The Columbia County Board of Commissioners made two decisions in its meeting Tuesday regarding the matter of Fresco Café’s license to sell alcohol.
The board voted unanimously trot to revoke the Martinez restaurant’s license to sell beer and wine. In turn, the board voted to deny its application to sell distilled spirits. With this decision, Fresco Café would be permitted to reapply for a license to sell spirits after one year.
The revision request for a planned unit development at 1000 West Lake Commons Dr. was tabled once again to be revisited at Dec. 21 commission meeting. This is after the rezoning request was tabled from the Oct. 19 meeting.
A rezoning request for a parcel on 6322 Wrightsboro Road to be changed from residential agricultural to community commercial was voted down in the meeting. Jillian Ready, an architect with firm Johnson, Laschober and Associates, spoke before on behalf of owners John Hebbard and Sherry Miller to address the planning department’s recommendation to deny the request. The purpose of the rezoning would be for turning the property into a restaurant with a game room and commercial units.
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The planning department’s concern about rezoning the property was sewer availability. Ready said when she asked whether the health department would consider a septic installation as an alternative, they would not approve or disapprove. Deputy county manager Matt Schlachter noted that the Department of Public Health insisted that the property be connected to county sewers. Commissioner Don Skinner motioned to disapprove the request, Commissioner Dewey Galeas seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
The board approved a request for a parcel at 721 Gateway Center Blvd. to be granted conditional use for a tattoo studio. Schlachter noted the conditional use was for the suite, not the entire parcel.
The board approved a proposal to develop a master plan for water and wastewater systems with engineering firm Goodwyn Mills Cawood at the cost of $297,000. The project would entail several assessments of the county’s current systems and is estimated to require about 50 weeks and 3,000 man hours to complete.
Chairman Doug Duncan expressed caution regarding entering into the agreement with GMC, saying the board should “tread lightly” when dealing with consultants. County manager Scott Johnson emphasized GMC’s consulting track record, particularly its work with Henry County on a similar project.
The board ultimately voted unanimously to approve the project.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering Columbia County with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
