BanksNewsTODAY

A lawsuit that has been ongoing for several years has been resolved with R&B Landfill to pay Banks County $1 million and the host fee paid to the county increasing.

The Banks County Board of Commissioners met in closed session for 10 minutes Tuesday night and then opened the meeting to discuss the settlement with R&B Landfill. [Full Story »] 

Jimmy Hooper has announced that he plans to run for chairman of the Banks County Board of Commissioners.

In a letter to citizens announcing his intentions, Hooper wrote: “Many of you will ask why I am announcing my intentions so early. My answer is that I want to have enough time to meet every person living in Banks County. I intend to shake your hand and ask about your concerns. I want to be able to do this before the Republican primary on July 31.”

Hooper worked for three decades as a principal in the Banks County School System. [Full Story »] 

The Banks County Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday night to spend $10,633 for repairs to the historic courthouse in Homer.

The BOC approved the contract with Jeffrey Alan Construction Co., Gillsville, to do the work. The repairs will include the columns on the front of the courthouse and the roof edge above the gutter on the main roof of the building.

In other business at the meeting Tuesday night, the BOC:

•approved a contract with Wanda Eubanks to provide probation services for the probate and magistrate courts.

•approved a maintenance contract with Traylor Business Services for the tax assessor’s office.

•appointed Charles Turk as vice chairman.

•set the qualifying fees for the 2012 election.

•approved insurance providers for employee benefits offered by the county, including the following: Lincoln National — life, accidental death and short term disability (a savings of $16,068 annually to the county); United Healthcare — dental (four percent savings to employees on their premium); and Reliance Standard — vision ($6.60 savings to employees).

•met in closed session for 35 minutes to discuss “potential litigation and personnel.” No action was taken when the meeting was opened to the public.

A 20-acre minimum on a conservation use land designation was approved by the Banks County Board of Commissioners at the November meeting.

This does not apply for those who already have a conservation use and plan to renew it.

“If renewing it, can be same number of acres,” county attorney Randall Frost said. “If you increase the number of acres but still don’t reach 20, you can still qualify.”

The Banks County Board of Commissioners approved a rezoning request Tuesday for a business park development.

The BOC unanimously approved the request from the county development authority to rezone 41 acres from ARR to C-2 to develop Hudson River Business Park, located at the corner of Windmill Farm Road and Hwy. 441 North.

The county’s community planner, Brad Day, who handles economic development, presented the request on behalf of the development authority.

The plan calls for locating seven sites on the property, including leaving in greenspace and wetlands. County leaders project that the business park will bring 175 to 200 jobs to the county at its full build out with a $10 million to $25 million investment.

At an earlier planning commission meeting, Day said that the county wants to get a prospect lined up before moving forward.
“We don’t want to do anything until we have a prospect,” Day said at the planning commission meeting. “There has been some interest. No one has signed on the dotted line. We have taken clients out (to the property).”

In other zoning business Tuesday night, the BOC approved a variance request from Ramesh Patel to locate a 12x30 cooler on the side of Homer Grocery Store. The variance is necessary because of the setback requirements.

The Banks County Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday night to spend up to $34,000 to buy firefighter equipment, including turnout gear, radios and pagers.

Fire chief Brian Eubanks and volunteer captain Greg Wells presented the request and the newest volunteer recruit class attended. Training officer Richard Crowder also presented two of the new recruits, who gave a demonstration on getting into their turnout gear in less than two minutes.

Eubanks said that less than six months ago, the county had only 20 active volunteers. The county now has 50 volunteer, which has brought on the need for the additional firefighting equipment. [Full Story »] 

The Banks County Board of Commissioners denied a request at its October meeting for a conditional use permit for Ted Havlik to operate an outdoor event center on Sol Drive.

Commissioner Sammy Reece made the motion to deny the request and the vote was unanimous.

Havlik proposed offering his property for rental for special events on a year-round basis.

There was some discussion at the BOC meeting on Havlik’s plans for a septic system. He said he was looking at several options, including portable bathrooms. The commissioners also had concerns about the traffic and width of the road. [Full Story »] 

Water customers will seek a higher bill next year following action by the Banks County Board of Commissioners .

The BOC agreed to increase the water rates by .25 cents per 1,000 gallons, as well as increase the base rate by .50 cents.

Other increases approved by the board includes raising the cut-off fee from $30 to $50 and a 15 percent increase on sewer rates.

The last rate increase was in 2008.