About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 2024)
theislanderonline.com Published by Permar Publications ssislander@bellsouth.net August 12, 2024 Established in 1972 Vol 52 Issue 33 City approves hiring consultant • Two infrastructure grants accepted By Pamela Permar- Shierling The Brunswick City Com mission voted last week (Wednesday, Aug. 7) to con tract with the Peachtree Gov ernment Relations (PGR) con sulting firm to advocate for the city at the state level. City Manager Regina McDuffie said the firm will help with advocacy with state entities including the Depart ment of Community Affairs, Dept, of Transportation, Dept, of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The city is looking for infra structure and housing grants. The contract includes a $4,000 per month fee plus additional expenses such as travel, mileage, printing, cop ies, and postage that the city approves. PGR duties also include working with the General As sembly, the Governor’s office, state elected officials, and business and industry leaders. PGR plans to create a stra tegic plan for the city. Three PGR members were introduced to the commission. They were Don Bolia, princi pal, and lobbyists Tyler Lewis and Janelle Adams. In other business: • The city accepted two grants relating to the Albany St. storm drainage project. A $600,000 grant has been received from the Southeast Crescent Regional Commis sion (SCRC) for a State Eco nomic and Infrastructure Development grant. No local match is required. The Georgia Environmen tal Finance Authority (GEFA) has awarded the city $1.6 mil lion for a Clean Water Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Municipal Reuse grant. Turn to Page 6 City consultant 100 years of Kiwanis The Kiwanis Club of Brunswick was honored at the Georgia State Capitol for their 100 years of service to Brunswick and neighboring communities. House Resolution 929 honoring the Club was read and adopted on January 29. At the capitol from left were: Don Lewis, Kiwanis Club President; Rep. Rick Townsend, Kiwanian; Bruce Foisy, Kiwanis Vice President; Cate Gooch-Coolidge, Kiwanian; Shaw McVeigh, Kiwanian and former State Representative; Ralph Staffins, Brunswick Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce President & CEO; Sam Tostensen, Field Representative for Governor Brian Kemp; and Cosby Johnson, Mayor of Brunswick. Photo provided Brunswick Kiwanis Club celebrates 100 years By Pamela Permar-Shierling If you ask any member of the Brunswick Kiwanis Club why he or she joined, the an swer will be “for the children.” On Thursday, August 15 the Brunswick Kiwanis Club will celebrate 100 years with a Gala at Historic City Hall with music, food, and speakers. The Brunswick Kiwanis Club was organized in 1924. One of the charter members was the late Carley Zell whose grandson, Dickey Zell, is a current member. Carley lived in three cen turies: he was born in 1899 and died at 106 in 2006. He was celebrated in 2003 as the oldest Kiwanian in the world. He was also the last surviving charter member. Carlton Morrison, who died in 2021, was a past president of Kiwanis. Hubert Lang Jr., deceased as well, had 42 years of per fect attendance during his of 50 years of membership. Ben Slade, a past presi dent, was president in 1967 when the Boys and Girls Club was founded in Glynn. And of course the Onion Man himself - Bill Brown. Bill accounted for 90 percent of Brunswick Kiwanis’ onion sales each year and a lot of the Club’s levity during the years. Brunswick Kiwanis holds two fundraisers each year: the Christmas tree sale and the Stewbilee. One hundred percent of the money earned from each of these events stays in Glynn County and goes to local youth organizations. Shaw McVeigh, who joined Kiwanis in 1982, reminisced about the organization. “Roy Smith of H&H spon sored me into the club,” McVeigh said. “What attracted Turn to Page 2 Kiwanis County-Wide News - Read County-Wide Page 3 - County keeping Juvenile Justice building project under budget Page 4 - D.A. King - Looking for a Better Life Page 5 - CCGA's X-Ray program Page 9 - Port City Page 10 - Pew / Obits Page 11 - Events at The Nest Page 12 - Back Talk Khurana appeals BOE decision • Sec. of State's ballot deadline missed By Matthew J. Permar Brunswick resident Laura Khurana is seeking the At Large Post 2 seat on the Glynn County Board of Commission ers (BOC) as an independent candidate. Challenging incumbent Republican Walter Rafolski for the seat, Khurana was re quired by state law to submit petitions with signatures from 5% of registered Glynn Coun ty voters or 3,098 signatures. She submitted those to Glynn County’s Board of Elec tions (BOE ) by the July 9 dead line, however, upon review by the BOE, 1,079 of those who filled out the petition were in complete and rejected. Khurana was informed by the BOE in a letter dated July 30 that her petition had been Turn to Page 8 Khurana BOE considers millage rate By Pamela Permar- Shierling The Glynn County Board of Education (BOE) was pre sented with four possible mill- age rates to consider during last week’s (Thursday, Aug. 8) work session. The fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget is based on a 15.15 millage rate which is a .25 millage rate reduction. Even though this is a reduction in millage from fiscal year 2024 which was 15.4 mils, it is still considered a 4.81% tax in crease since the rollback mill- age rate is 14.455. The 15.15 millage rate gen erates an additional $655,400 in property tax revenues. The BOE was presented with three other millage rate scenarios: • 14.9 mills which is a .mil Turn to Page 8 School board 0 94922 29970 3
