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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. OCTOBER 1, 2009 — PAGE 3A
Madison Co. BOC
to meet Monday
The Madison County
Board of Commissioners
will meet Monday, Oct. 5,
at 6:30 p.m. in the county
government complex.
Agenda items include:
•Approval of minutes.
•Business involving guests,
groups or multiple visitors
— consider proclamation
for the Rotary Club.
•Chairman’s Report
(Anthony Dove): consid
er inter-local agreement
between Madison County
B.O.C. and Danielsville
Volunteer Fire Department
on lease agreement for a
new pump truck.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
•Danny Vaughn for his
daughter Toni Vaughn
request to rezone 8.49 acres
from A-2 to R-R to subdi
vide into 2 parcels. The
property is located on Map
15 Parcel 102-01 on Planter
Gunnell Road in District 1.
•Tim Ray is requesting to
rezone 8.34 of a 13.35 acre-
parcel from A-1 to R-R, the
remaining 5 acres will stay
A-l. The property is locat
ed on Map 1 Parcel 38 on D
Williams Road in District 1.
•Chairman Wayne Douglas
with amendment to sec
tions 7.12.7.1(a), 7.12.7.2,
7.12.7.3 and 7.14.4.1 in the
zoning ordinance.
•Chairman Wayne Douglas
with amendments to sec
tions 5.6, 6.0, 6.1 through
6.9, 6.2 (12) (e), 6.6 and
11.0 through 11.3 in the
subdivision regulations.
OLD BUSINESS:
•Statements and remarks
from citizens on agenda
items.
•Consider taking bids
on Moon Guess Bridge.
(Chairman Dove)
•Consider HIPPA law pol
icy changes. (County attor
ney Mike Pruett)
•Consider bid for records
management contract
for sheriff’s department.
(Sheriff Kip Thomas)
•Consider budget amend
ment from 2008 administra
tion for sheriff’s department.
(Sheriff Thomas)
•Consider moving Beth
Harmon to a 75-percent
employee. (Human resourc
es director Donna Sisk)
•Consider adopt
ing Spratlin Pond Road.
(Commissioner Mike
Youngblood)
•Consider amending
county noise ordinance.
(Commissioner Pete Bond)
•Consider appointment to
planning and zoning board
for District 1 for next term.
•Consider purchasing
policy change. (Chairman
Dove)
•Urgent matters.
•Statements and remarks
from citizens.
•Closed session to discuss
land acquisition, personnel
matters and/or potential liti
gation (if needed).
Digest down slightly in 2009
Values still 34.5% more
than five years ago
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
For the second straight
year, Madison County’s
overall property value dipped
slightly.
The real and personal tax
digest — or overall coun
ty property value — for
Madison County in 2009 is
$729.6 million, down less
than one half of one percent
from $732.8 in 2008.
Madison County tax levy
ing authorities, such as the
county commission, school
board and industrial author
ity, advertised their five-year
tax histories in this week’s
paper, a first step toward
approving tax rates, which
will happen in mid October,
with tax bills expected to hit
property owners’ mailboxes
in November.
Both the school board and
the commissioners plan to
keep their tax rates steady
in 2009, while the industrial
authority is planning a .013
mill increase, from .926 to
.939 mills. That will gen
erate roughly the same tax
revenue for the IDA in 2009
as in 2008, up $3,029, from
$628,226 to $631,255.
Though the county digest
has dipped slightly over the
past two years, the county’s
overall property values are
still $187 million — or 34.5
percent — more than they
were in 2004 — $729.6 mil
lion this year versus $542.4
million five years ago.
Between 2004-2007, dur
ing the housing boom,
Madison County property
values jumped 35.7 percent
from $542 million to a peak
of $736 million in 2007.
BOC awards bat removal contracts
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County commis
sioners have become famil
iar with the word “guano” in
recent weeks — too famil
iar.
Now, they’re hoping that
contracts with bat removal
companies will help relieve
two county structures —
the old courthouse and the
Strickland House — of bat
infestation problems, where
guano, or bat droppings,
pose potential health risks
to people who breathe the
fumes.
