The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current, January 14, 2019, Image 1

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The Islander., January 14, 2019, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextTHE ^ISLANDER Published by Permar Publications www.theislanderonline.com ssislander@bellsouth.net January 14, 2019 Established in 1972 Vol 47 Issue 2 Frederica Academy - State Champs The Frederica Academy Knights football team was honored recently by the Glynn County Commission with a proclamation for winning the 2018 Georgia State Independent Schools Class AAA football championship. Members of the team and cheerleaders were present at the commission meeting as Chairman Bill Brunson (center in gray suit) presents the proclamation to Dewey Benefield, one of the school’s founders, and retired headmaster Ellen Fleming. Photo by and courtesy of Assistant County Manager Kathryn Downs Torras Causeway toll up for discussion by county By Matthew J. Permar German Village appeals county approval of Guale Preserve By Pamela Permar Shierling The Village Bluff Property Owners’ Association (POA) has filed a letter of appeal to Glynn County’s decision to ap prove an “infrastructure only” permit in December 2018 for Guale Preserve. Guale is the new name of the planned park (formerly known as Musgrove Phases I, II and III) owned by the St. Si mons Land Trust (SSLT). The SSLT filed a construc tion permit that was granted approval by County staff in late December. Melinda Bruley White, an attorney with The Ligon Firm in Brunswick, submitted the letter of appeal on behalf of the Village Bluff POA on Fri day, January 11. The letter was addressed to Glynn Coun ty Attorney Aaron Mumford and Glynn County Communi ty Development Director, Pa mela Thompson. The appeal request challenges the County staff decision based on ques tions over park access, the scope of the park project, and the lack of public involvement. The letter states it is to “express concerns related to the St. Simons Land Trust’s (SSLT) intended extension and use of Village Drive in conjunction with development of a recreational park and dock in the area formerly known as “Road’s End” - a former part of Musgrove Plantation recently purchased by SSLT.” The SSLT has publicly stat ed its intention to use Village Drive as the main entrance to the waterfront park and boat launch planned for the former Musgrove acreage. The neighborhood’s appeal request includes recent sur vey documents that indicate Turn to Page 8 German Village Much ground covered in town hall By Matthew J. Permar Islands Commissioner Pe ter Murphy (Dist. 2) spent a hair over 30 minutes during his quarterly Town Hall meet ing last week (Jan. 9) review ing a wide range of island issues. The issues included: • Ongoing Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax 2016 (SPLOST) projects; • possible regulations for short term rentals on St. Simons; • new regulations for golf carts on the island; • protecting the old oak trees in Neptune Park at the pier; • updated ordinances for planning and zoning issues on St. Simons; and • shoreline protection. While it didn’t make his list of “Pressing Issues for 2019,” Turn to Page 6 Town Hall Although Georgia Gover nor Sonny Perdue removed the toll from the F.J. Torras Causeway in 2003 - after the state collected millions of dol lars more than was needed to pay to have the road wid ened to four lanes - the Glynn County Board of Commission ers (BOC) is slated to discuss whether to reinstate the toll during their work session this Tuesday (January 15). What the BOC will be dis cussing Tuesday is whether to conduct a “Toll Road Study” to determine the feasibility of a toll, the first step towards re instating it. The toll issue came up at County Commissioner Pe ter Murphy’s (Dist. 2) Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, January 9 as part of Murphy’s presentation. Murphy made a number of points about the toll including: • a toll on the Cause way was neither illegal nor unconstitutional; • it could be positioned at the site of the old toll booth, just west of the Back River Bridge; • the revenue could be kept in Glynn County; • local residents could re ceive discounted fees; • it would be an overhead gantry with an electronic li cense plate or toll sticker read er, as opposed to a toll booth where drivers would have to stop and pay. Murphy said there were a lot of misconceptions about the toll. He said it could be a reliable source of money and a mechanism to pay for “critical transportation infrastructure needs.” Murphy also said the rev enue generated by a toll would be used for the “entire county, including Brunswick.” Murphy mentioned Turn to Page 5 Torras toll JWSC to spend $1.04 million on Academy Creek By Pamela Permar Shierling Last week at their regu lar meeting (January 10) the Brunswick-Glynn Joint Wa ter and Sewer Commission (JWSC) approved $1.04 mil lion to rehab the Academy Creek Waste Water Treat ment Plant’s oxygen system. Staff initiated the project in May last year to make safety improvements to the plant’s oxygen supply system. The Hussey Gay Bell engi neering firm was contracted to design the upgrades. In No vember during staff training at the plant, Dan Gay of DWG Associated, Inc., in Cumming said he had significant con cerns with the lack of working safety equipment. It was also determined that a new blower would be required since the existing blower was corroded Turn to Page 5 JWSC County-Wide News - Read County-Wide Page 2 - Coleman's indicited ~ Sunken tug in jekyll Creek still there Page 3 - Manning Aviation invests $4 million with new FBO construction Page 10 - Pew News Page 11 - CVB to host Second Annual Hospitality Celebration Page 12 - Back Talk 0 94922 29970 3