A House-Senate conference committee removed all funding for the renovation and expansion of the Bogart Library from the state budget approved in the final two days of the General Assembly last week.
The conference committee action was taken at the direction of Terry England, R-Auburn, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, according to Sen. Bill Cowsert, who represents Bogart and the rest of Oconee County.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners, in two 3-1 votes tonight, turned down project framework agreements with the state for the widening of Daniells Bridge Road and for the construction an extension of Daniells Bridge Road to fly over SR Loop 10 to the stub of the Oconee Connector at Home Depot.
The Board took the action after another public hearing in which 23 residents, largely from the subdivisions along Daniells Bridge Road, spoke in opposition to the projects.
Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis has repeatedly said that the project framework agreements for the two Daniells Bridge Road projects on the agenda for approval Tuesday night are simply “place holders.”
An analysis of the legal agreements the county is being asked to sign with the Georgia Department of Transportation and a review of planning procedures for regional road projects indicate that the documents are much more than Davis has suggested.
As the sun broke through and the weather turned warmer, the customers turned out today at the first Oconee Farmers Market of the season in front of the Courthouse in Watkinsville.
The customers were greeted by 20 vendors selling eggs, meats, plants, jams, honey, bread, cakes, pies, nuts, farm-related crafts and more.
Oconee County got its Superior Court judgeship.
The Georgia Department of Transportation got its $945 million–annually.
The state’s nearly 40 craft breweries–including a few locally–got the right to give souvenir six-packs to customers who pay for a tour.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners plans to make a decision next Tuesday night on two projects on Daniells Bridge Road despite a recommendation of its Citizens Advisory Committee on Land Use and Transportation Planning that the county not move forward with the projects as drafted.
The BOC has before it for approval next week an agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation for a $3.7 million widening of Daniells Bridge Road from Hog Mountain Road to Chestnut Hill Road that would use federal, state and local money.
The uncertainty regarding the future of Georgia’s fuels tax is having impact locally, as Oconee County officials try to estimate revenue available to balance next year’s budget.
The Georgia Senate and the House have passed differing versions of a Transportation Funding Act of 2015.
