Stephens County commissioners approve four land‑use items, multiple appointments, contracts and invoices; chair and vice chair selected for 2026

Stephens County commissioners moved through a full agenda and approved land‑use requests, appointments and several contracts during their regular meeting.

Land use and hearings: The board approved four land‑use items following a public hearing. Item A, a plat review for Caledale Realty to subdivide a parcel on Wards Creek Road into seven lots, was approved after the Planning Commission recommended approval. Item B, a conditional‑use permit for a home‑based commercial bakery listed on the agenda as from Daniel Lehi at 4930 Oak Valley Road, was approved with the board and staff noting that the permit is for the property and a later variance and building permit will determine the accessory structure’s exact placement. During public comment a speaker identified as Daniel Everett said his wife will make cheesecakes for local restaurants. Item C, a rezoning request from the Davis W. Whiting Living Trust to convert 0.62 acres from residential‑single to commercial‑general, was approved after a supporter (Jimmy Whiting) described a property‑pin discrepancy and the need to correct boundary lines. Item D, a variance for Teresa Cantrell to place a garage accessory structure in a front yard on a lakeshore property, was approved; commissioners indicated repeated lakeshore variance requests prompted a proposed work session to review lakeshore setback policy.

Appointments and governance: The board approved the appointment of Jay Doss to the library board to replace Tim Martin and reappointed Lynn Cox and William Walsh to additional three‑year terms on the library board. Roger Duncan was reappointed to the Board of Assessors. Dr. David Yates was reappointed to the Board of Health for an additional six‑year term. The board also set its 2026 meeting schedule (regular meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays, with work sessions at 6 p.m.) and selected a 2026 chair and vice chair (as stated in the record). The meeting record contains typographical errors in the listed term years for some appointments; the motions and approvals were recorded in the meeting minutes.

Contracts, licenses and invoices: The board approved renewal of a contract with Trailer Business Services for personal property auditing in the tax assessor’s office. It granted an extension of the current alcohol license for Royal Foods (store No. 28) while the owner (identified in the record as Mr. Ahmed) completes a name change and the required legal notice; County Clerk Samantha Turner said the background check returned and newspaper advertising is starting, with the first reading scheduled in January and final approval expected at the board’s second January meeting. The board approved procurement payments and quotes including a Siemens quote of $21,109 for a detention‑center fire alarm duct detector replacement and a JN Comfort Solutions quote of $18,893.33 for HVAC repairs (staff recommended option 3); JN Comfort work carries a one‑year limited warranty. The board also approved an annual HoneyBaked Ham order for $24,448.80 that the county purchases each year for employees and volunteers. All motions reported in the record passed by voice vote.

What’s next: Commissioners asked staff to schedule a work session to revisit lakeshore variance and setback policy because of repeated variance requests in waterfront areas. Several items — notably the accessory‑structure location for the bakery application and the final readings for the alcohol license — will return to the board for future action.