Items related to Oconee County’s planned Dawson Park dominated the crowded agenda of the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night.
The meeting began with a nearly 50-minute long presentation and discussion with Kemper Sports about using the park for sports tourism.
Near the end of the meeting, the Board agreed to spend $927,490 to upgrade the wastewater pump station in Oconee Veterans Park as a necessary step for decommissioning of the Land Application System (LAS) on the acreage that will become Dawson Park.
In between, the Board changed its alcohol ordinance to allow Costa Alegre restaurant across Hog Mountain Road from Oconee Middle School to regain an alcoholic spirits license and the newly opened Tamez BBQ next door to obtain one.
The Board also appointed Tammy Gilland, secretary/treasurer and former chair of the Oconee County Republican Party, to the county’s Board of Elections and Registration and reappointed Shami Jones to that Board.
The Board denied a request by Meredith and Tyler Chapman that they be allowed to divided their six-acre property at 1810 Elder Mill Rd into two three-acre lots so their daughter could build a house on one of the lots.
The Board also agreed to spend $88,015 for analysis and design work for upgrade of the Heritage Park Central School House to make the building available for modern use.
Justin Burruss, audit manager with Rushton, an accounting firm based in Gainesville, told the Board, based on the as yet incomplete Fiscal Year 2025 Audit, that the county had “a clean audit.”
Dawson Park
Three representatives of Kemper Sports, a golf, sports, and hospitality company based in Northbrook, Ill., presented their analysis of the sports tourism potential of Dawson Park at the beginning of the meeting on Tuesday. (See my earlier post for details of the Kemper presentation.)
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| Kemper Schematic Of Dawson Facilities |
In five years, the Kemper representatives said, the county could be holding 62 revenue generating events at Dawson Park, filling 55,183 hotel rooms, generating $26.5 million in local spending, and producing $946,597 in “incremental” tax revenue.
The county is planning 16 full-size multi-purpose fields and a 90,000 square foot indoor sports complex at the park. Six of those fields and the gym could be held for a second phase of the project.
County Administrator Justin Kirouac told the county Industrial Development Authority on Tuesday that design work on the park itself is about 50 percent completed and an architectural firm working on the concession stands and gymnasium is at the “schematic level.”
“We'll have a set of CDs (construction documents) ready to move first quarter” of 2026, he said.
At present, the 240-acre property is a LAS site for treatment of wastewater, but the plans are to decommission the operation and pipe all of sewage now going to the LAS to the recently expanded Calls Creek wastewater treatment plant on the north side of Watkinsville.
Decommissioning Phases
On Sept. 9, the Board approved spending $2.5 million in the first contract as part of Phase 1 of decommissioning the LAS site.
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| Schematic Of Sewer Line At OVP |
Included in that phase was decommissioning an existing lift station on Brookshire Drive, construction of a new force main and lift station on the LAS site, and repurposing the existing line to transport wastewater from the LAS to Oconee Veterans Park.
At the meeting on Tuesday, the Board agreed to spend $927,490 for the second contract of Phase 1 in the decommissioning the LAS site.
Included is an upgrade of Oconee County’s Veterans Park Pump Station and construction of facilities to receive flows from the new Rocky Branch Road pump station installed in the first contract for the project.
Adam Layfield, Director of the Oconee County Water Resources, told the Board on Tuesday that “this work, together with additional projects under separate contracts, will enable the Rocky Branch LAS to be decommissioned and demolished, clearing the site for construction of the Dawson Park.”
In an email message prior to the meeting, Layfield said Phase II of the decommissioning involves purchase of additional acreage to accommodate expansion of the Daniells Bridge Road pump station at the bridge over Barber Creek.
“Phase I will use the existing wet well and involves installing new pumps,” he said. “This phase can be completed once the new pumps and panels arrive, which is expected to take six to eight months due to lead times.”
Phase II of the project “is projected for completion in three to five years and includes constructing a new wet well on the portion of the property being acquired,” Layfield said.
