Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MAY 20, 2004
Continued from page 1A
Jasper City Council meets
The new fee schedule will “sup
port those companies wanting to
come in, so we’ll be able to grow
with the demand,’’ said Sosebee.
“So far we’ve been caught up
with all the development, but this
will help us stay ahead,’’ he added.
Also, two more categories were
added to the fee schedule for com
mercial sewer taps — billiard hall
and bowling alley.
The council also approved
changes in the way the city deter
mines costs of building permits.
Previously the city has based
building permit prices on the pro
jected cost of the project. But the
mayor said that formula often
resulted in disagreement between
builders and city officials over the
expected costs.
“From now on we are going to
quit trying to determine what some
thing will cost,’’ he said. “We are
converting the formula from an
amount per $1,000 in construction
costs to pennies per square foot.”
Permits will now cost 18 cents
per heated square foot, and 12 cents
per non-heated square foot for resi
dential permits.
Commercial permits cost 20
cents per heated square foot, and 15
cents per non-heated square foot.
“This will be more accurate
because we can just refer to the sub
mitted plans,” said Sosebee.
School superintendent Lee Shiv
er and board of education Chairman
Tony Young were on the agenda to
address the council regarding the
Pickens County Middle School
pump station, but were not present.
After council member Jackie
Gise made a motion to table the
item, the mayor asked her to with
draw her motion, saying he wanted
to discuss a letter recently sent by
the school board to the council.
Weaver read out loud the propos
al the city had offered to the board
of education. That proposal was
presented at this month’s board of
education meeting.
The offer, which was reported in
last week’s Progress, was for the
board to convey the pump station
property and the right of way on
Highway 53 in front of Jasper Mid
dle School, to the city.
The city would waive fees
amounting to about $130,000 to
bring water and sewer to the pro
posed school project on Harmony
School Road.
Weaver then read a letter sent by
the board to the city, which stated
the board’s previous unanimous
decision to offer the pump station in
exchange for a “waiver of fees
associated with the Harmony
School Road project.”
It also said the board “consid
ered, but took no action on” the
city’s offer to the board.
Councilman Hazel Mosley
pointed out that in the past the
Jasper Housing Authority paid the
city to take over a pump station the
authority previously owned. The
mayor said that the authority paid
the city more than $20,000 to
assume ownership of the station.
Weaver said the housing authori
ty saw the pump station as a liabili
ty.
Mosley entered a motion to
reject the school board’s offer,
“unless they want to give us some
thing in return,” she said.
“The pump station is of value
but it’s also a liability,” said the
mayor.
The council voted 3-0 to refuse
the board’s offer, with Cheshire and
Gise abstaining due to possible con
flicts of interest.
The city council denied a request
by property owner Robert McClure
of Richard Street to change his zon
ing designation from residential R1
to R2.
Michael Castagna of the building
department said the planning com
mission, at its April meeting, rec
ommended not to change the prop
erty’s zoning because there was
opposition from McClure’s neigh
bors.
McClure, who was present at the
council meeting, said currently
there is an unoccupied house on the
property, but he plans to tear it
down. He wants to build two rental
duplexes, which will “help the
looks of the city.”
McClure’s next-door neighbor,
James Grady Allen, was recognized
by the council to voice his opposi
tion to the zoning change.
Allen was concerned about the
rental units affecting his property
value, and said he would have
“thought twice” about building his
house if he knew his neighbor’s
zoning would change.
“I don’t want low-income houses
by my property because if I want to
sell it, I can’t get rid of it. I’ve got
quite a bit of money in that house,”
said Allen.
The mayor said R2 is a “very
liberal, high density” zoning classi
fication, and there is nothing in that
area zoned that way.
Weaver also warned the council
that their vote would set a prece
dent, making it difficult for them to
deny future zoning requests if they
approved this one.
Sara Fowler of the planning
commission also said there were
concerns in the community about
the area’s drainage, and noted that
McClure did not have any blue
prints for the property.
The council voted 2-1 to deny
the zoning change, with Mosley
abstaining. Gise had to leave the
meeting early.
The council unanimously upheld
the planning commission’s recom
mendation to annex property on
Highway 53 and Old Tate Road,
owned by Larry Pauley and Ronnie
Ray.
Pauley, who was at the meeting,
said there are not yet any plans for
the property, but it will likely con
tain commercial offices.
Captain G. Lovell of the Jasper
Police Department said the April
call volume was “the most I’ve ever
turned in.” He said in April of last
year the department received 499
calls, but this April they received
714 calls.
Among the calls responded to by
the Jasper Police include: 29 motor
vehicle accidents, 185 citations, one
theft, two stolen automobile, five
DUI, two possession of cocaine,
one shoplifting, two obstructing an
officer, three burglaries, one search,
three theft by taking, two gas drive-
off, one criminal damage to proper
ty, two forgery, one possession of
methamphetamine and marijuana
with intent to distribute, one cruelty
to children, six public drunkenness,
six affray, two peddling without a
permit, and a stabbing at the Budget
Inn.
A Jasper fire department
spokesman said the department
received 75 emergency calls in
April, bringing the year-to-date
total to 385.
