Commissioners not happy with annexation process

Published 11:35 pm Tuesday, January 9, 2007

The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday night to send a letter of no objection to more than 30 annexations recently made by the Dalton City Council.

But that doesn’t mean board members have no objections to those annexations.

Rather, as board members noted, state law gives them very limited grounds on which to object.

“The fact this process is allowed to take place as it does is objectionable to me,” said commissioner Mike Cowan.

Cowan noted that, by law, county commissioners can object to a city annexation only if the proposed property use does not fit in with that of surrounding property.

“This doesn’t affect us, but it does affect the county school system. I’ve got a problem with that,” said commissioner Leo Whaley.

Owners of annexed properties will continue to pay the county’s maintenance and operations property tax. But when a city with its own school system annexes a property, that property is taken off the tax roll for the county school system.

Commissioner Randy Waskul, who was sworn in earlier in the evening along with Cowan, indicated this was a concern he had already talked to local members of the General Assembly about.

“I look forward to working to make this a more equitable process,” he said.

Chair Brian Anderson said board members have heard some of the affected property owners might contest their annexations in court. Since several of those properties lie along Shugart Road, he said, the board had decided to table a request from the City Council to deed Shugart Road to the city. That request was made last year as part of a general request by the City Council to clear up the ownership and maintenance of several roads in the county.

“We didn’t want to influence any court decision,” Anderson said.

The board also voted 3-0 to:

• Approve a request by clerk of Superior Court Melica Kendrick to change two part-time positions in that office to one full-time position. Speaking to board members during a work session before their meeting, Kendrick said the two people who filled those part-time positions have left.

• Approve the cleanup of two mobile homes the board condemned last year and waive charging the property owners for the costs of the cleanup. That move prompted some discussion during the work session.

“Where will it end?” asked Whaley.

But Cowan noted that the incomes reported by the owners of the mobile homes made it ill-advised to seek the costs from them.

The owners of the mobile homes had requested the condemnations to help them qualify for federal programs that will help them obtain housing.

• Approve an amendment to subdivision regulation that makes several changes, including a requirement that any future subdivision with flag-shaped lots be reviewed and approved by the planning commission.

• Approve a change to county zoning law requiring any garbage transfer station be consistent with the county solid waste plan.

• Approve a $320,000 bid from Chrysan Thomas to perform the county’s annual audit for the next three years.

• Approve a $46,865 bid under state contract for new computer servers for the district attorney’s office, the zoning office and the information technology department.

• Approve various bids for raw materials and supplies for the public works department.

• Approve a request by Top-Notch Properties to rezone 8.83 acres at 1575 Boyles Mill Road to single-family residential from general agriculture.

• Approve a malt beverage license for Antonio’s Mexican Restaurant on Connector 3.

• Approve a change in designation for the malt beverage and wine license of the Kani House to Nuj Bennett.

• Accept a $25,000 grant from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to operate Prater’s Mill.

Commissioner Pete Pangle was absent, and Anderson votes only in the event of a tie.