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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2008
County commissioners meet with planner
BY SHARON HOGAN
anks County Board of
Commission members
and staff held a work ses
sion on Tuesday, June 24, to meet
with planner Bill Ross, Ross and
Associates, Atlanta, for an update on
the county’s Unified Development
Code.
Ross outlined in a letter to the
commission members a number
of policy issues to be addressed.
Several major issues that Ross said
needed consideration are:
•Staffing - Ross said the county is
understaffed to handle land develop
ment responsibilities, such as rezon
ing reviews, variance reviews, con
struction drawing approvals, grading
permits, development inspections
and code enforcement.
•Processes for preliminary plat and
final plat review and approval - Ross
said these processes are needlessly
cumbersome and time consuming.
He said the review of engineering
drawings is not backed up with
professional oversight. Ross sug
gested that the county contract with
an engineer to review the drawings
and pass the expense along to the
developers. Ross said, “We are over
loading the planning department on
preliminary plans for subdivisions.”
Ross said if a preliminary plat meets
all the requirements approval should
be given and, once this is approved,
it should not have to come back
before the BOC. BOC Chairman
Gene Hart said, “I really like the
idea of having a contract engineer
ing firm to look at the plats.”
Ross said the county should be
accepting the roads in a subdivi
sion when the final plat is filed.
The county can require a one year
performance bond be set up to cover
any needed road repairs after a sub
division is sold out. “The fire depart
ments and police departments need
to be driving on public streets,” Ross
said.
•Manufactured homes - Ross said
manufactured homes account for 40
percent of housing in Banks County.
Manufactured homes need attention
with regard to the age, conditions
and safety of such homes, Ross said.
This will help to assure a balance
between the public interest and ade
quate private availability, he added.
Ross suggested setting a certain
age for a manufactured home and
not allowing any older than this
into the county. For instance, if a
manufactured home is older than
10 years old, it could not be moved
into Banks County. Ross said, “We
don't want to have yall looking
at every manufactured home com
ing into the county.” Commissioner
Rickey Cain said he wasn’t sure he
agreed with this. Cain said, “I own a
1998 manufactured home at Santee
that is like brand new. It probably
hasn’t been lived in a total of six
months since 1998 and if I wanted to
move it to Banks County, I wouldn’t
want the age limit to keep me from
doing this, not that I ever plan to do
this.” Banks County Administrative
Assistant Angela Sheppard said,
“You have to put an age limit on the
(manufactured) homes coming into
the county.”
Other UDC issues discussed on
Tuesday were: 1) CAD zoning dis
tricts: 2) ARR zoning districts; 3)
PUD zoning districts; 4) C-l neigh
borhood commercial; 5) new zoning
districts; 6) multi-family develop
ment land uses; 7) massage parlors;
8) junk vehicles; and 9) accessory
buildings.
The commissioners will hold
another work session with Ross at
9 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, in the
meeting room at the courthouse.
Ross said the next step after a
clear view of the issues needing to
be addressed will be a draft of the
UDC for review.
After this a public hearing will be
held for approval by the planning
commission and the BOC.
Commission tables request for employee expansion
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
The Banks County Planning
Commission tabled a request from
the owner and operator of Model A
Sales in Maysville to add additional
employees over a 5-10 year period.
Michael Butcher spoke to the
commission during its July meeting
Tuesday night requesting permis
sion to add to his work force which
currently consists of six full-time
employees and two part-time work
ers. Butcher had to present his case
before the county since his property
is a business setup.
Butcher said he recently read in
The Banks County News where the
county was now “Entrepreneurial
Friendly” and that he wanted to
plan for the future.
“This is not an immediate expan
sion,” Butcher said. “It will take
place over a number of years."
Butcher’s company ships parts
for Model A cars around the world
through an Internet order setup.
He said 97 percent of his business
is mail order/telephone with the
remaining three percent conducted
by local people who come by the
business to purchase parts.
He said within the next couple of
years it would only be necessary to
add one additional employee by all
estimations.
Butcher said his company makes
a few parts but mostly imports them
from overseas.
David Mackey, a neighbor of the
business, strongly objected to any
type of expansion, however.
“My first question is ‘How is this
property zoned,”’ Mackey said.
Planning Commission chairper
son Alicia Andrews said the prop
erty was accurately zoned and that
Butcher had properly received a
conditional use permit for the busi
ness.
Mackey then said when the doors
of the business opened their was not
supposed to be any on-site employ
ees.
Zoning officer Keith Covington
responded by saying that Butcher’s
two acres where the business is
located is surrounded by property
that he owns and therefore other
surrounding neighbors did not have
to be notified.
Mackey said his property value has
decreased by one-fourth because of
Butcher’s business and contended
that more than three percent of
Model A Sales sales came from
people driving to the location.
