I am certain that many of you noticed the new ice dispensary located in front to Ramey's (well Family Dollar). These ice dispensaries are located everywhere and Twice the Ice has finally made its way to the City of Lumberton. The other week at the special called board meeting, the board of alder-persons discussed the assessments for water, garbage and sewer cost. The board eventually decided that Twice the Ice would pay water and garbage fees. They will not pay sewer fees since they are not using the service but if they business need the service in the future, the board will revisit the matter. If you recall, I mentioned this in a previous blog post. I stated how the City of Lumberton continues to allow things to take place and then back pedal to try to make it fit. I suppose our elected officials believe it is better to beg forgiveness than to ask for permission or is that just the mindset of our building inspector/code enforcer, Johnny Buckley. After the board gave the green light and Buckley asked for the go ahead so Mississippi Power can supply electricity to the unit. There were a few questions asked, but when Buckley said "you wouldn't have known if I hadn't said anything to the board"; my suspicious mind went into overdrive. During that same meeting, the board discussed and voted on the sign for the new Family Dollar Store since it was approved by the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee. After the meeting, I questioned several members of the planning and zoning committee and none of them were aware of the ice building. I also contacted the store manager of Ramey's and he was clueless of the approval of the ice building. According to Mr. Steve, he arrived at work and the building was in the parking lot. He said the agreement to place the building there may have been approved by corporate. That is not very professional and it certainly is not in order.
This is the second time, which I know of, that Johnny Buckley, has taken it upon himself to make deals on the behalf of the City of Lumberton. Just recently, Buckley, decided to inform the board of a decision he and members of the airport made regarding a possible contract with some workers that wanted to use the Lumberton Airport. According to Buckley, since he and other members cut the grass at the airport, he felt that he had the authority to give permission to some unknown company to use the airport as they choose, without giving the board any previous notice. Please keep in mind, the company was already set up and I'm guessing that most of the work was already completed before he uttered anything about this unofficial contract he entered into on behalf of the City of Lumberton.
Now we have an ice dispensary that's hooked up and ready for production in the Ramey's parking lot and there's nothing on record at city hall showing any lease agreement between Twice the Ice and Ramey's. Also, there's no business plan or request that was submitted to the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee. As far as I know, there was a tapping fee charged, Johnny collected his inspection fee, and he was given the go ahead to permit Mississippi Power to connect electricity to the building without going through anyone other than the city clerks. Now, that's a red flag to me. It makes me wonder what other types of side deals Johnny Buckley is making with these companies. Where is the checks and balance? I don't know which clerk approved these measures, but it seems rather odd that the chairperson of the planning and zoning committee would get all sorts of paperwork delivered regarding the new Family Dollar store but not a single memo about the Twice the Ice facility.
Let's keep in mind, no one is trying to keep business from coming to Lumberton, but at some point, we must disallow those that have no problem with whoring out the City of Lumberton without following the guidelines that are in place. Another issue I have with this self-approved process is the fact that the building inspector/code enforcer is seemingly going around making side deals but for some reason, there was a delay in reporting the raw sewage that was sitting on the grounds of the airport at the Canopy Cafe. At a previous meeting, Buckley said he and others maintained the grounds at the Lumberton airport and that was the reason they felt they had certain liberties. Well, during this process of maintaining the grounds, did he not see or smell the raw sewage that was on the property or was there another side deal in place for him to look the other way and put a clothes pin over his nose? The problem with the raw sewage is a serious matter and it actually can threaten the viability of our ground water system. I called several officials and did not get any answers but I think it’s time to stop playing when it comes to our ground water and these questionable deals. There's no paper trail and that was probably one of the reasons why the previous board wanted to get rid of Andrew Beamon. If Johnny Buckley is going to do the job, then do the job correctly. Enough of these questionable motives and the claim that he's doing this for the City of Lumberton. If he was truly concerned about the City of Lumberton, he would also be concerned about out ground water and the possible contamination that may result from the sewage matter. I will submit a letter to the board members and hopefully someone will be concerned enough to find out why our city is getting blindsided in these after hour deals. Also, we need to find out who in the office let this go and why they didn't follow up with the planning and zoning as well. We had years of dealing with a set of clerks that did not want to do their jobs and it is my hope that we're not about to go around that mountain again. There are checks and balances in place for a reason. Well, enough of me preaching to the choir. On the brighter side, you can now get a 20lb. bag of ice for $1.75.
