Community groups urge commission to ease county building rental rules for nonprofits

In public comment Appling County resident Gary Moore and representatives of community nonprofits urged commissioners to reconsider a “one-size-fits-all” rental fee and rule for county-owned buildings, saying the policy creates hardship for small groups that provide food, clothing and mentoring in underserved neighborhoods.

Moore described work by local nonprofits, including a group identified as Called Love and the local NAACP chapter, that provide summer feeding programs, a community Christmas event, mentoring inside schools and material assistance to elderly residents. He told commissioners that some groups were being charged $50 for meetings and $175 to rent a county building and asked the board to “give your organizations nonprofit a break” for legitimate community-serving groups.

Moore said the organizations do not ask the county for funding and that their volunteer work reduces complaints and service burdens on county staff. He urged commissioners to consider exceptions or flexibility for community organizations that operate year-round programs and to recognize their contributions publicly.

Why it matters: County facility rental and fee policies can affect small nonprofits’ ability to provide community services; public-comment requests ask the commission to weigh community benefit when enforcing rental rules.

Board response: Commissioners acknowledged the comments and asked staff to consider the concerns; no formal policy change was proposed or adopted at the meeting.