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Commission differs with resident on road improvements
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North Bryan County resident Stephen Rominsky told the Bryan County Commissioners at their November 12 monthly meeting that he had been waiting
years to see some road improvements in the north end of the county.
     "I don't see much improvement in the roads in this end of the county. It seems all the money is spent in Richmond Hill. I've been waiting a long time for
something to be done up here," Rominsky said. He added that he had been promised by previous county commissions that there would be paving west of Pembroke but that nothing ever happens.
     Commission chairman Carter Infinger listened to Rominsky for almost 10 minutes before telling him the facts don't bear out what the north Bryan resident was saying.
     "Since 2017, we spent $1.2 million on the roads in the north end. In the south end, we've spent $566.000. I'm going to give you this list," the chairman said. Commissioner Noah Covington also told Rominsky the roads in north Bryan had been resurfaced recently.
     In other planning and zoning items, the commission:
     *Approved a rezoning request from Kimberly Blocker for .959 acres at 8466 Highway 280 from R-4 to R-1 to that the lot could be recombined with an adjacent lot currently zoned R-1. No one spoke at the public hearing.
     * Approved a rezoning request from Paul and Priscilla Cates for property at 23615 Highway 144 from A-5 to AR-5 to allow the property to be split so a house can be built for the Cates' daughter. "This rezoning is for a medical situation for my daughter," Cates said.
     "I see no reason for changing any of the zoning. Mr. Cates' house has five bedrooms and I understand medical issues. The restrictive covenants for the
subdivision Mr. Cates lives in strictly prohibits subdivision of the lots any further. It's not in keeping for the plan for that area. If we do this, we're going to have everyone up and down the road...come before you and say they want to do the same thing," Sheila Galbreath told the commissioners.
     * Disapproved a rezoning request from Billy and Leo Schwarz for property at 3466 Highway 204 from B-1 to B-2. Originally, the rezoning was requested to accommodate a church that is no longer interested in purchasing the property. Planning director Amanda Clements said her staff would work with the applicants to see what would better suit their needs.
     Other commission business included:
     * Approved an amended set of design guidelines for Waterways that are consistent with the interim development ordinance.
     * Held a first reading of an amendment to the county's erosion and sediment control ordinance that will bring it inline with state requirements and
allow the county to maintain its local issuing agency status, which provides the ability to approve soil and erosion plans.
     * Authorized an ambulance purchase for $199,000. The commission had previously authorized a purchase from a different vendor but that deal fell through.
     * Approved an intergovernmental lease agreement for $21,000,000 between the county and the Bryan County Public Facilities Authority. It will allow the authority to acquire funding that will be repaid from Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax revenue. Projects include the acquisition of certain recreational property, improvements to Henderson Park, fire stations one and nine, including the acquisition of trucks and tankers and other purposes.
     * Approved a service delivery strategy stipulation agreement that outlines all areas of service delivery that have been agreed to by the cities of Richmond Hill, Pembroke and Bryan County.
     * Approved an intergovernmental agreement between Richmond Hill, Pembroke and Bryan County for animal control services. County administrator Ben Taylor said there is no practical difference between the service outlined in the agreement and the service Bryan County currently provides.

     * Approved a development agreement that outlines the responsibilities for providing infrastructure to the Interstate Center.

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