About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 2022)
theislanderonline.com Published by Permar Publications ssislander@bellsouth.net October 31, 2022 Established in 1972 Vol 50 Issue 44 Local Republicans rally for Kemp Gov. Brian Kemp was cheered on by a large Republican crowd at a Glynn GOP fundraising rally last Thursday. The rally, held at Forbes Farm on St. Simons, also featured speakers U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (Dist. 1) and local candidates Rick Townsend (State House Dist. 179) and Mike Hodges (State Senate Dist. 3). Kemp’s narrative on the campaign trail has been that he was quick to reopen Georgia’s economy ahead of most states during the early months of the pandemic, which produced a record state budget surplus, which he is now using to underwrite tax cuts. “We have excess revenue,” the governor told the crowd and promised to return more tax dollars that would reduce property taxes for most Georgians between 15 and 25 percent. While the economy is Kemp’s top issue, crime is a close second. He talked about the Crime Suppression Unit he created last year to use law enforcement personnel from several state agencies to help local police departments fight a pandemic-driven crime wave. The unit has served warrants on more than 600 criminal suspects, including 29 murder warrants. Islander Staff Photo - Permar CUP for Wawa gas / store okayed by County By Matthew J. Permar Buc'ees granted sign variance By Matthew J. Permar The new Buc’ees conve nience store / gas station pro posed for I-95’s Exit 42 at Hwy. 99 has been the talk of the town since it was announced a few months ago that the popu lar, Texas-based company was considering opening a Glynn County location. After getting the go-ahead and various approvals from the Glynn County Board of Commissioners (BOC), Stan Beard Jr., the owner of Buc- ee’s Brunswick, LLC, was back at the BOC’s October 20 meeting seeking a variance to the county sign ordinance. In brief, Beard was asking for more and larger signs than are allowed under the county’s sign ordinance. While the 34.5 acre site is a Planned Development (PD), it is guided by the sign ordi nance for Freeway Commer cial (FC) and Highway Com mercial (HC) zoning districts. Under the zoning, the prop erty is restricted to a maxi mum of 3 signs and no more than 500 sq. ft. of signage area in total on the site. They may also have a pylon sign. Seeking relief from signage permitted in the Freeway Commercial District, Beard’s request included: 5 signs in stead of 3; 1,794 sq. ft. of sig nage instead of 500; and 616 sq. ft. of freestanding signs in stead of 250. Planning Manager Ste- fanie Leif reported that Beard asked for the variance due to the size of the property and the business, saying that the ordinance sections regulating signs created a hardship. Leif said, “It’s a big par cel and the owners want big signs.” She continued explain ing that St. Johns County, Florida, just south of Jack sonville, has a sign ordinance that is very similar to Glynn’s ordinance and the Buc’ees Turn to Page 9 Buc'ees signage During their last meeting (Thursday, Oct. 20) the Glynn County Board of Commission ers (BOC) approved a Condi tional Use Permit (CUP) for a new Wawa convenience store / gas station at the intersection of Highways 341 (Jesup Hwy. ) and 303 (Community Rd.) in Brunswick. The roughly two acre tract is zoned Highway Commercial (HC) and currently houses a used car dealership and R&R Tire. Gas stations in HC zoning districts require a CUP. Due to traffic flow on Hwy. 341, county staff recommend ed that access off the road be limited to right in / right out only. Full access was recom mended from Hwy. 303 / Com munity Rd. During their October meet ing the Mainland Planning Commission unanimously rec ommended approval. David Smith with Kimley- Horn engineering consultants of Jacksonville was at the BOC meeting representing the applicant Jim McWilliams of Real Market Group, who is the agent for the owner A.H. Tostensen, III. No one spoke during the public hearing, either for or against the CUP. Commissioner Bill Brunson (Dist. 4) moved to approve the application with Com. Walter Rafolski (At Large #2) provid ing the second. The vote to ap prove was 6-0-1. Com. Sammy Tostensen abstained due to a family re lationship with the property owner. In other business: • The BOC also approved an amendment to the Towne Square Planned Development (PD) District. Towne Square is an 11.7 acre tract at 145 Carter Drive Turn to Page 2 Wawa okayed City transit system could be up by July 2023 By Pamela Permar- Shierling Jim Ritchey of WRA, the consultants working with the city on planning a public tran sit system, told the city com mission at their Oct. 19 meet ing that the city could have a transit system up and running by July of next year. Ritchey recommended mi cro-transit buses with an on- call program through an app for the program’s first year. The route would run from the city’s south end, north on Highway 17 to FLETC, north and west to 1-95, then south picking up Hwy. 341 down Bay Street and around to Brunswick’s south end. Ritchey presented a time line that included Coun ty Commission review in Turn to Page 3 City transit Kiwanis hosts SPLOST debate By Pamela Permar- Shierling Attorney Kevin Gough and Donna Davis spoke to the Brunswick Kiwanis Club last week (Monday, Oct. 24) about why to vote for (Davis) and why to vote against (Gough) the upcoming SPLOST 2022. County Manager Bill Fal lon presented an overview of the SPLOST projects and also answered questions about the tax. Gough, who is not in favor of the SPLOST, called it a $170 million slush fund. “Proponents claim SPLOST is transparent; that various safeguards ensure the money raised will be prudently spent as intended. In reality, waste and mismanagement is the norm,” he said. “SPLOST lacks meaningful Turn to Page 6 Kiwanis Surfin’ the News County-Wide News - Read County-Wide Remember early voting ends this week. Early tabulation begins Saturday. Nov. 5 at the Board of Elections office. 94922 29970 3
