pull the rug out from under on a development deal. Now, the city granted approval in 2006, but now they’re not so sure. In fact, they’re so unsure that they apparently falsified Planning Commission minutes to support their case.
This is an act that I believe everyone knows is illegal. It’s so blatantly wrong that even my 8 year old son knows this is something you just don’t do. And yet, someone within the city did just that. And it makes you ask yourself, what else are they capable of doing?
I personally believe that there is a web of corruption around Albany. It goes deeply and has been here for years. Not everyone is involved, but plenty are and I hope to find out exactly who in the future. For many, however, this seems pretty far fetched. I can certainly understand that. It has the feeling of “black helicopters” and “new world order” for a lot of folks.
But let me ask you this? If the city will falsify evidence in a court of law, what else are they capable of doing? They knew the facts were against them, they knew they were wrong, and yet they proceeded anyways. Did they care?
It’s important to note that the developer in question is Coley Musgrove, LLC. If the Coley name is familiar to you, it’s because Tim Coley is a prominent member of the Dougherty County Taxpayer’s Association, one who took the city to task regarding the $6 million bond for downtown. Now, Coley Musgrove wants to develop a patch of land at the corner of Lockett Station Road and Westover, just for the record.
It’s my opinion that there’s a good chance this is an act of retribution. It wouldn’t be the first time we saw this from the city either. After all, the City Commission removed Carol Fullerton from the WG&L Commission – officially for missing meetings. Of course, that these meetings should clearly have been excused absences because she was at the General Assembly was irrelevant. She had supported the Consolidation bill.
What is next? What will the city do next to silence opposition, or to make their point? Who knows. One thing that is for certain, at least in my mind, is that the City will cross any line to make it’s point. However, it still must adhere to the laws of the land or face the consequences.
It’s up to us to make sure they do.
Just for the record, there is no corner of Lockett Station Road and Westover. They are two separate North-South roads that don’t cross. Not sure if that was a typo, but I felt I should point that out.
Actually, it was more of a case of cranial flatulence, but the result is the same. Thanks for pointing out the goof!
Thanks so much for the post, Tom. From today’s Journal, here’s an answer to your query, “If they will do that, what next?”
Taxpayers paid for shopping carts,
other items, at new Dollar Square
City officials trying to keep details about $47K deal secret
By Kevin Hogencamp
Downtown Manager Don Buie misused at least $43,000 in taxpayer funds on interior renovations and purchases for the downtown Dollar Square retail store that opened earlier this year, public records show.
Among the public expenditures for the private project: $760 for new eight shopping carts for store patrons and tens of thousands of dollars for merchandise including knee pads, fruit juice, cleaning supplies, tools, floor tiles and shelving, public records show.
The expenditures and purchases were made under the auspices of a matching-funds “facade” grant administered by Buie but not approved by the Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority (ADICA), public records show. Rather than improving the building’s exterior with the facade grant, Dollar Square owner Tim Washington renovated the store’s space, partly if not exclusively with public funds, in early 2009, records show.
Buie provided some public records – mostly invoices and receipts – upon request after initially being unresponsive in violation of the state’s government-in-the-sunshine law. Those records and the refusal by Buie and his supervisor, City Manager Alfred Lott, to provide ledger reports and additional information and perspective regarding ADICA’s dealings with Dollar Square indicate that the facade improvement program was deliberately misused by Buie to Washington’s benefit.
Washington acknowledged Tuesday that the eight $95 shopping carts were part of a $28,000 interior furnishing, shelving and gondola package for the store purchased from Stretch A Dollar of Locus Grove, Ga. He said he will discuss the facade program and other details of Dollar Square’s agreements with ADICA today with the Journal, when he has his records with him.
Public records reviewed by the Journal indicate that the seven-member ADICA board chaired by Jane Willson and appointed by the Albany City Commission has not approved any taxpayer expenditures at Dollar Square. If any such records exist, ADICA is illegally withholding them.
Further, public records do not indicate that Washington matched the public expenditures with private funds as required in ADICA’s facade improvement grant program guidelines. Up to $50,000 in matching funds can be allocated by the ADICA board, according to program guidelines published on ADICA’s Website, http://www.ilovealbanyga.com. Willson did not respond The Albany Journal’s request for an interview.
Washington’s deal with Buie may be even sweeter — taxpayers may be paying his rent; at least, Buie and Lott refused last week and this week to provide information to the contrary.
Public records show that through ADICA, Albany taxpayers are spending Dougherty County $2,083 per month to lease 5,000 square feet within the building for Dollar Square to occupy at 116-118 N. Jackson St. Buie, meanwhile, says he has misplaced Dollar Square’s lease agreement with ADICA, and he refuses to provide ledger reports or otherwise reveal how much, if anything, Dollar Square is reimbursing Albany taxpayers to lease the store space.
Lott also refuses to provide Dollar Square’s lease agreement with ADICA.
The objective of façade improvement grant programs is to remove blight by assisting businesses and commercial property owners with improving building appearance and by bringing signs, parking and landscaping into conformance with current codes. About $3,800 was spent on the Dollar Square’s façade in the modern, well-kempt 10-year-old Dougherty County-owned commercial leasing space between the Subway restaurant and Brown Bean coffee shop.
