Oconee County Schools will take over full administration of and ownership of the Oconee County Civic Center as of Sept. 1 of this year, even gaining the right to change the name of the facility, according to a proposed Intergovernmental Agreement released by the county on Friday afternoon.
In return, Oconee County will assume ownership of 42.7 acres of undeveloped land between U.S. 441 and Union Church Road north of Bishop for future use as a park.
Oconee County Schools will have first priority in scheduling use of what is now the Civic Center, as is the case at present.
The Board of Commissioners and other official county government functions will receive second priority for use of the facility, “subject to facility availability and compatibility with scheduled or anticipated school system use.”
The county currently uses the Civic Center as the polling location for its largest precinct, Oconee Central, and ‘the use of the facility for elections shall have priority over all other uses to the extent possible,” according to the proposed agreement.
The general public, nonprofit organizations, civic groups, private individuals, businesses, and other non-Board of Commissioners or non-Board of Education users may request use of the facility, but no more than three months in advance of the requested event date, unless otherwise approved by Oconee County Schools.
The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to discuss the proposed agreement at its meeting on Tuesday (June 30), and both Boards are scheduled to vote on the agreement in a joint meeting on July 6.
At it agenda-setting meeting on Tuesday, the Board of Commissioners also is scheduled to discuss two Intergovernmental Agreements with the Town of Bogart, one to provide planning and building code enforcement, engineering services, fire protection, animal control to Bogart, and the other for the Sheriff to provide law enforcement to the city.
Agreement On Civic Center
In separate news releases on June 9, the Board of Education and the Board of Commissioner announced a joint meeting for 4 p.m. on July 6 at the Instructional Support Center, 71 North Main Street in Watkinsville, to discuss the proposed transfer of facilities and property between the two governing bodies.
 |
| Daniell 6/16/2026 |
The Board of Commissioners subsequently set aside time at its scheduled Town Hall Meeting on June 16 for discussion of the proposal.
Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell said that evening that he had been approached by Board of Education Chair Michael Ransom after the School Board had been contacted by two potential buyers of the 42.7 acres north of Bishop.
The School Board rejected the two outside offers, saying that they were not reflective of market value of the property.
The county released the drafted Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on Friday as part of the package of materials it makes public on Fridays prior to its scheduled Tuesday meetings.
The two Boards have operated the Civic Center under the terms of an Intergovernmental Agreement between dated Nov. 3, 1992.
Under those terms, the county built and operated the Civic Center on land donated to it by the Board of Education, but the Board of Education was given scheduling priority.
The released document says the goal of the new IGA is “to provide scheduling priority for OCS functions and BOC governmental functions while preserving OCS’s ability to operate the facility for instructional, school-related, performing arts, community, and appropriate public purposes.”
“This Agreement shall act as the replacement and termination of the 1992 IGA,” the document states.
“Following acquisition or operation by OCS,” the IGA states, “the facility may be renamed, rebranded, or incorporated into OCS’s broader facilities program. Any change in name shall not alter the rights and responsibilities established by this Agreement unless amended in writing by the parties.”
“OCS shall be responsible for the amounts payable under the 1992 Agreement for currently undertaken work as listed in Exhibit D,” the IGA states, “and the County shall be responsible for any other amounts required to be paid for the completion of such work.”
Listed ongoing Construction and Repair Work is Reroofing and Exterior Renovation, with the Board of Education share at $459,229, and Civic Center Renovation and Camera/Card Access, with the Board of Education share at $287,770.
Agreement On Use
According to the IGA released on Friday, the “parties agree to cooperate in good faith to promote the successful use and operation of the facility for the benefit of the citizens of Oconee County.”
 |
| 42.7 Acres North Of Bishop City Limits |
“The parties further agree to confer as needed regarding scheduling concerns, governmental use, public communication, operational issues, and opportunities to maximize the benefit of the facility for students, families, local government, and the broader community,” according to the document.