The BOC unanimously
approved separate contracts
last week to remove bats,
cleanup their droppings and
seal the buildings so that the
critters can’t return.
The commissioners hired
Adcock’s Rid-A-Critter for
$7,895 to remove bats from
the upstairs of the old county
courthouse in the center of
Danielsville. The service will
be paid for with special pur
pose local option sales tax
(SPLOST) funds that were
tagged for the renovation
of the old courthouse. The
removal project is expected
to take two to four weeks.
The group also agreed to
hire Bigfoot Wildlife for
$4,300 to remove bats, clean
up their droppings and seal
bat entrances into the old
Strickland House off Hwy.
98 in front of the recreation
department.
Commissioners worry that
kids from the recreation
department will venture into
the Strickland House, where
they could face possible
respiratory problems if they
encounter the droppings.
The bat problem is consid
ered particularly bad at the
Strickland House and “do
not enter” signs are clearly
posted on the doors.
“My concern is the liability
of someone getting in there
(the Strickland House),” said
BOC chairman Anthony
Dove. “It (the guano fumes)
can be very harmful if they
get it in their lungs. And this
is right in front of the rec
department.”
Commissioner Stanley
Thomas agreed that the
building must be cleaned.
“I don’t think we have
a choice,” said Thomas.
“Something must be done.”
The group discussed pos
sibly tearing the walls out
inside the Strickland House
to remove all bats, which
may, in fact, be inside the
walls. But the BOC agreed
to have the company remove
only the guano that is vis
ible, which Dove said poses
the highest risk to those who
enter. The group agreed to
seek suggestions from local
historic preservation leaders
on what should be done with
the building. Funding for the
cleanup job will likely come
from the county buildings
and grounds budget.
The commissioners agreed
that they do not have the
funds now to tackle a major
renovation project at the
Strickland House.
Shelter.. • cont’d from 1A
Brown Funeral Home closes after 35 years
The service is based on these gross income levels: one-person
household — $21,660/yearly/$l,805 monthly; two-person
household — $29,140 yearly/$2,428 monthly; three-person
household — $36,620 yearly/$3,053 monthly; four-person
household — $44,100 yearly/$3,675 monthly; five-person
household — $51,580 yearly/$4,298 monthly; six-person
household — $59,060 yearly/$4,922 monthly.
A W2 or paycheck stub will suffice as proof of income.
There’s a two cat per household limit.
At $10, the price is well below the shelter’s usual rate for the
procedure ($30) and far below what veterinary offices charge.
Fomash plans to offer low-cost neutering procedures for dogs
at a later date.
“We just kind of wanted to start with the cats and see how it
went,” she explained.
A day for spays is another possibility, but that depends on
how much funding MOAS has left from the donation.
Fomash described Ann as “a very kind animal lover who
wanted to do what she could do to help.” Ann specified that her
money go toward spaying and neutering, and Fomash and staff
decided the money should aid financially-strapped pet owners.
“We want it to reach the people who tmly otherwise couldn’t
afford it,” Fornash said.
The shelter continues to preach the message that owners spay
and neuter their pets to control the over population because
the over-population is what MOAS sees dropped off at its
doorstep.
MOAS has taken in over 1,500 animals this year. Over 600
cats and dogs were housed between June and July.
“You can imagine out of that what we could not keep,”
Fomash said. “Because there’s no place to put them.”
Only about one in three animals ends up finding a new
home.
While neutering will help control the population, the proce
dure means a lot less headaches for pet owners, too, Fomash
said.
Neutered cats demonstrate less aggression and don’t spray to
mark territory. A male cat that’s not intact is also less subject to
develop prostate cancer.
“They’re healthier cats when they’ve been either spayed or
neutered,” Fomash said.
There’s still plenty of slots for cat owners who qualify to sign
up for “Ann’s Day.” The shelter will take appointments up until
the day before “Ann’s Day” — as long as there’s enough time
to perform them all safely.
