Newspaper Page Text
March 2, 2022
Page 1 1 A
sEeporter
City zoning says 'yes' to take-out only at Town Creek
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
The Forsyth Planning & Zoning
Commission approved a “Design
Review” of a restaurant in Town
Creek Center at 438 Cabi-
ness Road on Feb. 28, with the
restriction that the the proposed
restaurant be strictly take-out.
City Manager Janice Hall said she
brought Shayla Johnson to the
Planning & Zoning Commission
because it had previously recom
mended denying a variance for
another restaurant at Town Creek
Center, and Johnson wanted to be
comfortable that her restaurant
wouldn’t be denied before she
invested in remodeling the shop
front for her restaurant.
The previous restaurant ap
plication was recommended for
denial by Planning & Zoning
because there weren’t enough
parking spaces available at Town
Creek Center for another restau
rant. Forsyth’s zoning ordinance
requires 12 parking spaces for a
restaurant. The design of Town
Creek Center has 54 parking
spaces, including three handicap
spaces, five more than the 49
spaces that the zoning ordinance
requires for the square footage of
the nine retail units of 1,500 sq. ft.
each that the Town Creek Center
developers presented to Planning
& Zoning.
However, when Shane’s Rib-
shack became the anchor of
Town Creek Center and leased
two units, as a sit-down restau
rant, it required 24 of the parking
spaces.
“If we look at this case by case,
we will always be looking at Town
Creek,” said Hall. “Are we looking
at this as a shopping center or
case by case?”
Hall said Johnson wants to
rent the unit next to U-Save-It,
which is at the opposite end of
Town Creek Center from Shane’s.
U-Save-It Pharmacy acquired
the only unit with drive-through
service available.
Planning & Zoning member
Martin Presley asked Johnson
how many parking spaces she
will need for staff and what hours
she plans to be open. She said she
will probably need two spaces for
staff and will be open for lunch
and dinner, about 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
“It’s still a restaurant whether
it’s sit-down or take-out,” said
Planning & Zoning chair Steve
Coleman.
Planning & Zoning member
Kathy Rowland said that her
business, Old Mill Market, sells
food on a carry-out only basis
and is classified as bakery/retail
rather than a restaurant and as
such is inspected by the Depart
ment of Agriculture rather than
the Monroe County Health
Department. All food at Old Mill
Market is packaged to go. She
said, as such, it is regulated dif
ferently.
Coleman noted that Forsyth’s
zoning ordinances don’t make a
distinction, however.
“The answer is for us to know
up front what a building is to be
used for,” said Presley. “Shane had
no variances; it just leased and
walked in.”
Hall asked city attorney Bobby
Melton if she could administra
tively approve exceptions while
he worked on re-wording the
zoning ordinance.
“You could determine anything
in here to be administrative,” said
Coleman.
“It’s the same thing as a con
venience store,” said Planning &
Zoning member Phillip English.
Johnson said she isn’t con
cerned about parking because
she seldom expects a customer
to wait more than five minutes.
She will be preparing a set menu
of meat and vegetables each day;
so there won’t be decisions for
customers to make. Everything
will be prepared and ready to go
in a cafeteria style.
Presley asked Hall to follow up
by contacting the Town Creek
Center developer. Hall said for
mer Forsyth economic develop
ment director Tammie Pierson
had contacted the developer after
Planning & Zoning had recom
mended denial for the previous
restaurant.
The Planning & Zoning Com
mission recommended approval
for sign variances for the tem
porary signs advertising The
Preserve at Fox Rim subdivision,
including both the residential
and commercial development.
Developer George Emami ap
plied for the variances because
city ordinances limit signs to 6’
x 6’, whereas it is now customary
for signs in front of new develop
ments to be 4’ x 8’. He asked for
one sign on Highway 41 and one
sign on Thornton Road.
“I think 6’ is for a house, not a
whole subdivision,” said Cole
man.
“Whatever you decide, there’s
a whole lot fixing to come your
way” said Hall.
