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M ° y92018 ^Reporter
County approves Vulcan berm
By Richard Dumas
forsyth@mymcr.net
Monroe County Commissioners by a 4-0
vote on Tuesday, May 1 allowed Vulcan
Materials Co. to build a berm extension on
16 acres on Pea Ridge Road.
Vulcan land manager Richard Hall asked
commissioners to change the zoning of
three parcels (16 total acres) at 2944 Pea
Ridge Road, 2948 Pea Ridge Road and 0
Pea Ridge Road, respectively, from agricul
tural to industrial. In addition, Hall asked
for a conditional use variance to build the
berm extension for the rock quarry.
About 50 nearby residents opposed Vul
can’s request during the nearly two-hour-
long hearing on the matter. The Monroe
County Planning & Zoning board recom
mended denying Vulcan’s request by a 2-1
vote at an April 23 meeting, commission
ers had the final say on May 1.
Hall said Vulcan, the largest producer of
aggregate material in the U.S., intends to
use the three new tracts to extend an exist
ing berm buffer, which is on an adjacent
tract. Hall said the entire rock quarry is
665 acres in size, and the berm has existed
in and around the quarry since the 1970s
as required by the Georgia Environmental
Protection Division (EPD). Hall said com
missioners in 2009 allowed Vulcan to ex
tend the existing berm, and said Vulcan is
making a similar request this time as well.
Hall said the new berm would include
sawtooth oak and leyland cypress trees
planted on it and said it would be graded
out at a three-foot width to one-foot height
ratio. Hall said Vulcan does not presently
have a 3 to 1-ratio slope but said the 2009
extension remains incomplete.
Hall said, “We absolutely intend to grade
that thing out at a 3 to 1 slope, and as we
speak we have a crew over there doing it
right now. Now that’s not an admission
that we are out of compliance of the 2009
conditions. What it is is a willingness on
our part to listen to the community and to
offer a conciliatory gesture, an olive branch
if you will, to evidence the fact that we’ll
listen to you, we’ll hear you. We’re here
to do that. We’re stewards of the environ
ment. We try to be stewards of the com
munity”
Hall blamed the downturn in the na
tional economy as a primary reason why
the 2009 berm was never completed.
“If any of us remember where we were
in 2009, we were standing on a very, very
high cliff looking over into an economic
abyss,” Hall said. “That was Ground Zero,
that was D-Day of the great recession, the
financial crisis.”
Hall said EPD does regular evaluations
at Vulcan and has never judged the quarry
to be in violation of the Georgia Mining
Act. He added that community complaints
about the incomplete berm being an “eye
sore” are not accurate, saying it’s difficult
even to see the berm from Pea Ridge Road.
Hall said the proposed berm extension
would only help the living conditions
of Vulcan’s neighbors, saying the buffer
would reduce noise, dust and vibrations
from the operation. He added that no
additional truck traffic would occur as a
result of the berm extension nor would the
quarry engage in additional blasting.
Monroe County commission chairman
Greg Tapley asked Hall if he could specify
a timeframe of completion for the 2009
berm extension or for the proposed one,
but Hall said he couldn’t.
“It’s just difficult to me to give you a de
finitive timeframe,” Hall replied vaguely. “I
would just ask that you let us proceed at a
relevant pace in relevant time based upon
the different variables that go into the pro
duction, the needs of the county, the needs
of the area, the health of the economy”
Tapley then allowed opponents of the
proposed berm extension to have their say.
Pea Ridge Road resident Mary Evelyn
McWhorter said Vulcan blasting has
created structural issues for her, includ
ing separating windows and cracking
sidewalks. McWhorter then urged com
missioners and Vulcan officials for help
with the situation. Hall told McWhorter he
would have a blasting technician evaluate
her home for her.
Pea Ridge Road resident Mike Winget
said it was his family who initially sold
property back in the 1960s to Vulcan
officials whom he labeled “fancy dans.”