“OCS shall be responsible for the management, supervision, scheduling, and operation of the facility,” according to the document.
“All use of the facility shall be subject to applicable OCS policies, administrative procedures, safety requirements, insurance requirements, fee schedules, staffing requirements, and facilities use guidelines,” it states, “however, the parties understand that elections are governed by state and federal law and may require some exceptions to such OCS requirements which shall be allowed.”
The Board of Commissioners agrees to provide election dates to OCS by April 1 for July to December events and by October 1 for January to June events, “including elections.”
“Any special or called elections shall be scheduled by notification by the BOC to OCS as soon as practical after such election is set. Once set, the use of the facility for elections shall have priority over all other uses to the extent possible,” according to the IGA document released on Friday.
The general public can begin requesting events on May 1 and Nov 1.
“Approval of public or private use shall be subject to facility availability, compatibility with school system use, compliance with OCS policy, and the operational capacity of OCS,” according to the document.
Fees
“OCS shall establish and maintain a fee schedule for use of the facility,” according to the document. “Official OCS functions shall not be charged facility rental fees.”
 |
| Civic Center Surrounded By Oconee County High School Campus |
“Official BOC governmental functions shall be only responsible for direct costs associated with their use of the facility,” according to the agreement. “Official BOC governmental use of the facility for regular elections shall be provided at no cost to the BOC.”
“Non-BOC and non-BOE users shall be responsible for all applicable fees and costs as established by OCS’s facilities use process,” the document states.
“No event shall permit the possession, service, sale, distribution, or consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises,” the document states. “Tobacco, vaping, illegal drugs, weapons, firearms, and other prohibited items shall be governed by applicable OCS policy, state law, and federal law.”
“This property agreement shall remain in effect in perpetuity upon approval by both parties and execution by their authorized representatives and shall continue to be binding upon the parties and their respective successors,” the IGA states.
“The official term of the Agreement shall begin on July 1, 2026,” it states.
“The facilities use portion of this agreement shall be in force until June 30, 2031, to then be consolidated with the Joint Use Agreement between OCS and the BOC,” the document states.
The property transfers are to take place on Sept. 1, 2026.
Bogart IGAs
Oconee County and the Town of Bogart currently have an IGA that allows the county Planning and Code Enforcement staff to review Bogart zoning applications, which subsequently are reviewed by the Oconee County Planning Commission before being acted upon by the Bogart Town Council.
The IGA before the Board of Commissioners for review on Tuesday night will extend that agreement and gives the county staff the power to enforce the zoning ordinances. Bogart will pay $19,200 to the county for these services.
The IGA also specifies that the county’s Public Works Director will serve as city engineer for Bogart.
The county will provide Fire Protection Services for Bogart at an annual cost of $30,000.
The county will provide animal control services for the city with compensation to come from “fees and fines and other revenue attributable to enforcement activities” within the city of Bogart.
A second IGA between Bogart and the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and the Board of Commissioners is for “the provision of law enforcement services.”
The agreement states that “The Sheriff will assign deputies with fully equipped patrol vehicles to provide regular patrol services inside the municipal limits of the City which are located within Oconee County.” A part of Bogart is in Clarke County.
The agreement further states that “Patrol services include proactive monitoring and policing of the area; security checks of homes, businesses, and schools; enforcement of traffic laws; responding to calls for service; enforcement of criminal laws, including arrests where necessary or appropriate; issuing citations for violations of municipal ordinances punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment; serving subpoenas for municipal court and City administrative proceedings; and other routine law enforcement duties.”
In compensation, Bogart will provide to the Sheriff “exclusive possession of the realty” used for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) office in downtown Bogart and “All fees, fines, and other revenue attributable to enforcement activities within the City.”
The IGAs for Bogart and for the Board of Education are at the end of the agenda for Tuesday night’s Board of Commissioners meeting.
No comments:
Post a Comment