Votes at a glance: Oconee County Board of Commissioners, Jan. 7, 2025

At its Jan. 7 meeting the Oconee County Board of Commissioners voted on a slate of land‑use, budget and procurement items. The key actions below were taken by voice vote unless otherwise noted in the transcript.

• Approve rezone P24‑0217 (Townley Family Partnership) — Approved with seven conditions, including a 10‑year moratorium on final plats for the rezoned acreage (see separate article). (Motion moved by a commissioner; motion carries.)

• Approve special use P24‑0216 (Prince Avenue Baptist Church expansion) — Approved with four conditions; Planning Commission edit to require traffic impact study at preliminary site plan submission accepted. (Motion carries.)

• Approve special use P24‑0210 (Dixon Family Trust recreational overnight cabins) — Approved with planning‑commission modifications and an additional condition limiting stays to 30 days. (Motion moved and carried.)

• Variance P24‑0211 (Dixon Family Trust – gravel drive / parking / curb & gutter) — Board aligned with staff recommendation: denied the request to leave the existing Hog Mountain gravel drive as a commercial access; approved requests to allow vegetated ditches in lieu of curb-and-gutter and to allow compacted/graveled parking adjacent to rental units, subject to conditions.

• Variance P24‑0226 (Burgess Jennings Mill LLC / JG Griffith Investments LLC — fence at proposed Goddard School) — Approved with three standard conditions.

• QuikTrip buffer waiver (Veterans Memorial Parkway) — Waiver of the UDC 50‑foot incompatible‑use buffer granted; staff to verify landscaping as shown on development plan.

• Pay matrix adjustments (public safety and others) — Approved: pay matrix changes effective Jan. 5, 2025 (noted a $5,000 increase for public safety grades 10+ and a $2,100 base increase for other grades); estimated FY25 cost described in staff report.

• IT managed service provider RFP award — Contract awarded to Athens Micro at tier 1 services (monthly rate reduced from $17,310.50 to $16,871), effective immediately on approval.

• Sheriff’s office donation and FY25 budget amendment for vehicles — Approved acceptance of anticipated donation (~$102,000) from the Sheriff’s Office Foundation and related revenue‑neutral budget amendment to purchase two vehicles and equipment.

• FY26 budget submittal plan — Board approved the FY26 budget schedule and submittal timeline; tentative budget adoption scheduled for June 3, 2025 and public hearings in May.

• GDOT traffic‑signal application (US‑78 / Shops at Oconee) — Approved application to GDOT; developer to pay installation cost and the county may be responsible for monthly operating power costs if installed and accepted by GDOT.

• Stormwater management plan revision (BMP 2 wording) — Approved a wording change to require review of public education/outreach content on the stormwater website at least twice per year and update as needed.

• VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grant acceptance — Approved acceptance of the FY2025 VOCA award for the Western Judicial Circuit, $143,475, with the usual grant administration to continue; the 25% match was waived for the federal fiscal year.

• E‑911 VIPER / MDT upgrade (law enforcement mobile data terminals) — Approved contract with ProLogic to replace 55 MDTs and peripherals at a cost not to exceed $201,151; funds reserved in assigned fund balance; budget amendment approved.

• Purchase of 1,650‑gallon fire tanker truck (Station 5) — Approved purchase not to exceed $215,000 with budget amendment from the 2021 SPLOST funds.

Several items were routine or had no public opposition; the board closed the meeting without convening executive session.