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PACE 2A 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. $ 5 00 OFF Ticket Of s 2CP 0 Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. La Hacienda Commerce La Hacienda Jefferson 173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 605 Athens Street 706-335-7458 706-367-5095 | The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant. | Here's to all our satisfied customers for the treatment of incontinence. Incontinence can be an uncomfortable situation. It can be embarrassing. It can limit your activities. 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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. W & W METAL ROOFING “We Got You Covered” Residential • Commercial • Agricultural • Ship Anywhere In The USA • We Stock Your Metal Needs • Visit Our Showroom www.wwmetalroofmg.com 706-654-5836 imm Hwy. 60 / Candler Hwy. • Pendergrass, Ga. 30 Year Paint "4 Warranty Sales Service Installation r -\ PS Prime Advantage Checking 3.50% ARY 1 FREE FREE FREE FREE Online Banking Bill Pay Debit Card (With Approval) Box Of Checks Upon Account Opening & One Box Per Year *$0-$3,499 = 0% *$3,500 and up = 3.50% APY *Interest Rate 3.44%. Annual Percentage Yield 3.50%. APY based on 365 days. 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