Local & State Headlines

Stone raises lease issues

• Dougherty County Commissioners approve three rezoning applications.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — Dougherty County Commissioner Jack Stone was puzzled by a recent news item and made sure he cleared it up at the end of the Dougherty County Commission’s business session Monday morning.

“I read a story in the paper that said (downtown manager) Don Buie was claiming the city had gotten a lease on that building next to the Subway shop (at 224 S. Jackson St.),” Stone said. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that county property? I don’t see how he can take credit for that.”

Assistant County Administrator Thomas Thomas said Buie had been involved in the negotiating process in effort to bring business downtown, but he confirmed that the property in question is indeed owned by the county.

“He’s an expert in working with businesses, but, yes, that’s county-owned property,” Thomas said. “Mr. Buie did work with us to secure the lease agreement.”

Stone’s question came at the end of a short business session during which commissioners finalized a number of items that had been discussed during earlier work sessions.

The commission OK’d rezoning requests at 2530 Kirksey Road, 631 South County Line Road (both from agriculture to single-family residential) and for Blaze Recycling and Metals at 695 McCollum Lane (from commercial to heavy industrial). Also approved was a Public Works list of roads to be resurfaced utilizing funds from Special-Purpose Local- Option Sales Tax IV.

Commissioners voted to approve the purchase of a fuel truck from Transport Equipment Company for the low bid of $65,640; to use the $12,936 balance from the SPLOST III trails account and to reallocate $7,064 from SPLOST III contingency funds to finance a connection of the Thronateeska Heritage Center to the North Trail river walk at Roosevelt Avenue; and to renew the county’s annual lease (for $38,000) with the Albany Area Community Service Board for the mental health facility at 601 West 11th St.

Commissioners Stone and Muarlean Edwards volunteered to serve on the state- mandated Dougherty County Public Defenders Local Panel, and the commission voted 4-3 to ask that the county’s Greenspace Committee reconsider a logo submitted for approval by the committee’s chairman, Woody Hicks.

“I mean no disrespect for the artist who submitted the logo, but I think we need something that fits more with our area,” Stone said. “That design looks like it’s more suited for Savannah. I move that we try to find something that better represents us.”

Commissioners Edwards, John Hayes and Art Searles sided with Stone in the vote.

Prior to the meeting, the county’s Recreation Committee met to consider a request by the Albany Heat Basketball Club for $10,000 to finance a trip to Little Rock, Ark., for an AAU national tournament. And while there were reports that the committee voted not to approve the funding, Committee Chair Hayes would not discuss the outcome.

“Out of respect for my fellow commissioners, I’d rather bring up our recommendation at our work session next week,” Hayes said. “We did discuss the matter, but our recommendation will go before the entire board for discussion.”

Hayes, Edwards and Commissioner Lamar Hudgins are on the county’s Recreation Committee.

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