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County updates
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incidents rose from 286 in 2023 to 309
in 2024.
Officers also wrote 4,161 more traf
fic tickets in 2024.
Ebner also talked about police re
cruiting, something that has been a
problem issue for several years.
In 2024, the police department took
in 52 applications from certified officers
and 110 from non-certified applicants.
A total of 12 applicants were hired
in 2024. 24 are currently in the back
ground investigation phase of the pro
cess and six recruits are attending the
police academy.
Ebner said “We’ve had a good group
showing interest in the job. We now ask
how they heard about the positions and
most say word of mouth, many from
current officers. We’ve had three come
from the military.”
Ebner added that the minimum
training hours for police officers will
soon be going from 400 to 800 hours.
Torras Landing
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East River, Highway 341 (Newcastle
Street), Homer Wilson Way, and Bay
Street.
The property is one of the key sites
designated by the City of Brunswick’s
2023 Comprehensive Plan for mixed
use development.
In the 1970s local architect Ed
Cheshire drew a concept plan for Bruns
wick’s waterfront which looks very
much like the one Torras is proposing.
The area slated for development is
25 acres that fronts on the Torras Ma
rina and currently is mostly a grassy
area.
The plan states, “one and two story
mixed use buildings will populate the
waterfront, with two to three story
residential buildings behind them. The
southern portion could include a com
bination of hotel and condominiums in
addition to dry-stack boat storage and
associated parking.”
Commercial and office uses are var
ied and include boat dealer, bicycle
sales and repair, sporting goods, music
stores, doctor’s offices and other profes
sional offices. The possibility for an am
phitheater exists along with common
areas.
The boardwalk along Academy
Creek and the Brunswick River and all
parking will be open to the public.
Torras told the PAC members, “The
planned uses will be inclusive. We want
people to live, work, and play in down
town and we want to provide services
for them.”
‘We want this project to be an ex
tension of downtown and pedestrian
focused,” he said.
The plan does ask for 65 ft. height
limit which, Torras said, is needed for
the project to be feasible.
Kut Kwick, which sits on the north
ern end of the property, will be relo
cated on the property and renovated
according to both Torras and Daren
Pietsch, President / Director Torras
Properties.
No one spoke during the public hear
ing and the vote from PAC members
was unanimous to move forward to the
City Commission.
Fallon said, “The percentage of hires
may be low, but we scrutinize the candi
dates very closely. Most fail during the
background check phase. We only want
the best as officers in our community.”
Kicking off the roundtable, Fallon
who talked briefly about last week’s
Quarterly Execution Reports (QRE)
meetings that were held August 12,
12, and 14. The meetings were origi
nally slated for August 6, 7, and 8, but
were postponed due to Tropical Storm
Debby.
Tuesday’s topics were ‘Cultivate a
Culture of Service Excellence areas to
include: IT / Procurement / Finance /
HR / Licensing & Compliance.’
Wednesday’s report was ‘Promote
and Ensure a Safe Glynn Comity
Through Community Engagement,
Education, and Preparedness areas to
include: EMA / Animal Control / Police
/ Fire Rescue.’
Finally on Thursday, they dis
cussed ‘Develop a Comiected Com
munity where Families Live, Work,
and Play areas to include: Community
Development / Rec & Park / Engineer
ing / Public Works.’
The county holds the QRE’s, which
are open to the public, four times a
year to review and discuss either the
county’s strategic plan or the ongoing
SPLOST projects.
Last week’s QREs were on the stra
tegic plan. Each comity department has
performance measures and they are
working to complete the strategic plan
goals by the end of 2026.
Fallon said the meetings went well
and the information is also on the coun
ty website. The goal is for the county
to be transparent with local issues, he
said.
The next QREs will be in early No
vember and will be on the SPLOST.
Next up was Program Management
Director Jason Hagen who talked about
ongoing parks and road projects being
funded with SPLOST 2022 dollars.
Hagen said the Mallery Park drain
age project was about to be contracted
out and will include additional park
ing adjacent to the ball fields. The
August 19, 2024, The Islander, Page 5
Ballard park project, which included
new fencing and tennis court removal
is complete.
Asked if St. Simons tour buses
would be required to park at Mallery
Park instead of along Beachview Dr.
by the lighthouse, Fallon said nothing
has been decided but a plan was being
considered.
The Canal Rd. roundabout and Drig
gers Blvd. widening projects are under
way. Hagen said he is in the process
of putting photos of the project on the
county website and on display at the
site to give the public an idea of what
is coming.
He said even with a brief delay due
to the storm, the widening portion is ex
pected to be complete in mid-January
and the roundabout in mid-June.
Hagen said they have received the
property at the comer of Hwy. 17 and
Chapel Crossing Rd. from the Federal
Law Enforcement Training Center that
will be the home of a new fire station
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County updates
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