Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Putnam County commissioners approve APC conditional use, authorize Thunder Valley settlement and schedule code hearing; park fee change fails
Loading...
Summary
At its Sept. 16 meeting the Putnam County Board of Commissioners approved a conditional use for APC Towers, authorized a settlement agreement for Thunder Valley Commercial Development, approved the consent agenda and scheduled a public hearing on code definition changes; a proposed reduction in Jimmy Davis Park rental fees failed.
The Putnam County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 16 approved several items on the agenda, including a conditional use for APC Towers, authorization for a settlement agreement related to the Thunder Valley Commercial Development, and scheduling a public hearing on proposed changes to Chapter 1, Sec. 1-2, of the county code. A separate proposal to change rental fees at Jimmy Davis Park failed.
Zoning: The board held a public hearing on a conditional-use request by Bailey Lively for APC at 1103 Oconee Springs Road (Map 107, Parcel 025, District 2). Supporters (Dale Lee for APC Towers, residents B.J. Weems, Hassel Weems and Bill Vargo) and an opponent (Taylor Carter, attorney for neighbor Gary Young) spoke. Planning and Development staff recommended approval; Commissioner Richard Garrett moved to approve the request and the motion passed with recorded yea votes from Commissioners McElhenney, Garrett, Hersey and Wooten.
Thunder Valley settlement: County Attorney Adam Nelson reminded the board that the August 29 proposed settlement had been revised to remove two provisions per the board's prior direction; the board authorized the chairman to sign the Thunder Valley Commercial Development August 2025 Settlement Agreement.
Jimmy Davis Park rental fees: Commissioner Richard Garrett moved to lower the rental fee for the Jimmy Davis Park building to $300, increase the deposit to $300 and extend rental periods from four to six hours. After a roll call the motion failed, with Garrett and Hersey voting yea and Chairman Bill Sharp, Commissioner Tom McElhenney and Commissioner Jeff Wooten voting nay; staff was instructed to reevaluate the fees and return with a recommendation.
Code changes: The board authorized staff to schedule a public hearing on proposed changes to the Putnam County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 1 (General Provisions), Sec. 1-2 (Definitions and rules of construction); the motion passed with four yea votes. The minutes note that a resident (Barb Vargo) signed in to speak but was confused about the agenda item.
Public comments and other business: During public comment, Ryan Diederichsen of Ecoplex distributed handouts and urged the board or staff to consider amending county code to address stand-alone energy/battery storage systems. Billy Webster raised a question about why mill-rate adoption was not on the agenda. Commissioner Richard Garrett encouraged attendance at a Georgia Recovery bus stop scheduled Sept. 22, 2025.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:26 p.m.