The City of Hinesville held their regular meeting Feb. 3, where they approved a request by Two Auto RE, LLC, to rezone a combined 0.95 acres of land from commercial-2 and residential-2 to commercial- 3 for a car wash and oil change business.
Phillip Odum stood in opposition, not to the proposed changes or the new business but to the special condition imposed in the rezoning request regarding the closure of the driveway that currently leads to his family’s estate home that sits directly behind the current Bennett Allstate office and is zoned residential. The Allstate office and the building next to it are scheduled to be demolished if the new business venture moves forward.
Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission Director Jeff Ricketson said the council is only approving the rezoning to C-3. He said the matter regarding the driveway is a civil matter currently being discussed between the owners of each property. The council approved the rezoning.
The mayor and council approved a request by Horse Creek Partners, LLC, to rezone 18.36 acres of land, more or less, from C-3 (Highway Commercial District) to PUD (Planned Unit Development District) at the intersection of Airport Road and Crystal Lake Street. The maximum number of proposed dwelling units is 130. The majority will consist of townhouses/ duplexes. There is potential for six single-family dwellings.
The mayor and council approved Happy Acres, LLC, owner John Baker’s petitions for rezoning of 27.38 acres from MH (Manufactured Home Park District) to PUD (Planned Unit Development District) at 1125 Kelly Drive for a more flexible mixture of manufactured homes and RVs.
Councilman Keith Jenkins commended Baker for taking a formerly rundown, drug-infested mobile home park and turning it into a place where people want to live.
By a narrow margin, the council approved a request by Eric Brown, applicant, to rezone 0.88 acres from R-2 (Single-Family Dwelling District) to C-2 (General Commercial District) for a Highway 55 burger, shakes and fries diner at the intersection of Magnolia Lane and West Oglethorpe Highway. The property owner is Janet Lee Hayes.
During the public hearing, homeowner Benjamin Crump said he opposes the rezoning because of the constant drainage issues that come right into his property. He said his family owns the property adjacent to the proposed diner. He said he’s had drainage issues ever since they constructed the Krispy Kreme building and others in recent years. He said the city is destroying the neighborhood and asked why the city needed another burger place when there is one across the street and several throughout the city.
After a lot of discussion, the council approved the motion to rezone and asked the parties involved to work together during the design phase to address the homeowner’s concern. City Manager Kenneth Howard said he will meet with the homeowner to address his concerns. Mayor Allen Brown cast a vote to break the 2-2 tie, with Councilwoman Vicky Nelson abstaining from the vote, and councilmembers Diana Reid and Jenkins voting no.
Mayor and council awarded the construction of the Hinesville Fire Station and Administration Building to Lavender Construction in the amount of $7,483,500. The designs were completed and approved on Oct. 13, 2021. Construction bid documents were prepared and sent out by Hussey, Gay and Bell in December 2021. Seven bids were received and reviewed on Jan. 19, with Lavender being the lowest.
They approved Phase 1 of Southside Park and awarded the bid to Sittle Construction at a cost of $1,166,968.40. The city’s original budget for Phase 1 was $649,175, and the County is contributing $350,000 in funds for Phase 1, leaving them with a shortfall of $167,793.40. City engineer Paul Simonton recommended awarding the bid and then finding some areas in the design where they could cut some costs to fit their budget. They also voted to change the name to Krebs Park.
They presented a resolution to increase the city’s hotel/motel tax from 5% to 8%, like the City of Flemington and the County have done. It will be an action item at a later meeting and then submitted to state Rep. Al Williams for legislation.
They approved a Class V Alcohol License to sell beer and wine at the 3rd annual Food Truck Festival for the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce on March 26. Councilwoman Reid asked about their previous ruling about not issuing permits but was told COVID numbers were declining.
Reid asked about the two portable buildings at Hineshaw and if those were being removed. Howard said they will be placing those in surplus and an action item at their next meeting. Reid asked Assistant City Manager Ryan Arnold why she has yet to receive a monthly report she’s requested on the allocation of funds. Howard said she will be getting those and introduced new Community Development Director Errol Newark.
Newark used to work in Fulton County. He is a UGA graduate and originally from British Guiana. He has more than two decades of community development experience.
During his report, Howard said that COVID numbers are declining. He recommended they extend the city’s emergency order for another 30 days. Only 30% of the residents in the County are fully vaccinated. Howard said as of Feb. 2, four people were hospitalized.