Additions to existing buildings are 'developer/contractor welfare'

Editor:

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"How much?" was my first response upon reading the proposed amount (in the sales tax referendum) needed for the Columbia County Judicial Center. Were they going to replace the tacky mahogany paneling with teak or upgrade the gold plated faucets with the real thing? Perhaps carpet the judicial chambers with the pelts of endangered species? Nah; it's for parking . Apparently the idea that people might need to park at the courthouse was not part of the original package.

I should be, but I'm not surprised. This is the same crowd that built an amphitheater and then hit the taxpayers up for restrooms; built boat ramps out to where the water stood 10 years ago before the drought and have blown several millions more - with no end in sight; not to mention having to replace the cardboard roof of their little clubhouse, the Savannah Rapids Pavilion, after less than a decade.

I am not implying any lack of common sense here; they know exactly what they are doing, extending the open-ended line of developer/contractor welfare into the 22nd century.

Now there's talk of a natatorium - on a separate ballot. I suppose that includes the building with doors and a roof, drain... and, oh, yeah, pool and liner are separate?

Also every few years the need for taxpayer dollars for a golf course arises, this time in the form of a clubhouse. I thought we already had one exclusive clubhouse; it's on Ronald Reagan Drive and the membership is limited to county commissioners and developers.

There's also the idea of consolidating the Health Department; I cannot even guess what would be left off to provide another round of add-on construction contracts

But I bet the commisars know.

Dave Stewart Sr.

Grovetown