Commission Holds Public Hearing
The Jasper County Commission held a public hearing on the Capital Improvement Element (CIE) of the Comprehensive Plan Monday, and heard from a handful of citizens about the plan.
The CIE is a 12-page document outlining needs for the county and what is being done to address those needs. It is part of the Comprehensive Plan which each county must have, and it must be updated regularly. Jasper is out of compliance and wants to get it submitted to the Regional Development Commission (RDC) which will review it then submit it to the state for approval.
Some of the elements have cost figures that are tied to impact fees, though not all do. Many items are ongoing projects, and several are completed projects.
No one spoke in favor of the plan. Charles Forsythe was the first to speak against it. He said it is “not ready for prime time.” He said the big question to the plan is the cost to the taxpayers to implement much of it. He said it doesn’t outline grants or matching funds for high dollar projects, and he recommended holding the CIE, and looking at it more closely before considering submitting it.
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Stan Studdard said the plan calls for some denser residential areas, and he says that is not good. He said growing the county can cause trouble.
He said he grew up in DeKalb County with its dense population. He said things are good here…we have good schools, police protection, etc.
He talked about tax dollars being spent outside county and wasn’t sure how to combat that but said we have the best Snapper dealer in the area right here, without a big box store. He said we need to keep what we have…good, hard working, honest people.
Jon Bell said that she went though the draft plan, and she said she tired to get more people interested. She said that a lot of people didn’t like the public hearing being held during the holidays…making it not the best time for public input. She also said they need to find another way besides the newspaper to let people know what’s going on.
She said they need to pick a time and date when people can get to their meetings.
Gay Morrison was next, and her main concern was the animal control portion of the CIE. She went into some depth about the needs of an animal control facility, and the difference between a rescue facility and an animal control facility. She applauded recent renovations and upgrades while questioning some items.
She outlined specific concerns and told the commissioners that the hours are not conducive to adoption. She basically said there needs to be more, better trained staff, and that the county needs to determine if it wants animal control or not.
Mary Patrick was the last to speak at the hearing and she made it clear she had looked at the plan carefully. She said the first problem is lack of information to the public, and again urged the county to revamp its website and to use its website.
She went on to say that much of the plan has been accomplished already, and named several specifics. She suggested they not send a draft ordinance like it is without cleaning it up.
She went on to say that the county really needs to advertise its resources and bring in more tourism. She talked about a nice brochure made up several years ago that outlines the county’s outdoor recreational opportunities, and said it has never been advertised anywhere.
She discouraged the commission from attracting businesses that require large tax incentives, saying they didn’t lower the taxes. She also questioned the cost of a recreation building, valued in the plan at $4-6 million.
She said if the commission really wanted public input, as it claimed, she must question the timing and advertising of the hearing.
After the hearing, the commissioners heard general citizen comments.
Deputy Phil Smith, who has handled Courthouse security for the last seven years and is retiring, said he has been in law enforcement close to 27 years, and that he really enjoyed the last seven in the Jasper County Courthouse. He thanked the sheriff’s office for its support, and the courthouse employees, and said he hoped he had made a difference in the lives of others, and he would miss everyone.
Mr. Forsythe praised the commissioners for having a full agenda available to the public and said it answered questions and could even make the public sympathetic to what the commission has to deal with.
Mrs. Patrick said she appreciated them allowing individuals ample time to speak during the public hearing, and she appreciated all who took the time to come. She then asked when will the audit be presented. She also wanted to know if anyone was following through on when the state transportation committee would meet to discuss dangerous intersections such as Bethel Church Road at Hwy. 212 west., saying someone needs to follow up.
Mr. Studdard asked about how many employees are need in the finance department. He recounted the employees present during the last three to four years and asked why there was an advertisement for another employee.
After that, Commissioner Doug Luke expressed his continuing concern about the Pitts Chapel Road bridge situation, and was interested in an update.
Then it was time to vote on submitting the CIE, and commissioners agreed to wait. Then they decided to postpone their January meeting until January 12, when hopefully the whole board could be there, and staff may have time to work on the plan, cleaning it up a little.
Lastly, commissioners approved a transmission job on the Senior Citizens’ van, after other quotes on the project are received.
Commission Chair Gene Trammell was absent from the meeting because of health issues, and County Manager Karen Degges was out because of the death of her mother.
