Putnam County commissioners worked through zoning cases, ordinance revisions, hospital funding needs, and rental changes at Jimmy Davis Park during a lengthy Sept. 15 meeting. The meeting opened with commissioners recognizing September as National Recovery Month and Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month. During the recovery presentation, Laura Phillips cited Georgia Department of Public Health data showing 20 fatal overdose deaths in Putnam County over the past five years. She also discussed efforts to expand local recovery services and thanked commissioners for allowing the Putnam County courthouse dome to be lit up purple throughout September.
Commissioners unanimously approved two zoning actions. David Michael Mason received approval to rezone 1.1 acres at 145 Halls Rd. from agricultural to R-2 residential, allowing placement of a doublewide manufactured home. Approval requires recording an updated plat within 120 days, and the county’s comprehensive plan will be corrected to reflect the area’s agricultural and residential use.
Staff acknowledged the property had erroneously been shown as public/ institutional on the future land-use map.
The board also returned 1.01 acres at 826 Harmony Rd. from residential planned unit development zoning to agricultural. The parcel had been rezoned in February as part of a larger development but was required to be combined with an adjoining 26.32acre parcel within 120 days. That did not happen, however, as the proposed development did not begin construction.
Commissioners next approved changes to Chapter 1 of the county code intended to streamline how ordinance amendments reach public hearings. The change allows the chairman or at least two commissioners to initiate the advertising process without first requiring a full board vote, although final ordinance adoption still requires board approval.
After District 3’s Steve Hersey objected, Interim County Manager Byron Lombard clarified the change only eliminates an additional meeting and does not allow an ordinance to be adopted without a majority vote.
Hersey’s amendment to retain the full-board requirement and remove language requiring citizens wanting transcripts to hire a court reporter failed. District 2 Commissioner Richard Garrett then successfully proposed removing only the court-reporter provision. The amended ordinance passed 3-1, with Hersey opposed.
Changes to Chapter 28 governing development regulations passed unanimously. The revisions clarify requirements for roads and other public improvements before being accepted by the county. At Garrett’s suggestion, the board added language to allow certain specified financial amounts to be adjusted using an appropriate Consumer Price Index rather than becoming outdated over time.
The board unanimously revised Chapter 46 to shift routine utility right-of-way permits from Board of Commissioners approval to administrative approval through the Public Works Department. Lombard said such permits routinely came before commissioners despite apparently never being denied.
Commissioners discussed how residents could be notified when larger utility projects affect traffic. Hersey cited recent utility work that resulted in traffic control on Rockville Road, while Commission Chair Bill Sharp and District 4 Commissioner Jeff Wooten suggested posting information on the county website.
Because the ordinance took effect immediately, commissioners subsequently removed from the agenda Georgia Power right-of-way requests involving Crooked Creek, Old Copeland, Milledgeville, Pea Ridge, Pinkerton, Rockville and Twin Bridges Roads, allowing them to be handled administratively. Proposed changes to Chapter 66 governing zoning were tabled until the board’s next regular meeting (10 a.m., Oct.
2). Among the issues requiring further discussion are whether authority over variances should remain with the Planning and Zoning Commission, whether the P&Z chairman should vote only to break ties, proposed changes in meeting times, and clarification of criteria required to grant variances.
Lombard said complaints about developments repeatedly lead him back to variances already granted and suggested greater board oversight could increase transparency. Commissioners unanimously agreed to delay action.
The board also unanimously approved an indigent-care intergovernmental agreement with the Putnam General Hospital Authority. The agreement establishes the legal mechanism for county funding to flow to the authority while requiring more detailed reporting that separates indigent care from charity care, bad debt, and operational subsidy.
Lombard said qualifying expenses must involve Putnam County residents meeting federal poverty guidelines, with costs calculated using Medicare reimbursement rates. The Hospital Authority also has to approve the agreement.
The reporting requirements are intended to provide commissioners with better information before future budget discussions.