The Jones County Board of Commissioners cleared the way for the relocation of a church body, dealt with budget items and listened to issues with an airfield at their first July meeting.
Chairman Chris Weidner called the July 1 meeting to order. The opening prayer and pledge were led by Julie King, who wore more than one hat at the meeting.
Zoning Officer Tim Pitrowski presented the four Planning and Zoning items to the board, with the first being a request from Gray Community Church for a conditional use to allow a church at 215 Old Highway 18 East. The building is best known in the community as being the former home of the Old Clinton Opry.
Josh Echols, who is the pastor of the church, spoke for the request. He said the church started two years ago and currently meeting at the W.E. Knox Center. The church has 280 members and has attendance of 180-200 people each Sunday.
“It’s our desire to serve the community. We are here to stay,” he said.
Weidner asked if there was any opposition to the request, and there was none.
Commissioner John Wood made the motion to approve the conditional use request, and the vote in favor was unanimous.
The next item was to rezone a property at 605 Greene Settlement Road to allow it to be subdivided. There was no opposition, and Commissioner Sam Kitchens made the motion to grant the rezoning. The motion to approve was unanimous.
A conditional use for an accessory dwelling across from Fire Tower Road was approved to allow the care for the owner’s mother. Kitchens made that motion.
The final zoning item was a petition for a variance to allow an additional dwelling on a sub-standard road, again to take care of an aging parent. Commissioner Wendy Vaughn made the motion to approve that request, which was passed with another unanimous vote.
New Business
King was at the meeting to support the request of Gray Community Church. She is also the branch manager of the Jones County Library and presented an exciting update about the library’s summer reading activities. King said 4,272 people came to the library during the month of June for the various programs.
She said that was an average 215 per day, but some days there were more than 400. King said 1,112 readers signed up for the summer reading program to date. That number represents one-third of the number in the summer reading programs for Middle Georgia Regional Library system.
“If you haven’t come to the library, you are missing out,” King said.
Commissioner Daylon Martin asked King what was needed at the library.
The manager said what would help the most would be a large meeting room. She said with the group activities, that is currently the biggest need.
Ocmulgee Circuit Public Defender Kristin Waller presented the department’s budget for FY2026.
She said there were few changes. Waller said she currently serves as the public defender for four counties.
“That means I’m in court every day and in jails every night,” she said.
Waller said the department has multiple openings for attorneys. She said it is hard to attract young attorneys to the public defender office, especially in rural areas. The attorney said she is working with several law schools and invited any suggestions from the board.
“I feel called to serve prisoners and indigent people,” Waller said.
Vaughn made the motion to approve the Public Defender Department’s budget, and the vote in favor was unanimous.
Old Business
Kitchens had requested an update about the Jake’s Woods project. County Administrator Jason Rizner presented the original timeline and an updated timeline. The original timeline began with the acquisition of the historic property that was completed in May of 2023 and ended with the project’s completion at the end of 2025.
The revised update presented by Rizner showed the same completion date. The administrator explained during a discussion with Kitchens that the big delay in the schedule had been the permitting and bidding.
The feeling was that once clearing was underway, the construction would move quickly, which is 67 percent of the overall project.
Weidner said he has been to the site. He said there is a lot of cleanup needed, including a large number of tires to be removed.
“There are stones there that you can tell were cut by Jacob Hutchings. This needs to be preserved,” he said. “We are going in the right direction.”
Rizner said the survey is complete.
“I think we are ready to roll. Progress should pick up,” he said.
The administrator then talked about the Jones County Transit Department that had its first day operating under the county. He made the recommendation to approve the new grades for positions of transit driver and transit dispatcher.
Vaughn made the motion to approve the position, and the motion passed with a unanimous vote.
Vaughn introduced two members of the audience, Ken Barnes and Chuck Perkins. The men spoke to the commissioners about an issue at the Dixie Areomasters airfield that has been located on the grounds adjacent to the landfill since 2006.
Barnes said they have no desire to disturb the area.
“All we need is a little dirt. It’s been 18 years; we need to do something to improve the field,” he said.
Weidner said he believed the county could help because the area has to be maintained.
Perkins said the airplanes are not at the field as much because of the condition of the field.
“We want to thank the board for allowing us to use the field. This is no one’s fault; its just nature,” he said.
Vaughn also introduced the interim superintendent of the Jones County School System, Clinton Burston. The speaker gave the board members an overview of what is going on with the school system.
He talked about renovations of Dames Ferry Elementary School and Jones County High School’s gym. Burston said a new alarm system is being implemented for the entire system for student safety.
He also talked about the success of the College and Career Academy for students who do not choose to go to college.
“The program is evolving to serve more students,” he added.
Burston said the school system’s five-year plan includes the renovation of Gray Station and Clifton Ridge Middle Schools.
Weidner thanked Burston for coming to the meeting and offered the support of the county to assist the school system when needed.
“We have worked together before. Just reach out if we can help,” he said.
Commissioner Daylon Martin made a plea for an eight-lane track at the high school.
The meeting was adjourned to enter into closed session at 7 p.m. and reconvened at 7:44 p.m.
Kitchens made the motion to accept an agreement and scope of work for an independent review of the Jones County Animal Shelter, and the motion was unanimously approved.
The meeting was adjourned again at 7:45 p.m.
The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners is scheduled July 15.
