Oconee County, Fearing Legal Challenge, Revises Its Sign Ordinance

***Removes Content References***

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners last week acted quickly to change the county’s sign ordinance in an effort to strip the document of any reference to the content of the signs and thus avoid a lawsuit.

The Board took the action at the urging of County Attorney Daniel Haygood, who told the Board he was afraid the existing sign ordinance left the county vulnerable to a legal challenge in light of the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in an Arizona case in 2015 greatly restricting how local governments can regulate signs.

Oconee County Commissioners Postpone Until Next Week Decision On Additional $1 Million Expenditure For Calls Creek Wastewater Plant

***Second Aeration Basin Requested***

Two weeks after asking Oconee County citizens if they want to include wastewater reuse in the county’s yet-to-be completed Water and Wastewater Master Plan, Oconee County Water Resources Department Director Wayne Haynie asked the Board of Commissioners last (Tuesday) night to spend $1 million for that purpose.

The commissioners took the request under advisement, with Board Chair John Daniell saying it will be on the agenda at the meeting on Feb. 6 to allow for more citizen input on the request.

Sometimes Testy Meeting On Oconee County Sewer Plans Ends With Applause For Commissioners

***Poor Communication Acknowledged***

A sometimes testy meeting ended with applause on Wednesday night for Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman John Daniell and Commissioner Chuck Horton, who spent more than 80 minutes taking questions from and interacting with citizens opposed to county plans for treatment of wastewater.

“I hear everybody talking,” Daniell said near the end of the meeting, “I think we’re already addressing what you’re saying. We’re trying to look at alternatives. There is no plan etched in stone.”

Construction To Start On Upgrade To Sewer Line From Epps Bridge Parkway To Calls Creek Plant

***12-Inch Forced Main***

After a two-month delay due to the disruption in supplies because of Hurricane Harvey, construction crews are ready to start work on the upgrade to the sewer line from Epps Bridge Parkway to the Calls Creek wastewater treatment plant outside Watkinsville.

Piles of 12-inch pipe are stacked at locations on the route along Old Epps Bridge Road, the Oconee Connector and Daniells Bridge Road.

Open House Discussion Identifies Major Decisions On Wastewater Treatment Confronting Oconee County

***Impact On Growth***

Oconee county is facing major decisions on wastewater treatment that will have significant impact on future residential, commercial and industrial growth in the county, a public presentation and discussion last (Tuesday) night at the Civic Center indicated.

The gathering, labeled an Open House On the Water and Wastewater Master Plan Update, was attended by 40 citizens and was hosted by Wayne Haynie, director of the Oconee County Water Resources Department, formerly called the Utility Department.

Oconee County Announces “Major Spill” At Its Calls Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant

***Suspended Solids Exceeded***

Operational problems caused a spill of partially treated wastewater into Calls Creek from the Oconee County wastewater treatment plant of that name located just north of Watkinsville, the county announced this (Thursday) morning.

The partially treated release occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 9, according to the statement from Wayne Haynie, director of the county’s Water Resources Department, previously called the Utility Department.

Work On Oconee County Comprehensive Plan Update For 2018 Moves Into Final Stages

***Some Issues Unresolved***

Planner Justin Crighton, having completed meetings in the last two weeks with the three subcommittees working on the update to the Oconee County Comprehensive Plan, now has the task of assembling the citizen input into a draft report.

Crighton, with the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission, has promised to present the draft to the full Stakeholders Committee on Nov. 20, but he’ll have to resolve some differences in opinion among the Committee members before that time.

Oconee County Exploring Collaboration With Athens-Clarke County As One Option For Sewer Capacity Expansion, Citizens Told

***Town Hall Meeting***

Oconee County is exploring collaboration with Athens-Clarke County for future wastewater treatment, Oconee County Commission Chair John Daniell told a small group of citizens this week at a Town Hall meeting in Oconee Veterans Park.

“We’ve had different conversations since I’ve been in office,” Daniell said in response to a question asking if the commissioners had “met with Clarke County to discuss wastewater?”

Four Applicants Seeking Appointment To Oconee County Industrial Development Authority

***On BOC Agenda***

Oconee County Commissioners tomorrow (Tuesday) night will consider four applicants for two positions on the Oconee County Industrial Development Authority–clearly the most powerful committee a citizen can be appointed to in the county.

Chuck Williams, selected by Gov. Nathan Deal as the director of the Georgia Forestry Commission, is not seeking reappointment to the Industrial Development Authority.

Oconee County Commissioners Grant Appeal To Briarwood Baptist, Move Forward On Old Jail Demolition

**$15 Million Bond Sale Discussed**

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners last (Tuesday) night approved the appeal by Briarwood Baptist Church of a construction moratorium imposed by the county, allowing the church to go forward with expansion plans at its Hog Mountain Road location.

The Commissioners also agreed to go forward with plans for demolition of the Old Jail at the rear of the Courthouse in Watkinsville to allow for expansion of the Courthouse.