Planning & Zoning approved
the variances for two-sided 4’ x
8’ signs up to six months, with
an option to ask for an exten
sion. The vote was 4-1, with
Planning & Zoning member Hal
Clarke voting against because he
wouldn’t want the larger signs in
his neighborhood.
Hall reminded Planning &
Zoning members there are two
vacancies on Planning & Zoning
and asked for recommendations
for commission members and
also for a city economic develop
ment director. To be eligible for
the commission, an individual
must be a resident of Forsyth,
own property in the city or oper
ate a business in Forsyth and live
in Monroe County.
MP Academic
Team ties for 2nd
The Mary Persons Academic Team com
peted at the GATA JV State Championship on
Saturday, March 5 at home.The team finished
up the tournament in a tie for 2nd in their
division. Team members included William
Little, Isabel Sneddon, Karen Freeman, and
Skyler Perry. The final competition of the year
for the Mary Persons Academic Team will be
at Apalachee High School on Saturday, March
26, for the Varsity State Championship.
'■3
n
0
rf
\ iwl
MONROE IN
COLLEGE
Charles Bader Brooks Jr. of
Macon has been named to the Dean's List
at the University of the South for
the Fall 2021 term. To earn a place on Se-
wanee's Dean's List, a student must earn
a minimum grade point average of 3.625
on a 4.0 scale. Charles Bader Brooks Jr. is
the son of Kathryn & Charles B. Brooks.
The University of the South, familiarly
known as Sewanee, is an independent
liberal arts college located on 13,000 acres
atop Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau
between Nashville and Chattanooga.
Did you know?
Snapshots from
BICENTENNIdL
id you know
that when
the Cana
dian musical
group, the Wailin' Jen-
nys, sang "Been a Long
Time Traveling Here
Below," they were using
a time that a Monroe
County minister wrote?
The Primitive Baptist
preacher was Edmund
Dumas (1810-1882). He
composed a number of
tunes for “The Sacred Harp,” a collection
of shape-note hymns commonly found in
* CELEBRATING EDO YEHRS *
EST. 1821
Primitive Baptist churches, which
by policy had no musical instru
ments.
Dumas also wrote a secular
song, "The Botanic Doctor,"
about the dangers of using calo
mel. This comic song suggests
that he had come under the influ
ence of the Thomsonian school
of medicine whose college, the
Southern Botanico Medical College, once
functioned in Forsyth.
Edmund Dumas
CALENDAR
Continued from Page 9A
County Backpack Buddies.
March 16
Friends of the
Library scholarship
The Friends of the Monroe
County Library is awarding
a $1,000 college scholar
ship to a 2022 graduating
senior from Monroe County.
Applications are available at
the Monroe County Library.
Deadline is March 16.
March 19
Save A Pet Tree Plant
ing Event
Staff and volunteers at the
Save A Pet shelter, 430
Maynard Church Road,
Forsyth invite supporters
to join them on Saturday,
March 19 from 1 1 a.m.-2 p.m.
at a Tree Planting Celebra
tion. The group will plant
several “Trees of Hope” to
beautify the shelter grounds,
and there will be a bless
ing of the trees. The trees
will represent hope for
Save A Pet to continue
to thrive in loving support
and care for dogs as
they await forever homes.
For more information, call the
shelter at 478-994-3882.
March 21
Best Buddies Talent
Show
The Best Buddies Talent
Show will be on Monday,
March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at
the Board of Education
Auditorium.
By March 25
Monroe County 4-H
Vidalia onion fundraiser
Monroe County 4-H Office
is having a Vidalia onion
fundraiser with orders due by
March 25: 5 lb. For $6, 10
lb. For $10, 25 lb. For $25,
50 lb. For $40. Order at
Monroe County UGA Exten
sion Office, 484 Highway
83 S, Forsyth or call 478-
994-7014. Cash & checks
accepted.
On-Going
Monroe County Library
has Book Sale,
temporary hours
Temporary hours of the
Monroe County Library,
62 W. Main Street, Forsyth
are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-
Friday, closed on Saturday
and Sunday.