At the meeting on the Board approved an amendment to the real estate agreement to extend the closing to January 16, 2026, for a purchase of the property at 1621 Daniels Bridge Road that will be required for that upgrade of the Daniells Bridge Road pump station.
Alcohol Ordinance Modification
The Board amended its agenda on Tuesday night to include consideration of changes in its Alcohol Beverage Ordinance.
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| Rodriguez Before Board 12/2/2025 |
Costa Alegre Seafood and Grill, located at 2131 Hog Mountain Road, across from Oconee County Middle School, had been denied a license for sale of distilled spirits by the drink because it is within 600 feet of the school.
County Attorney Daniel Haygood told the Board that state law had been changed, allowing the county to decrease to 300 feet the distance for distilled spirits, the same distance as the county has allowed for the sales of retail malt beverages and wine by the drink.
Administration of the county’s Alcohol Beverage Ordinance moved from the county clerk to the Planning and Code Enforcement Department with the current cycle of license renewals, resulting in the re-interpretation of the ordinance.
Tacuari Sabor Latino, which had previously occupied the space now used by Costa Alegre, had a license for sales of beer, wine, and alcohol.
Martha Rodriguez, owner of Costa Alegre, told the Board “I want to share with you how bad it would impact our business if this amendment does not get accepted.”
“My family and I have decided to live our dream here and start our own business,” she said, “and the primary reason why we're doing it here is because Oconee County is all about community.”
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| Funes Before Board 12/2/2025 |
“And so we are happy, and thankful to know that you hear us, that you see us. And that you see our situation,” she said.
“We're little people, but in a big community,” she continued. “And that's all that matters for us, that we have a community behind us, and that we know that our elected officials see us, hear us, and support us. So I just want to say thank you.”
Raymond Funes, who owns Tamez BBQ next door to Cost Alegre, followed Rodriguez and said “I would like for you guys to consider that it would definitely impact the way we just try to make a living.”
“We would really, really appreciate it if you guys help us out here,” he said.
The Board agreed to the changes unanimously.
Citizen Board Appointments
The appointment of Gilland to the Board of Elections and Registration means that two former presidents of the Oconee County Republican Party serve on the five-member Board. Currently Gilland is secretary/treasurer of the Party.
Jay Hanley, Board Chair, also has served as president of the county Republican Party.
Jones, reappointed to the Board, is active in the local Republican Party as well.
The Republican Party appointee is Kirk Shook. The Democratic Party appointee is Ken Davis.
The Board also appointed Susanna Rains Moriarty to the Oconee County Board of Health, Joel Burnsed and Rick Garrett to the Oconee County Farmland Preservation Ranking Committee, and Robert Legg and Shweta Doshi to the Keep Oconee County Beautiful Commission.
Eleven people had applied for the Board of Elections and Registration appointments, five had applied for the Board of Health position, five had applied for the Farmland Preservation Committee, and two applied for the Keep Oconee County Beautiful Commission.
Zoning Decisions
The Board held four rezoning hearings on Tuesday night, but only the Chapman rezone generated any citizen comment and Board discussion.
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| Chapman Before Board 12/2/2025 |
The Chapmans were asking the Commission to rezone their six acres at 1810 Elder Mill Road from AG (Agricultural) to AR-3 (Agricultural Residential Three Acre District) so they can create two three-acre lots.
Guy Herring, Director of Planning and Code Enforcement for the county, told the Board that the staff recommended denial of the rezone “because it does not comply with the Joint Comprehensive Plan.”
Tyler Chapman told the Board “the only thing we're trying to do here is I'm trying to give three acres of land to my daughter so they can build a house and stay in the county.”
“There's several other plots within a mile of us that are already AR-3,” he said, “and there's actually a couple of plots probably within a quarter mile that are AR.”
Mark Costello, who owns 22 acres abutting the Chapman property, said “If we approve this here, what would stop me from trying to say, I got 22 acres, does that mean I can get 7 lots out there and then put in a road and build a subdivision on that piece of property?”
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| Costello Before Board 12/2/2025 |
“I would ask that you not allow that rezone,” he said, “and keep the integrity of the area as larger properties.”
