Entries by Erin Rossiter

Members of the Maysville City Council expressed concern about a drafted ordinance that would, at the very least, formally establish the city’s newly designated historic preservation committee.

Councilmen Junior Hardy and Scott Harper each acknowledged their strong feelings about curtailing homeowners’ rights, which is what they mainly took away from the first draft of a historic preservation ordinance directly modeling others used in Georgia. [Full Story »] 

The Commerce Planning Commission voted to recommend passage of a new zoning district during its Monday meeting.

The ordinance, if passed by the city council on May 14, will piggyback one the Jackson County Board of Commissioners already passed. [Full Story »] 

Administrators with Commerce City Schools are reviewing how, if at all they can add more days to the academic calendar for students and teachers next year.

The Board of Education unanimously agreed during its regular meeting on Monday (Feb. 13) to table the proposed 2012-2013 calendar, which mirrors the one currently in use. [Full Story »] 

The Commerce Board of Education unanimously voted Rodney Gary to the board’s top post on Monday during its regular January meeting.

Former board chairman, Dr. Paul Sergent, seconded the motion made by Bill Davis, who first asked Sergent if the change suited him.

Sergent agreed. Davis referenced earlier phone calls that Sergent made to each of the board members, during which he apparently indicated his willingness to step aside.
[Full Story »] 

In a reversal of her previous vote, outgoing Maysville councilwoman Lynn Villyard rejected a Jackson County man’s petition that his property be annexed and partially rezoned for commercial use.

Her vote during the council’s regular meeting on Monday killed Gary Adams’ proposal, which called for the city to annex his nearly 45 acres and at the same time rezone 18.9 of the acres abutting Ga. Highway 52 to C2. The city’s C2 planning and zoning classification is tailored for highway commercial development. [Full Story »] 

The Commerce City Schools’ board of education approved a new athletic team, which will dive into its season immediately.

The high school was authorized to organize a swim team this winter with limited participation and a scaled-back schedule to include about three to four competitive meets, said athletic director and principal Donnie Drew. [Full Story »] 

The Maysville City Council met a second time last week to fine-tune its proposed 2012 budget, which was balanced using reserve funds.

Mayor Jerry Baker questioned police chief Clarence Sullens about how the department could pare down its costs. The department is nearly $30,000 over its 2011 budget, which reflects the hiring of a fourth, full-time officer, Sullens explained.

Council members joined Baker in focusing on how a new take-home, patrol car policy and change in fuel choice could work to the city’s advantage.
[Full Story »] 

The Maysville City Council spent more than an hour at a meeting last week looking over the city’s proposed 2012 budget, which currently relies on the contingency fund to cover its expenses.

The fund’s depletion became the starting point for the council’s first budget workshop last week as city clerk Barbara Thomas confirmed the emergency account would drop next year to about $10,000 from its current level of $47,531. [Full Story »] 

The Commerce City Schools Board of Education passed an $11.12 million budget, which projects a steep dip into the reserve fund balance that will deplete the fund to $144,525 over the 2012 fiscal year

The vote happened during the board’s regular meeting on Monday; however a copy of the budget did not publish in the newspaper, which is legally required, so the board held a called meeting Wednesday to repeat the process.

[Full Story »]