Newspaper Page Text
Page A10
Lake Oconee News
Friday, December 29,2017
PUTNAM COUNTY
BOC chairman protests abandonment of Price Road
SHANNON SNEED/Staff SHANNON SNEED/Staff
Putnam County BOC Chairman Dr. Steve Hersey addresses the rest DNR law enforcement officer Lyn Sanford Jr. tells Putnam County
of the board Dec. 19, protesting the closing of Price Road. commissioners that Price Road has been an illegal dumping site for
several years.
Shannon Sneed
shannon@lakeoconeenews.us
Dr. Steve Hersey temporarily left
his post as chairman ofthe Putnam
County Board of Commissioners
Dec. 19 to stand before his col
leagues to protest the closing of
Price Road.
Hersey took the podium at the
first of two public hearings held
to opine about the abandonment
of 1.3 miles of road connected to
Highway 441, citing its use for
public safety access needs.
Afternoticewaspublishedin The
Eatonton Messenger that Putnam
County would consider the aban
donment of the dirt road, which
appeared to serve no public
purpose, Hersey argued the road
served to provide an escape route
in the event of an emergency.
Noting his concern that the
closure could conflict with the
county’s duty to provide for the
health and safety of its citizens,
Hersey said it gave him great
concern as a commissioner that
the board was rushing to make
a decision regarding closing that
portion of road at the request of a
single citizen.
He also argued that the aban
donment of Price Road was not in
the best interest of the county, but
appeared to serve only the private
interest of one individual property
owner.
“Creating another dead-end road
is not in the best interest of the
county,” Hersey said. “The interest of
the county would best be served by
maintainingthatroad... as required
by the primary responsibility of the
county.”
Should the commissioners decide
to proceed with the process, he
suggested they do so following state
law, referring specifically to Georgia
statutes 32-7-3 and 32-7-4.
“Can the board simply give the
road to a private entity?” Hersey
asked. “I think not.”
Chris Cepuran and his brother,
Chad, recently purchased the
property adjoining both sides of
the entire length of Price Road.
Cepuran told commissioners during
public comments that during the
short time since theypurchased the
property, there hadbeen alot of ille
gal activity witnessed by his family
and agents with the Department of
Natural Resources.
“Ourwhole goal for this is mainly
for the safety of our wives and chil
dren when we build and move to the
property,” said Cepuran, also noting
the property was entirely a conser
vation easement and could never be
subdivided for financial gain.
Cepuran said he and his family
plan to build at the location and
make it their retirement destina
tion - and continue farming the
property.
The Cepurans also proposed con
structing a cul-de-sac at their cost
so school buses and safety officers
would have access to turn their
vehicle around since they would not
be able to exit onto Highway 441.
Cepuran also said a fire gate
access would be installed at each
end of the road so emergency vehi
cles would have full access to the
road at any time.
Sgt. Bo Kelly and Lyn Sanford Jr.,
officers with Georgia’s DNR Law
Enforcement Division, expressed
concerns about criminal activity
that has taken place on the road for
the past several years.
Both officers advised they have
worked in Putnam County for more
than 10 years and are familiar with
the Price Road track through sev
eral different owners.
“It’s always been the same issue,”
said Sanford. “The traffic coming
through there really hasno business
coming through there.”
Noting the property is “in the
middle of nowhere,” the officers
said they get complaints for illegal
hunting activities, drug activities
and tire and household trash being
dumped.
“We are currently working on a
felony dumping case there,” said
Sanford. We have had other felony
dumping cases that we’ve never
been able to prove a suspect in.”
Sanford said that on a daily basis,
the officers could ride through that
area and see trash dumped on the
side of the road.
As part of their investigation into
prosecuting the litterbugs, the offi
cer s lookthrough the tossed garbage
andfindinformation on whose trash
it is. They then find the owner and
prosecute them.
“The closing of that road would
hopefully put an end to these
complaints we’ve had in the past,”
said Kelly, “felony dumping, mis
demeanor dumping, suspicious
drug activities and illegal hunting
activities.”
§
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