Winget said he questions why Vulcan
continues expanding farther down Pea
Ridge Road and encouraged the commis
sioners to halt the quarry’s growth beyond
its existing 600-plus acres.
Winget said, “We hire you guys (com
missioners) to look out for us... You’ve
gotta stop them somewhere.”
Another Pea Ridge Road resident, Byron
Pitts, said Vulcan has never tried to abide
by the 3 to 1-ratio stipulation required
by the 2009 berm extension approval. He
said Vulcan only started working to fix it
last week after citizens complained about
it publicly at the April 23 zoning meeting.
Pitts then asked commissioners to force
Vulcan to comply with the 2009 require
ments before allowing it another berm
extension.
“Let them finish what they already have
and prove to us they’re gonna do it like
they’re supposed to,” Pitts said. “And once
that berm is complete, then let us discuss a
new berm.”
Jim and Marilyn McGahee of McGahee
Way, who gave a 20-minute-long presen
tation, agreed with Pitts, saying Vulcan
officials had not followed through on some
of their 2009 conditional terms, includ
ing hours of operation and the failure to
produce a 3 to 1 ratio-berm.
“This is deja vu to us,” Jim McGahee said.
“We’ve heard the promises in 2002,2009
and again now. The promises and the real
ity are in completely different time zones
or maybe even dimensions.”
Marilyn McGahee said Vulcan officials
never told them in 2009 or in subsequent
years that the 2009 berm extension was an
ongoing project. She said she never learned
that until Hall stated it at the April 23 P &
Z meeting.
Marilyn McGahee, who labeled the
quarry a “landfill operation in the middle
of a thriving community’ said 350 families
live within two miles of the rock quarry
and are negatively impacted by the dust
and noise associated with Vulcan’s opera
tions.
Marilyn McGahee said that had Vulcan
abided by the 3 to 1-ratio requirement,
then vegetation would have grown along
the berm. She said the berm’s steep height
has prevented tree growth and increased
erosion, which leads to additional dust.
District 3 commissioner John Ambrose,
who represents the affected area, said he
wished that the McGahees and other op
ponents had been more forceful in pushing
for an enforceable timeframe completion
stipulation to the original berm project
back in 2009. Ambrose said he didn’t
think the 2009 berm was immediately
visible from Pea Ridge Road but said he’d
support putting a distance from the road
requirement on allowing the new berm.
Marilyn McGahee responded that they
had no idea that the 2009 berm would not
be completed by now, and Jim McGahee
said Vulcan officials were merely pushing
the completion date back by buying the
additional land.
Jim McGahee said, “Had they (Vulcan
officials) done what they said they were go
ing to do, we probably wouldn’t even have
a fuss here.”
Tapley asked the McGahees why they
hadn’t brought Vulcan’s failure to flatten
out the berm to the 3 to 1-ratio to commis
sioners’ attention before now. Jim McGa
hee answered that he only complained
after the berm began encroaching out near
Pea Ridge Road. Tapley responded that
he can’t hold Vulcan officials responsible
for timeframe regulations that were never
established when the project was approved
nine years ago.
“I can’t help that the leadership at the
time didn’t create a timeframe for this,” Ta
pley said. “That makes it difficult to make a
case against them (Vulcan officials)... We
can’t hold them accountable to regulations
and rules that were never set up.”
District 1 commissioner Larry Evans,
the lone commissioner on the board
when Vulcan’s 2009 berm extension was
approved, said there was no need to set
a timeframe on the project at the time.
He said Vulcan’s production level fell as a
result of the housing bubble, which caused
the berm extension to be postponed. Evans
added that he didn’t understand the level
of unrest about the berm project consid
ering Vulcan did not plan to increase its
production level.
