Three troublesome properties: Golf Couse, Splash Pad, Caboose

by
MARY ANN ANDERSON
The Hazlehurst City Council passed more than a dozen motions, all of them unanimous, during last Monday night’s workshop and regular monthly meeting on Thursday night.
During both meetings, discussions rose about what to do with three troublesome city properties: Twisted Pine Golf Course and Civic Center, Hazlehurst Water World Splash Pad and the caboose located at South Williams and Latimer streets.
After Thursday night’s closed session to discuss real estate, the embattled, money-draining golf course complex was dispatched of quickly when the council returned to regular session and voted that the process to place it up for bids to sell it is now legally in the works. Mayor Bayne Stone also announced that the caboose, long in need of paint and repairs, is also up for sale (see story on the caboose elsewhere in the Ledger).
In Monday night’s meeting, Ward 2 Councilman John Ramay took the reins to discuss the splash pad, explaining that while it belongs to the city, it sits on county property. The county recently fenced in part of its property at the splash pad, leaving no room for parking or access to the bathrooms for splash pad customers. Ramay then moved to donate it to the county.
But Ward 1 Councilman Dywane Johnson said he didn’t want to give anything to the county, adding that the city needed it “for our kids.”
Stone pointed out that the city has invested about $300,000 in the splash pad and that while it’s a “tremendous asset” to the community, it’s expensive to maintain.
Steve Faught, who oversees the splash pad, explained that to open in time for Memorial Day, the city would have to build a road, put in restrooms and complete repairs.
After more discussion with no firm outcome, Johnson offered an alternate motion to table it to a later date, which passed unanimously, but then in Thursday night’s meeting, Ward 3 Councilwoman Diane Leggett explained that she had spoken with county officials since Monday night and that the county didn’t want to take over the splash pad. The county did agree, however, to put in a culvert to allow parking access, cut a gate through the fence so that splash pad patrons can use the restrooms and move the fence for more room for walking. With ownership permanently in the hands of the city, the council then voted to get the splash pad ready to be open Memorial Day.
In a lengthy discussion led off by Hazlehurst Zoning Board Chairman Robert Carter, the issue of owning a tiny house in Hazlehurst appears to be no tiny matter.
Carter said that in recent weeks, it has been brought to his attention that “people are seeking to establish tiny homes.” He said the generally accepted square footage for a small home is 400-1,000 square feet, while a tiny home is less than 400 square feet.
But Hazlehurst’s zoning laws require that residences in the city limits are at least 1,000 square feet and in some neighborhoods at least 1,500 square feet. Based on the current ordinance, some small and all tiny homes are not allowed.
“I would like for the council to research and pass an ordinance to set ground rules as to what we can accept for a tiny or small home,” Carter said.
Stone agreed, saying that the city needs to adopt modification for zoning for the houses. Hazlehurst businessmen and developers Robyn Williams and Olin Wooten attended the meeting, both of whom have interest in building small and tiny houses. The council then authorized Carter and City Attorney Ken W. Smith to begin preliminary work to incorporate areas and criteria for building those properties to include both residential and commercial ventures.
In Thursday’s Mayor and Council’s Comments, Ward 4 Councilman and Hazlehurst Police Department liaison John Bloodworth, in repeated conversations from previous City Council meetings, lamented about the low morale in the HPD because of its being short-staffed and employees overworked. Some want to walk away, he noted, and adding that the department needs incentives to bring in new officers and keep the ones now employed.
“Those men have to have relief,” he said. “They can’t continue like it is.”
The council discussed but made no firm plans to hold a meeting between the council and HPD.
Also in Thursday’s meeting, the council heard from Paula Bloodworth, who lives at Greenbriar Apartments, about her concerns over the safety of city water.
In making her impassioned statement, Ms. Bloodworth said that many of her neighbors have continual issues including stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting and that her family members have had unusual medical issues as well. Among her main concerns were that the city in 2022 was hit with violations against the Water Department but citizens weren’t notified until 2023, that the Gill Street well isn’t safe from decades-old contamination from Otis Elevator and the long-term effects of spraying chemicals in agricultural and recreational areas.
Both Orson P. “Opie” Hall, who is fully trained in water and wastewater management, and Stone assured her that the water is safe to drink, that some of the chemicals that are found in the water are naturally occurring because of minerals in the ground and that monitoring of all the water is consistent and regulated.
Stone also noted that all cities around Hazlehurst are all operating out of the same aquifer and all have safe water, adding, “We’re doing as good of a job of protecting our public as anybody is.”
In other matters, the council also discussed but made no formal motion to make modifications to the food truck ordinance to protect local merchants and the city, most notably with Stone saying that trucks can’t park within 50 feet of a local restaurant.
A resolution was approved to move forward with the building of a new corporate hangar at Hazlehurst Municipal Airport at a cost of $948,680, with a local match of just $38,000, with the remainder coming from federal and GDOT aviation funds. Another resolution was okayed for a $1 million Community Development Block Grant and acknowledgement of subrecipient language access plan requirements from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for water and sewer improvements in the Hatton Still Road area.
After hearing a proposal from City Clerk Vernice Thompson, the council voted to purchase software for $3,750 from Caselle that will help track maintenance orders more efficiently and have a better management policy process. In a related matter, Thompson asked the council to approve a weekly staff meeting for the staff and supervisors of the Public Works Department for “employees to communicate better.” That motion passed, as well as another she requested that asked the council look further into the details of an employee confidentiality agreement that would hold employees “more accountable” for city property at the time of their termination.
Thompson also read a lengthy letter from Lonnie Roberts, who is chair of the First Baptist Church deacons. Roberts stated that because of the “dangerous situation for pedestrians” and “high speed of traffic on Coffee Street,” which runs parallel to the church from Renasant Bank to the Hazlehurst-Jeff Davis County Historical Society Museum, that the church asked for two sets of speed bumps to be installed on both ends of the street. The council agreed that the city install and pay for the speed bumps.
Laura Bloom, president of the Hazlehurst-Jeff Davis County Chamber of Commerce and Joint Development Authority, reported that the JDA had received a grant to expand the water line for fire suppression from the city limits on U.S. Highway 341 South to benefit several businesses along the route, including Williams Brothers Trucking, Pallet One and primarily Thompson Hardwoods that is part of the Beasley Group.
In housekeeping matters, the council approved last month’s police report, water and sewer adjustments, departmental reports, financial statements and check register. Smith also gave the first reading of revisions to business license and sewer ordinances. The council also voted to modify a contract for an additional $2,115 for work on the city’s Odom Street well and also to sign a proclamation declaring April 30-May 5 Annual Professional Municipal Clerks Week.