Oconee commissioners approve series of variances, waivers, personnel changes and capital items; votes at a glance

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 7 approved a set of administrative, procurement and land-use items, including variances, a waiver, personnel pay-matrix changes, several contracts and grant acceptance. The board voted on each item by voice vote; motions were recorded on the transcript with outcomes.

Votes at a glance (items approved unless noted)

- Variance P24-0226 (Burgess Jennings Mill LLC / JG Griffith Investments LLC): Approved a variance to allow a 6-foot decorative metal picket fence and a 3-foot hedge (in lieu of a 6-foot privacy/wood-simulated fence) surrounding a proposed child-care site (The Goddard School). Staff recommended conditional approval; the applicant said the metal picket fence is consistent with other Goddard School campuses.

- Waiver request (QuikTrip Corporation): Approved a waiver of the UDC-required 50-foot landscape buffer between a proposed QuickTrip site (B-2) and adjacent AR parcels because QuikTrip owns surrounding parcels and proposed landscaping met waiver criteria.

- Pay-matrix adjustments (effective Jan. 5, 2025): Approved salary increases to the county pay matrix. The board approved a $5,000 increase to base salaries for public-safety grades 10 and above (patrol deputies and similar), and a $2,500 increase for other public-safety and non-public-safety grades, with an estimated FY-25 cost of approximately $555,000; county staff said funding is available and the increases put pay competitively among peer counties.

- IT managed services RFP award: Approved award of the county’s managed-service-provider contract to Athens Micro at tier 1, with a monthly rate of $16,871 (a decrease from a prior rate of approximately $17,310), effective immediately on approval.

- Sheriff’s Office vehicle donation and budget amendment: Approved acceptance of a presented donation (approximately $102,000) from the sheriff’s office foundation to purchase two law-enforcement vehicles and necessary equipment; approved the associated revenue-neutral budget amendment for FY-25.

- FY-26 budget submittal plan: Approved the FY-26 budget schedule and submittal plan (timeline and key dates for departmental reviews and required public hearings).

- GDOT traffic-signal application for SR 10 (US 78) at the Shops at Oconee: Approved the county action to allow Georgia DOT to process and install a traffic signal at a new developer-provided intersection; developer pays installation and county would pay ongoing power costs if the signal is installed and accepted by DOT.

- Stormwater Management Plan revision (BMP 2 public outreach wording): Approved a revision to revise the web-update requirement language to “review the information on the website at least twice per year and update as needed.”

- VOCA grant acceptance (FY-2025): Approved acceptance of VOCA continuation funds for the Western Judicial Circuit, $143,475, which the county will manage for victim services; the usual 25% local match was waived for the federal fiscal year.

- E‑911 Viper upgrade (mobile data terminals): Approved replacement of 55 in-car laptops/Mobile Data Terminals for the Sheriff’s patrol fleet with ProLogic equipment at a contract not to exceed $201,151 and approved associated budget amendments using reserved funds.

- Fire tanker truck purchase: Approved purchase of a 1,650-gallon tanker for Station 5, not to exceed $215,000, with a FY-25 budget amendment.

- Variance P24-0211 (Dixon Family Trust driveway/gravel parking variance): the board denied the request to leave the existing gravel driveway from Hog Mountain Road as an unpaved commercial access and approved the other two variance requests (vegetated ditch in lieu of curb-and-gutter, and gravel parking in lieu of paved spaces) as recommended by staff (this item is reported in the separate Dixon Family Trust article above).

What to watch next

Most approvals require subsequent engineering, permitting or budget amendments recorded in future staff reports: traffic-impact studies, site-engineering reviews, verification of fire-access load capacities, and budget actions to allocate approved capital expenditures. Several items (managed services, MDT upgrades, tanker purchase) will proceed through standard contract execution and procurement steps.

Ending: The board closed the meeting after additional zoning and administrative items; no executive session was recorded.