I am certain that many of you noticed the new ice dispensary located in front to Ramey's (well Family Dollar). These ice dispensaries are located everywhere and Twice the Ice has finally made its way to the City of Lumberton. The other week at the special called board meeting, the board of alder-persons discussed the assessments for water, garbage and sewer cost. The board eventually decided that Twice the Ice would pay water and garbage fees. They will not pay sewer fees since they are not using the service but if they business need the service in the future, the board will revisit the matter. If you recall, I mentioned this in a previous blog post. I stated how the City of Lumberton continues to allow things to take place and then back pedal to try to make it fit. I suppose our elected officials believe it is better to beg forgiveness than to ask for permission or is that just the mindset of our building inspector/code enforcer, Johnny Buckley. After the board gave the green light and Buckley asked for the go ahead so Mississippi Power can supply electricity to the unit. There were a few questions asked, but when Buckley said "you wouldn't have known if I hadn't said anything to the board"; my suspicious mind went into overdrive. During that same meeting, the board discussed and voted on the sign for the new Family Dollar Store since it was approved by the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee. After the meeting, I questioned several members of the planning and zoning committee and none of them were aware of the ice building. I also contacted the store manager of Ramey's and he was clueless of the approval of the ice building. According to Mr. Steve, he arrived at work and the building was in the parking lot. He said the agreement to place the building there may have been approved by corporate. That is not very professional and it certainly is not in order.
This is the second time, which I know of, that Johnny Buckley, has taken it upon himself to make deals on the behalf of the City of Lumberton. Just recently, Buckley, decided to inform the board of a decision he and members of the airport made regarding a possible contract with some workers that wanted to use the Lumberton Airport. According to Buckley, since he and other members cut the grass at the airport, he felt that he had the authority to give permission to some unknown company to use the airport as they choose, without giving the board any previous notice. Please keep in mind, the company was already set up and I'm guessing that most of the work was already completed before he uttered anything about this unofficial contract he entered into on behalf of the City of Lumberton.
Now we have an ice dispensary that's hooked up and ready for production in the Ramey's parking lot and there's nothing on record at city hall showing any lease agreement between Twice the Ice and Ramey's. Also, there's no business plan or request that was submitted to the Lumberton Planning and Zoning Committee. As far as I know, there was a tapping fee charged, Johnny collected his inspection fee, and he was given the go ahead to permit Mississippi Power to connect electricity to the building without going through anyone other than the city clerks. Now, that's a red flag to me. It makes me wonder what other types of side deals Johnny Buckley is making with these companies. Where is the checks and balance? I don't know which clerk approved these measures, but it seems rather odd that the chairperson of the planning and zoning committee would get all sorts of paperwork delivered regarding the new Family Dollar store but not a single memo about the Twice the Ice facility.
Let's keep in mind, no one is trying to keep business from coming to Lumberton, but at some point, we must disallow those that have no problem with whoring out the City of Lumberton without following the guidelines that are in place. Another issue I have with this self-approved process is the fact that the building inspector/code enforcer is seemingly going around making side deals but for some reason, there was a delay in reporting the raw sewage that was sitting on the grounds of the airport at the Canopy Cafe. At a previous meeting, Buckley said he and others maintained the grounds at the Lumberton airport and that was the reason they felt they had certain liberties. Well, during this process of maintaining the grounds, did he not see or smell the raw sewage that was on the property or was there another side deal in place for him to look the other way and put a clothes pin over his nose? The problem with the raw sewage is a serious matter and it actually can threaten the viability of our ground water system. I called several officials and did not get any answers but I think it’s time to stop playing when it comes to our ground water and these questionable deals. There's no paper trail and that was probably one of the reasons why the previous board wanted to get rid of Andrew Beamon. If Johnny Buckley is going to do the job, then do the job correctly. Enough of these questionable motives and the claim that he's doing this for the City of Lumberton. If he was truly concerned about the City of Lumberton, he would also be concerned about out ground water and the possible contamination that may result from the sewage matter. I will submit a letter to the board members and hopefully someone will be concerned enough to find out why our city is getting blindsided in these after hour deals. Also, we need to find out who in the office let this go and why they didn't follow up with the planning and zoning as well. We had years of dealing with a set of clerks that did not want to do their jobs and it is my hope that we're not about to go around that mountain again. There are checks and balances in place for a reason. Well, enough of me preaching to the choir. On the brighter side, you can now get a 20lb. bag of ice for $1.75.
I guess I blogged at the right time. Just received a call that Johnny Buckley is at City Hall trying to get Merlene Wall to sign paperwork for a Pearl River Valley Electric hook up to a trailer. Again...with no regard to the process of presenting it to the LPZC. I will wait to see of Merlene give Jim the letter he's requesting. If so, she's just as guilty as Johnny Buckley.
ReplyDeleteI thought Johnny was supposed to work as an alternate when Andrew Beamon couldn't inspect properties. He also said that he was set financially but its funny how his wife run to city hall picking up his checks. I'm retired and I travel. I don't have time to hustle for inspection fees but we don't have a drinking or gambling problem. The board need to investigate those certification papers Johnny printed at home. Like you I believe he is getting paid under the table and Mayor Winston know its true. Thank you again for thinking outside the box.
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