Jimmy DeLoach Parkway

Located a few miles west of Savannah, the Jimmy DeLoach Parkway is a road that links highways 80 and 21 and has an access to I-95. It was named after a politician from the Savannah area of Georgia. [ [http://www.lynsprat.com/052202.html Parkway opens in Port Wentworth, West Chatham News & Features, May 15-22, 2002] ] [ [http://old.savannahnow.com/stories/112000/LOCbodyfound.shtml Body found off Jimmy DeLoach Parkway] ] [ [http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7757227 Fatal Wreck on Jimmy Deloach] ] [ [http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8653309 Yet another wreck on Jimmy Deloach Pkwy] ] [ [http://savannahnow.com/node/497327 Jimmy Deloach Pkwy has bad mojo] ] [ [http://savannahnow.com/node/183208 Deputy Killed on Jimmy Deloach Pkwy] ] [ [http://savannahnow.com/node/362736 Savannah woman killed, two passengers injured in Jimmy DeLoach collision] ] [ [http://www.savannahnow.com/node/356031Effingham Parkway plan presented to county commissioners] ] [ [http://savannahnow.com/node/534727 Proposed warehouses irk Pooler neighbors] ] [ [http://savannahnow.com/node/317369 Truck wreck closes Jimmy DeLoach] ] [ [http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local/story/497291.html Agencies plan transportation needs for Jasper County port] ]

Biography of Jimmy DeLoach

James "Jimmy" DeLoach was a Democrat. He served three terms as Mayor of Garden City from 1973 to 1979. In 1980, he was elected to a four-year term as Chatham County Commissioner for District 7. ["Savannah Morning News", November 5, 1980] He was re-elected in 1984 ["Savannah Morning News", November 7, 1984] and 1988 ["Savannah Morning News", November 9, 1988] . He did not run for re-election in 1992. His son Eddie, also a Democrat, succeeded him. ["Savannah Morning News", November 4, 1992]

Pooler City Council Disregards Residents' Request Not to Have Residential Land Rezoned to Industrial Land

