Only two months after the Oconee County Board of Commissioners turned down two Daniells Bridge Road projects after a lengthy discussion, Commission Chairman Melvin Davis earlier this month brought them brought up again for consideration.
Davis made only oblique reference to the two roadway projects in his comments, but Commissioner John Daniell, whose negative vote was key on April 7 when the Board rejected Davis' push for the roadwork, understood and responded.
The Oconee County Industrial Development Authority agreed on Monday to contribute $50,000 to the nearly $700,000 payment due next year for the bond for Caterpillar, but IDA Chairman Rick Walker told anyone who was listening not to expect a similar payment in the future.
The payment for the Caterpillar bond was part of the $120,500 budget approved by the Authority at its regular meeting in the Courthouse on Monday afternoon.
Chris Thomas, head of Oconee County’s beleaguered Utility Department, has resigned effective June 19.
Thomas, 42, has been with the county for 17 years and has been director of the Utility Department since 2008.
Oconee County citizens and officials got some good news yesterday regarding the county’s Calls Creek wastewater treatment plant.
The Upper Oconee Watershed Network, a volunteer group dedicated to protecting water resources in the Upper Oconee basis, reported that its sampling of Calls Creek at two locations downstream from the plant on Saturday showed relatively low levels of the potentially dangerous E. coli bacteria.
About this time last year, the Oconee County Property Appraisal Department made its estimate of the value of that portion of the land and building inside the county that Caterpillar occupies for its manufacturing facility.
It also made an assessment of the value of the lease for the equipment inside that plant.
Oconee County commissioners have known since at least the first of the year that the county has very serious problems with the operation of its two sewage treatment plants, but they waited until last week to give a hint to the general public of the problems the county is facing.
At the regular meeting of the Board last week, Chairman Melvin Davis said the county “had been made aware of an issue” at the Calls Creek plant a month earlier, but the Georgia Environment Protection Division told the county on Dec. 16, 2014, of a “serious violation” of its permit at the Calls Creek plant and permit violations at its Rocky Branch plant as well.
Oconee County reported two new sewage spills to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division on Friday, one of which was classified as a “major spill” and involved the discharge of sewage into Calls Creek.
The smaller spill was into McNutt Creek behind Creekside subdivision, which is on the east side of Jimmy Daniell Road at the county line.
