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Meeting Story 

Oconee County Board of Commissioners Regular Session on Dec. 3

Oconee County commissioners sit down at the Oconee County Government Annex for a board of commissioners regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 3. This is their final meeting of 2024. (Photo/Ella Wilson)

Oconee County commissioners voted unanimously to approve the proposed updates to the county’s alcohol ordinance during their meeting on Tuesday. 

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Daniel Haygood, the county attorney, says this approval only represents an incremental change. Oconee County’s population is growing, and the trends of alcohol consumption have changed over the years. 

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“At one time it was very controversial. Now nobody seems to pay much attention to it,” Haygood said.

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Restaurants will now be allowed to serve alcohol starting at 11 a.m. on Sundays. It was previously not allowed until 12 p.m.

 

This approval will allow for brewpubs to open in the county. 

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Brewpubs can sell up to 5,000 barrels to a wholesaler, but they cannot sell to retailers. One barrel is equivalent to 31 gallons. 

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A new provision in the ordinance allows for movie theaters to sell alcohol, however only 25% of their food and beverage sales can come from alcoholic beverages. 

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“We started out with package sales, beer and wine in the ‘80s, maybe ‘70s,” Haygood said. “Over the years we’ve gone through the steps where we now have beer, wine and liquor by the drink. Brewpubs and theaters are two things we think will work without a major impact on citizens.” 

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Commissioners unanimously approved a new alcohol license for Catch 22 that will be effective Jan. 1, 2025. The license is for a new location opening at 2131 Hog Mountain Road. 

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A rezoning request was unanimously approved for a property on Plaza Parkway and Jennings Mill Road from a residential zone to a business zone.

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The plan for this property is a “high-end indoor-outdoor fitness club and high-end hotel.” 

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Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman, John Daniell, says he believes it will be a Life Time facility (formerly known as Life Time Fitness). 

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“They’ve been working on it for probably a few years, trying to get it out here. So they found a piece of property and now they can take the next step, start construction,” Daniell said.

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Angela Moss-Hill, Frederick Lutz, Daphne Norton and Kelly Hansford were appointed to the Oconee County Library Board. 

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Earlier this year there was controversy surrounding reclassifying LGBTQ books from the “young adult” or “juvenile” sections of the Oconee County library to the adult section. The library board had denied these requests. 

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Commissioners voted unanimously without discussion to approve the 2025 employee health insurance plan renewal that will keep the premium the same as it  currently is, which is $4.6 million.

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The quad protective netting project for the Bogart Sports Complex was also unanimously approved without discussion with the target completion date being mid-February. 

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Oconee County’s audit from fiscal year 2024 was presented by Clay Pilgrim, certified public accountant, from accounting and business advising firm, Rushton. The county’s revenues increased 5.4% and property taxes decreased $644,914. 

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The fiscal year 2025 update showed LOST, SPLOST and TSPLOST all trending higher than they were in 2024. 

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“Sales taxes are trending slightly better than we had planned,” said Melissa Braswell, the county finance director.

Why I Wrote the Story 

For this assignment I was tasked with attending the Oconee County Commissioner meeting, actively taking notes during the meeting and then writing an inverted pyramid meeting coverage story. Before attending the meeting I was required to research the county staff that would be in attendance, view and dissect the meeting agenda and research any government jargon that may be used to further understand any discussions that would take place during the meeting. I had the opportunity to ask follow-up questions after the meeting for any topics I didn't fully understand. I learned that active listening and note-taking are extremely important for an assignment like this. My interviewing skills have improved throughout the semester which made it easy to form and ask follow-up questions. The follow up questions and post-meeting interviews were very important for stories like this because the discussion during the meetings are pretty mundane and often need further explanation so you have enough information and quotes for a full story. 
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