Blog Topic: Government
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In the Loop: Oconee County Tried to Buy Sewer Treatment from Athens
Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis and county Administrative Officer Jeff Benko met with their counterparts in Athens-Clarke County in late June to discuss possible collaboration in wastewater treatment.
Benko described the session as “a short meeting with no meaningful results.”
Benko said no materials were exchanged and no notes were taken, and he said he didn’t even send notes to the commissioners about the discussions.
Benko said Oconee County initiated the meeting, which took place in Mayor Nancy Denson’s office in Athens.
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In the Loop: Oconee Voters Will Decide on Sunday Alcohol Sales
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night voted unanimously to put two Sunday sales referendums on the November ballot.One of those referenda, if approved by a majority of voters, will allow the sale of beer and wine in grocery, convenience and beverage stores in the county on Sundays.
The other will allow for the Sunday sale of beer, wine and alcoholic beverages by the drink in area restaurants.
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In the Loop: ACC Chose a Controversial Site for a New UGA Extension Office
The location of the new Clarke County extension office.
After a lengthy and at times hostile debate, the Athens-Clarke County Commission chose an office park off Atlanta Highway as the site for a new UGA Cooperative Extension office Tuesday night.
The site was among six put forward by a site selection committee. After the University of Georgia refused to let ACC build the center on land it owns off South Milledge Avenue, the Cleveland Road site rose to the top because the county is also building a new fire station there, reducing costs for the underfunded $2.5 million SPLOST project.
Other sites would have required scaling back the project. Even so, the committee recommended sites on Lexington Road and Gaines School Road over Cleveland Road.
Several 4-H representatives and others who use the facility spoke against that site.
“It should be something we’re proud of, not something we tuck back where people can’t find it,” said Leslie Johnson.
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In the Loop: GDOT Is Building New HOT Lanes on I-85
Good news for Athenians commuting to Atlanta: Georgia Department of Transportation contractors start work Wednesday on new HOT lanes on I-85.
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In the Loop: Incoming Oconee Chairman Promises Changes
Oconee County citizens will witness a change of culture in county government after Jan. 1, said John Daniell, who will take over as chairman of the board of commissioners on that date.
The work of the government and the Commission will be “responsive to citizens... efficient in our operations, and... bring everybody in and talk about our goals and where we want to go as a community,” Daniell said.
The county again will hold town hall meetings, Daniell said, and efforts will be made to increase citizen participation in those settings and through appointments to county advisory boards. The government also will be more transparent, he said.
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In the Loop: Is This Anti-Discrimination Law Strong Enough?
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
Hundreds marched through downtown in January in support of an ordinance banning discrimination by local businesses.
After a six-month wait for the county attorney to draft it, Athens-Clarke County commissioners are fast-tracking a local anti-discrimination ordinance—but local activists say the proposed law doesn’t go far enough.
Last fall, the UGA Student Government Association—prompted at least partly by a racist shot served at the Confederate-themed bar General Beauregard’s—collected dozens of complaintsfrom minority students about discriminatory practices at student bars downtown. Black students said they’ve been denied entry to certain bars based on dress codes that aren’t applied to white patrons, and that they’ve been turned away because doormen told them the establishment was closed for a private party but allowed in others. Such practices are a “pretext to deny somebody admission based on race or other characteristics,” ACC Attorney Bill Berryman told the commission’s Government Operations Committee July 21.
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In the Loop: Oconee Could Vote on Liquor and Sunday Sales
Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis’ efforts to get alcohol referenda on the ballot in November got a slight push-back from two of his Commission colleagues Tuesday night.
Commissioner Jim Luke said the county needed to do more to warn the citizens that the referenda were under consideration by the board, and Commissioner Mark Saxon agreed.
The bigger setback for Davis came from County Attorney Daniel Haygood.
Haygood told the commissioners that getting separate referenda on the November ballot for Sunday sale of beer and wine in grocery and convenience stores and for Sunday sale of beer, wine and alcohol by the drink in restaurants is straightforward, requiring only a majority vote of the Commission.
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In the Loop: Tell ACC What You Think About Parks and Rec Programs
Do you have an opinion about Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services? You probably do. If so, the ACC Office of Operational Analysis would like to hear from you.
The OOA, formerly known as the auditor’s office, is conducting a comprehensive audit of the Leisure Services Department and has scheduled seven public input sessions over the next two weeks. They will be held:
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In the Loop: Commission Poised to Extend Free Bus Rides for Athens Youth
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
Athens-Clarke County commissioners are poised to extend free bus rides for Athens youth—at least for a year—but some are concerned that not requiring them to pay sends the wrong message.
The commission approved a pilot program in February allowing all riders ages 5–17 to ride Athens Transit for free from May 20 (the last day of school) until Aug. 9 (the first day). The program was recommended by the Mayor’s Youth Development Task Force, a group appointed by Mayor Nancy Denson to dissuade youth from joining gangs.
“This was enthusiastically endorsed by the community, our partnership,” said Commissioner Harry Sims, who chairs the task force. “People were really excited about it.”
As a result, youth ridership increased 600 percent, from 48 riders per day to 340, according to Athens Transit.
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In the Loop: GDOT Assesses Oconee Farmland at Commercial Rate
Doug Dickens, president of Dickens Farms Inc., told the Georgia Department of Transportation that it should assess his 102 acres on Mars Hill Road not as agricultural land, as it is zoned, but as the site of the large residential and commercial development he said he plans for the property.
The state ultimately accepted his argument, giving him a partial median cut that was not part of the original design and paying him $32,000 for 0.312 acres of permanent easement and 0.501 of construction easement.
That was 2.7 times the $11,800 recommended compensation for the acreage.
Page 24 of 51, showing 10 posts out of 509 total, starting on # 231, ending on 240
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