The Carroll County Board of Commissioners assembled for their regular meeting on March 6, 2018 at the commission chambers located in the historic Carroll County courthouse. Chairman Marty Smith, District 2 Commissioner Vicki Anderson, District 3 Commissioner Tommy Lee, District 4 Commissioner Michelle Morgan, District 5 Commissioner Lee Powers, and District 6 Commissioner George Chambers were all in attendance. The District 1 seat, recently vacated by Trent North, will be filled March 20 in a special election.

Precincts for District 1 are Bethany, Bonner, Burson Center (formerly EMC), Lakeshore, Sandhill, UWG, and West Carrollton. However, these are split precincts which means not everyone who is eligible to vote at these locations is in District 1. There are currently 9,333 active voters in the district. The elections office recommends referring to your latest precinct card to determine eligibility to vote in the race. Contact them at (770) 830-5823.

On the March 6 agenda was the “Consideration of Proposed transfer to the Development Authority of Carroll County of SPLOST funds in the amount of $500,000 to purchase real estate for Economic Development purposes.” The Development Authority had already received $500,000 from the Board during their regular December meeting.

Tim Warren, chair of the Authority, said the money would be a continuance of “the way we’ve been doing business.” He said the ultimate goal is to bring more jobs to the county.

“We’re in the business of economic development for creating jobs,” Warren said.

Warren said there was a great need for more industrial real estate, citing that the county currently has two parcels in Temple and the empty Carroll County Technology Park. More land that can be quickly and readily available to investors would be an excellent asset, Warren said.

Also on the agenda was the “Consideration of Request for the creation of staff position for Probate Court/Mental Health Advocacy Program to be funded through grant funds.” Probate judge Betty Cason made a presentation on the matter at the BOC work session on March 1. The Board voted unanimously for approval of the measure, with Morgan abstaining from the vote because she is on the board for the advocacy group.

Next up was the “Consideration of a Resolution by the Board of Commissioners of Carroll County finding that a portion of Old Folds Road measuring 0.16 acres more or less lying in Land Lot 184, District 5 of Carroll County has ceased to be used by the public to the extent that no substantial public purposes are served; Authorizing the Abandonment thereof; Authorizing the Chairman to dispose of the Abandoned Property; to Provide an Effective Date of this Resolution; and for other purposes.” County Attorney Stacey Blackmon presented the information to the Board, who then voted unanimously to pass the resolution. The property will be used to move the road.

During the zoning session:

The “Consideration of Owner/Applicant Gary Smith’s Request (Application Z-18-01-02) to rezone property from Agricultural to Commercial, located at 2635 Highway 166 East, Carrollton, GA, and consisting of 0.6 acres, lying in Land Lot 140 of the 5th Land District, Tax Map # 131, Parcel # 0220, Property is located in Commission District 5 (Lee Powers).” The BOC voted to approve the request, with only Powers voting against it.

The “Consideration of Owner/Applicant Michael Kenny’s Request (Application C-18-02-02) for a secondary detached dwelling, located at 3200 Old Van Wert Road, Villa Rica, GA, and consisting of 7.5 acres, lying in Land Lot 198 of the 6th Land District, Tax Map # 146, Parcel # 0080, Property is located in Commission District 3 (Tommy Lee).”  The Board voted unanimously to approve the request.

The “Consideration of Owner/Applicant Ricky and Virginia Stover’s Request (Application Z-18-02-01) to rezone property from Agricultural to R2 Residential in order to sell a 2.85 tract of land, located on Nugget Road at the corner of Oak Grove Church Road, Carrollton, GA, and consisting of 2.85 acres, lying in Land Lot 62 of the 11th Land District, Tax Map # 193, Parcel # 0101, Property is located in Commission District 5 (Lee Powers).” The BOC voted to approve the request, with only Powers voting against it.

The “Consideration of Owner/Applicant Lease Purchase II, Inc.’s Request (Application Z-18-02-02) to rezone property from Agricultural to Industrial to have a real estate leasing office and store heavy equipment including roll-off dumpsters, located at 1600 Lake Paradise Road, Villa Rica, GA, and consisting of 21.92 acres, lying in Land Lot 196 of the 6th Land District, Tax Map # 146, Parcel # 0633, Property is located in Commission District 3 (Tommy Lee).” The board voted unanimously to deny the request.

The “Consideration of Owner/Applicant Melvin John Arrant’s Request (Application Z-18-02-03) for a Rezoning with a Conditional Use to keep salvage cars on property as a hobby, located at 2895 Bowdon Tyus Road, Bowdon, GA, and consisting of 2.67 acres, lying in Land Lot 220 of the 11th Land District, Tax Map # 048, Parcel # 0019, Property is located in Commission District 6 (George Chambers).” The board voted unanimously to deny the request.