Folks, I really tried to take some time off, but this Rino Express won’t let me…
The official first Madison County commissioner’s meeting on Tuesday Night reminded me of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
Since it is Christmas, let’s start with the Good.
All five Madison Country commissioners voted to move forward with a five-year plan to build a new Madison County courthouse.
Pathetically, this Courthouse over the years has deteriorated and had money directed to its upkeep, yet it never received this money.
The budget money was reallocated to other departments, including our bloated School System for a football field.
This caused the courthouse to become progressively worse, making it more toxic with mold and numerous other problems, including outdated electricity. I reported on this years ago, but the County commissioners did nothing.
Their priorities were funneling money to the School system and other pet projects. Because the leaders of Madison neglected their duties to our County, the courthouse morphed into a dangerous low-functioning dinosaur.
The truth was many years ago, Matt Wechtel, commissioner at the time and chairman of the Republican Party, visited the Courthouse and saw this mess in the basement and elsewhere that many of the public could not see and did nothing.
Why do you think he has earned the name Fried Chicken?
Since Bill Briggs likes to brag about being such a great Clerk of Court over the years, why didn’t he do anything about this courthouse?
The rusted, moldy disease just got worse under these two RINOS watches.
Mark Cody and other judicial figureheads were the only leaders in our district with the guts to take this on.
Buddy Harwood fought them in every way possible because the Courthouse belongs next to the Sheriff’s department on county property that we, the taxpayers, already own.
Harwood doesn’t want it there; why? Because Buddy Harwood thinks he controls everything in Madison. He doesn’t want anyone keeping an eye on him. Harwood is a Madison County employee, not a Drug Lord in Mexico.
As we go through this meeting, I will provide you with loops in this video so you can view it more manageable.
The meeting was over four hours long, which is ridiculous on any level.
This is just another way to pay the incompetent County Attorney Donnie Laws more money.
First video loop below of Tuesday’s Commissioner’s meeting at the point of discussion for approving a new Madison County Courthouse.
I have a problem with a five-year plan because five years is a long time to promise something may get done!
Sorry but the Madison County Commissioners and former County managers have not proven and followed through with their commitments over the years.
Our County government waited a long time and now has jeopardized a reasonable interest rate because Forrest Gillium, while sitting as County Manager, spent more time building up the bloated schools than caring about the priority of needs in this county.
Now, where do these Rino Express commissioners want Gillium? Why on the Economic development committee? A committee we don’t need in a county of this size.
Chew on this Democrat Party, Gillium was active in the 2022 general election to get these RINOS elected. Are you catching on, folks?
Remember, Forrest Gillium is in the hot seat over the Gregory Lawsuit; see below
According to the video above, Leake and Baker have concluded that preserving this White Elephant only costs the county more.
I will note that Michael Garrison made the motion, and it was approved by all five of these commissioners that they take money out of what is left of the 3.2 million grant and repurpose some of this money to renovate the courthouse.
Folks, I hope you understand the original amount of this grant was 3.8 million dollars, so a good hunk of it went to these architects to determine that this courthouse was not salvageable.
Six hundred thousand dollars, to be exact.
These architects did a great job, but we must pay them for their work. Now Elmer wants to use more of this grant pittance to renovate this boondoggle.
This is stupidity on steroids – Sell the darn thing and set it up in a trust with covenants and restrictions so you can keep it historical and prevent the witches of Marshall from getting ahold of it or let Larry Leake and Baker buy it since they love it so much.
Don’t throw good money after bad…
Federal Reserve policymakers voted on Dec. 14 to raise the benchmark federal funds rate by 50 basis points to a target range of 4.25–4.5 percent, the highest level since late 2007.
The Fed’s policy-making arm, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), has boosted interest rates seven times since March, totaling 425 basis points.
Let’s give an estimate the courthouse will cost 15 million, which could be higher because the word on the street is they want 30 million, so double the below calculations;
Now, the County will have to raise 12 million, which will have to be done in a bond referendum. Because of the Madison County Government waiting along with uprising interest rates, this will cost the county one-quarter of a million dollars. Double this if the project swells to 30 million.
Had Madison County Government moved on this project in a lower interest environment which, by the way, we had with President Trump, it could have saved the county over a million dollars in the life of this project.
This mishandling of county projects and poor planning by individuals without private sector business experience has cost the taxpayers plenty.
Wait for it … in enters Elmer Gantry Michael Garrison; he can’t help himself; he has to bloviate about his nonexistent accomplishments, but his bloviating is just more deceptive persuasion for the public. It is like watching the Emperor and his new clothes.
The definition of Gas-Lighting: psychological manipulation of a person, usually over an extended period of time, that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion and loss of confidence.
Hence why we have so many church sheep; Buddy Harwood and Michael Garrison have been doing this for years. Lying and scheming in Jesus Christ’s name to get Harwood elected.
Garrison literaly Gas Lighted the public with his propaganda and actually thought he could con the public into thinking these two retired judges- Baker and Leake were great men.
