Proposed abandonment of a portion of County Road 16/Old State Rd. —Brett Huntley @ LCC 2013-02-25

Received today; he sent it to all the Commissioners. -jsq

To the commission on the proposed idea of road abandonment on County Rd. #16:

On the morning of 2/25/13 after the county commission's morning work session, my wife and I spoke with Joyce Evans and Bill Slaughter on some of our concerns and new found technical information about road abandonment, Georgia state waterways, and what the county and state are expected to protect.

During our conversation we were told that for unexplained legal reasons the county would have to give the road back to the land owner. At this time my thoughts and questions come back to: Why if for legal reasons do we have to give the land back or away, and why are we even having to have a public hearing on this matter, if the public has no say?

Also during this conversation Bill mentioned

the unruly that come down to the river and shoot, litter, allegedly steal, and consume alcoholic beverages (which I would like to point out is socially acceptable and promoted in our country, and people from all levels of social status do it) Then he followed this statement in question form. Would you leave your car parked down there, if you were out there enjoying the area? Well my answer was yes! I have for the past 13 years that I have lived in Naylor and nothing has ever happened nor have I ever heard a story about such a thing.

I now feel that the county has passed judgment on the people of my community and made us river folk out to be bad people. When in fact we are probably some of the most hard working and honest people in the county that still have good morals and values for what is right and for what is wrong. Shutting down county Rd. 16 would be wrong. If this location is closed down and taken away from the community, the county will be stripping us of our heritage, culture, and the over 100 years of history at this location. The over 100 years of history alone should save the location.

Bill also stated that the Commission is trying to work a deal or buy land from Dr. Acree on the hwy 84 side next to the big ugly bridge and turn it over to park and rec. When we asked if he would publicly announce this at the public hearing he said no. Therefore leading me to believe this statement was made to get us off the Commission's back.

Which brings me back to where the county spends its money on park and rec. Many of the parks I have seen built generally are located in lower income areas, where crime rates are higher and more serious. Would I leave my car parked here while I went on a long walk out of sight of my car, no. Just based off personal experience and word of mouth from local citizens Im scared to go, afraid that I might get mugged, approached for handouts, offered illegal drugs, get shot, or caught in the middle of some unruly people's bad dealings.

If you decide to close the communitys public access on public county Rd 16 , Old State Rd. You will have not listenened to the public's wishes for the denial of this proposal, as per the estimated count of 330 citizens' signatures on the petition against the road abandonment. From a legal stand point the county has the power to deny this request. The citizens have spoke, the choice is yours.

Sincerely,

Brett Huntley