Editor:

I decided not to write any more letters to the editor since the residents of Midway seemed not to care about what was going on with the city government. That was until I saw in Sound off on June 18 that at least one person noticed that nothing gets done by the city council.

Delete- Merge UpAfter over 20 years, Gwyndolyn Lowe couldn’t take it anymore and quit. I certainly don’t blame her. She was an excellent financial manager, who kept the city from going bankrupt. That Sound off person is right. Nothing has been done in the last 10 years. Why? Because the voters didn’t come out to replace these people when they had the chance. In the last election, three of us — I ran — had 150 years of corporate business management experience. That’s 150 years more than Mayor Clementine Washington, Lavern Clancy Jr., Curtes Roberts Sr. and Stanley Brown put together, but the voters that could have made a difference stayed home.

Therefore, you have a group of people governing Midway who haven’t the slightest inkling what they are doing. They are like children at play. We almost lost McDonald’s because the city initially refused to chip in $50,000 for road work. Now, these same people want to spend over $2 million on a major fiasco, a new city hall. This will cost each and every man, woman and child over $995 each. The city planned to use $1.1 million of the SPLOST money for the new city hall. That makes for a shortfall of $900,000. To raise this deficit, it was suggested that the city initiate a property tax over and above the existing property tax levied by the county.

The mayor and city council do not need or deserve a new facility. The residents need to force the city to stay in their existing offices. The city should spend the SPLOST money for infrastructure improvements, including roads, such as Butler Ave. The caller asked what the city has done in the last ten years? The answer is easy—nothing. While Pooler grew to be a major shopping destination with many new houses, Midway has  mained an uncharted backwater with no promise of future prosperity.  Pooler has a lawyer, small business owner, police commissioner and a real estate agent that specializes in property development on its city council. Midway has a jailer, a pastor, a church deacon and a small business owner, Melice Gerace.

In 2019, the county will cancel its fire agreement with Midway. This means that the equipment bought with SPLOST money can stay in Midway, but the city will have to handle all the maintenance and certification. This is due to Mayor Washington refusing to turn over the fire service to the county. Where does the city plan to get this money? At the rate that the city is going, it will be bankrupt, or the citizens over taxed.

The only way Midway will improve is if the residents pick local business people to run against the present council and mayor in November, and then vote these business people in office. If not, you can expect more of the same for the next four years.

I had a nightmare last night . . . Mayor Levern Clancy, Jr.

Len Calderone
Midway