Buie and Lott also refuse to provide information pertaining to grants or incentives afforded by Buie to other downtown businesses. The city officials’ withholding of public records is a misdemeanor crime under the state’s government-in-the-sunshine regulations; indeed, Buie and Lott are repeat offenders of the state open records law.
Unlike Lott, who deferred information requests to ADICA attorney and former Albany mayor Tommy Coleman, Buie was responsive to inquiries on the Dollar Square matter. But Buie did not provide much of the information requested of him or answer many questions asked of him. Specifically, Buie and Lott refuse to provide public information or answer questions regarding the following:
• The amount Dollar Square pays, if anything, to lease its North Jackson Street property.
• The amounts of approved or unapproved façade grants
• Facade grant applications
• The amount ADICA reimbursed Dollar Square through the façade grant program
• Additional funds, if any, ADICA paid to Dollar Square and other downtown payments as grants or incentives
• Amount budgeted for facade grants and their source of funding (where ADICA gets the money)
• Minutes of public meetings at which façade grants have been approved
• Public records detailing matching fund expenditures paid by facade grant program participants
Buie, meanwhile, is the subject of a Georgia Bureau of Investigation theft and misconduct investigation. Buie’s former girlfriend alleged in an affidavit that she later recanted that she and Buie schemed to defraud ADICA of $1,600 while she was on ADICA’s payroll.
edited per Kevin’s correction by Tom
This article was published in The Albany Journal on July 22, 2009
.-= Kevin Hogencamp´s last blog ..Lee County Taxpayers Association formed =-.
Kevin,
Thanks for posting this. As you know, I have been following this situation as well. I’m concerned by the lack of responsiveness from both Lott and Buie on what seems to be a pretty basic request.
Personally, I’m pretty alarmed by that.
Does this not make the point that business will not come downtown without being subsidized by the taxpayer? This guy isn’t even paying rent and the lease has been “misplaced.”
Shut ADICA down! A bad idea doesn’t get any better with time.
Let’s keep it simple. Kevin has laid it out. We are paying Dollar Square’s rent.
I call BS on the “misplaced” rent agreement excuse. ADICA won’t confirm or deny. Have we been reimbursed?
If Kevin has it wrong – show us the paperwork. If he has misinterpreted something – straighten it out. If we are not secretly bribing businesses to locate downtown, then explain the real deal.
It’s our money. We want an accounting.
Thanks, gentlemen. For the same reason Cartman cited (it’s my money at stake!), I hope I have it wrong in today’s Journal regarding Buie and Dollar Square.
The Dollar Square owner told me today that my story was completely accurate (yep, we bought the shopping carts, in spite of what Buie says in tomorrow’s Herald) — and that he regrets being drawn into this scandal by Buie. He simply went for a sweetheart deal orchestrated by Buie and funded by taxpayers. Who wouldn’t?
It’s nearly midnight and I still haven’t gotten any answers, information or feedback about today’s story rom Buie and Lott. But the Herald’s reporter told me that Buie told him that I got some stuff wrong in my story (i.e. he claims that the city’s facade improvement grant program includes interior renovations).
But the reporter also said Buie offered no documentation to back up his claims and still hasn’t produced a Dollar Square lease; evidence that Dollar Square is paying rent; or evidence that Dollar Square matched the grant by paying for half of the approved expenses.
Tom, I’m going to forward you some enlightening e-mails on this topic.
.-= Kevin Hogencamp´s last blog ..Lee County Taxpayers Association formed =-.
Kevin: By all means. I look forward to reading them.
Buie is in so deep that it’s almost silly how much crap he gets caught up in. I still think it’s past time for him to hit the road and this latest allegation only heightens the idea that he probably needs to go to jail first.
One side note on the Buie/ADICA fiasco: Is anyone else disturbed by the apparent conflict of having persons on the ADICA board who own property downtown (Phil Cannon) that could benefit from the money being wasted there by ADICA?
I don’t think ADICA is a good idea. I don’t trust Buie, but I think the position taken by Phil Cannon (that the concept of downtown redevelopment is okay, we just need different people running it) is deeply flawed. The “Ostrich-approach” about Buie taken by the Langstaff-Marietta crowd is even more depressing. Wait for the whitewash I predicted on Buie.
Also, there seems to be an inherent ethical conflict between a property owner such as Phil Cannon being directly or indirectly subsidized by ADICA when he sits on the ADICA board.
I know Phil may not receive a direct subsidy, but he has absolutely no incentive not to want as much tax money as possible spent downtown, even if traffic has to be “forced” down there with uneconomic subsidies such as with the dollar store.
I am in lockstep with Cartman’s view that the whole ATI/ADICA operation needs to be shut down immediately, as millions of dollars wasted and thirty years of failure do not need to be repeated in an even worse economy today.
[...] this week’s Albany Journal (also posted as a commented here by Kevin Hogencamp), it was revealed that city funds were apparently used to purchase things like [...]
I agree with you on everything except Phil Cannon’s possible benefits. As an attorney, his business wouldn’t really “pick up” with increase spending downtown, and I don’t believe that he has any rental space in his property, though I could be wrong.