Ambrose then motioned to approve
Vulcan’s rezoning request, which was met
with audible gasps by several audience
members in opposition. Ambrose’s motion
was then seconded by Tapley. Before a vote
was cast, District 3 commissioner Eddie
extension
Rowland turned to the dozen or so Vulcan
employees in attendance, including plant
manager Barry Lawson, and told them
he expected them to better update their
neighbors about the berm project this time
around.
Rowland said, “You have two neighbors,
and you’ve got one that’s just looking for
some peace and quiet. That’s what they
moved to Monroe County for. And then
you’ve got one that’s trying to run a busi
ness. And we’re sitting here butting heads.
If we do pass this, I’m going to look to
you Vulcan to be the bigger person and to
address these concerns. And more than
just call a barbecue once a year. I mean
really and truly let these citizens know
what is going on and live by the standards
that you’ve set and by the agreements
that you’ve made. And I just think that’s
important, and it’s more incumbent on you
than them. They’re just trying to live out
their lives. You’re trying to run a business
and make money. I’m putting the burden
on you to be the bigger person and to take
care of these problems.”
Ambrose said the concerns about noise
and blasting damage were unrelated to the
issue at hand and said the berm extension
is expected to aid Vulcan’s neighbors with
those issues rather than make them worse.
Ambrose said, “The berm benefits them
because it gets rid of trash and dirt. It
benefits the neighborhood around them
because it cuts down on some of the noise
and dust and all that. And it could pos
sibly cut down on some of the vibrations.
I don’t know. I’m not a geologist. But
they’re willing to try. And they’ve been a
good taxpayer to us. And if this TSPLOST
(Transportation Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax) passes, which I think it
probably will, their business is probably
going to increase more. They’re not going
to mine more, but they’re going to be put
ting rock out, and that berm will be built
faster then.”
After about 15 more minutes of discus
sion, commissioners then placed several
stipulations on the new berm’s approval.
Commissioners required that the new
berm extension follow the 3 to 1 slope
ratio, for Vulcan to move forward on con
struction of the berm extension in 25-foot
wide by 100-foot long increments, for the
berm to be built no closer than 75-foot
from the right-of-way and for berm exten
sion work to be done only between the
hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Commission
ers also required Vulcan officials to hold
bi-annual public meetings to update their
neighbors on the advancement of the berm
project and also mandated that Vulcan get
the 2009 berm in compliance with the 3
to-l-ratio requirement by Aug. 1,2018.
Hall told commissioners that he agreed to
all of their proposed requirements.
Commissioners then voted 4-0 to ap
prove Vulcan’s rezoning request. District 4
commissioner George Emami was absent
from the May 1 meeting.
MCH updates community on finances
By Richard Dumas
forsyth@mymcr.net
About 60 persons attended a
town hall forum on Tuesday,
April 24 to discuss the state of
Monroe County Hospital more
than a year after citizens voted
overwhelmingly to support a
$1.2 million annual tax hike to
keep the facility open.
The Hospital Authority of
Monroe County held a 45-min-
ute public meeting on April
24 for citizens to ask questions
about MCH. A number of
MCH and Navicent employees,
as well as some elected officials
including Forsyth mayor Eric
Wilson and Monroe County
commission chairman Greg
Tapley, were among the contin
gent in attendance.
MCH CEO Lorraine Smith,
who was named CEO earlier
this year, said her goals for the
hospital are service excellence,
clinical excellence and cost
excellence. Smith displayed a
chart indicating that the aver
age daily patient census rose
from about 8 patients per day
in October 2016 (shortly after
Navicent took over manage
ment of the facility) to about
14 patients per day in March
2018. Smith said monthly ER
visits have also trended upward,
rising from a monthly average
of about 625 ER visits in August
2016 to a monthly average of
about 725 in March 2018.
Smith added that MCH is
constantly evaluating all aspects
of the facility in an effort to
stay flexible and current. She
said among the changes are
new color-coded uniforms for
staff members as well as an
increased presence on social
media with Facebook, Twitter
and Linked In accounts. But, as
always, Smith said the hospi
tal’s top focus remains on the
satisfaction and health of its
patients.
