Darren Harper

Blairsville, GA – The Blairsville City Council convened for their September Meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017 at 6 p.m. at Blairsville City Hall. Mayor Jim Conley, Council Members Rhonda Mahan, Betty Easter, Tony Dyer and Buddy Moore were present. City Clerk Kaye McCann and City Attorney David Barrett were also present.

Darren Harper, Downtown Development Authority Program Manager, said the Eclipse Event went very well; that the Square was ‘packed’. He said the Merchants Meeting on August 31st was attended by about 40 people, lasted for 2 hours, went very well and that the Blairsville merchants are pleased overall with the way things are going. The main topics of discussion, he said, were parking, sidewalks and crosswalks. Harper said there have been a lot of inquiries about retail space recently. The Heritage Festival, he said, over the Labor Day Weekend was a huge success. All the merchants did well, he said. Hotel/motel tax revenue has consistently increased and about one merchant per month has opened a business in Downtown Blairsville over the last four years, he said. Harper updated the Council on the Haralson property; that is, the planned construction of a new building on Pat Haralson Drive across from the Foodland grocery store between Young Harris Street and the Square. Harper displayed artist renditions of the new building. He said the project has progressed to the point where the design is set; now the construction costs need to be reviewed and approved by the owner, Steve Cochran. Harper also updated the Council on the remodeling of the building on Blue Ridge Street across the parking lot from Copeland’s Restaurant and the planned buildings at that site (see FYN Aug. 7, 2017 article). Harper said the new buildings all together will not only add ambiance to Downtown Blairsville, they will also add about 14,000 square feet of much needed retail space and about 8,000 square feet of residential space. The apartments are planned to be about 600-800 square feet in size.

John Hamler

John Hamler, Manager of the Blairsville Municipal Airport, reported that the Grand Opening of the new W.C. Nelson Airport Terminal building hosted about 150 people and was great fun. He said the day before the Eclipse Event 3,500 gallons of aviation fuel was sold, and the day of the Eclipse 55 planes came into the airport and 5,500 gallons of fuel was sold. He said about 250 people were there for the Eclipse Event. Hamler said airport operations have moved completely over to the new building now. There are a few quirks to work out, but, he said, nothing major. He said Chris Dyer, the Assistant Airport Manager, will be leaving as of Sept. 15 in pursuit of furthering his aviation career and that a replacement was needed. He said they are staying very busy with five jets in over the weekend and three came in that day. The new Jet-A fuel truck, he said, is a real boon for the airport; that it’s been in use every day. Hamler said the Blairsville airport currently averages about 45,000 takeoffs and landings a year.

Mayor Conley brought up the need for ground transport for employees to cross the runway to pump aviation fuel for small planes (avgas), since the new terminal is on the opposite side of the field from the old one. Mayor Conley said he had consulted with Larry Garrett about acquiring a golf cart with a gas engine and would have more on that issue at the next meeting. Hamler mentioned that they would also need another credit card machine, as well, to reduce the number of runway crossings for avgas transactions.

Mayor Jim Conley

Mayor Conley called for a public hearing on the Amended Alcohol Ordinance to which no one spoke. He then asked for a first reading of the Alcohol Ordinance 2017-03 amended to include Sections 10-76(a), 10-76(b) and 10-79(n) regulating signage advertising or promoting alcohol sales. The Sections restrict the advertising and promotion of alcohol in the City of Blairsville. The Sections have not been completely vetted and approved by City Attorney Barrett. Barrett pointed out to the Council some vagueness in some of the terms of the Sections after some discussion. McCann said she would obtain a copy of the Union County Alcohol Ordinance so the Council and Barrett can ensure that they are compatible. Copies of the proposed Sections can be reviewed at City Hall.

David Barrett

Mayor Conley presented the Georgia Department of Transportation FY 2018 Contract – Avigation Easement and Land Acquisition for RPZ Obstruction Removal at Runway 8 and 26; DBE Plan Update (18-20); RPZ Obstruction Removal for Runway 8 and 26. He said the contract won’t go into effect until March of 2018, but GDOT needs a commitment from the City for its portion of the cost: $41,833. The Council unanimously approved the contract.

Kaye McCann

McCann explained to the Council the issues involved in the 2018 Health Insurance Renewal for City employees. She said she received notice of an increase of 13 per cent from Blue Cross/Blue Shield though GMA in August. She said they currently have a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) type group insurance plan. She said after she investigated other group plans, that a Point of Service (POS) insurance plan would lower their premiums and would save the City $10,000 per year without any change in deductibles or quality of service. The Council voted unanimously to change over to a POS plan.

In other Department Head Reports, Blairsville Police Officer Michael ‘Bear’ Baxter reported that there were 120 calls responded to in August. He said the Eclipse Event went very smoothly and wasn’t nearly as bad as had been feared. He said the new police vehicle would be delivered this month. Baxter said one thing of note was the first drug arrest in Blairsville that involved the seizure of heroine mixed with Fentanyl, a drug that is 50-100 times more potent than morphine.

Michael ‘Bear’ Baxter

Ottis Franklin, Superintendent of the Water and Sewer Plant reported that the Kimsey Street paving project had been completed; a lot of meters had been set due to the increase in construction this year; and reported no problems.

Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Jody Cook reported that #1 Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) tank was up and running and the #2 SBR tank was down, but should be back in service in the near future. He said there will be a student tour of the plant with 5th through 8th graders coming up. Cook had no other problems to report.

Mayor Conley addressed the Council regarding a suggestion that the Blairsville Municipal Airport, officially named Robert Colwell Field, be changed officially to another name: Jack Tarpley Field or Charles Hill Field. No member of the Council was in favor of pursuing that name change and the matter was dropped.

The Council approved an Occupational Tax Certificate Application for Harry Norman Realtors, 63 Murphy Highway, David Allsteadt, Corporate Officer.

The Council approved a Sign Application for Ingles Markets, 207B Highway 515, Chad Priest, Applicant.

Having no further business to conduct, the Council adjourned.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at www.FetchYourNews.com