Dougherty County Commission approves alcohol license changes

ALBANY — Monday was a day for taking care of unfinished items as the Dougherty County Commission held a brief business meeting to officially sign off on matters that had been discussed during earlier work meetings.

In a meeting that lasted approximately seven minutes, the board:

— Approved a resolution calling for the acceptance of an estimated $212,075 in competitive Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant funding for safety improvements. The “extra” round of funding is being made available by the Georgia Department of Transportation and requires a 30 percent local match. If all county requests are approved by GDOT, the county’s portion of funding the improvements would be $63,622, which would come from SPLOST V and VI dollars;

— OK’d a text amendment to Section 2-3-41 of county code that provides for less stringent citizenship requirements of individuals applying for alcohol licenses in the county. The amendment will allow for licenses to be granted for persons living outside the county who have a manager or a “responsible” person in charge of the operation who lives in the county;

— Approved a recommendation to utilize a new alcohol license application process that includes a $50 administrative fee for law enforcement officials to perform required background checks of applicants. The new process also includes a $15 fee for changes to the resident agent at each location. County Clerk Jawahn Ware told the board at its work meeting last week that the county has not previously charged fees for the administrative checks.

Each of the matters was approved by the commission with 6-0 votes. District 1 Commissioner Lamar Hudgins was absent.

After voting on the three matters, the commission met in executive session to discuss a personnel matter before adjourning.