Board of Commissioners considers address assignment changes for 911
By SPARKY NEWSOME editor

A public notice in the last two issues of this newspaper announced that "due to changes in emergency response procedures, it is imperative that address assignments in the unincorporated areas [of the county] be accurate." County Commission Chairman Sam Moore explained at last Thursday's regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners that addresses are now being checked because it was noticed that some of them are wrong.

Prompted by a numbering problem noticed when the City of Washington renamed a street, Moore said, "in looking at our numbering systems, we have found that the numbering is not correct on some of them so we're going back and trying to make sure that all the addresses are right." He reported that employees have been measuring roads all over the county to make sure that addresses are correct.

It's important to the 911 system, Moore explained, so that when ambulances go out they will not have a problem finding someone who needs help.

"There will be some changes and we just hope it won't be too much of an inconvenience, and we hope it won't be very many," Moore said. "We're going to try to work it out to leave them the way they are if it's a problem for the residents," he explained, "but there are going to be some changes, there's no doubt about that."

Despite the few inconveniences, Moore said that it will, in the long run, be a good thing for the homeowners, the county, and the 911 system.

All of the commissioners were in attendance at the meeting held on November 8 at 7 p.m. in the Wilkes County Courthouse. They are Divenski Lee, Donna Hardy, John Howard, Jerry Stover, and Moore. Also attending were County Administrator David Tyler, County Attorney Charles LeGette, and about a dozen visitors.

After a beer and wine license application was approved for Ray Moore, the board considered setting the annual fees for beer and wine licenses.

"I consider this a luxury tax and I think it ought to go way up," Hardy said, but without support.

Tyler reported on amounts charged by surrounding counties, demonstrating that all are the same or very similar with the exception of Oglethorpe County which is much lower ($105.00) for retail licenses, and has no fee for wholesale.

Current fees for Wilkes County are $500.00 for a retail beer and wine license and $300.00 for a renewal. Wholesale new and renewal licenses are $100.00 each. All licenses expire on December 31 of each year and there is no pro-rating of any license fee.

"We are in line with other counties around us and I recommend that we keep them the way they are," Moore said.

Fees for 2008 were approved at the same as the current level.

In other business:

l An S5311 Resolution was passed as a formality to keep the county's transit system running. The system is in place to provide service on an on-call (but not 24-hour) basis with limited in-county service.

l Tyler reported that $103,388.45 had been received in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for the month of August and that $67,720.52 in Local Option Sales Tax had been received for the same month. "Those figures continue to stay up and that's good news for us," Moore observed.

l EMS Director Blake Thompson reported that his department was preparing for another weekend motocross event at Aonia Pass. He also said that construction on the new EMS building was nearing completion.

l Hardy, in her capacity as Executive Director of the Washington- Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, reported on several upcoming events including Candlelight Shopping on The Square, a Communities of Opportunity meeting for elected and appointed officials, the Chamber of Commerce banquet, and a blood drive for the benefit of Chris Charping.

l Moore reported that he and others had attended a meeting in Macon where "we were designated an 'Entrepreneur Friendly Community.' Donna and the Chamber of Commerce have really worked hard on this and it will get us in line for some grants," he said.

l Moore also reported that a group had attended groundbreaking ceremonies for Range Fuels' $200 million plant near Soperton, Georgia, on Tuesday, November 6. He indicated that Range Fuels had expressed some interest in Wilkes County as well.

l Moore reminded those in attendance to remember those who have served in the United States military during the Veterans Day weekend. He also expressed the commission's condolences to Gladys Reese in the recent death her husband.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners will be on Thursday, December 13, at 2 p.m. with a work session immediately preceding at 1:30.

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