The Oconee County Board of Commissioners is treating the previously scheduled stakeholders meeting with Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) representatives to discuss a proposed truck bypass of SR 15 as a called meeting of the Commission.
That means at least a quorum of the commissioners--three members–is expected to attend and discuss official business. By state law, such a meeting must be open to the public.
GDOT is organizing the meeting, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Thursday (8/20/2026), but it has not announced a location.
The county has provided a virtual link to the meeting via Microsoft Teams.
County Administrator Justin Kirouac said on Thursday (8/13/2026) that he had asked GDOT if the meeting will be recorded for subsequent viewing by those who cannot view it live. As of the end of the day on Friday, he had not reported a response from GDOT.
The GDOT web site list of announcements on Friday did not include any note of the stakeholders meeting on this Thursday.
The web site of the City of Watkinsville also does not list the meeting, though the announcement on the county web site indicates that the meeting will include “GDOT project team representatives and City of Watkinsville elected officials.”
State House District 121 Rep. Eric Gisler has said that he has received an invitation from GDOT to attend and plans to participate.
Background On Meeting
GDOT scheduled the stakeholders meeting now set for Thursday following its Public Information Open House on April 16 attended by a large number of people, including many whose property would be affected by the three routes for the bypass identified at that meeting.
 |
| County Announcement Of Called Meeting |
The Board of Commissioners on May 5 voted to ask GDOT to slow down its planning for the truck route bypass linking SR 15 and U.S. 441 south of Watkinsville.
The Board also specifically asked that GDOT consider any SR 15 bypass of Watkinsville “in conjunction with” a potential U.S. 441 bypass of Bishop and to consider a bypass location within the city limits in addition to the three alternate routes under consideration that are south of the city limits.
The Board also said it opposes any route that would result in the displacement of farmland protected by the Oconee County Farmland Preservation Program.
One of the three proposed routes passes through the Breedlove Farm on Rose Creek Drive, which contains acreage protected by the county’s Farmland Preservation Program.
Last month leaders of Save South Oconee, organized in response to the GDOT routes, held their first public meeting to outline their strategy for presenting their concerns to county leaders and to GDOT.
Rep. Gisler attended that meeting, as did Oconee County Commissioner Chuck Horton, though neither was a speaker.
The county web site provides a link for virtual attendance of the GDOT meeting.
The county web site also indicates that GDOT has reopened the comment period from the earlier Public Information Open House.
Comments may be submitted through the project website through August 27, 2026, and will be included in the official record, according to the county.
Comments may be left online at this link.
No comments:
Post a Comment