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OPINION

Hice will keep town’s historic values in place

Letter
Comments (16)

Friday, October 30, 2009

(Updated 3:00 am)

Having seen firsthand the conduct and ethics of Anne Hice as mayor of Pleasant Garden, I know that tax dollars will be spent sparingly and frugally under her watch.

I also know she can be trusted to maintain the development ordinances that keep growth in Pleasant Garden at a controlled pace as it was designed to be in 1997.

I know very little about her opponent, but I clearly recognize the people standing on the street corner with his signs and throwing parties in his support. I know that if elected, it will be hard for Mr. Greene to ignore the debt he owes to the pro-growth/pro-spending crowd who have so diligently worked to have him elected.

Two of the things I value greatly about Pleasant Garden are the rural landscape and the low tax rate. I am certain that a vote for Anne Hice will be a vote to preserve both.

If she is defeated, I fear the free hot dogs and free parties organized by the pro-growth crowd will not be free at all.
Vote safely for Pleasant Garden. Vote Anne Hice for mayor.

Alan Carroll
Pleasant Garden

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brian444

October 30, 2009 - 4:34 am EDT

There's no such thing as a free hot dog. You'll pay, sooner or later. Oh, you'll pay all right.

hhdavis

October 30, 2009 - 8:11 am EDT

Thank you Mr. Carroll for telling the truth about what Mr. Greene supports...GROWTH and SPENDING. If those who voted for him in the primary want water and sewer, huge retail and restaurants, and a recreational facility funded by the Town (i.e. takeover of the Community Center), there are other areas that offer that. For my children, I prefer they grow up in a small town, just as I did, I had the option to move away, and nine years later I decided to come home to stay. After working in Elon for six years, I saw first hand what growth brought to a small town. Traffic-related problems, a higher crime rate, and of course higher taxes and utilities.
VOTE SLOW GROWTH and LOW TAXES. Vote Anne Hice for Mayor and do it for the CHILDREN!!!!

Caring

October 30, 2009 - 9:32 am EDT

Clearly you do not know Bill Greene or what he supports even though he shares his ideas with everyone. Mr. Greene does not have plans to spend like you have indicated. Neither he nor anyone else can bring water/sewer into the town as easily as you try to make it sound here and without that “…huge retail and restaurants” won’t come…”. It would be great if you could produce something he has written supporting your claims rather than untruths being stated. As for recreation, the taxpayers are already paying for the recreation activities that take place here. No one is against growth being slow but many of us want a voice on what happens here instead of just the few owners of large pieces of property who claim their land as farms and pay very little in taxes on it. The people of Pleasant Garden are to intelligent to fall for scare tactics and the untruths being spread about Bill. Henie Penny did not last either. People of our town have watched the town’s creditability and positive forward movement go down the drain. It is time for a positive change. Voting for Bill Greene is the answer for everyone from children to seniors.

unknown

October 30, 2009 - 3:34 pm EDT

Caring and others of like mind:
There are strict guidelines as to the definition of a farm for tax purposes; therefore, they are farms, not "just claimed as."

Mickey1

October 31, 2009 - 2:06 am EDT

By loosing our positive forward movement, are you talking about the end of wasting thousands of dollars (what was it $6,000?) to clear out around the magnolia tree because Wyrick and his folks are insistent on using "professionals" instead of free volunteers. Maybe the center piece of the useless little park, the magnolia tree, would not have died if some common sense volunteers had handled the project.

I bet Anne Hice would have pulled it off for less than a $100 with volunteers and prison labor.

Oh and "Bill Greene is the answer for everyone from children to seniors." What was the question? Who is most likely to give me handouts, tax me and waste money? Was that the question?

My question is who is going to minimize government, and leave me alone. And the answer is: "not any friend of Bob Wyrick" which means not Bill Greene and not Alan Marshall.

Republican

October 30, 2009 - 11:48 am EDT

Caring,

Do you think Bill Greene will just ignore the “Spend to Grow” crowd of Bob Wyrick, Eddie Patterson and Alan Marshall, and they will all just be disappointed and life will go on as usual?

When Bill Greene was recently asked about favoring sewer installation in the business district he said “not at this time”. Now you are right about sewer being hard to do, starting with finding a suitable place in PG to pump the sewage to treat it. But it being hard does not change the growth ambition of those who have worked so hard toward getting Bill Greene elected. As soon as they find a way, Bill Greene’s position will go from “Not at this time” to “Now is the time to invest in our town’s future.” “without public sewer Pleasant Graden will die” is what one of the pro-growth candidates was saying before the election 2 years ago.