Pooler City Council Report

The Pooler City Council meeting Monday night began at 5:15pm with the first of three public hearings. I totally missed the first two, but caught a pretty good bit of the third one, which started around 5:45 and lasted until nearly 7pm. This was a public hearing to discuss the rezoning of 78 acres on Jimmy DeLoach Parkway from Residential to Light Industrial.Attorney Phillip McCorkle addressed Council on behalf of the developer, Mr. Wardlaw, who plans to develop a 950,000+ square foot warehouse on the site. McCorkle presented his case, pointing out that Jimmy DeLoach Parkway was built to handle the heavy truck traffic the site will generate. He explained that the berm they will add to separate the neighboring residential area will eliminate the sight and sound of the big trucks entering, loading and unloading at the warehouse. And he compared the site to the Sugar Mill neighborhood in Georgetown, where he pointed out that property values have increased a minimum of 66% to 76% with the addition of a warehouse beside their neighborhood.A large, 100+ crowd of residents from The Farm and The Hunt Club, two nearby neighborhoods on Jimmy DeLoach close to the development, were on hand to express their concerns, primarily safety issues, traffic issues, and property value issues.Let me say here, I’ve been attending Pooler City Council meetings for the past eight years and haven’t missed more than a half dozen. I’ve seen groups of citizens from Brighton Woods and groups from Gleason Heights and Worthington Estates come to fight zoning issues in front of City Council. But I have never seen a group as well prepared with statistics and documentation from the Envionmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization to back up their arguments.Joe Purdy was the first to speak, and he pointed out that the warehouse expects to pull in 40 trucks an hour, or two trucks every three minutes turning in and out of the site. “How are we going to get in and out of our neighborhood with that kind of increase in truck traffic?” he asked. He also pointed to the city’s seal on the wall directly behind Mayor Lamb and reminded Council to consider Pride... Family... and Honor as they made their decision. The crowd was giving him a standing ovation by that time.Elvin McNeal was next to speak, and he questioned the comparisons Mr. McCorkle had made with the Georgetown neighborhood, pointing out that building a giant warehouse in the neighborhood was NOT going to increase the value of his home! Mr. McNeal then told Council that he moved to Pooler because, in fact, one of the current Councilmen convinced him that “in Pooler, we’re all about the family!”Daniel Ring assumed the role of group spokesperson, and he and his wife Karen had been busy setting up their visual display for Council while the other two gentlemen spoke. Ring said Builder Wardlaw had upset a lot of homeowners and created a political hot potato. He asked “Are you going to support the health and well being of the citizens of Pooler or the special agenda of one land owner?”Ring also addressed Mr. McCorkle’s use of the Georgetown neighborhood comparison, pointing out that in this case, the homes are already here while the warehouse isn’t. In the Sugar Mill situation, he explained, the warehouse was there when the neighborhood was built. Those homeowners knew what they were getting. He also stated that he’s found that homes in Sugar Mill are actually selling for 14% less than other homes in the Georgetown area.Ring then turned the floor over to Sean Somebody Who’s Name I Just Didn’t Get! But Sean made several good points as well, pointing out that “Mr. Wardlaw convinced these homeowners on living the quiet suburban dream.” Now that dream is becoming a nightmare. He also pointed out the size of the proposed warehouse, saying that his home is 2000 square feet. “You can put 465 of my homes inside this building!” He then gave possibly the best quote of the night... “The bottom line is ‘You can put a pig in a dress, but at the end of the day, it’s still a pig.’” He closed his case by saying “Leave the industry in Savannah. Let’s save Pooler now before it turns into a truck stop of industry!”Daniel Ring returned to the podium, and pointed out “I’m two miles from I-95, and I can still hear the noise from there. A berm isn’t going to stop the noise of that many trucks loading, unloading and slamming doors, and the odor of fumes from the trucks going in and out and sitting there idling.”Ring pointed out that the survival rate for vehicles struck by the large tractor trailers is very low, only 10%. He then pointed out the hazards of trucks moving off the interstate at 75mph and then slowing to turn into the site while others are speeding past, as well as the school buses that will be pulling through the area to the proposed elementary school that will be built in the area soon.To top it off, he addressed the problem of diesel fumes, providing Council members with an inch thick report from the EPA that shows that diesel fumes contain more than 100 carcinogens.Dennis Beaudry pointed out that Mr. McCorkle had said he didn’t know how bad the diesel fume problem was in Chatham County. He then explained to Council that he’d gone and looked it up, and found that Chatham County ranks number 181 out of over 3,000 counties in the country, and in Georgia, it ranks as the 6th highest. He added “I bought here because when my grandchildren come to visit, I want them to have something to do. I don’t want them breathing diesel fumes!”Kristin Bunton addressed Council very quickly, and said “I have two autistic children and this warehouse will be right in my backyard. We moved here from the Georgetown area because of the noise. Please don’t do this.”Kay Counce said she was a retiree and said she and her husband moved here from Seattle. “We’ve met some wonderful families with beautiful children here. It’s important to maintain our community.”Her husband Richard spoke, and said “Mr. McCorkle’s information is very flawed. He doesn’t understand his numbers. Trucks on the road register at 90 decibels. At idle, they’re at 75 decibels.” He then explained how he grew up in the Midwest, near a railyard. “For twenty years now, I’ve had to wear hearing aids in both ears, and I can tell you, sound makes a difference.”There were others that spoke, and Mayor Lamb soon closed the Public Hearing and recessed for a few minutes before calling the City Council meeting back to order. He then told how a neighbor of his had fallen from a bike while riding at Triplett Park and had broken his back. He asked to remember him in the invocation, and asked members present to add his name to the prayer lists at their churches.In the Finance Report, Councilman Seay explained how the city had spent $2,492,738 in the month of June.In the Public Safety Report, Councilman Allen said the Police Department had handled 1,910 responses since the last meeting, bringing the year to date total to 18,008. Chief Chan said there had been a few traffic accidents during the holiday weekend, mostly due to bad weather. In the Fire Department Report, Allen said the Department handled 141 responses in June, bringing the year to date total to 884. Mike Patton pointed out that Larry Morris was named the Pooler Firefighter of the Year during the 4th of July festivities at Joe Baker Park.In the Streets, Drainage, Parks and Trees Report, Councilman Cowart said that in the last two weeks, crews had picked up 48 thirty gallon trash bags of trash that people are throwing out of their car windows on the side of Pooler’s roads. He added that the Recycling Center is now open 6 days of the week, and is averaging 35 to 40 customers a day.Councilman Wall reported routine maintenance in the Water and Sewer Report.In Recreation, Councilman Royal said the department will host their second soccer camp next week, and that registration for football and cheerleading is going on now.In the Building and Zoning Report, Councilwoman Benton said there had been 13 new single family building permits issued since the last meeting, bringing the year to date total to just 110.Mayor Lamb then extended his thanks to the Pooler Crossroads Visitors Center for the 4th of July Celebration they hosted in Joe Baker Park. “If you missed it, they put on a really good show! You need to start making your plans now to attend next year!” he said.David Lock, Republican candidate for District Attorney appeared before Council and explained that he has no opposition for the Republican slot on July 15th, but will appreciate their support in the November election. He stressed his knowledge and experiece, having worked as part of the management team in the District Attorney’s Office for the past twenty years.In New Business, Council approved a parking variance for Southeastern Freight Lines, who is upgrading their office on Old Dean Forest Road.Next was the rezoning of the 78 acres on Jimmy DeLoach Parkway from Residential to Light Industrial. Councilman Cowart made a motion to approve, and Councilwoman Benton made the second. Councilman Wall pointed out that, unbelievably, he was going to oppose it for a reason that was not brought up in the Pubic Hearing. “It cuts across Commercial Zoned Property, so I’m voting against it,” he said.Mr. McCorkle rebutted a couple of things said during the Public Hearing, and Mr. Beaudry again asked Council to vote it down. A young lady pointed to her 8 month old son and said “He’s the reason I’m asking you to vote this down!”With very little discussion, and not much more comments from the audience, Council voted to approve the motion. Councilmen Wall and Allen opposed as it passed 4-2.Next, Council approved the final plat for Durham Park Townhomes, Phase 1C. They tabled action on releasing the maintenance bond for Phase 1 of Morgan Pines Subdivision at the request of the city’s Public Works Director.Next, Council approved the Intergovernmental Agreement with Chatham County for updating the Countywide Canal Maintenance Program. “This renews annually, but we sign it every three years,” explained City Manager Robbie Byrd. Councilman Wall asked Byrd to check with the county on cleaning out Pipemaker’s Canal, pointing out that they were supposed to have done that three years ago and haven’t gotten to it yet.Finally, Council voted to remove an old Street Light ordinance as it’s been replaced by a more recent Outdoor Lighting ordinance.Council then adjourned into an Executive Session to discuss legal and personnel matters.Council meets on the first and third Monday of every month at City Hall at 6pm. The next meeting will be Monday, July 21st, and the public, including residents of The Farm and The Hunt Club, is encouraged to attend.http://www.thespiritnewspaper.com/2008/July/10th/CityCouncilReports.html

Footnotes & General History of Problems

ee also

*List of U.S. Routes