She said, “Clinical excellence
is expected of us as a hospital.”
MCH chief financial officer
Judy Ware said with the rise
in patients has come a parallel
increase in finances, including
a nearly $1 million improve
ment in operating revenues
from about $7.9 million in 2016
to about $8.9 million in 2017.
Ware said MCH posted a total
loss of about $2.1 million in
2016, a figure that improved to
a total loss of about $941,000 in
2017, the first full year under
Navicent’s leadership. Ware said
the statistics for the first half
of the 2018 fiscal year (which
began Oct. 1, 2017) look even
brighter as the hospital has
posted a gain of $837,000 over
the first six months. However,
Ware cautioned that included in
that positive 2018 total margin
are about $600,000 in county
supplements and other con
tributions through the state’s
Rural Health Tax Credit plan
that allows citizens to divert
their state taxes to rural hospi
tals in need. Ware said several
recent changes in state law have
made it more appealing for citi
zens to donate their state taxes
to MCH. She said donors now
get to claim rural health tax
donations as charitable contri
butions for deductions on their
federal income tax statements.
She also noted that on the
final day of this year’s Georgia
legislative session on March 31,
a law was approved allowing a
100 percent tax credit for funds
designated for rural hospitals
instead of just 90 percent, or
up to $5,000, as was previously
allowed in 2017.
Tim Slocum, Navicent vice
president of system support
services, told community mem
bers about upcoming upgrades
to MCH made possible by $4
million in capital bonds ap
proved as part of the referen
dum. Slocum said MCH will
shortly send out requests for
quotes and proposals from con
struction contractors to reno
vate MCH’s emergency room
as well as the ER and outpatient
waiting areas. Slocum said
construction will begin in the
next several months and should
take no longer than six months
to compete.
After a 30-minute presenta
tion, MCH officials took ques
tions from the public for the
remainder of the program. Dr.
Tom Perry asked about the pos
sibility of streamlining the rural
health tax credit application
process to make it easier to des
ignate taxes for MCH. Ware re
plied that the Georgia Depart
ment of Revenue determines
the process but said MCH has
worked through some of the
obstacles by ensuring that local
CPAs are well-versed in the
program.
Sloan Oliver asked why the
2017 patient census increase
occurred. Smith responded
that MCH staffers are reaching
out to other medical facilities
to make them aware of MCH’s
swing bed program. She said
MCH has focused its care on
lower acuity patients, en
abling Macon’s Medical Center
Navicent Health to focus on the
higher acuity patients.
MCH ER physician Dr. Carol
Carlson suggested that along
with the upcoming visual up
grades to the ER that the hospi
tal also could alter its signage to
read “Emergency Department”
instead of “Emergency Room.”
She also urged MCH officials
to add security at the facility.
Smith said the first security im
provement step will be to add
panic buttons at MCH, which
will alert Forsyth Police in an
emergency.
Georgia House candidate
Shane Mobley asked what daily
patient census figures would
be necessary for MCH to break
even financially without its
county supplement and tax
credit contributions. Smith said
it was virtually impossible to
come up with an exact figure
but said in January, MCH had
831 ER visitors, 17.7 daily
in-patients and a lower than
normal surgery center output
and managed to earn a small
operational profit. She said
MCH only lost about $9,000
operationally in both February
and March as well, which was
close to breaking even.
Smith said it will take the
support of the whole Monroe
County community for the
hospital to survive and thrive
long-term.
“Your commitment is gonna
make the difference,” Smith told
the audience.
District 1 Monroe County
commissioner Larry Evans then
asked to address the crowd, say
ing MCH thrived for years until
the textile industry shut down
in Forsyth. Evans, who is also a
member of the Monroe County
Development Authority, said if
Monroe County gains several
new companies, then MCH will
have success again.
Evans said of Monroe Coun
ty’s rumored industry pros
pects: “It may happen any day.”