PG Resident

October 30, 2009 - 3:53 pm EDT

Why would we need to treat sewage in Pleasant Garden?

Are there not already Greensboro sewer lines right here in Pleasant Garden?

Republican

October 30, 2009 - 7:13 pm EDT

Greensboro installed sewer in this area prior to Pleasant Garden incorporating with the intention of one day annexing and taxing.

After Pleasant Garden incorporated Greensboro put a moratorium on further connections to their sewer lines in this area. The only way new connections can be made is if an existing septic tank fails.

This prevents new construction from hooking on to existing lines unless the lot already has a connection. For example PG Baptist was able to build their family life center and hook it on to the existing connection that the church already had.

The same would be true for the Hooker Furniture property. If PG had the roof tops to support a shopping center, the owner of that 14 acres could build a grand shopping center and use the existing sewer connection that it already has.

To provide sewer to the business district PG would have to run its own sewer lines right over or beside Greensboro's and build its own sewage treatment facilities.

Republican

October 30, 2009 - 12:15 pm EDT

The $40,000 land use plan, that the pro-growth crowd insisted be done, told us what we already knew. That there is not enough housing density in Pleasant Garden, nor enough through traffic to support a CVS Drug Store, Food Lion, Olive Garden, Bob Evans Restaurant and so forth in the business district. Even if we had public sewer, we don’t have enough traffic. And they are right, how often do you see one of those businesses on a 2 lane road anyway? The obvious solution is more housing for more people for more traffic. Once pleasant garden road is so congested that it takes 15 minutes to drive through town, the retailers will be happy and the rest of us will be miserable. Then we will be asked to invest in a wider road.

Caring

October 30, 2009 - 9:26 pm EDT

Again you do not know Bill Greene or you would know better. The continued scare tactics are unbelievable. One would glean from your writing that you are fine with the town and its direction being dictated by only large land owners and the little guy can just forget about a voice. You are right though, one does not often see large chain businesses on a two lane road but with the way the town is being run you see fewer and fewer businesses of any kind on that same two lane road. Maybe we can just close Pleasant Garden road to use by anyone who cannot prove that they live in Pleasant Garden incorporated area that way folks will not be bothered by anyone who does not belong here. I do not know about you but I am tired of my tax dollars being spent on unneeded ventures by the current Mayor and her band of cronies.

unknown

October 30, 2009 - 9:59 pm EDT

Caring:
FYI: The mayor & her cronies have not spent tax dollars as her opponent has stated.

Mickey1

October 31, 2009 - 2:52 am EDT

The large land owners are the ones who would stand to gain the most by dense zoning regulations and public sewer.

Access to sewer and zoning for multifamily housing, such as the patio home zoning proposed by Wyrick, would at least triple undeveloped land values. The large land owners agreement to incorporate the town was a financial sacrifice they were willing to make to preserve the landscape. I for one appreciate that sacrifice.

It is those who live on single home lots that would have nothing to gain, and the surrounding beauty to loose, by increased growth and higher density development.

You talk about these large property owners dictating the town's direction, I don't know what you are talking about. From what I can tell they want to be left alone and leave others alone, and thats what I want to.

Changes in the business landscape is normal. Businesses have come and gone for 200 years in Pleasant Garden and only in last 10 has there been a local government to look to for a bail out. The best thing government can do for business is stay out of the way.

justthinking

October 30, 2009 - 1:04 pm EDT

I think everyone is missing the biggest difference between these two candidates. It doesn't have anything to do with growth or spending money or who will best protect the 'rural atmosphere'. It can be boiled down to common sense and that, Anne Hice has very little of. Protect the town? Remember, Hice actually sought legal advise about UNICORPORATING the town.

unknown

October 30, 2009 - 3:18 pm EDT

So you really think it is a lack of common sense to follow laws????
Eye on PG never did have all the facts, nor did it attempt to tell the whole truth.

Republican

October 30, 2009 - 3:24 pm EDT

Quote from Justthinking:"I think everyone is missing the biggest difference between these two candidates. It doesn't have anything to do with growth"

That is is exactly what they would like you to keep on justthinking.

Mickey1

October 31, 2009 - 1:59 am EDT

"spend to grow crowd" That pretty well sums it up.

It's funny how they parade around as conservatives, yet they can't wait to get a majority on the council to start using the power of government to spend other peoples money.

They need a sewer stimulus package to help their businesses. Their probably working on the math right now to figure out how its going to "create or save" 235 jobs or something.