By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

Eight stores received approval for alcohol package sales from the Morgan County Board of Commissioners Tuesday morning. The ninth, a restaurant, received a pouring license.
The stores are: The River Store, Rainbow Food Store, Blue Springs Marina, Fairplay General, Apalachee Bait Shop, BP Country Store, Katy’s Korner, Buckhead Chevron, and Cowboy’s Hot Spot.
A $22,400 project to re-stripe 19 miles of county roads came before Commissioners. Four different county roads will be restriped: Pierce Dairy, Seven Islands, Prospect, and Wagnon Mill. The money will come from SPLOST Line items for this fiscal year, per a letter provided by Gregg Pennington, Morgan County Road Superintendent.
A request from the Joint Development Authority (JDA) of Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton counties received approval from Commissioners. Approval took the form of two motions.
The first, to execute the intergovernmental contract regarding a $5.9 million GEFA loan to fund a portion of the Baxter wastewater pretreatment facility. The second, an intergovernmental contract containing the terms of the funding. 
Commissioners addressed an oversight pertaining to changes made to the county’s zoning ordinance: they approved zoning districts and maps.
County Planning Director Chuck Jarrell then recommended – and received – approval for three rezoning requests: 400 acres on Blue Springs Road and 10.88 acres on Apalachee River Road are now “Recreation Conservation (RC)” while 2.58 acres on Seven Islands Road is now “General Commercial (C2).”
Lori Sayer, Finance Director for Morgan County, said the county is “right on target” with its expenditures. They are at 37 percent when 41 percent is normal for this time of year. She added that the audit is “going pretty well” and should be finished by Dec. 31.
In a special called session held immediately following the regularly scheduled meeting, Commissioners voted to sell approximately 290 square feet for $1,000 to Dana and Richard Kibbey. The property, located on the old Commissioners’ Office property, had been encroached upon.
Commissioner Mack Bohlen said this is at least the second or third time this encroachment has come before the board. The other times the board chose not to sell the property.

Printed in the December 6, 2012 edition