Oconee County Commissioners To Approve Sewer Contract And Consider Alcohol License For Convenience Store At Athens Ridge

Rezone On Agenda

Oconee County commissioners are set to give final approval tomorrow (Tuesday) night to a $1.9 million contract to upgrade the sewer line running from Epps Bridge Parkway at McNutt Creek and down Daniells Bridge Road and Government Station Road.

The upgraded sewer line will allow the county to divert sewage now being pumped to the sewage treatment facility on Rocky Branch Road to the Calls Creek plant currently under expansion outside Watkinsville.

Sewer Issues At Top Of County Concerns, Citizens Told At Oconee County Town Hall Meeting

Closing Question

James Gaither, 1040 Cumberland Road, north of Watkinsville, asked the final question at the Town Hall Meeting held by the Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Thursday night.

“If you guys could have one thing off your plate right now, or tomorrow morning, what would you choose--to be done with it, don’t have to worry about it for another 10 years?” Gaither asked.

Construction On Oconee County Presbyterian Village Likely To Start This Summer, County Told

At DRC

Construction on the Presbyterian Village at U.S. 441 north of Watkinsville likely will begin this summer, Frank Pittman from Williams and Associates told the Oconee County Development Review Committee on Friday morning.

Work will begin with the Village Health Services Center and the Independent Living Apartment Building, Pittman, chief operating officer at Williams and Associates, said.

Owners Of Westland And Parkside Subdivisions File Suit Against Oconee County Over Sewer Capacity Fee Refund

Superior Court

The owners of the long-dormant Westland and Parkside subdivisions have filed suit against Oconee County, seeking to block the decision by the Board of Commissioners to refund sewer capacity fees for the massive master plan developments.

In three separate lawsuits filed in Oconee County Superior Court, the owners contend, among other things, that the Board of Commissioners violated state zoning laws when it voted on Jan. 31 to refund sewer capacity fees paid by the developers of Westland and Parkside as well as by two other residential project developers.

Oconee County Utility Department Director Successfully Kept His Comments About Calls Creek From Being Recorded

Talk To Civil Engineers

Oconee County Utility Department Director Wayne Haynie told the Northeast Georgia Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers that he would help them understand “the fuss” over the county’s plans to put a sewer pipeline down Calls Creek.

Cindy Mitchell McGarvey, who lives on the creek and is one of the organizers of Friends of Calls Creek, was interested in sharing what Haynie had to say at the engineering group’s regular meeting on Feb. 16, so she borrowed a video camera and attended the meeting.

Oconee County Commission, In Split Vote, Decided To Move Forward With Calls Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant

3 MGD Option

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners, in a 3-1 vote Tuesday night, agreed to spend $13.4 million to upgrade the Calls Creek wastewater treatment plant to 1.5 million gallons per day and prepare the plant for possible future upgrade to 3.0 million gallons per day.

Oconee County Utility Department Director Wayne Haynie argued that the county would save money in the long-run if it spent a $1.1 million “premium” on the plant now so that the county would have the option of upgrading the plant to 3 million gallons per day in the future.

Oconee County Issues Public Notice Of Spill At Calls Creek Plant

Friday Morning Break

Oconee County posted a public notice on its Utility Department home page late Friday afternoon announcing a sanitary sewer force main break at its Calls Creek wastewater plant located at 1100 Durhams Mill Way on the north side of Watkinsville.

According to the announcement, the break was discovered at approximately 9:15 a.m. on Friday at the pump station at the base of the plant.

Oconee County Commissioners Being Asked To Spend Money On Calls Creek Expansion Beyond 1.5 Million Gallons Per Day

At Least $900,000 Added

Oconee County Utility Department Director Wayne Haynie will ask the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night to spend $13.5 million for an upgrade to its Calls Creek wastewater treatment plant, including at least $900,000 for expansion of the plant beyond the initial 1.5 million gallons per day of capacity.

The $900,000 is part of just less than $2 million the Utility Department asked Crowder Construction Company in March of last year to add to its estimated costs for the wastewater plant expansion.

Oconee County Utility Department Director Blames Membranes For Past Sewage Plant Woes

Wants Them Eliminated

When a video surfaced in April of 2015 showing Oconee County discharging black water from its wastewater treatment plant into nearby Calls Creek, then Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis told the public the county had become aware of “an issue” at the plant and had it under control.

Oconee County Utility Department Director Wayne Haynie presented a very different view on Wednesday at a Board of Commissioners work session as he was making the case to abandon the existing technology used at the Calls Creek plant in favor of a new design for the plant upgrade.

Sewer Plant On Middle Oconee River Center Of Focus At Oconee County Commission Work Session

Calls Creek Upgrade Too

Oconee County officials changed course yesterday (Wednesday), focusing their attention at a meeting on water and sewer issues less on the proposed upgrade to the Calls Creek wastewater treatment plant and more on the possibility of building a sewage plant on the Middle Oconee River.

Paula Feldman, lead-off speaker at the Board of Commissioners work session, set the stage, telling the Commissioners at the beginning of her talk that the recommendations in the 2005 Long Range Wastewater Strategies document “are still good and sound.”