Planning commission member
Albert Ward asked Mackey how
did he know his property value had
gone done. Mackey replied he had
his land appraised.
“There are tractor trailers turning
around at my front door looking for
his business,” Mackey said. “If you
don’t believe me I’ll sell you my
house and show you there is more
traffic, more dust and more deliver
ies than he says. If I wanted to live
in a commercial area I’m move to
downtown Atlanta.”
Neighbor Ruby Sears said she
was also concerned with the dust
caused by traffic traveling on the
dirt road leading into the business.
Butcher said he has begun paving
the road although it is an expensive
process which will be completed
in time.
Butcher also said he has planted
a double line of trees and installed
a fence as property buffers. He has
also installed a large sign to no one
should be getting confused about
where his business is located.
The planning commission decid
ed to table the request to have time
to visit the location and study the
request further. It is schedule to
be discussed again at the Aug. 5
meeting.
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Banks commissioners work on budget
BY SHARON HOGAN
Banks County Board of
Commission members and county
staff continued work on the pro
posed 2009 budget at a called meet
ing on Tuesday, June 24. The pro
posed budget totals $14.39 million
in expenditures and the projected
revenue is $12.14 million.
The proposed budget for 2009
shows a five percent increase in
expenditures over the 2008 budget
of $13.79 million.
The commissioners went over the
budget for each department line item
by line item to see if they are any
additional cuts that could be made.
The county currently has $7.9 mil
lion in reserve funds. If they choose
to take the $2.25 million deficit out
of these funds, they will be left with
$5.6 in reserves.
This will be four months of oper
ating costs and they are required to
have three months of operating costs
at a minimum.
Commission member Rickey Cain
said, “We can make up the differ
ence by using some of the reserve
funds.”
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at Tuesday’s
meeting, the commissioners:
•heard a request from Banks
County Probate Judge Betty Thomas
for a 1.5 percent meritorious raise
for her employees. Thomas said she
has three employees plus herself in
the department. “We have seen a
tremendous jump in traffic citations
and this is a big election year for
us,” Thomas said. Thomas said none
of her employees are ever paid over
time. The employees are allowed
to take comp time. The commis
sioners have already approved a 3.5
percent raise for all county employ
ees. The additional raise would
give the employees in the probate
office a total of a five percent raise.
Commission chairman Gene Hart
said, “I don’t see how we can give
one department a raise and not give
it across the board.”
•heard a request from Helen
Hewell, Banks County Chamber
of Commerce chairman, and Robin
Trotter, Banks County Chamber
board member, requesting an addi
tional $5,000 be allocated to the
chamber in the proposed FY 2009
county budget. Hewell said, “Part
of the increase will go to the direc
tor who has not had an increase in
her salary in three years.” Hewell
said chamber director Tara Fulcher
is currently paid $8 per hour, plus
the chamber pays her insurance and
taxes. The 3.5 percent pay raise the
county has approved will raise her
pay to $8.28 per hour. Trotter said,
“Part of the $5,000 will go to start
new programs at the chamber.” Hart
said, “Our preliminary budget is up
quite a bit, I don’t think we can fund
starting new programs.”
•interviewed representatives from
two moving companies that sub
mitted bids on moving the county
staff out of the current courthouse.
The moving will be done in several
phases. Phase 1 will cover moving
the administrative offices to the new
annex building. Phase 2 will cover
moving the courthouse offices to
the old elementary school location.
Phase 3 will cover moving the court
house offices back into the remod
eled courthouse. Bekins/University
Moving and Storage Co., Athens,
submitted a bid of $24,956 to
$32,211 depending on the number of
overtime hours needed, and Adams
Transfer and Storage, Gainesville,
submitted a bid price of $25,698
maximum.
BOC selects courthouse moving company
BY SHARON HOGAN
The Banks County Board of
Commissioners approved a bid at
its meeting on Tuesday, June 24, of
$25,698 from Adams Transfer and
Storage, Gainesville, for moving the
offices out of the courthouse into
the new annex building and the old
elementary school on a temporary
basis.
The move will be done in three
phases. The first phase will move
the administrative offices into the
new annex building. Phase 2 will
cover moving the courthouse offices
to the old elementary school loca
tion. Phase 3 will cover moving
the courthouse offices back into the
remodeled courthouse.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at Tuesday’s
meeting the commissioners:
•approved a handicap deer hunt
at Windmill Farm on Dec. 19 and
20. Trent Wilson said the event will
be planned as a wheelchair hunt,
but other handicapped people will
be able to enter a drawing for the
leftover spots. Wilson said anyone
under the age of 18 would have an
adult with them. Orientation for the
hunt will be held on December 6.
•approved a FY 2008 budget
amendment that will transfer $5,000
from the jail budget to the gen
eral budget to purchase a badge
machine.
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