“This is an agricultural preservation in the Comprehensive Plan,” Herring said in response to a question from Commissioner Chuck Horton, “and the minimum lot size is five acres. That's why staff recommends denial. And the majority of the lots in that area are larger lots.”
Commissioners Amrey Harden and Horton voted to deny the rezone, and commissioners Mark Saxon and Mark Thomas voted against denial, with Commission Chair John Daniell breaking the tie to deny the Chapman request.
The Board approved a request by Oconee Office Partners LLC to modify the conditions of an existing rezone for a commercial office park off Jimmy Daniell Road to increase the allowed square footage from 86,000 square feet to 105,000 square feet.
The Board approved a modification to a Special Use Permit issued in 2016 to Briarwood Baptist Church, located at the corner of Hog Mountain Road and Robinhood Road, requiring an added buffer on Robinhood Road.
The Board approved a request by Wallace and Lauren Miller to modify the conditions of an existing rezone for 4.45 acres at 1040 Bridlegate Drive that required a large buffer at the rear of the property with now unused chicken houses.
Central School House
The Central School House, built in 1913 and located in the south of the county on Colham Ferry Road, was moved to Heritage Park on U.S. 441 in the far south of the county in 2006.
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| Central School House From Proposal |
The building served as a schoolhouse from 1913-1940 and subsequently was used as a community center until the late 1980s.
Lisa Davol, Director of Parks and Recreation for the county, told the Board at its Nov. 25 agenda-setting meeting that after a review in 2018, the county made some structural improvements to the School House.
“But nothing really major was done in terms of trying to see how we could rehabilitate the building or actually make it usable to the public,” she said, “and the goal...is to actually make that building so that it can be used, rented, or special events or that type of thing.”
Davol said the plan is “modernizing the building, but also still trying to keep the historical character of the building.”
The Board agreed to pay Architectural Collaborative, LLC, based in Athens, $88,015 to evaluate the existing conditions of the building, produce construction documents for any modifications, assist with procuring bids for work to be done on the building, and administer construction once it is initiated.
Fiscal Year 2025 Audit
Rushton Auditor Burruss told the Board that the Fiscal Year 2025 Audit was incomplete because of the need to include federal funds and that the federal government shutdown delayed receipt of some of the needed information. He said he is expecting to receive the needed information “any day.”
“Ultimately, what you guys are paying us for is to produce an opinion,” he said. “That's our audit opinion.”
“I am pleased to announce that we had an unmodified opinion after your Fiscal Year 25 Audit,” he said. “Most refer to that as a clean audit, if you will. But basically what that says is, a reader could look at these financials with confidence that the numbers that they are reading are accurate.”
Burruss said that revenues were around $46.5 million, or an increase of $2.1 million over the prior year.
The county saw increases in revenue from property taxes, Local Option Sales Tax, and charges for services, Rushton found.
The Fund Balance (unassigned and assigned) in Fiscal Year 2025, which ended on June 30, was $13.1 million, up from $11.5 million the year earlier, Burruss reported.
Burruss said the Audit found no material weaknesses or sufficient deficiencies. No instances of material noncompliance or other matters were encountered, according to the report.
Other Action
In other action, the Board approved an Intergovernmental Agreement for the county to provide Municipal Court Services for the City of Bogart. The county’s magistrate judge will serve as judge for Bogart’s Municipal Court.
The Board also approved a $658,923 bid to replace an eight-inch, 2,100-linear-foot section of existing gravity sewer between the Oconee Connector (near the Lowe’s retail area) and Parkway Boulevard with a 12-inch line.
The Board voted to spend up to $232,000 to replace the gym floor at Oconee Veterans Park and $327,450 for the replacement of the irrigation pump station at the park.
The Board approved a contract modification for the Snows Mill Road at Lane Creek Road Roundabout Project, adding $55,215 to the contract, and increasing the contract amount to $513,056.
Video
The video below is on the county’s YouTube Channel.
I attended the meeting and recorded a video as a backup and because the angle is different from that selected by the cameras used by the county.
The still images above are frames from that video.
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