Watch below
Hogwash Folks…
Lets get to to the real truth …
Michael Garrison, the co-chair of Madison County RINO Republican Express, gives kudos to two ex-judges who delayed the building of the Madison County Courthouse for selfish political reasons.
Which ultimately cost the county 1.6 million dollars or more depending on the project size, including the cost to prepare an architectural proposal to pacify these two old whiny judges.
I will give kudos to Larry Leake and Judge Baker if they each pay a million dollars into the finance kitty for the building of Madison County’s new courthouse because they and others caused this delay which has cost each one of us who pays taxes more money.
Anyone with a fifth-grade education could look at that courthouse and know it needed to be replaced; for crying out loud, it has a river running through it!
We didn’t need to hire and pay out $600,000 to see this Courthouse needed replacing.
Gas-lighting is this above, and Garrison is a master at this because he is a great liar and lies for sport.
This is why the Church Sheep follow him it is what cults demand.
The Bad
Below are the public comments, which, in part, I consider good, but there were also some bad.
Public Comments
Jim Tibbets started the comments about the Noise Ordinance draft that no one has seen but a few because this Noise ordinance is not available on Madison County’s website.
Why not? Why hasn’t the overvalued clerk, Mandy Bradley, made these available to the public?
Remember Development Services Director Brad Guth- (pronounced Goof) was on the Event Venue Problem focus group, as was Mandy Bradley, who is the assistant to the county manager; this focus group addressed the event venue problem that included then-Vice Chair Craig Goforth and Commissioner Michael Garrison.
Why is Mandy Bradley, who doesn’t even live in this county, on any focus group for this county’s residents and property owners?
This Group should have consisted of Madison Property owners not Madison County Government shills
Mr. Tibbets was accurate about these fines and the fact that these entertainment wedding entities need to be taxed as Commercial.
Marta Santamaria, owner of “The Ridge.”
This venue has had so many complaints from area neighbors because The Ridge shoots off fireworks, plays DJ music loudly, and has no respect for the neighbors that live in this area. All this is because The Ridge wants to make the brat’s wedding party happy while making lots of money. Yet this facility is not taxed commercially; why?
Ms. Santamaria was very emotional, and it was hard to tell what she was saying because she is from Columbia, South America.
She directed most of her complaints at Michael Garrison. She claimed bias and that the Noise ordinance was designed to target “The Ridge.”
Santamaria claims the decibels in this ordinance are unrealistic. She claimed that one of her neighbors was a friend of Michael Garrison and that Garrison used his authority to one night give her a citation and the next day a criminal citation. Was this a two-day event?
She then started in on a neighbor named Brodie – which I checked and could not find anyone that owns property in Madison with this last name.
She claimed Brodie was Michael Garrison’s friend and was driving a tractor on his land and shining lights into her facility when she held an event. She stated if she complained about Brodie would Michael Garrison issue him a citation?
Ok, folks, I don’t know who Brodie is, but there is a reason why tractors have lights on them because they are used at night, dummy.
Good luck with having anyone in this county arrested for being on a tractor. You are an idiot for even suggesting this in your statements; there is a reason you are in Madison, Ms. Santamaria, and that is because the planning board won’t let you get away with this in Buncombe.
By neighbors’ accounts, the Ridge shot fireworks off for an entire hour on a Sunday after 9 PM. There was an elderly woman, age 90, who almost had a heart attack when their fireworks started. I was told that Marta was called about this immediately, and her response was well, they paid me five thousand dollars. I can’t stop. REALLY? Did you have a permit? Do you know you are supposed to have a permit for fireworks?
These neighbors that border the Ridge can’t even sit on their porches in the evening without tolerating “The Ridges” bad-mannered music and strobe lights all night to make a bunch of spoiled drunk wedding guests happy.
Santamaria issued a veiled threat and claimed Garrison was intentionally hurting her business. She stated, “you intentionally harmed a business, and it is costing us a lot of money.” “Also costing a lot of these people money – (she pointed to the room of bystanders) because eventually, this will take two measures because I will not be taking this anymore.”
Carpet Bagger Cahill of mirrored hotels; also commented at this hearing, and she was complaining about the decibels also.
After Requesting, Brad Guth still refuses to make a copy of this Noise Ordinance draft available to me. I don’t doubt that these women are telling the truth about these decibels.
You may dislike them because they are not from here but consider that this could affect everyone who likes to shoot guns on their property and have a family gathering.
Why is Garrison and Wechtel’s planner and toadie clerk Mandy Bradley hiding the noice ordinance draft?
Think about it Michael Garrison thinks he runs this county, he hates the common man and woman of this county and Fried Chicken and the other three bow to his commands.
Tony Ponder – Glynnis Ponder, and Carl Batchelder did a good job addressing issues. Please take the time to watch all of them; it takes guts to speak in public; even if you disagree with them, give them credit for standing up.
Now for the Ugly …
I have always had a big problem with County governments that operate cocky and in the Good Ole Boy mentality.
