Oconee County commissioners gave tentative approval on Tuesday to a modified county policy for information technology and established for the first time a policy for social media use by county employees and volunteers acting on behalf of the county.
The social media policy concentrates authority in the hands of County Administrator Justin Kirouac, who must approve creation and use of departmental social media accounts or designate someone to approve them.
Oconee County has begun planting trees along Mars Hill Road in a $375,115 beautification effort for the recently completed roadway.
More than 750 trees–both native and nonnative verities–will be planted along the sides of and in the median strips of the roadway over the next two months.
Brian Kemp, the Governor-elect of Georgia, was not invited to and did not attend the pre-legislative session held late last year by the Oconee County Board of Commissioners for the county’s delegation to the Georgia General Assembly.
But Kemp’s presence at the gathering was strong nonetheless.
Oconee County, on the first day of the year, had its first major sewer spill for 2019.
A break in a forced sewer line on Malcolm Bridge Road resulted in a major sewer spill of approximately 65,000 gallons of wastewater into Barber Creek, according to a news release issued by the county on Jan. 2.
Three years after the state provided $1.8 million for the renovation and expansion of the Bogart Library, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia is recommending that $1.9 million be included in the Fiscal Year 2020 state budget for expansion of the Watkinsville Library.
The Board of Regents action follows the recommendation of the Georgia Public Library Service, which put the Watkinsville Library project at number five on a list of 13 Georgia Public Library projects for funding by the state.
Chuck and David Williams ended the year without a resolution to their efforts to move the proposed Wisteria Ridge Apartment Complex on North Main Street in Watkinsville from dormant to active.
Ken Beall, representing the Williams brothers, appeared before the Watkinsville City Council in November with the request that the city issue building permits for a sampling of the 103 residential units in the 15-building complex.
Fran Davis, director of Elections and Registration, told Oconee County Republicans that she does not believe voter fraud exists in Georgia, based on her experience in Oconee County.
She also said she believes the election system is secure because of the “checks and balances” built into it.
