About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2019)
THE ^ISLANDER Published by Permar Publications www.theislanderonline.com ssislander@bellsouth.net June 24, 2019 Established in 1972 Vol 47 Issue 25 Clarence Hilburn honored at BIRP Cutting the ribbon to officially open the Blythe Island Regional Park (BIRP) fishing pier and name it in honor of long-time BIRP Advisory Board member Clarence Hilburn last week were: (left to right) County Commissioner Mike Browning (Dist. 1), Ricky Hilburn and BIRP members Bo Clark, Speedy Tostensen, Randy Hilburn and Chuck Faulk and BIRP Program Coordinator Dawn Waters. Photo provided by Glynn County Glynn County names Blythe Park fishing pier in memory of Clarence Hilburn Airport okayed for PD text changes byIPC By Matthew J. Permar Last week (June 18) Glynn County’s Islands Planning Commission (IPC) approved a request from the Glynn Coun ty Airport Commission for an amendment to the Planned Development text for the St. Simons McKinnon Airport. The request was to allow additional commercial uses within Tracts A, B, and C at the McKinnon Airport. The proposed amendments would allow a wider variety of commercial uses on the three tracts by adding the permit ted, conditional, and special uses currently allowed in the Glynn County Zoning Ordi nance, General Commercial (GC) zoning district. The airport PD text cur rently does not allow restau rants and this change would permit them. The request had its detrac tors, as well as supporters, and after a lengthy discus sion and public hearing, the request was approved with three changes. Even the process to get the motion approved was rather involved, taking several differ ent motions before the board was satisfied. Public Hearing Bill Gusman, who lives near the intersection of De- mere Rd. and the East Beach Causeway and owns the Grey Owl Inn on Demere near the airport was the first to speak in opposition to the airport commission’s request. Gusman was concerned about the proposed round about at the Demere / East Beach Causeway intersection and was cautioned by IPC chairman Joel Willis to stay on the airport topic. Gusman was concerned about more commercial uses coming to the area and bringing more traffic. Turn to Page 5 SSI McKinnon Airport A ceremony to dedicate the Clarence Hilburn Fish ing Pier at Blythe Island Re gional Park (BIRP) was held at 10:00 Friday morning, June 21 at the park located at 6616 Blythe Island Highway, Brunswick. The Glynn County Board of Commissioners (BOC) re cently approved naming the fishing pier in memory of Mr. Hilburn who served as a member of the BIRP Advi sory Board from 1984 to 2016, and as Chairman of the board from 1990 until he resigned in 2016. During his tenure on the park advisory board, Mr. Hilburn was instrumental in shaping and developing the park to be one of the loveliest green spaces in Glynn County. He helped pave the main road, surveyed timber to be cut, and was active in various upgrades to the campground, office, marina and other areas. In 1988, he began working for Glynn County in the Engi neering Department. Hilburn served as an In spector, Manager of the Road Division and of the Fleet Division, and Construction Engineer. Mr. Hilburn passed away in August 2017 at the age of 84. He had a vision for BIRP and worked hard to build that vision into a reality. Naming the fishing pier in memory of Mr. Hilburn pre serves the history of the park and dedicates a popular park amenity to a man who spent much of his life seeking to im prove it for the community. The Clarence Hilburn Fish ing Pier is open to the public during park hours of opera tion. Summer park hours are 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. For more information, call (912) 279-2812. Article provided by Glynn County. JIA approves fee increases By Pamela Permar Shierling Last week (June 18) the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) approved the fiscal year 2020 budget including fee increases for daily and annual passes, fire fees, and water and sewer fees. Effective July 1 the daily pass to visit Jekyll Island will increase from $6 to $8; the an nual pass rate will increase from $45 to $55; fire millage rate for Jekyll residents will increase from 4.27 to 4.30 mils; water and sewer rates will in crease 13.6% for residents. Executive Director Jones Hooks pointed out that three paramedic positions had been added to the budget. “There is no medical facil ity on the Island, plus dur ing shift changes there are Turn to Page 11 JIA fee increases JWSC FY 2020 rate resolution approved • No change in monthly rates By Pamela Permar Shierling The Brunswick Glynn County Joint Water and Sew er Commission passed the 2020 rate resolution last week (June 19) and in doing so held monthly water and sewer rates at their current levels. The JWSC also added a 5/8 inch water meter option which was not available previ ously. This meter is $240 less than the one inch meter offer ing customers a less expensive option. There is also good news for those who are behind in the water and sewer pay ments. To help create a more manageable balance for those Turn to Page 6 JWSC Surfin’ \ the County-Wide News - Read County-Wide Page 2 - City defers MOU with county County approves budget Page 13 - Sports with Dave Jordan Page 15 - Ritz gallery, lobby renamed NewstSl UxjUL \ Page 4 - Letters Page 8 - SSI Rung Fu Blueberries win Dist. 2 in Mildred Wilcox honor Page 16- Back Talk 0 94922 29970 3
