Lula candidates present platform

The moderator for the night was Winfred Popphan, Homer, and all candidates were in attendance. Candidates for mayor include incumbent Milton Turner and challenger Paul Cox.

Turner has been on the council for 14 years, eight of which he’s spent as mayor. He is a past president of the Lula PTO and Touchdown Club.

Cox is a stay-at-home dad who has experience in the restaurant business, the Department of Agriculture in Florida and as a firefighter. Cox has lived in Lula for almost three years.

Running for the Ward 2 council seat in Lula is the incumbent, Vicky Chambers, and challenger Bruce Lane.

Chambers has been on the council for eight years, during which six of those she has served as mayor pro tem. She is a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) member, as well as a member of the Historical Society.

Lane has lived in Lula for six years and works at North Georgia Technical College and points out that he has experience managing large sums of money and also experience directing those under him. He is a past president of the Lula Booster Club.

Councilmember Mordicai Wilson was also present, although he faces no opposition in the coming election.

Questions from the audience and the response from the candidates includes the following:

What to do about crime?

•Turner said that he would continue working with the sheriff’s department and also the precinct that is already in town that is manned three days a week. He is opposed to starting up a police force and would prefer partnering with Hall County, since the majority of the town’s residents live in Hall. He favors this option because of its apparent cost efficiency.

•Cox said that he wants to talk to the sheriff and find out what the options are as far as patrolling. His thoughts are to perhaps get a substation. He is also in favor of exploring the idea of a small police force.

•Chambers agrees mostly with Turner and said she wants citizens to report suspicious activity. “It takes everyone being involved to keep the community safe,” she said.

•Lane said he would like to see a safer town with the addition of speed bumps. “Stop signs are only as good as the people who stop at them,” he said. He also wants to enforce speed limits more and favors the option of potentially obtaining a police force. “As far as the safety and security of the city, I would like to explore finding federal grants that could start a police department,” he said.

As growth in Lula increases, what needs to remain unchanged?

•Turner: “The picture has already been painted broad across (Highway) 365,” he said. “We know what’s coming there (and) that’s not Lula, so we’ve go to work hard (in the) downtown area to keep it Lula.”

•Cox: “I know the small town,” he said. “I know how everybody wants to wake up and feel just like they did yesterday and not be scared of what’s going to be across the street.”

•Chambers: “I would not want to see the small town disappear,” she said. “I think that’s the quality of Lula that all of us find the most endearing. It’s why most of us chose to live here is because Lula has a special small town feel.” Chambers went on to say that keeping the small town feel of Lula is one thing that she would work the hardest on to preserve.

•Lane: “Change is inevitable,” he said. “It’s going to happen rather we want it to or not. Again, we need to have everything in place; we need to be ready for that, and we need to be ready to protect what we do have here in downtown, what’s coming across (Highway) 365 is coming. Whether we like it or not, it’ll be there.”
What are some future plans and how will they be accomplished?

•Turner said that he wants to continue building infrastructure and continue being a member of EDC. He said that currently, the city is working with EDC to get a multimillion dollar company relocating to Lula in the industrial park which will bring more jobs into the city.

•Cox: “The key to actually making things work is the wastewater plant,” he said. “The first thing that really needs to happen is (to) find out who’s coming this way, how to get them tied into it and start using those monies to subsidize and run the facility so it doesn’t come back on property taxes.”

•Chambers: “One of the things that’s necessary is the renovation of downtown,” she said. It’s her hope that buildings downtown can be renovated so that citizens can be proud of the town. She also wants to keep downtown a service-oriented area. “They are industries that service you and make your life easier and that’s what we want to keep the downtown area as,” she said. She hopes the DDA will play a large role with that.

•Lane agrees that the wastewater treatment plant is the key to bring businesses to Lula. “If you have the infrastructure in place, that’s going to be an attraction to businesses,” he said. “I think Lula needs to start on a scale where they’re working with small business. Small business is the core to any business. With a small business, they have to have outlets, they have to have manufacturers to take care of their needs. (The Highway) 365 corridor is going to be huge, but first has to have infrastructure to lure the businesses.”

Should anything be done to reduce the cost of tap on fees on new/small businesses?

•Turner said that he would not promise to reduce fees because the council makes that decision, not the mayor.

•Cox said that if businesses are to succeed, they should be allowed to break up their tap on fees over time.

•Chambers: “The key is having larger businesses out on (Highway) 365 (that) will help ease up some of the fees that some of us have to pay as far as small businesses and homes for that service,” she said.

•Lane would like to allow small businesses to split their fees and pay half up front and half over time to ease the pressure on a new business.

Are you a hands on person?

•Turner: “I am definitely a hands on type,” he said. He acknowledged the presence of a city manager who does much of the handling of Lula, but said that they are in touch daily. “I do want to stay very involved,” he said. “And being the mayor, you have no choice. You’re responsible regardless of what happens; you need to know what happens.”

•Cox: “I can honestly tell you, being in a position of leadership, I have never asked anyone to do something I haven’t already done myself,” he said. “If I haven’t seen it before, I do it with them; but if it’s something I‘ve done before, I instruct, I lead, I show, teach again if necessary, but I’ve never not been hands on with any of the jobs that I‘ve done.”

•Chambers: “Sometimes it’s easier to be the person in charge than it is one of the workers,” she said. “But I think I work well with other people and I have lots of ideas and energy as far as our town is concerned.”

•Lane described himself as a very hands on person. “If you can’t delegate your workout, then you’re not a good leader,” he said. “When it comes to being hands on, I don’t mind rolling my sleeves up and getting dirty. I don’t mind being the one that goes out knocking on doors, talking to people, letting them know what’s going on.”