Newspaper Page Text
Page 2— Wednesday, September 14, 2022, The True Citizen
Townhouse issue moves to the City Council
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
The City Council will de
cide if townhouses will be
constructed on Herndon Road.
The Waynesboro Planning
Commission approved a zon
ing amendment request Sep
tember 8, changing 16.03 acres
from R-l to R-3. The zoning
change will allow for the future
development of approximately
42 house lots and 40 upscale
townhome units if approved by
the Waynesboro City Council.
Realtor Mike Smith said
the feasibility of the project
depends upon the money gen
erated from the townhouses,
some of which will be leased
and some of which will be sold.
“By the time you put in the
city sewer, city water and gas
and pave the roads, there is not
enough cash in there to sell lots
to generate a profitable opera
tion for an individual,” he said.
Smith said the development
of the project will span over
a decade and provide the city
with much needed affordable
housing options. If approved
by the council, the completion
of the first house will be more
than a year down the road.
BCHS Football Coach Eric
Parker acted as a spokesper
son for the homeowners in the
neighborhood. He argued that
the townhomes would affect
property values of existing
houses.
“That property butts up
against several neighborhoods
that are established,” Parker
said. “They were established
and when people moved in
and built homes there, they
understood that the property
we are talking about was zoned
for single family homes. We
totally understood that there
would be a possibility that at
some point the land would be
developed but we took comfort
in knowing it was going to
be homes and structures very
similar to the ones that we have
in place.”
Tat Thompson said his back
ground includes banking and
real estate. He warned the
panel that the cost of the in
frastructure associated with
the project along with a 20-
year “payback” is not a good
investment.
“I just think that, especially
the multi-family part of it, is
something that I don’t think
anybody feels really good
about,” he said.
Planning Commission mem
ber Ben Roberts questioned the
idea of building townhomes in
phases on the back end agri
cultural lot that has wetland is
sues, as a solution to financing
the rest of the project.
Smith said no houses will
exist on the north side of the
property which contains wet
lands. The townhomes will
exist on the south side instead.
A group of five investors in
tend to purchase the property
from Mark Yoder if the zoning
amendment is granted. Four of
them reside in Burke County.
Smith said the first townhome
will be built after the first three
or four houses are built. Rent
for the townhomes will range
from $1500-$ 1800 per month.
The planning commissioners
voted in favor of the amend
ment, with the exception of
Roberts who opposed the re
quest.
The City Council meets Sep
tember 19 at 6 p.m.
State considers health-care delivery after hospital closures
REBECCA GRAPEVINE
Capitol Beat News Service
Against the backdrop of hos
pital closures, state lawmakers
Monday considered how to
improve health care delivery
across Georgia.
The House Governmental
Affairs Local Service Deliv
ery Subcommittee meeting
- chaired by Rep. Darlene
Taylor, R- Thomasville - gave
doctors and health-care admin
istrators a chance to explain
Broxton
how the state’s health system
works - and where it is falling
short.
Local public health depart
ments play an important role in
delivering preventive care, said
R. Chris Rustin, public health
administrator for the Chatham
County Health Department.
The 159 county boards of
health, which serve 10.8 mil
lion Georgians, can provide
routine vaccinations and many
other basic services, he said.
But different county public
health departments have differ
ent resources. Rustin compared
the robust complement of ser
vices offered in Chatham with
the nearby - but much smaller
- McIntosh County Health
Department. Both are part of
the same public health district
but vary widely in what they
can offer.
When it comes to COVID,
Chatham County can provide
vaccination services five days a
week, while McIntosh only of
fers the service one day a week
Continued from front
by appointment, Rustin said.
Earlier in the pandemic,
when testing was hard to get,
Chatham County provided
drive-through testing services
six days a week, while McIn
tosh had much more limited
services.
A large public health de
partment like Chatham’s can
also offer extras like pediatric
primary care, a dental clinic, a
travel clinic, HIV care, and a
garden to help people on pub
lic assistance
programs ac- SEE
cess vegeta- HEALTHCARE,
bles. o
Burke County Sheriff's Office
Sheriff Alfonzo Williams
BOLO: WANTED PERSON
FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
The Burke County Sheriffs Office is seeking the help of the community in
providing information leading to the location of
LUIS CASTANEDA, AGE 35, Race: Hispanic,
CASTANEDA has multiple warrants on file for CHILD MOLESTATION
Castaneda is a Guatemalan national who has contacts in the Waynesboro
area and works in local construction .
