Wilkes Co. commission hears mobile home, ATV complaints
By SPARKY NEWSOME editor

Complaints that mobile homes have been and continue to be set up improperly in the Holliday Park area of the county and that "mud riders" keep some of the roads in a bad state of disrepair took up the biggest portion of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners meeting last Thursday, April 10.

"We're getting more trailers down there and I just don't think they've got permits," said Boyd Tallent, a property owner and developer in the area. "I've always understood that we had to have trailers underpinned before we got power turned on and we had to have certain regulations done." He also said there are trailers without septic tanks hooked up.

Tallent said he owns about 500 acres there that he wants to develop with "some nice homes" and he and one of his sons also want to build homes for themselves on the property. "But we don't want to build down there and develop that if there's going to be ... We've got to improve and we've got to do like Lincoln County. We've got to improve Wilkes County and we've got to have rules and regulations," he said.

Commission Chairman Sam Moore pointed out that there are regulations in place which govern the placement and movement of mobile homes into and within the county. He also said that if a mobile home is occupied without a septic tank, it is in violation of not only a county ordinance, but state law as well. He encouraged Tallent to report any that he knew of because "that's strictly against the law and we would really like to know where they are."

Moore also explained the county's regulations and said that he was "pretty sure" that the trailer to which Tallent was referring is in compliance with those regulations.

Tallent maintained that "there are people down there that don't have septic tanks but when I go reporting them, then I'm the S.O.B."

Tallent also said that "mud riders" are tearing up some county roads "every time it rains." He suggested signs threatening prosecution as a possible deterrent.

"If we could get some signs that say 'Violators will be prosecuted,' I assure you I can get you some violators," Tallent said. He indicated that he thought the "violators" were coming in "the back way" from McDuffie County and tearing the roads all to pieces.

Again, Moore encouraged Tallent and others to report any incidents as they occur.

All of the commissioners, Divenski Lee, Donna Hardy, John Howard, Jerry Stover, and Moore were present for the regular April meeting of the board. County Administrator David Tyler, County Attorney Charles LeGette, and a number of visitors were also in attendance.

Representing the Area Agency on Aging, Bertha Sims reported on topics discussed at the last board meeting and also asked about the possibility of using the county's Senior Center van for day trips outside the county.

Moore said that those vans are provided to the county by the Georgia Department of Transportation free of charge and in order to keep them, "we have to go by DOT regulations. We have to keep our trip count up in order to keep the number of vans we have." The problem, he said, is that a longer, out-of-county trip might reduce the number of trips a van could make in a day because of the mileage involved.

"We've kept the price of riding in our vans down," Moore explained, "but we do stay pretty much inside the county. The vans stay pretty busy, and they need to in order to keep the number of trips up."

However, Moore pointed out that there is nothing to prevent the Senior Center board from making the decision to use the van for day trips "as long as we keep up with the number of trips and don't run the risk of losing any of our vans. It can probably be worked out," he said.

In other business ...

l Linda Echols reported that Wilkes County had the most representation at the recent Area Agency on Aging meeting. "We had all our government and community organizations represented," she said, "and I thank you very much." She also invited the commissioners and any others to the agency's annual Awards and Recognition Program to be held May 14, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Julian Smith Casino in Augusta.

l Moore said that construction on rest rooms, a boat dock, and other things at Holliday Park will get started this month with the help of a work crew from the Department of Corrections.

l The board expressed congratulations to Augusta State Jaguar basketball player Tyrekus "A.J." Bowman for a good season making it to the Division II National Championship game, and for being the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year for the second time. Bowman is from Tignall and is a 2004 graduate of Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School.

l Tyler reported that $82,034.80 in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax had been received for the month of January and that $53,105.85 in Local Option Sales Tax had been received for the same period.

l Tourism Director Ashley Barnett reported that the city of Washington and the county had received "lots of publicity" through the Masters, the WJBF-TV Channel 6 "Your Hometown" broadcast, and the Tour of Homes. She said her officehas received numerous calls and requests for information.

l Moore and the commissioners thanked Tallent for his donation of light poles for the Washington- Wilkes Parks and Recreation soccer fields.

The next regular meeting of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners will be at 7 p.m. on May 8, 2008.

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