Developer Asking Oconee County Planning Commission To Allow Replacement Of Hotel On Plaza Parkway With Medical Office Buildings

***Hotel Off Virgil Langford Road In Final Permitting Stage***

The developer of the large, upscale athletic club on Plaza Parkway across from Costco is asking the county to allow it to change its development plans to eliminate the proposed hotel and substitute instead two medical office buildings.

The 14.3 acre parcel has been cleared and graded for the proposed athletic facility and hotel, but developer Kelly Mahoney has submitted a request with the county to divide the property into three lots, one with the athletic club and two smaller lots, each with a separate building.

Oconee County GOP Stumping Ground Forum Included Heated Exchanges As Candidates Made Appeals Before June 16 Runoff

***State Senate District 46 Candidates Lead Off***

The Republican Party Stumping Ground forum got off to a contentious start on Monday as Doug McKillip and Marc McMain, seeking the party’s nomination in the state Senate District 46 race, tussled over gambling, property tax relief, campaign financing, party affiliation, and other matters.

The event ended nearly two hours later with a sharp exchange between Vernon Jones, seeking the party nomination in the state Secretary of State race, and moderator Tim Bryant over Jones’s assertion that the 2020 presidential race in Georgia was “stolen.”

Oconee County Schools Administrator Says Reduction In Funding For SRO Program In Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Is Not A Cut In Program

***All 12 Schools Will Have Officer, He Says***

The reduction of funding in the Oconee County Schools Fiscal Year 2027 Budget to allow for 14 School Resource Officers rather than 16 does not reflect a “cut” to the School Research Officer (SRO) program, Oconee County Schools Chief Financial Officer Peter Adams said on Thursday.

The withholding of funding for two positions that were requested by Oconee County Sheriff James Hale still allows for one officer in each of the system’s 12 schools and two supervisors, Adams said in the second and final of two hearings on the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget. (SEE NOTE AT BOTTOM.)

Only Five Days Of Early Voting Scheduled For June 16 General Primary Runoff, With Republican Top Of Ballot Races Still Not Fixed

Democratic Lieutenant Governor Race Still Open

Oconee County voters wishing to participate in the June 16 General Primary Runoff will have only five days of early voting, beginning Monday, June 8, and ending on Friday, June 12.

The runoff is particularly important for Republicans, since the party has not yet selected its candidates for the U.S. Senate, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Secretary of State.

Oconee County Memorial Day Program Moved To Herman C. Michael Gym As Weather Once Again Forced Event Indoors

***About 200 People Participated***

About 200 people gathered in the gym at Herman C. Michael Park on Hog Mountain Road on Monday (May 25) to honor the memory of those who gave their lives in foreign wars and recognize the sacrifices of their families.

The program had been scheduled for the Veterans Memorial at the entrance to Oconee Veterans Park across the street from Herman C. Michael Park but was moved indoors because of the weather–the third year in a row the program was held indoors because of bad weather.

Cut To School Resource Officer Program Funding In Fiscal Year 2027 Highlighted In Oconee County Board Of Education Budget Hearing

***Cut Is Fiscally Responsible, Finance Director Says***

Oconee County Schools Finance Director Peter Adams, in his presentation on the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget on Thursday (May 21), told the Board of Education that the budget he has prepared for them includes three “significant reductions” in spending.

The budget eliminates 14 school employees, cuts the operating budget by 3.3 percent, or $431,000, and cuts $436,074 from funding provided to the Sheriff for the School Resource Officer program, he said.

Oconee County Commissioners Agree To Decommissioning Of LAS Wastewater Treatment Site In Preparation For Construction Of Park

***Work Should Be Completed By Fall***

Oconee County commissioners on Tuesday night, at their agenda setting meeting, gave tentative approval to spending $1.4 million on the decommissioning of the Rocky Branch Land Application System (LAS) wastewater treatment site.

The decommissioning of the 246-acre site on Rocky Branch Road should begin four to six weeks after the commissioners give final approval to the agreement at their meeting on June 2 and can be completed two months later, according to Water Resources Department Director Adam Layfield.