The first October meeting of the Jones County Board of Commissioners meeting was lengthy and confusing with a lot of moving parts due to attempts to accommodate the schedules of the presenters and a zoning issue that still remains unresolved.
Board Chairman Chris Weidner called the Oct. 6 meeting to order, and the prayer and pledge were led by Julie King.
The first change from the agenda happened at the beginning of the meeting when the third New Business agenda item was moved to the top.
Ocmulgee Circuit Public Defender Kristin Walker presented the budget for the Jones County Public Defender’s office for approval. She said the Jones County office closed 587 cases during the year.
“The need for a strong public defender is to protect the constitutional rights of all,” she said.
Walker said she is asking for another investigator. The state provides one for the entire eight-county circuit. She admitted that Jasper is the only county in the circuit that has agreed to support that request.
Walker also mentioned a new staff member in the Jones County office, Haley Roney, who had been a great addition.
Commissioner Sam Kitchens said he is in favor of approving the budget but not the increase for an additional investigator.
“That feels like another unfunded mandate from the state,” he said.
Kitchens made that motion, and it was approved unanimously.
The meeting then went back to the first items on the agenda, Planning and Zoning. The request to allow a home to be built for a family member on a substandard private road was unanimously approved.
The next zoning item proved to be more difficult. The request was to rezone a property currently rural residential to C2. The property is on Hungerford Road and consists of three acres.
Kitchens stated he was not happy that the board’s wishes for the creation of an adaptive use amendment was not followed by the P&Z board. Instead, the original petition was sent back to the commissioners without any recommendation.
“They should have recommended approval or denial. This puts us at an impasse,” he said.
The property owner said the P&Z board was no help at all and would not take up the request.
The petitioner said the building they wanted to be rezoned was built to be a warehouse, and that is what it would be used for going forward.
The problem with simply rezoning the property C2 is it would open up multiple uses not compatible with the area if the current owners left the property.
A neighbor of the property spoke in opposition to the rezoning. She said the issue began with a complaint about how the property was being used, and she agreed with that complaint.
“If the rezoning is approved, it would be spot zoning at its finest,” she said.
Another property owner in the area also spoke in opposition to the rezoning to C2.
Kitchens said the adaptive use amendment the board requested would take care of this issue and others that will come up.
The idea of the amendment is to allow a building to be used for the purpose it was constructed and used for before zoning regulations applied. This particular warehouse was constructed in 1920.
Following a lengthy discussion, Commissioner John Wood made the motion to deny the rezoning request as presented. The vote to approve the motion was unanimous.
Alcohol sales
Weidner opened the floor for discussion about alcohol package sales before moving to the last item of Old Business, revisions to the Alcohol Ordinance, to accommodate the speaker.
Attorney Molly Esswein presented the revisions and began by stating a lot of the work was reorganization because the ordinance had not been updated for several years. She started with state law distances from schools and churches. She said a survey is now required 180 days prior to the consideration of an alcohol sales license.
Another addition was the disqualifying circumstances. Those include all felony convictions and some misdemeanors. Those disqualifying circumstances also include first offender convictions and no contest pleas.
Inspection and compliance rules were updated, as were sales hours and rules for the suspension and revocation of a license. She said a due process hearing is always allowed, and the verdict can be appealed.
Package sales are limited to buildings zoned C2 with a conditional use permit, and the ordinance limits the county to a total of four stores.
Visitors
The meeting order then reverted back to the agenda. Leola Hopkins presented an impassioned plea for help because of hardships she is experiencing as the result of a business operating behind her home.
She said her health and the health of her plants are suffering because of the automotive repair shop. Hopkins said the road behind her is only one lane because of the cars lining the road. She said she has taken pictures as requested by the EPD, which were no help.
Hopkins said the soil is black with grease in her back yard, and oily, black water drains to her property each time it rains.
“How can he operate a business in a residential area? He doesn’t have a business license,” she said. “I’ve been back and forth before the board. I need you to tell me something.”
At the end of her presentation that included a wash bucket covered in black grease, she did not get the answers she was hoping for. Board members listened attentively but offered no solutions. It seems the business has been open so long, it was grandfathered in. Even if he does not have a business license, he could get one.
When she finished, Commissioner Daylon Martin agreed to go visit her property and together they would try to come up with a way to help the situation.
New Business
King, the branch manager of the Jones County Library, presented an upbeat report, including the success of this year’s summer reading program and other impressive events.
“We do what we do because of the support we receive from the county,” she stated.
The manager said the library had over 12,000 patrons over the summer and more than 42,000 during the past year. She said Jones County’s summer reading program had 894 active readers with 369 of them completing the 25-book reading requirement over the summer.
The library welcomes all ages including 30-50 children ages from 0-4 years old every Wednesday. The monthly Brunch Buddies program for older adults is another highlight. King talked about a particular program that involved veterans who shared their stories and then stayed to talk to each other for hours after the program.
King concluded by thanking the county for repainting the library’s parking lot.
Jones County Water Superintendent Brandon Stark talked about the purchase of a hydro vac through Sourcewell and stated the board had previously approved the purchase. Martin made the motion to proceed with the purchase, and it was approved unanimously.
The next item of business was brought by Kitchens. He asked about the county’s road evaluations and suggested the evaluations may need to be done again since it had been three years. The commissioner made a motion to start the evaluation process again and for staff to obtain proposals for the evaluations.
The vote to begin the process was approved with a 4-1 vote. Martin opposed.
Kitchens also talked about the need to allocate more funds for road projects. He said the county needs to consider putting a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax on the ballot. Martin stated that all the counties around Jones County raised their tax rates this year.
Kitchens made a motion to allocate funds for road projects with the revised road list. Following a discussion, the commissioner revised his motion to focus on emergency road work and repairs, adding an allocation line item to the budget. That motion was approved unanimously.
Rizner asked board members to send the staff the names of roads in need. Martin said District 4 always had roads in need of repair, and he does not want to create another list.
Kitchens agreed. County Attorney Ashley Brodie suggested the commissioners create a list of roads they feel were not evaluated properly on the previous road list.
Martin stated it is important for the county to do right by the people who have been waiting for years to get their roads paved.
The final item of New Business was about the exploding dog and cat population. Kitchens stated the county’s previous spay-neuter program that did the procedures before the animals were adopted was successful. He said the issue has gotten worse, and litters of puppies are being brought to the animal control facility.
Kitchens added that puppies are being dumped on the side of the road. He suggested a low cost spay-neuter program for the community and allowing animal control to come up with the program. The commissioner said the low-cost program should be offered at least once a month.
“We have irresponsible pet owners, and we have to step in,” he said.
Wood said he thought the low-cost program is a good idea and could be modeled from programs already in place.
Kitchens made the motion for the program, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
Old Business
Stark presented the final agenda item, which was the question of a logo for the Gray Highway water tank. He said this is the year the tank will be painted. His suggestion was the purple and gold Welcome to Jones County logo that would face traffic coming into the county and the JC logo on the back of the tank that would be seen leaving the county. Painting of the logo will cost $25,850.
Commissioner Wendy Vaughn made the motion to approve the logos, and the motion was approved unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned to enter closed session at 8:34 p.m., reopened at 9:17 p.m. and adjourned again with no action taken.