Any information regarding this individual can be forwarded to the Burke
County Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigation Division at (706) 554-6633
or Sheriffs Office (706) 554-2133. Callers can remain anonymous.
Happy 75th Birthday!
The Honorable Emanuel Larkin Jr.
September 18
BEST WISHES!
Elder Carlton E. Larkin, Karl T. &Edith Larkin Bush,
Kaden Joshua Bush and Kendayl Jazmyne Bush
property.”
During the September 8
Waynesboro Planning Com
mission meeting, Roberts
said he was not concerned
about what has already hap
pened, however he said it is
problematic and opens the
door for a number of issues if
the board’s recommendation
is disregarded in the future.
“I think we should have
been notified,” he said of
Braxton’s intention to speak
in favor of the zoning amend
ment. “I certainly would have
been at the meeting to then
voice my own opinion as to
what was happening.”
Roberts said he disagreed
with the characterization of
the board acting in an advi
sory role only, per the zoning
ordinance. Going out on her
own opens Broxton up to
accusations of bribery, for ex
ample, when she goes against
what the panel recommends,
Roberts pointed out. He said
it’s a dangerous precedent to
start.
“The point of having a
board, I think, of five citizens
and taxpayers is that we are
not elected, we are not subject
to the whims of the people,”
he said. “We don’t have to
worry about getting reelected
by the people we may be for
or against.”
Commission member Mike
Bickley pointed out that the
panel should be treated in
the same way as engineers.
They received 45 minutes of
information compared to the
10 minutes of information by
which the city council based
their decision, he said.
“I think another differ
ence between us and the city
council is that we drive to the
property, we go look, we do
research,” said commission
member Michelle Fort.
Roberts pointed out that he
was not criticizing Braxton’s
work ethic and described her
as conscientious and diligent.
He recommended that Brox
ton notify the panel if she
does not agree with the panel’s I do feel that way, I will make
decisions in the future. sure to contact each one of you
“I will say that if I intend and let you know that is how
on going against your recom- I feel prior to the meeting,”
mendations, going forward, if Broxton said.
Lola “Lola Girl”
Lola affectionately nicknamed “Lola Girl” passed peace
fully Friday afternoon, September 9th, 2022, surrounded by
her loving and devoted family.
She returned from the hospital
Friday morning to spend her last
day at home with her family.
Thirty minutes before her pass
ing, she mustered her remaining
strength; sat up, wagged her
tail and smiled as if to say, “I
love you”. She passed peace
fully in her loft apartment above
Boxwoods Antique Market in
Waynesboro’s Historic Goldberg
Building, on her own without
doctor’s assistance.
Born outside of Birmingham
Alabama on November 29th,
2011, in a large white columned
antebellum home, she was ad
opted by Tony at 12 weeks old
and joined him and her new sister Lucy in a large log cabin
hunting lodge high on a hill outside Atlanta. Sweet, shy and
mischievous, she’d often sneak down the hill and run around
a neighbor’s pond and harass the ducks.
Lucy and Lola bonded quickly and enjoyed a comfortable
and happy life; doggie day camp 2x a week, camping, road
trips, swimming in the pool. She had a love, or obsession
rather for tennis balls and squirrels, the latter of which she
never caught. Eventually Tux was added to the family and Lola
now had a big brother. Lola made it quite clear from day one
that she was in charge and if Tux fell out of line, she would
swiftly correct him. He learned quickly.
A second brother, Joey, later joined the family and then
there were four! They enjoyed a calm and peaceful home life
together for many years.
Lola LOVED spending time in “the shop”, the family’s fur
niture stores in Atlanta and later in Waynesboro at Boxwoods
Antiques Market. She was well known to the customers who
regularly shopped there. She spent many hours curiously
following people around while they shopped and to their
amusement would often lounge on comfy furniture around
the store. She was a Queen.
Lola was affectionate and loving and devoted to her dad,
sleeping every night of her eleven years next to his pillow. She
never outgrew the constant desire to be hugged and cuddled.
And thought nothing of walking up to her dad and crawling
her 50 lbs up into his lap. Lola will be lovingly remembered
and will live in our hearts always.
Arrangements under the care of “Paws N Reflect” Deceased
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