Mentone Matters!

New Letters have been received and answered!

Congratulations to my opponent, Rob Hammond, to his re-election as Mayor of Mentone.

I would like to thank everyone who worked and supported me on my campaign. I am proud to have participated in the democratic process and to have been able to give the citizens of Mentone a choice in this year's election. I hope the elected town officials work toward the goals of safety and preservation we all share. By working together, we can always accomplish more than working divided.

The political campaign process was a true eye-opener for me, and I feel the wiser for it. I enjoyed speaking with the many residents in the Mentone community and answering the many questions presented. We have a wonderful a community filled with many hardworking, dedicated individuals. By working together, I see Mentone staying the greatest small mountain top town in the nation, maybe the world.

Most importantly, I ask the community to come together to ask ALDOT to give us a firm timeline when the Mentone Bridge project can begin. As a private citizen, my family and I are very limited in what we can accomplish alone. But with strong community involvement, and the help of our public officials, I believe we can get a plan on the table in 100 days. This will require a lot of work and probably several visits to Montgomery, but I am willing to get into the trenches and make alliances to bring this project to completion. I ask my neighbors and our public officials, “Are you willing to work together so we can have a safer Mentone NOW?”

Finally, there are still unanswered questions involving the retention and distribution of public records by the town. I plan to keep asking questions and will be posting my findings as I receive answers. I also plan to clear up what appears to be several misunderstandings involving the Mentone Bridge Project with Senator Barron. I will be making inquiries into how the letter addressed to Mayor Hammond from Senator Barron ended up in private hands and was distributed before my family had any such knowledge of its existence. Such unanswered questions involving possible violations in the Public Records Law trouble me about the needed transparency in democratic government.

Again, I thank everyone for your support, help and contributions. I look forward to moving ahead as a community to address all our shared concerns.

I would like to reiterate my congratulations to Mayor Hammond, and I look forward to working with him in the future.

Thank you all so much,

Slate McDorman

Question for Mayor Hammond:

Why did you send certain documents to ALDOT and then deny their existence, after four requests under the Sunshine Act / Freedom of Information Act? Hammond_Files.PDF 4.3MB (The first six pages are two letters which were delivered to the Town of Mentone and Mayor Hammond. The seventh page is the official list of documents the town released involving all communication between the Town and the Alabama Department of Transportation. The letters given to the Town and Mayor Hammond are not included in official list of records. The remaining files indicate the plan to deed the Mentone Bridge over to "the camp owner". No documents can be found to show who authorized this decision. We would like to know who authorized this action and how such a decision was reached without public discussion).

As a private citizen, I ask the town to:

•  Please not give away any more public land and easements without fair market compensation to the town.

•  Please create a coordinated emergency management plan for the community. As most know, Mentone sits five miles from one of the largest fault lines east of the Mississippi. In the event of a major earthquake, I would like to see a plan already in place on where and who to look for.

•  Please support the historic and cultural preservation and develop a plan for our community so our children can ride bikes through Mentone like we did.

•  Please have greater Transparency in Mentone Government, retain every letter and document submitted to the town by any denizen, and be able to turn over these documents in a valid public request.

In the first 100 days of their administration, I respectfully ask the town to:

•  Introduce a “Jake Brake” Ordinance so the transfer trucks are prohibited from using their Engine Brakes inside the town limits

•  Conduct a full audit of the town for the past 2 years

•  Help us work as a community for the rehabilitation/replacement of the Mentone Bridge

•  Introduce Eco-Friendly Guidelines for developers

•  Work with ALDOT to establish pedestrian safety crosswalks in downtown Mentone. A visitor to the Mentone Inn was almost run over a few weeks ago crossing the street in downtown Mentone

•  Restart the Mentone Historical Commission

•  Start a Mentone town Web site to publish all of the town minutes, business information and other town data.

•  Involve Mentone in the Top of the Mountain Watershed Agenda program