The Toccoa Record: Top Stories

The Toccoa Record

City commissioners on Monday addressed a parking ordinance variance request for a planned new drug store on Big A Road.

Commissioners heard from Doug Wynn on behalf of Walgreens for the property at 604 S. Big A Road, 618 Collins Road and 624 Collins Road, the site of the proposed Toccoa Walgreens store.

During that public hearing, Wynn asked for a parking ordinance variance for the business whereby the required number of parking spaces would be reduced from 73 to 52.

Commissioners previously had approved a similar variance request from Wynn for the property under which the number of spaces required was reduced to 56, but the Department of Transportation told Wynn following the granting of that variance request that the business would have to incorporate a deceleration lane on Big A Road. That meant another four spaces would have to be eliminated, hence the new variance request.

There was no opposition to the request presented to commissioners, and they voted unanimously to approve the request and waive the second reading.

Commissioners also voted unanimously to approve the initial zoning and annexation into the city limits of the property located at 210 Mulkey Road.

Helen Prather, the property owner, requested the property be zoned R1-A (single family residential).

Commissioners unanimously approved the zoning request, annexation and waived the second reading, after no opposition to the request was raised during the public hearing.

Commissioners then held a public hearing for representatives of the proposed 200-home development, Toccoa Falls Estates. Officials with that development asked for several zoning and subdivision variances pertaining to streets, storm water runoff handling and lot configuration.

Commissioners approved all but two of the multitudinous requests, with one request being put on hold until the Environmental Protection Division issues its finding and another being continued at a later date.

City manager Billy Morse presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2009 budget in the final public hearing of the evening.

The tentative budget for the next fiscal year, beginning July 1, totals $34,311,839, a 2.7 percent increase over the current budget, Morse said.

Current service levels, vehicle purchases and capital improvement projects are contained within the new budget, according to city manager Morse, with no property tax millage rate increase proposed.

There is a 4.3 percent increase in the charges for water, sewer and solid waste services based on the Consumer Price Index; salary increase for city employees; addition of two new employees, bringing the total to 175; $9,117,193 in the general fund; $2,112,554 in SPLOST funds; $6,930,492 in the water fund; $14,926,000 in the natural gas fund, with a margin of $4.5 million; and $1,225,600 in the solid waste fund.

No comments were made on the proposed budget by commissioners or citizens.

The second and final public hearing on the proposed budget will be held in the commissioners’ meeting room in Toccoa City Hall at 5 p.m. Monday, May 19. Commissioners may or may not adopt the budget as presented.

“I still think we’ve got some work to do on the budget before it is adopted,” mayor A.J. Pavliscsak said at the conclusion of the public hearing.