These county commissioners have shown us in two weeks what their agenda going forward will be. They are going to run our county like the “Porky Movie.”
We do have another positive and that is the County commissioners and the County attorney dressed appropriately, but the Madison County Manager, Rod Honeycutt, was dressed like a cat burglar.
How disrespectful!
I sent Honeycutt an email and asked him to explain why he dressed this way at a commissioners meeting, even tried to call the Madison County executive offices.
Below is the message which has been the message for the last few days.
I hope Honeycutt doesn’t turn out like the last Military County Manager, Alen Lambert.
What a mess! Where is Mandy Bradley? I thought she was an assistant to the County Manager. Bradley is so competant she can’t even keep the phone lines clear.
(828) 649-2854
Here is the email: rhoneycutt@madisoncountync.gov rhoneycutt@madisoncountync.gov
Rod
- Where is the pending Noise Ordinance located? It should be up on the county’s site.
- Also, why is Alan Wyatt showing on the county’s planning board site as still sitting as vice chair? This is a conflict of interest.
- Are the Madison County Commissioners required to sign a conflict of interest policy form? If not, then why?
Thank you for your time.
You can call me with any questions-
I have a problem with the way you were dressed last night. If you have a valid reason, let me know; otherwise, I will be left with branding you as a cat-burglar
Now for the Ugly, which should show everyone how this county is being run, and just because there are three new commissioners,
RINO EXPRESS
don’t doubt for one moment this is worst than it was before.
One of the final things in this meeting clip was the county commissioner’s approval of board appointments. The video clip below:
The county commissioners did not consider a board replacement for the Planning Board vacancy of Alan Wyatt, who cannot sit on the planning board while sitting as County Commissioner.
According to the Weekly Wiper, Wyatt even stated he was resigning before being sworn in as commissioner.
Why is Alan Wyatt still sitting on the Planning Board?
It is showing up on the County’s site for planning and zoning ?
From the County’s site:
The Madison County Commissioners established the Planning Board, whose responsibilities include conducting public hearings to deal with zoning change requests, subdivision requests, and special use permits and to make recommendations concerning changes and/or revisions with the Land Use Ordinance to the County Commissioners. In addition to those requests and recommendations, the Planning Board monitors growth and development in county. They consider how such pressures will impact and affect the citizens of Madison County and will plan accordingly. The Planning Board is also responsible for review and recommendation of amendments to the Madison Comprehensive Plan.
Planning Board Members
Jered Silver – Chairman
Alan Wyatt – Vice Chairman
Jackie Ball
Sue Keener
Kevin Morton
Josh Norton
Mary Rice
Daniel Rice
2022 Meeting Schedule
2023 Meeting Schedule
Notice the meeting schedule above and the meeting schedule below – it does not match up; why?
Is it to cause confusion, or is this another Mandy Bradley incompetent mistake?
Hanlon’s Razor-Don’t contribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity…
I bring this up about the planning board appointment because there were two applicants I know of for this position, so why did the Madison County Commissioners and the Military guy posing as a county manager not fill this position?
That would be more honest Right?
Why not just make the statement you are tabling this because you don’t like the applicants?
Because folks, these commissioners want a good ole boy on this board who can’t think for themselves and will take orders from this cabal.
Remember, Alan Wyatt, while sitting as co-chair on the planning board, redid the County ordinances to profit himself
(He owns Rentals in our county), he did this while boasting he is a strong Christian.
But because of this malfeasance, any landowner can challenge these ordinances.
I think these two ladies, Ms. Santamaria and Ms. Cahill, should submit their names to the planning board list -They own property in this county, and both are entrepreneurs and successful businesswomen.
If the county bubba commissioners chose to overlook them, that could give them leverage in a lawsuit of discrimination.
Running a meeting for almost Five hours for this little agenda proves that the chair and the co-chair lack organizational skills.
No one in their right mind should expect a five-hour meeting to produce any positive results or efficiencies.
The Courthouse Project should have eyes on it because Buddy Harwood and his greedy goons want a piece of this pie. I have my doubts that Larry Leake willingly backed down without a payoff. Let’s watch to see if we get a good ole boy from the county that is put into the position of the chief contractor. It happened with the Sheriff’s department years ago; remember Charles Tolley assigned as the building contractor?
Tolley made a lot of money for not being licensed as a contractor in NC on this project, and let’s not forget the new Sheriff’s department architect Leake also hired for this project.
Leake was being paid to oversee the Sheriff Department project; he hired an architect out of Mississippi; the Attorney General’s office of Mississippi was investigating this architect at the time.
I reported on this, not the Weekly Wiper of Marshall. They were mad because they were out-scooped.
I chewed Larry out for this; it was pure laziness; how could a blogger find this information and the County attorney not? This is why Donnie Laws and the incompetent Mandy Bradley do not need to be near this project.
It cost the people of this county a lot of money for these incompetencies, so let’s do better this time and watch these scoundrels like a hawk.
Why do you think these commissioners showboat at every chance? Who are these RINOS trying to convince of their competency – themselves or us -CH
