Blog Topic: Oconee Observations

In the Loop: Mars Hill Widening Will Bring More Development to Oconee

By Lee Becker | September 17, 2015 1:20pm

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Road work on Mars Hill Road.

Oconee County Strategic and Long-Range Planning Director Wayne Provost told Oconee County commissioners back in January that they could get an idea of what Mars Hill Road could look like in the future by looking at Epps Bridge Parkway today.

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In the Loop: GDOT Won't Fund Widening of Jimmy Daniell Road

By Lee Becker | September 8, 2015 5:04pm

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Jimmy Daniell Road where it crosses the county line.

The Georgia Department of Transportation has decided not to fund the widening of Jimmy Daniell Road, nullifying the project framework agreement signed by Oconee County in December of last year.

GDOT took this action because Oconee County never specified where it was going to find the $1.15 million estimated cost to the county for right of way acquisition for the project.

And Athens-Clarke County, which was to be a partner on the widening of the roadway, will not have funding available for its share of the project until 2020.

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In the Loop: Oconee Chairman: Connect Roads to Benefit Landowner

By Lee Becker | August 25, 2015 12:15pm

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis is asking his fellow Board members on Tuesday night to spend up to $115,000 to create a connection between Old Mars Hill Road and the new Mars Hill Road now under reconstruction.

The change will benefit a landowner who asked Davis to alter the road design, according to email messages among county officials.

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In the Loop: Epps Bridge Centre Expansion Depends on Rezoning, Road Construction, Environmental Permits

By Lee Becker | July 17, 2015 10:32am

Plans for Epps Bridge Centre phases II and III that were submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Atlanta Developer Frank Bishop filed paperwork with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers late last month for Phases II and III of Epps Bridge Centre, to be built in the wooded area across the Oconee Connector from his existing shopping center.

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In the Loop: Our GDOT Rep's Illegal Roadside Signs Are Back

By Lee Becker | July 14, 2015 5:02pm

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

The Oconee County Code Enforcement Office is once again investigating a two-sided sign installed by Boswell Properties on the southwest corner of Highway 316 and the Oconee Connector.

Boswell Properties reinstalled the signs sometime in the last few weeks to list property owned by Maxie Price, the Loganville auto dealer and businessman who has several properties in the county.

Boswell Properties is owned by Jamie Boswell, an Athens commercial real estate agent who also represents the Athens area on the State Transportation Board, which oversees state highways.

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In the Loop: Oconee Animal Control Board Refuses to Strengthen Abuse Laws

By Lee Becker | July 10, 2015 1:22pm

Photo Credit: Nhandler/Wikimedia Commons

The Oconee County Animal Control Advisory Board yesterday afternoon refused to support Catlyn A. Vickers, director of the Oconee County Animal Control Department, in her request for increased powers to investigate complaints about animal abuse in the county.

Board member Helen Fosgate made a motion calling for a strengthening of the county’s animal control ordinace, but the motion died for lack of a second.

The Advisory Board also refused to endorse a call for a new animal shelter, saying instead it wanted to study the issue more.

The Advisory Board even had trouble electing new officers and approving the minutes of the last meeting, showing a body badly split and with a majority at odds with Vickers and her staff.

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In the Loop: Oconee Utility Director Resigns Over Sewer Spills

By Lee Becker | June 11, 2015 12:18pm

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Chris Thomas.

Chris Thomas, head of Oconee County’s beleaguered utility department, has resigned effective June 19.

Thomas, 42, has been with the county for 17 years and has been director of the utility department since 2008.

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In the Loop: Oconee County Creeks Are Full of Sewage

By Lee Becker | June 2, 2015 2:35pm

Luckily for Oconee County utility workers, this photo was taken in India.

Oconee County reported two new sewage spills to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division on Friday, one of which was classified as a “major spill” and involved the discharge of sewage into Calls Creek.

The smaller spill was into McNutt Creek behind Creekside subdivision, which is on the east side of Jimmy Daniell Road at the county line.

The spill into Calls Creek was at the troubled Calls Creek wastewater treatment planton Durhams Mill Way north of Watkinsville, where a separation of pipe allowed sewage to flow for five minutes into the creek.

For more, visit Oconee County Observations.

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In the Loop: Bill Cowsert Explains His Vote for a Tax Hike

By Lee Becker | June 1, 2015 11:09am

State Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) told a small group of Oconee County Republicans earlier this month that he voted in favor of the tax increases for transportation in March because the bill gave legislators more control over the Georgia Department of Transportation and “capped” the fuel tax—something the tax bill does only in part.

Cowsert also defended the $5 per night fee added to hotel and other lodging bills as part of the transportation act on the grounds that most of those paying the fee will be from out of state.

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In the Loop: Serious Problems Found at Oconee Sewer Plants

By Lee Becker | May 28, 2015 10:28am

Photo Credit: Lee Becker

Melvin Davis.

A month-long investigation of effluent from the county’s Calls Creek sewage plant outside Watkinsville became Tuesday last night when Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis reported that the county had received the resignation of two of the plant’s employees.

The county also released a six-page report by a consultant hired to review the operation of both of the country’s sewage treatment facilities.

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