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Residents urge Oconee County to address derelict courthouse and clarify animal-control rules after citations
Summary
Two residents used public comment to press Oconee County Council to either salvage or remove the deteriorating old courthouse and to clarify animal-control language after repeated citations for a neighborhood cat; council pledged follow-up with procurement and a committee review of the ordinance.
Cathy Plowden, a neighbor in Oconee Heights, told the council she photographed the county’s old courthouse and urged officials to either salvage the structure or follow a prior council vote to solicit demolition bids. "It's a liability to the county," Plowden said, adding she has collected a petition of 66 signatures asking the council to act.
Another resident, Catherine Mize, described repeated animal-control citations issued after her cat roamed a nearby wooded cul-de-sac. Mize praised Officer Leonard for his handling of prior visits but said the citations have led to a court date next week. "I now have a court case I have to go next week in front of a judge because of citations they've given me," she said, and asked the council to clarify whether the county’s restraint language must be applied to cats that go briefly onto neighbors’ property.
The council responded with two immediate commitments. Chair and other members said staff would follow up on past direction to solicit bids for demolition or evaluate salvage options for the old courthouse; county staff agreed to review procurement records and report back. Separately, Council Member Elliott asked that the law-enforcement, public-safety and welfare committee review the animal-control ordinance to consider clarifying the restraint language and reducing friction in neighbor disputes.
The transcript shows the county’s ordinance currently refers to "all owned animals" and explicitly excludes agricultural animals; council members discussed whether the restraint language should be revised to clarify common-pet applications such as cats. No formal changes to the code were approved at the meeting; council directed staff and the relevant committee to study the issues.
The council did not record vote tallies for the direction to follow up on the courthouse procurement or to refer animal-control rules; actions were presented as motions, seconded, and approved by voice, and the transcript does not supply roll-call counts.
Plowden and Mize’s comments were placed under the public-comment portion of the agenda; council members noted the concerns and assigned follow-up tasks rather than adopting ordinances or binding directives during the session. The county administrator, Stuart Jones, and procurement staff were identified as the responsible parties for the courthouse follow-up; the law-enforcement/public-safety committee will review the animal-control ordinance.
