County approves referendum for liquor by the drink

Pike commissioners voted 4-1 to allow a referendum on the November ballot for liquor sales by the drink in the county and discussed a proposed metal recycling center and animal control at their Tuesday, July 29 meeting. County manager John Hanson said a request for a referendum to allow liquor sales by the drink had been made. ’For Pike to have authority to issue pouring licenses for entities such as restaurants, there has to be a referendum for citizens to vote,’ he said. ‘You wouldn’t be authorizing it. All you’ll do is place it on the ballot in November so citizens can vote and let you know if they want to allow liquor sales by the drink in local restaurants.’ Commissioner Carol Bass opposed the referendum to allow ‘the governing authority to issue licenses to sell distilled spirits for beverage purposes by the drink, such sales to be for consumption only on the premises.’Commissioner Tamra Jarrett asked for an updated animal control timeline and the employee who will begin in August. Hanson said Novan Darsey was hired to serve in a code enforcement and animal control role and will assist animal control officer David Allen in all his duties.Hanson said the new buildings and grounds director will work to get the building complete and he is meeting with local rescue organizations to see if they can help provide items that are not in the department budget. He emphasized Pike will only be able to handle dangerous or vicious dogs. Allen noted a contract with a veterinarian for any necessary euthanizations needs to be agreed on soon. A public hearing was held to receive input on rezoning from M-1 (manufacturing rural) to M-2B (manufacturing heavy) to allow a metal recycling center at 1407 Highway 19, the former site of Everitte Enterprises. The property has 322 feet of frontage along the western side of Highway 19 and consists of 5.61 acres. David Allen presented the request and noted the planning commission recommended approval with several conditions at its July 10 meeting. Five citizens spoke in favor of the recycling center and five spoke in opposition. The center would be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. One condition requires it to be surrounded by a chain link fence with black fiber on it. Elaine Cooper, Sheila Everitte, John Morrison and Reggie Blount spoke in favor of the rezoning request. Ray Brumbelow, Brent Davis, Marjorie Cochran and Lynn Smith spoke in opposition. ’I’ve lived on Highway 19, 200 yards south of this property, for 35 of my 50 years,’ said Brumbelow who submitted a petition with names of citizens from the area. ‘We’re a quiet community and while we aren’t against people making a living, this would drive down our property values and quality of life due to noise.’Commissioner Tommy Powers asked how the facility would process cars since one condition would be not allowing cars to be stored on the premises. It also notes if batteries are discovered they must be placed in a cement container.Everitte said cars would be delivered to the site, titles processed then they would leave by rollback with nothing taken from the car other than a copy of the title. Jarrett asked how often large trucks would visit the property. Everitte said they would come once a week, noting with the black fence nothing would be visible unless visitors go through the gates of the property. Bass made a motion to approve the rezoning but it died for lack of a second. No other motion was made and it will be brought back up as unfinished business at the Aug. 13 meeting. Commissioners approved rezoning from M-1 to C-3 (heavy commercial) to allow for the continued use of mini-warehouse storage units on property owned by Everitte on Highway 19. The property has 165 feet of frontage on the western side of the highway and consists of two acres. Blount, the applicant, spoke in favor. There were none opposed and it was approved unanimously with several conditions. The county also:’¢ Appointed Helen Fordham to the Family and Children Services board for a five-year term to expire June 30, 2019. ’¢ Heard Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax and regular LOST numbers are up again for the third month in a row. The number had been on a steady decline but SPLOST collections were up $10,000 from last year’s collections. ’¢ Approved a previously approved plat with proposed lot line changes for two parcels that front Highway 362 West. ’¢ Approved a previously approved plat with proposed lot line changes for two parcels that front McDaniel Road.