State Expects To Begin Right Of Way Acquisition In 2018 For U.S. 441 Widening In Oconee County

Schedule Announced

The Georgia Department of Transportation expects to begin purchasing right of way for the widening of U.S. 441 from the Watkinsville bypass to the Madison bypass in the summer of 2018, representatives of the state agency told a gathering of about 50 citizens last Thursday night.

GDOT plans to let the project for construction in the spring of 2021, the state highway officials told the group, which included the eight members of a Sounding Board appointed by the Oconee County Board of Commissioners to provide citizen involvement in the project.

Residents Along Calls Creek To Tell Oconee County Commissioners They Will Not Grant Easements For Proposed Sewer Line

Goal Is To Force Condemnation

Representatives of Friends of Calls Creek plan to submit statements to the Oconee County Board of Commissioners tomorrow night signed by 73 residents along the creek who say they will not grant an easement to the county for the proposed pipeline.

If the residents follow up on their pledges, the county would be forced to take condemnation action against the land owners to go forward with its plans, potentially running up the cost of the project.

Continuity Vs. Change Theme Of Second Oconee County Board Of Commissioners Candidate Forum

Other Candidates Sharpened Focus

Mark Thomas and Mark Saxon are happy with the way things are going in Oconee County and are running for election to the Oconee County Board of Commissioners as proponents of continuity.

Penny Mills and Sarah Bell are concerned about rapid growth in the county and about transparency and openness in government. They want to do things differently in the future.

Oconee County Still Waiting On Details Of Route For Proposed Calls Creek Sewer Line

Three Meetings Upcoming

Oconee County is still waiting on a report from the firm it hired to do survey work for the route of the proposed sewer line down Calls Creek, county Utility Department Director Wayne Haynie said today.

Haynie told Jim McGarvey from Friends of Calls Creek that no additional information on the route of the proposed sewer line likely will be available before the meeting the group has called for 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Library in Watkinsville.

First Oconee County Forum Separated Supporters From Critics Among Board of Commissions Candidates

Who Is Incumbent?

In the Candidate Forum on April 14, Oconee County Board of Commission candidates Sarah Bell and Penny Mills took the position of outsiders and critics.

In their opening comments, Bell said the county does not have a “Commission that listens well,” and Mills said the Commission “needs to be more proactive about transparency.”

Oconee County Utility Department Budget Does Not Include Water And Sewer Rate Increases–For Now

Rate Study Underway

Oconee County water and sewer customers likely will get a reprieve, at least temporarily, from the annual water and sewer rate increases of recent years.

Oconee County Utility Department Director Wayne Haynie told the Board of Commissioners at a budget hearing last week that he is not asking for a rate increase as part of his budget request.

More Than 100 People Turn Out To Hear From And Question Oconee County Candidates

For May 24 Primary

Oconee County Board of Commissioners candidates Penny Mills and Sarah Bell stated unambiguous opposition to the proposed pipeline down Calls Creek, while candidates Mark Thomas and Mark Saxon took more nuanced positions on the issue Thursday night.

The four were speaking in the first of two candidate forums to be held before the May 24 election. More than 100 people turned out for the meeting at the Community Center in Veterans Park.