New pavers at Monroe
County Veterans Me
morial to be engraved
For those who have been
thinking about honoring a
family member or friend who
is a veteran by engraving
a paver at the Veterans
Memorial on the Monroe
County Square with his or
her name and information, it
is time to follow through with
that intention. It is necessary
to wait for engraving until
there are a sufficient number
or orders. Enough orders
have been received, but the
engraver is now waiting to
receive stencil materials. To
place an order contact Dr.
Priscilla Doster at 478-994-
9613 PDoster48@aol.com.
Remember when...
1992
Mary Persons passes its 10-
year accreditation study by
SACS with flying colors.
Louisa and Quimby Melton
III, owners of the Monroe
County Reporter, host a
Russian journalist (assistant to
the Editor of the “Moscow
News”) through the Friend
ship Force.
Monroe County will host the
Dixie Youth Baseball Pro
gram State World Series for
9- and 10-year-old teams.
Elijah M. Walton of Smarr is
Technology & Industry Sup
port Employee of the Month
at Robins AFB.
Rev. & Mrs. I.W. Bowen
move back to Forsyth upon
retirement. Rev. Bowen
chaired the Dept, of Reli
gion at Tift College for 28
years and then served as
pastor in Barnesville for the
last 1 1 years.
The Georgia Quilt Project,
traveling across the state
documenting the stories told
by quilts, spends two days
at Jarrell Plantation with
almost 200 quilts, many from
Monroe County.
Karen Lee Harbuck is
awarded the Minnie Tyrus
Walker Nursing Scholarship
by the Gordon College
Foundation. She is a student
at Gordon and works for
Dr. Benjamin Brown in
Thomaston.
Glynn Memorial Park &
Sanctuary on Floyd Road is
dedicated to the memory
of Glynn Eichelberger, a
nature lover from the High
Falls area.
Monroe County cattle
and hay farmer William C.
Davis is recognized as a soil
conservationist.
2002
Monroe County Schools
Supt. Scott Cowart looks a
lot like the Cat in the Hat
on Dr. Seuss' birthday at
Hubbard Primary School.
Georgia DOT says the
bridge over Echeconnee
Creek on Highway 42 in
south Monroe County must
be replaced and will be
closed for a year.
A special Forsythia Festival
concert will be held at First
Baptist Church in Forsyth
with two ensembles from
the University of Georgia
performing secular and
inspirational selections.
Bobby Allen of Forsyth, 42,
earns his third black belt
in martial arts, earning the
rank of first dan black belt
in Taekwondo.
2012
Brothers J. Keith Sligh and
Mark Sligh are charged
with burglary and arson,
accused of burning down a
$456,000 home on Garr
Road in northern Monroe
County.
Monroe County students in
6th, 7th & 8th grades will
all be attending the new
Monroe County Middle
School in August.
The 3rd Annual Forsythia
Fashion Show will kick off
Forsythia Festival weekend
on Thursday.
Beverly Davis, a Milledge
Circle homeowner, revives a
2001 suit against Forsyth for
sewer system overflows that
she says make her property
uninhabitable.
A Macon doctor loses
$250,000 in outdoor equip
ment in a fire at his Kentucky
Downs subdivision home in
southern Monroe County.
Radio Disney treats Hub
bard Elementary students to
a dance party for meeting
their fitness challenge.
Forsyth Presbyterian
Church welcomes two new
members to its ministry team:
Sandy Monroe and Jason
Edwards.
Marion Joseph of Forsyth
returns to Honduras to dedi
cate an after-school building
that she raised more than
$2,000 to build.
The Reporter includes a
special section to celebrate
100 years of Boy Scout
Troop 51: the birthplace of
Scouting in the South.
Tabernacle Baptist Church
partners with Monroe
County Schools to feed
hungry children through the
Backpack Buddies program.
Monroe County Schools
director of nutrition ser
vices for the last four years,
Shana Wood, accepts a po
sition with Houston County
Schools.
Remember When
This look at what Monroe County residents were reading in the
Reporter 30, 20 and 10 years ago this week is brought to you by...
Monroe County
Memorial Chapel
•We set the standards
that others follow 1
Harley Ray "Spanky" Beck
86 West Main Street • Forsyth
478-994-4266