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o o $1.00 WEDNESDAY, JULY 12,2023 Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements Vol. 57 No. 30 Open house set at Banks schools By ANGELA GARY School starts in less than one month and open house has already been set at area schools. “It has been an awesome summer for our Banks County families and staff,” school system public rela tions director Angie Bowen stated. She adds, “Our school administration has been busy this summer getting things ready for the 2023- 2024 school year. We want to remind our families to please complete the Annu al Student Record Update prior to our Open House dates. Please contact your student’s school if you need help completing the online form.” The open house schedule is as follows: •Banks County Primary School, 10 a.m. to noon and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, July 28. •Banks County Elementa ry School, 10 a.m. to noon and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, July 31. •Banks County Middle School, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, July 27. •Banks County High School, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, July 31. The Fresh man Pounce (students only) will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 27. Bluegrass jam held monthly in Maysville The first Tuesday of every month a free bluegrass jam for the community is held in Maysville. “You never know who is going to show up and play, but it is always a great time,” organizers state. “ If you’re in the area it’s a wonderful thing to see. The bluegrass jam is held at The Soundboard, located at 8 Homer Street, Mays ville (directly across the street from the post office). MAILING LABEL No action taken by BOC on board appointment after two tie votes By ANGELA GARY The Banks County Board of Commissioners came to an impasse Tuesday night on an appointment to the planning and zoning appeals board. BOC chairman Charles Truk made a motion that Brad McCook be reappointed. Commissioner Keith Gardiner also voted in favor of this, while Bo Garrison and Chris Ausburn voted against it. Commissioner Danny Maxwell was not present. Garrison then made a motion to appoint Brett Copeman to the planning and zoning appeals board. Ausbum agreed with this but Truk and Gardiner voted against it. With both votes being 2-2, no action was taken to make an appointment to the board. In other business at the meeting: •Sandra Fulgrum was appointed to serve on the Banks County Department of Family and Children Services Board. This is to finish a vacant seat that will end on June 30, 2026. •Carrie Manning was appointed to serve on the Banks County Department of Family and Children Services Board. This is to finish a vacant seat that will end on June 30, 2028. •In the Chairman’s report, Charles Truk shared that 330 fire calls and 2,756 sheriff’s office calls were reported in June. Turks also offered congratulations to the archery team for placing seventh in the nation. Truk gave an up date on current road projects, including reporting that the Gardiner Road paving is complete and the West Ridgeway Road paving is expected to begin later this week. •the BOC aproved the annual contract with Legacy Link for the Meals on Wheels program offered by the Banks County Senior Citizen’s Center. •the BOC approved the annual contract with Tates Creek Fire Department for fire/EMS service. •the BOC met in closed session for more than one hour to discuss personnel and litigation. When the meeting was opened to the public, the BOC voted to accept the resigna tion of code enforcement officer Darrell Crane. MOBILE BOOK MOBILE MAKING STOPS IN COUNTY A mobile book mobile will make stops at several locations in Banks County in July. “Purl,” the pop up rolling library, will be at locations throughout Banks County on Fridays at the following locations: 4 Way Stop in Homer, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; Baldwin’s Farmers Market, 11 a.m. to noon.; Alto Police Department, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.; and Lula Academy parking lot, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Requests before planners would lead to poultry operation, convenience store The Banks County Plan ning Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18, to discuss requests that would lead to a con venience store and poultry operation locating in the county. The meeting will be held in the board room of the County Annex Building, lo cated at 150 Hudson Ridge, Homer. Stanton Porter has re quested for the property located at 40081 Hwy. 441 be conditionally used as a convenience foot and re tail business with retail gas sales. SECOND REQUEST Eli Sanders has request ed that the property located on Highway 63 at the in tersection of Highway 184 Sunshine Church be con ditionally used as a poultry operation with reduced set backs. The Banks County Board of Commission will meet on the requests at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, in the the board room of the County Annex Building. Public works building has $938,250 price tag By KARLEE CALDWELL Baldwin’s City Coun cil approved the bid award of $938,250 to Precision Metal Building for the con struction of the new public works buildings. This was the lower bid compared to Darland Construction’s $1,020,218 bid. The city plans to use $482,373 from the 2021 Water and Sewer Bond and the remaining $455,877 from SPLOST VII. This project consists of the com plete design and construc tion of a 3,000 square foot public works office and a 4,000 square foot public works shop. The city’s engineer ap proved the bid award after completing a due diligence review on Precision Metal and receiving several com plimentary references. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at Mon day night’s meeting, the council approved: •the purchase of zero turn mowers and a service track for the Public Works Depart ment. These items are both budgeted and come at a cost of $17,752 for the mowers and the track amount not to exceed $60,000. •the first reading of a Spe cial Use Permit for an in- home daycare with a max imum of six children per day. The resident is licensed by the state and meets all re quirements to operate. •the Savant Learning Sys tems Virtual Academy Con tract for the Baldwin Police Department. This system provides the required annu al training while reducing overtime and travel costs for officers. The one-year con tract comes at a total cost of $1,050 and was worked into the FY24 budget under Software Contracts. ANNOUNCEMENTS •The Piedmont Library System Pop Up Rolling Li brary will be set up at the Baldwin Farmers’ Market from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ev ery Friday through the end of July. Those attending the Rolling Library with chil dren will receive food bags courtesy of the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. •The Baldwin Back to School Bash will be Satur day July 29 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Life Chinch. Ev erything at this event will be free of charge, including food, activities, school sup plies for children present in grades K-12, and haircuts from local hairdressers. Contact City Hall to donate supplies. •Shop with a Hero tickets are available for purchase to enter in a raffle on July 31 for a Pit Boss Grill. All proceeds go towards giving local kids an unforgettable Christmas, local elderly support, and community outreach and engagement. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at city hall. Building code update topic for Lula City Council By SHERRY LEWIS The Lula City Council continued to fine tune the building code during a work session on Monday. City manager, Dennis Bergin, explained that un like years past, the Interna tional Building Code (IBC) has rales, but they have given cities options in some categories. “This is one of the first times they have made op tions,” he said. These are matters that should en courage debate among the council to hear their differ ent points of interests. It’s a great opportunity to make it better than it was.” Councilman Tony Cornett has made recommendations to address several items in the codes and stated his main goal is the safety of the community. Cornett discussed the lo cation of accessory build ings noting that they should be on the side or behind a dwelling rather than in front yard. He also pointed out that “significant increases” in setbacks have already been addressed in the sub division regulations. The council stressed that the buildings discussed here do not have plumbing or electricity. The council also addressed decks, but Bergin said the code is clear about those requirements. In other business the city council: •heard from Bergin who said the city has incurred a cost of $4,300 to rebuild a generator. •were informed that the Lula Ladies will meet on July 26 for lunch at noon and dinner at 6:30. •were told that the Lula Belton Historical Society would meet on Monday, July 24 at the Depot at 7 p.m. •reminded citizens about TEXT MY GOV. If they sign up, they will receive alerts from the city. •reminded citizens that the council meeting would be next Monday, July 17, at 7p.m. •went into closed session to discuss personnel mat ters. No action was taken.