About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 2018)
THE ^ISLANDER Published by Permar Publications www.theislanderonline.com ssislander@bellsouth.net September 9, 2018 Established in 1972 Citizens concerned about Gould Cemetery A group of concerned citizens gathered at Gould Cemetery on Frederica Road on St. Simons Island last Friday to discuss their concerns about a construction project adjacent to the historic graveyard. The cemetery is located immediately north of Sea Palms H and is owned by the St. Simons First African Baptist Church. Lucas ____ Properties recently began grading for a driveway on property on the southern side of the cemetery which will circle behind it and connect to the office building parking lot located on the northern side of the cemetery. This will help alleviate the tight driveway and parking situation for the office building by forming a one way drive to serve the building which Lucas purchased several years ago. Paul Andrews, Glynn County Engineer, said that the road is being built outside the cemetery property. Flowever, Zack Lyde (center, facing camera) is concerned that graves are being covered up and / or destroyed by the construction. Fie is asking for a survey to determine the cemetery’s boundaries and location of graves. Islander Staff Photo - Permar BOC accepts $2.5 million for beach project By Matthew J. Permar BOC rejects bond; wants project finished By Matthew J. Permar Developers in Glynn Coun ty are required to get ‘Final Plat approval’ of their de velopment before they can start selling lots and building houses. The approval is granted by the Glynn County Board of Commissioners (BOC) and as the final step in the develop ment process it is generally a routine action taken during a regular BOC meeting. But that wasn’t the case during last week’s BOC meet ing (Sept. 6) when the com mission voted unanimously to deny the final plat for the 33- lot Captain’s Cove subdivision on St. Simons Island. Captain’s Cove is located off Frederica Rd. between North and South Harrington Lanes. It is an odd shaped tract with some frontage on Frederica Rd., a large square portion roughly halfway between the two Harrington Lanes, which is connected by a long narrow strip to North Harrington. The primary access will be from North Harrington. Due to the proximity of other curb- cuts into other neighborhoods, the county denied developer Ron Sluder, the applicant and agent for property owner Ga reth Thomas, a curb-cut for access to Frederica Rd. The reason for last week’s denial was because the in frastructure work was not finished. The unfinished work in cluded road paving, utilities and landscaping. Sluder submitted a bond for approximately $698,000 for the remaining unfinished im provements on the property. Offering the county a bond in exchange for final plat ap proval while work on a devel opment continues is routine business and is an option Turn to Page 6 Final plat denied For the first time in over two decades the Glynn Coun ty Board of Commissioners (BOC) is talking about do ing something to protect the beach on St. Simons Island. During their regular meet ing last week (Thursday, September 6) the BOC voted unanimously to sign a Memo randum of Agreement (MOA) with the OneGeorgia Author ity for a one time grant of $2.5 million for beach restoration activities. At this point, unlike 20 years ago, the BOC is not plan ning a beach re-nourishment project in which sand would be pumped onto the beach. According to Assistant County Manager Kathyrn Downs, the first thing the county will do with the money is hire a consultant to do per form a “vulnerability study” to determine which areas of the beach need protection. “The study will determine the most vulnerable areas of the beach,” said Downs, “so we can to see where we need to focus the restoration activities so they will be the most ben eficial to the resilience of the beach.” Turn to Page 4 Beach grant Vol 46 Issue 37 Former Superior Court bookkeeper pleads guilty By Pamela Permar-Shierling In a non-negotiated plea hearing last Friday (Sept. 7) former Superior Court book keeper Larry Morten pled guilty to stealing $76,008 from Glynn County Superior Court accounts. In a statement to the court Superior Court Clerk Ron Ad ams said, “The theft of funds has been a cloud over the en tire office since 2014 when the loss of funds came to light.” “The initial theft of miss ing funds was approximately $100,000,” Adams said. “In November 2016 a GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investiga tion) audit reported a loss of $673,000.” “The Glynn County Com mission engaged a forensic audit and the loss reported by that audit is $1,192,000 over a Turn to Page 5 Bookkeeper Pre K pilot bus program unable to fill available slots By Pamela Permar-Shierling The Glynn County School System is piloting a pre-K bus program for Burroughs Molette Elementary School students which only has four of the 10 open transportation slots filled. The problem is those who want to ride can’t because they live on the wrong side of Martin Luther King Dr. Assistant Superintendent Jim Pulos told the Glynn County Board of Education during last week’s meet ing (Sept. 6) that only four pre-K students lived in the Burroughs Molette bus zone which does not include the walking zone. Apparently eight families who live on the “wrong” side of Martin Luther King Drive Turn to Page 4 Pre-k bus County-Wide News - Read County-Wide Page 2 - SSI Cub Scout receives national award Page 3 - Rich's donates $70,000 locally Page 8 - Mary Ross Park update-no play equipment ...yet Page 9 - Movies return to Glynn Page 10 - Pew News Page 11 - JWSC Academy Creek filtration test Page 12 - Back Talk 0 94922 29970 3
