Last Tuesday, the final Putnam County Commission meeting of the year, and the last for outgoing District 2 Commissioner Daniel Brown, was extended to nearly two and a half hours.
According to a proclamation read by County Manager Paul Van Haute, the first order of business was official recognition of the retirement of Putnam County Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Alford, one of the original six full-time firefighters hired by the county, according to a proclamation read by County Manager Paul Van Haute.
“Chief Alford made a heartfelt impact on his fellow firefighters and the citizens of Putnam County for nearly 24 years,” Van Haute pointed out.
Next, the board heard from Billy Jerles, agent for Danny Copelan, Uyvonna Copelan, and Drew Copelan, to rezone 150 acres at 612 Sparta Hwy., east of Eatonton, from AG to C-2 in order to accommodate Tri-County EMC building its new headquarters there.
District 3 Commissioner Dr. Steve Hersey echoed concerns he heard from neighbors and questioned why Tri-County needs so much land.
Jerles conceded it was a good question and then explained that Tri-County plans to build a service center for its vehicles there and provide parking for all company vehicles on the grounds. He said the extra space could be invaluable in emergencies.
“Something folks don’t think about is that you have had here, and you can think about Hurricane Helene over to the east of us where there are disasters, when the system is down in large part, people from outside the state, outside the Southeast will come in and help restore a system,” Jerles explained. “They will camp, they will put up food, bathing, all types of facilities, and it needs to be in a large area in order to accommodate that. Tri-County does not have that kind of land area in order to have folks come in and provide disaster recovery.
"And so, a good portion of that would be planned for that very thing so that if/when this system is down and the members are out, the disaster recovery teams that are in the locale will have a place to go.”
After about 20 minutes of discussion and a staff recommendation to approve, the commission unanimously approved the rezoning request.
Next, Sharp explained David Levister had resigned from the Jimmy Davis Park Partnership Advisory Committee late last month, so based on a recommendation from Brown, he appointed Sidney Jackson to take Levister’s position on the committee. Sharp said Jackson is a Marine active in the Eatonton VFW, an associate pastor of Jenkins Grove and the Free Gift Baptist Church, and resides in District 2.
Jackson will serve on the JDP committee until it reaches a predetermined sundown clause. “I’m not exactly sure of the date on that, but it’s in March,” Sharp said.
A 45-minute discussion, prompted by concerns from Commissioner Hersey, followed the current 58% to 42% split in favor of the Chamber of Commerce to Putnam County receipts of hotel/motel/short-term rental (STR) taxes collected.
Hersey, who said he signed the original agreement approximately 10 years ago when he was county chairman, said he believes the deal should be re-examined because annual tax revenues have greatly increased from about $100,000 then to more than $1 million currently.
However, despite acknowledging Hersey’s concerns, McElhenney pointed out that changing the agreement now, after the Chamber’s budget for the current year began in October, would be unfair and could seriously strain the Chamber’s plans for the coming months.
“I have no problem having this discussion, but I think this is the wrong time to have it,” McElhenney said. “I think … the fair thing would be to have this at our regular budget discussions midyear.”
Eventually, the board voted on whether to adopt and continue funding the Chamber with the previously agreed-upon 58-42 percent split, with only Hersey voting negative. However, everyone involved agreed to meet again next year before any budgets are reestablished to hammer out a deal that both parties can tolerate in the long term.
Following the budget discussion, current Chamber President Maggie Milner introduced the council members to Robbie King, who is scheduled to replace her on Jan. 17, 2025, as Milner heads to New England for new opportunities.
“I’m looking forward to working with you guys individually and as a whole,” King told the council members. “I think we’re going to make a lot of progress and answer some of the questions that were presented this evening.”
Next, the council heard a long, impassioned appeal to reverse a mandatory loss of operating license due to a non-filing of license renewal by STR operators Sam Crochet with his sister, Stacey, for a combination family/rental property on Winding River Road in the county’s east side on Lake Oconee.
Crochet said he had trouble accessing the county’s STR license renewal site, a claim backed up by County Clerk Lynn Butterworth. He repeatedly said he relied upon a message on the county’s website stating, “All deadlines or short-term renewals will be extended as needed.”
Nearly 40 minutes of repetitive pleading paid off.
McElhenney, Brown, and Hersey voted to grant Crochet an extension to pay all outstanding fees by Dec. 31. Only Wooten was unswayed by the appeal.
Finally, the council heard Van Haute describe three quotes received for paving 72 miles of county roads through TSPLOST funding. He said the bids ranged from just over $15 million to approximately $21 million.
The council unanimously approved Pittman Construction Co.'s low bid of $15,099,945.15, which is headquartered in Conyers.
Van Haute also told the councilors to submit a “wish list” of about seven miles of road each for potential inclusion once the project is underway if the budget allows it.