Fort Valley voters to decide three council posts
Two Fort Valley City Council incumbents are facing opposition in the Nov. 3 election, while another race is for a vacant seat.
Issues of concern cited by the candidates include jobs, blight, education, fiscal responsibility and public safety.
The election will give the council at least one new face. Alonzo J. "Zook" Allen and Marvin A. Crafter are competing for the East Ward seat vacated by the death of John Ezell on Jan. 31.
Meanwhile, West Ward incumbent Jimmy Barnes is opposed by Kenneth Hill, and at-large incumbent Beth Collins is opposed by LeMario Brown.
EAST WARD
Allen, an electrical contractor, said creating more jobs is his priority. Crafter is retired from Fort Valley State University, where he worked in public relations. Crafter said replacing the city's aging infrastructure, particularly old water and sewer lines, is his top priority.
In addition to jobs, Allen said he would like to work on lowering utility rates and creating better housing for senior citizens. He said he would create more jobs by networking with companies in the area that may be looking for new locations.
"We need to get some development in Peach County, if not Fort Valley," he said.
He said he would work with the Fort Valley Utility Commission to see if something could be done to lower what he considers high rates. He could not say how the city's rates compared with other communities.
Allen also said there is too much division between black and white members of the council, and he wants to work to create more unity.
Crafter was formerly a consultant for community members during the cleanup of the Woolfolk Superfund site in Fort Valley. He previously served on the council in two separate terms.
He said he would pay for rebuilding the city's aging infrastructure by putting the city's funds to better use. He said he does not agree with money the city has spent extending utilities to the new Peach County hospital and out Ga. 96.
"We've got old pipes in the ground collapsing," he said. "We need to do a comprehensive plan to fix this town. ... It's my contention that money has not been spent for the right reasons."
He also cited creating jobs and repairing homes of low-income senior citizens as priorities.
WEST WARD
Hill, a Navy retiree, is opposing Barnes, who has served on the council 10 years.
Hill said revitalization of blighted neighborhoods is his top priority, while Barnes cited education.
Barnes, a fiber-optic engineer and a licensed pilot, said he has worked with Fort Valley State University and Peach County High School to try to institute aviation education programs. He said it is needed because of the projected future demand in the field, and he said it would lure good students to both schools.
He said he would continue to work on that.
"Fort Valley is a great town," he said. "We've got a lot to offer, but we have got to start with the education and the family unit."
Barnes, chairman of the city's Public Works Committee, said he's proud of the department's efforts to keep the city clean.
"This town is clean as a whistle," he said. "I'll put it up against anybody."
Hill said he thinks a simple change in a city ordinance could help improve blighted areas of Fort Valley. About 90 percent of the homes in his neighborhood, he said, are on lots that are 50 by 100 feet. That was all minorities would get financing for decades ago, he said.
But today, Hill said, the city deems the lots too small for homes. If someone tears down an old house on one of the lots, a new home cannot be built there, he said. That discourages anyone from improving the lots.
He builds homes and said he would build houses on those lots if the city changed the ordinance.
"The neighborhood is declining and you are making it where it will decline more," he said. "I don't see the benefit of it of it. You have created a situation where you can't improve it if you wanted to."
He also said sidewalks need repair.
Hill originally is from Fort Valley and has lived all over the country during his service in the military. He returned home to take care of his ailing mother.
"I think you have to be away and come back to see what the problems really are," he said.
AT-LARGE
Brown, who operates a small livestock farm where he raises goats and pigs, recently finished a master's degree and is seeking full-time employment.
He is trying to unseat Collins, who has been in office 12 years. Brown has served on the Planning and Zoning Commission and other volunteer boards.
Brown said attracting more jobs to the city is his top priority.
"When I talk to the citizens of Fort Valley, the number one thing they want to talk about is economic growth," he said.
Brown also said doing things with transparency is important to him. He said he would work with the county to come up with ways to create more jobs in the area.
He also said working with the Peach County school board to improve the schools would be a priority.
"I think we need to find more ways to find more teachers," he said.
Collins has been a teacher, a pecan farmer and a real estate agent. She still does some real estate work but said she is trying to retire completely.
She said fiscal responsibility is her top priority.
"We've got some issues that have to be addressed in order not to put the city in a bad way financially," she said.
She especially thinks some changes need to be made in the city's retirement plan.
"We really need to change our retirement system because down the road, I'm afraid it's going to break us," she said. "A lot of cities have gone broke with their retirement systems."
Collins said she is currently working on a proposed change.
She also cited public safety as a priority. Upon her suggestion, she said, the city bumped up the salaries of beginning patrolmen to help fill vacancies.
She also said the city police department has a good drug squad, and she wants to continue to support it.
To contact writer Wayne Crenshaw, call 256-9725.
City Council East Ward
Alonzo J. (Zook) Allen
Age: 60
Occupation: Electrical contractor and building inspector
Political experience: Ran in previous election
Top issue: Creating more jobs
Marvin A. Crafter
Age: 65
Occupation: Retired from public relations
Political experience: Councilman nine years previously in separate terms
Top issue: Replacing old infrastructure
City Council West Ward
Jimmy Barnes (incumbent)
Age: 60
Occupation: Fiber optic engineer
Political experience: Council member for 10 years
Top issue: Improving education
Kenneth Hill
Age: 66
Occupation: Navy retiree
Political experience: Previous council candidate
Top issue: Revitalization
City Council At Large
Beth Collins
Age: 80
Occupation: Retired real estate agent
Political experience: Council member for 12 years
Top issue: Fiscal responsibility
LeMario Brown
Age: 30
Occupation: Livestock farmer
Political experience: Previous council candidate
Top issue: Job creation
This story was originally published October 20, 2015 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Fort Valley voters to decide three council posts ."