Monday, October 31, 2011

Oconee County Commissioners Scheduled to Discuss Lease of Dolvin Property Rather Than Purchase

Nov. 30 Deadline

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to take up the Dolvin property again at its meeting tomorrow night, this time in the form of a possible renewal of its lease of the two buildings on the property that make up the Courthouse Annex in downtown Watkinsville.

That does not mean that the BOC will not decide to purchase the property or to enter into a lease/purchase agreement, as has been suggested in the past.

At this point, however, acquiring the property “does not appear to be a viable option for the Board,” County Attorney Daniel Haygood told me in a brief telephone conversation this afternoon.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Board of Commissioners Scheduled to Decide on Two Oconee County Downzone Requests

Small Dent in Inventory

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to review at its Nov. 1 meeting two requests for a downzone of property that would reduce the inventory of unbuilt residential lots in the county by 89.

The reduction is almost trivial given the estimated 2,300 lots in the county zoned and platted for residential development.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Oconee County Commissioner Says Effort Underway To Get Citizen Back on Hard Labor Creek Board

As Non-Voting Alternate

Oconee County Commissioner Jim Luke said on Friday that he has asked Oconee County Attorney Daniel Haygood to explore how to revise the intergovernmental agreement that creates the Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board so that Oconee County can once again have a citizen representative.

“Daniel is researching it for me,” Luke said when I talked with him by telephone on Friday. Luke is chairman of the management board.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Small Number of Voters Likely to Decide on Big Spending Projects for Oconee County Schools

Bonds and Tax Linked

Only a relatively small percentage of Oconee County’s 22,765 registered voters is likely to decide whether the current sales tax of one cent on a dollar for educational projects, which expires at the end of 2012, will be extended through the end of 2017.

Early voting began on Monday, and by late afternoon today only 21 had voted, according to Carole Amos in the Oconee County elections office.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Watkinsville Mayoral Candidates Differ More in Style than on Issues at Oconee County Forum

Disagree on Colors for Signs

Charles Ivie is a man of few words. Dan Matthews is a man of many.

At least that was the persona the two Watkinsville mayoral candidates demonstrated in the forum organized for them on Thursday night.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Trails in Oconee County’s Heritage Park Expected to Reopen in Early December

Bikers, Horses and Hikers Waiting

Reconstruction of stream beds and trails in Heritage Park is on schedule, according to Oconee County Parks and Recreation Director John Gentry, and he expects the park to be reopened as planned in early December.

The trails have been closed since early August, when the county began a $1 million mitigation project in the park to offset stream bed destruction that will result from construction of the Hard Labor Creek Reservoir in Walton County.

Sunday, October 09, 2011

Oconee County Commissioners Set to Decide on New Member for Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Board

And on Farmland Protection

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday is set to fill the vacancy on the Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board created back in early July when citizen member Hank Huckaby resigned to become chancellor of the University System of Georgia.

At its Sept. 27 agenda-setting meeting, the commissioners tentatively decided to replace Huckaby with Commissioner Chuck Horton, and the Board is scheduled to take final action on that decision at its regular meeting on Tuesday.

Monday, October 03, 2011

Citizen Advisory Committee and Oconee County Public Works Director Come to Terms on Traffic Concerns

Revoted Priorities

Emil Beshara, Public Works director for Oconee County, started at the top of the list of road projects presented him by the Citizen Advisory Committee for Land Use and Transportation Planning.

The Committee had spent two full meetings identifying and then ranking in terms of importance the 23 roadway projects in the county that, according to Committee Chairman Abe Abouhamdan, “could use some improvements.”

The Committee said improvements to the intersection of Union Church and Hog Mountain roads was its top priority.