Continued from page 1A
Cock fight promoters arrested
“Every other Saturday there was
a tremendous amount of traffic at
this site where there is not normally
a lot of traffic,” said Wofford. “Dur
ing the daytime people could
observe chicken coups going in and
out of the property.”
The GBI began sending under
cover agents to the fights. Wofford
said they attended the fights “sever
al different times,” and were able to
gather video footage from inside the
fighting facility.
The property where the fights
took place — on Will Road — is
owned by the defendants’ family,
said Wofford.
The next fight at the site was
scheduled for last Saturday, but the
arrests on Thursday prevented it.
Wofford said.
John Cagle of the GBI said at the
bigger fights there were “upwards
of 80 or more people” in atten
dance, and they came from “many
counties” in Georgia.
He said there was a cover charge
of $20 per person to attend the
fights, as well as a charge to enter a
chicken. “Usually people brought
five or six chickens,” said Cagle.
Neither Cagle nor Wofford could
estimate how much money
exchanged hands in gambling dur
ing the fights.
Wofford said the building where
the chicken fights took place was a
“big, elaborate” structure built by
the defendants specifically for that
purpose. He said GBI video footage
showed three fighting rings sur
rounded by bleachers inside what
looked on the outside like a barn,
and there was even a concession
stand.
Although the investigation lasted
only six months, Wofford said
chicken fights were taking place
probably up to four months before
that at the same site.
“This is the first time we have
had any arrests pertaining to this in
Pickens County, and hopefully it
will be the last because we don’t
need this kind of activity going on,”
said Wofford.
He said this was the only known
chicken fighting circuit in operation
in Pickens.
Appalachian IAAP Update
Appalachian Chapter of Interna
tional Association of Administra
tive Professionals® will be holding
their May meeting Monday, May
24 at 6:30 p.m. at Provino’s in Can
ton.
Libby Loehr with the American
Cancer Society will be the guest
speaker discussing being a volun
teer for the cancer society. Election
of IAAP officers will also be dis
cussed at the meeting.
Two new members were initiat
ed at the past March meeting. Join
ing the chapter is Beth Boggs of
Boggs Attorney-at-Law and
Maryanne Green of Amicalola
EMC. Both are welcomed and will
be a great addition to the chapter
and IAAP. Also at the March meet
ing, Curves® representatives Cindy
Scott and Terry Sparshot provided
information regarding Curves and
the benefits of exercise and nutri
tion for your well-being.
The Appalachian chapter meets
normally the fourth Tuesday of
each month at various locations.
Guest speakers, with interesting
topics that will help to benefit
administrative professionals both in
work and home settings, try to be
planned for meetings. You do not
have to be a member of IAAP to
attend the meeting. The Appalachi
an chapter represents Pickens,
Gilmer, Cherokee and Dawson
counties. If you are interested in
attending a meeting or have ques
tions, please contact Jackie Grant at
253-5220 or jackieg@amicalo-
laemc.com. The cost for the May
meeting will be around $ 18 per per
son. Please RSVP by Friday, May
Above, new IAAP members
Maryanne Greene and Beth
Boggs with chapter president
Jackie Grant.
At right, Cindy Scott from
Curves gives information about
health and nutrition and the
Curves fitness program at the
last Appalachian IAAP meet
ing.
Continued from page 1A
Builders discuss land use plan
with planning commission
The builders also suggested that
the process of hearings and public
notification of zoning appeals under
the proposed system be streamlined.
Keating said looking at the sam
ple copy in the plan, it could take up
to 3.5 months to get a decision on
an appeal of property use classifica
tion.
Pope said there will have to be
adequate time to advertise the hear
ing of the change with the informa
tion and then schedule it, but once
the board hears the owner’s request
publicly, they should be able to give
a decision on the spot.
He said like other counties, the
timeline for an appeal will depend
greatly on the number of requests
for changes they receive each
month.
He said Cherokee County limits
the number of zoning appeals they
hear each month to eight — a move
instituted by an anti-growth faction
in a previous administration.
Keating said several of the
builders had expressed concern on
the “arbitrary” usages which could
result from giving owners the
opportunity to designate the usage
of their property in the initial plan.
If the land use referendum is
passed on the July 20 ballot, all
property owners have 60 days to
designate their usage. Property
owners can check their property’s
classification at the tax assessor’s
office.
Keating said, “There has been
much discussion on the compatibili
ty of use. Arbitrarily classified
property may not be compatible to
the adjacent property or the land
use plan.”
Pope said the county recognized
early on the right of people to des
ignate the initial use of their proper
ty. However, “We realize that theo
retically someone could designate
27 acres on the end of an unpaved
road be named commercial,” Pope
said.
Keating said there had also been
a good deal of discussion “about
people getting taxed off their land.”
Pope said the land use plan will
not affect taxes in any regard, but
that is a common concern.
“We’re in total agreement that
someone needs to devise a system
to give some tax relief for existing
property owners who are literally
being taxed off their place,” he said.
“The land use plan really has noth
ing to do with taxes. Anything that
is currently taxed as agriculture will
continue to be taxed as agriculture
and we could assume that the owner
is paying at the lowest rate avail
able.”
It was also suggested that the
county develop a website to post
the land use plan and all ordinances,
to which a member of the planning
commission said they are working
on it.
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