“There’s just a million reasons why people should do this,”
Fomash said.
NOTES
Owners may drop cats off for the procedure, but must pick
them up that day. Those interested in “Ann’s Day” can call the
Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter at 706-795-2868.
Dr. Jeff Gilliland
Veterinarian! Owner
(formerly of Commerce Veterinary Hospital
and Jefferson Animal Hospital)
706-614-5266
fetch-a-vet@att.net
• At Home Veterinarian Care
• Small Animal Practice
• By Appointment Only
For online prescriptions, visit
www.fetch-a-vet.com
Serving Clarke, Oconee, Madison, Jackson and Oglethorpe Counties
Brown Funeral Home
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County’s old
est funeral home has
closed its doors.
Brown Funeral Home,
which was established
in 1974, has gone out of
business. The building
and property at the cor
ner of Albany Avenue and
Hwy. 29 (near the county
government complex) are
under foreclosure and will
be up for sale at the court
house Oct. 6. The sale was
advertised in the legals
section of The Madison
County Journal.
Owner Michael Tittle
did not return calls from
The Journal this past
week. The paper was con
tacted by funeral home
customers about what
will happen to those who
made arrangements with
the business for funerals
in the future. And no clar
ification on that was avail
able as of press time.
According to madi-
sonpaytaxes.net, Brown
Funeral Home has not
paid taxes to the coun
ty government for four
years. The company owes
the county government
$38,789.24.
Woman who wants to care for mother faces zoning issues
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Teresa Brooks of Hart
County wants to move her
trailer to Madison County
to care for her ailing mother.
She received word from the
county zoning office that she
could do so and she had her
trailer cleaned out and dis
mantled for the move.
Now, she’s learned she’ll
have to wait. County com
missioners want her to get
her wish, but approving
the move would violate the
county’s zoning ordinance,
which prohibits the move
of any mobile home older
than 12 years into the county.
Brooks’ trailer is in good
shape, but it’s 13 years old.
During Brooks’ first meet
ing with zoning officials, the
fact that her home was out
side of the county wasn’t
discussed. It wasn’t until the
paperwork was filled out that
the zoning code issue was
discovered.
County commissioners
spoke at length with Brooks
Monday night about resolv
ing the matter. They ulti
mately agreed that they will
need to amend the zoning
ordinance to allow for an
exception to the mobile home
age rule in medical hardship
cases. There is currently no
provision in the zoning code
that would allow the move.
Zoning administrator Linda
Fortson said that, in the past,
the BOC has allowed two
exceptions for homes to
be moved into the county
despite non compliance with
the zoning code.
But the BOC members said
that they must make an effort
to follow the zoning code.
“I want to help this lady; I
want to help her mama,” said
commissioner Bruce Scogin.
“But I think we need to do
it right.”
The matter will go
before the zoning board in
November, with the BOC
considering it again either
the last week in November or
the first week in December.
Scogin said he will fight
for Brooks to get the mea
sure passed, allowing her to
move in and care for her
mother. The board also plans
— See “Zoning” on 7A‘
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
RELATED TO THE 2009 TAX BILLS
Homeowners Tax Relief Grant: This savings that
you have been receiving in past years will not be
granted for 2009. Governor Perdue did not budget
this grant due to State revenues being off. This
savings amounted to approximately $241.67.
Escrow Accounts: If your taxes are paid through an
escrow account your escrow will increase if you do
not have enough money in your escrow account.
Please forward a copy of your tax bill to your
mortgage company.
Homestead Exemption: Your regular homestead
exemption will not be affected and will still be in
place.
2009 Property Tax Bills: The 2009 tax bills will be
mailed late October or early November. The due date
will be 60 days from the mailing date. You will not
receive 2 bills before the years end, 2009 only. The
bills are being mailed more on time this year than in
the past several years. People are under the
impression they would be receiving 2 bills due to the
previous article in the paper.
Louise Watson
Madison County Tax Commissioner
41U Plus Filing Fee
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(706) 546-7131
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