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Published by
Permar Publications
ssislander@bellsouth.net
November 25,2024
Established in 1972
Vol 52 Issue 47
It's that time of year!!!
Last Saturday the Kiwanis Club of Brunswick unloaded and began selling Christmas Trees at the
City’s Howard Coffin Park. This sale is one of the biggest fundraisers the Kiwanis Club conducts
each year and has been going on close to 75 years. Adults whose parents bought trees here in
the past are now bringing their children to the lot to purchase a tree. It’s a tradition for many local
families. Showing up to unload this year were Brunswick High School (BHS) and Glynn Academy
band members, parents of the BHS wrestling team, and Boy Scouts from several troops. The trees
come from Western North Carolina. Islander Staff Photo - Shierling
Forward Brunswick seeks county assistance
By Matthew J. Permar
Increasing law
enforcement
costs hit Glynn
• Sheriff's Dept. OT over
budget by $1.6 million
By Matthew J. Permar
The costs of the law en
forcement business are rising
nationwide as police depart
ments struggle to find and
keep enough qualified employ
ees who are willing to take on
a very difficult job.
And the Glynn County
Sheriffs Department is no
different.
Glynn Sheriff Neal Jump
spoke to the County Board
of Commissioners (BOC) last
week (Tuesday, Nov. 19) dur
ing a work session asking for a
budget increase of about $1.6
million for the past fiscal year
- FY 2024 - that ended on June
30.
Jump said the budget over
age was due to overtime costs
and detailed in his presen
tation how those costs came
about.
Jump said he is responsible
for the budgets of six depart
ment accounts: Deputies and
Administration; Detention
Services; Traffic Team; Facil
ity Maintenance; Capital (Ve
hicles & IT); and the Jail Com
plex (Prescription drugs etc.).
According to Jump his
overtime pay was over bud
get by $672,404 in the Depu
ties and Administration fund;
$687,311 in the Detention
Officers fund; and $280,814
in the Traffic Team for the
$1,640,529 total overage.
He told the BOC he had al
ready made some adjustments
to reduce that figure.
He is giving back $250,000
in assets that were budgeted
that he won’t purchase this
year, along with $112,000 in
staff positions and benefits
that he will leave vacant this
year. These amounts will
go toward reducing the $1.6
million.
Jump said he currently has
Turn to Page 3
Law enforcement costs
Speaking in his capacity as
Executive Director of the lo
cal non-profit Forward Bruns
wick, City Commissioner
Lance Sabbe addressed the
Glynn County Board of Com
missioners (BOC) last week
(Tuesday, Nov. 19) asking
for some assistance with his
agency’s Reynold’s Cottages
project.
After making his project
presentation, Sabbe asked
the BOC for financial support
along with a letter of support
to assist in raising money for
the project.
The Reynolds Cottages
housing project will be located
on roughly two acres of prop
erty Forward Brunswick pur
chased last January at 2400
Reynolds St., which is that of
the former Reynolds Street
school. The school was demol
ished several years ago.
The project will include 21
units on the north side of the
tract that will be for sale, with
25 units to the south that will
be rentals.
“We want to improve the
quality of life in the commu
nity,” said Sabbe.
Sabbe said that nearly
70% of the homes in Bruns
wick were built before 1970
and 40% were in only fair
condition.
He said their project would
match the character of the
surrounding neighborhood,
was not far from downtown
Brunswick and is in between
the city’s Orange and Palmet
to Parks.
Sabbe said they would be
designed with parking to the
rear, with front porches to en
courage a sense of community.
There will be ample green
space, said Sabbe noting that
four large live oaks on the site
have been preserved.
“We want to provide afford
able homes for first time home
buyers,” said Sabbe, “and we
want to keep the rent down.”
The units for sale, priced
between $145,00 and $290,000
depending on the size, will be
owner-occupied and Forward
Brunswick will have first right
of refusal to buy them back it
the owners move.
The rental units will go for
Turn to Page 9
Forward Brunswick
County-Wide News - Read County-Wide
Page 2 - County buys property for court expansion
Page 4 - D.A. King - Looking for a Better Life
Page 5 - A Christmas Carol at the Ritz
Page 9 - Lucas Center Grant
~ Coastal Symphony Concert
Page 10 - Pew News
Paage 11 - Rockstar Hot Dogs sizzle
Page 12 - Back Talk
Saved By Grace
withdraws Blythe
zoning request
• Moves forward under
current zoning regs
By Matthew J. Permar
For several months the
Saved By Grace non-profit
organization has been work
ing to open their homeless
men’s residential program in
the former Assemblies of God
Church at 5140 Blythe Island
Highway.
They filed a zoning appli
cation requesting an amend
ment to the Planned Develop
ment (PD) text governing the
property to have “homeless
ness services” added to the list
of uses allowed in the PD.
At its regular meeting on
June 4, the Mainland Plan
ning Commission (MPC) vot
ed 4-2-1 to recommend to the
Glynn County Board of Com
missioners (BOC) approval
Turn to Page 10
Saved by Grace
City can't agree
on new alcohol
license
• Six renewals defered
By Pamela Permar-
Shierling
During their Wednesday
(Nov. 20) meeting the Bruns
wick City Commission split
two to two split on the vote
for a new alcohol retail sales
license for the Sunoco Food
Mart on Altama Avenue.
Mayor Pro Tern Felicia
Harris and Commissioner
Lance Sabbe voted in favor
of awarding the new license.
Commissioners Kendra Rolle
and Gwen Atkinson-Williams
voted against. Mayor Cos
by Johnson was not at the
meeting.
The vote came after Com.
Rolle said she wanted the
commission to make a deci
sion that night rather than
Turn to Page 2
City
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