With little discussion towards the end of a nearly two hour meeting on Thursday, August 15, 2024, Brooklet City Council approved a moratorium effective until December 2024, or until resolved, that will prevent new zoning and annexation applications from being received by council. The quick decision follows the recent annexation of almost 300 acres into Brooklet, where hundreds of homes are slated to be built in phases over the next few years.
Plus, Mayor Nicky Gwinnett's request for rezoning on the site of his cabinet business was denied as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Read on for this and more at last night's Brooklet City Council meeting.
Mayor Nicky Gwinnett opened the Thursday August 15, 2024 Brooklet City Council meeting at 7pm, with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
James Holloway, a resident of Sara Beth Drive, requested to be added to the agenda so he could ask his questions regarding maintaining the entrance to Winnie Brook Subdivision.
Holloway was seeking clarification on who holds the responsibility of cleaning up the easement at the entrance to Winnie Brook Subdivision, for which the mayor responded that it is technically the city.
With no consent agenda for approval, the council proceeded to approve the minutes of the following meetings.
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APPROVED: Consideration of a Motion to Approve the Minutes for the following Meetings
- April 6, 2024 Called Meeting
- April 18, 2024 City Council Meeting
- May 16, 2024 City Council Meeting
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APPROVED: Consideration of a Motion to Approve the July Financial Reports as presented.
The council members were provided with the packet of July’s financial report and Council member Brad Anderson recommended the approval of the report.
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Report from City Manager Carter Crawford
Crawford's first comment was to commend city workers for their efforts in cleaning up the relatively minor fallout of last week's storm.
He then gave a summary of balances, revenues and expenditures for the month of July finances.
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No Committee members made comments in the allotted section.
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Report from Police Chief Gary M. Roberts
“This Saturday is our annual 5k Peanut Run,” said Chief Roberts, reminding the public that this means some streets will be closed throughout the day.
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Report from Safety Coordinator Jim Stanoff (Not present)
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Report from the City Engineer (Wesley Parker, Parker Engineering, LLC)
Wesley Parker says that he is meeting with GDOT later this month about the Cromley Road project, and asked that the council gather pictures of the flooding issues on the road, as pictures are more explanatory.
Council members also mentioned that the Winnie Brook Subdivision’s entrances and exits are under extreme pressures and are experiencing weathering that could pose a safety risk.
Council member James Harrison brought up the El Maguey Mexican Restaurant's request for help relieving the plumbing issues that have recently cost them scores from the health department. His opinion is that the downtown will suffer tremendously if the restaurant does not receive help.
Parker says that the city needs to get ahead of the future issue that the permitted 250,000 gallons of water per day in the water agreement will need to be increased with the introduction of the new school in a few years.
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Report from the Water/Sewer Consultant
Matthew Morris spoke with Bulloch County Superintendent Charles Wilson regarding the intergovernmental agreement between the BOE and Brooklet on the water agreement for the prospective school. As a placeholder, the unit of 100,000 gallons per day has been used in the larger plan for the school's sewage needs.
Morris believes that it is time, though the target number of taps will fluctuate as plans solidify, to decide how the rest of the tap allowance will be dispersed across Brooklet.
Parker weighed in saying it needs to be considered that any additional sewage allowance from Statesboro would need to be allocated to the school.
Morris advises that the new subdivisions, subject of the recent planning and zoning meetings, will likely not move forward with their development until the council agrees to a certain allocation of taps.
Placing 750 taps would eliminate the debt incurred by the city by completing the sewer project, and Morris says that it is up to the city how quickly they want to pay it off and manage growth in Brooklet.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Morris said, that as contractors pull off of the Hyundai Plant Project, the city will receive more bids for the sewer project. It is necessary for the council to vote on a contractor for the project and award them by December of this year.
Mayor Pro-Tem Rebecca Kelly expressed her disfavor in having to tell taxpayers that the soonest they could have city sewer is 20-30 years from now. Parker responds that the most cost effective, forward thinking, yet imperfect plan would be to install a 6 inch pipe adjacent to the 12 inch main line during the installation of the main. Therefore if septic tanks fail, citizens have the option to pay to tie in to the sewer.
Mayor Gwinnett says he is reserved to push for that decision, as the city previously merely promised sewage to the commercial downtown area, and he fears that the city would be at a loss if not enough people can pay to hook up to the 6 inch line.
Council member Sheila Wentz says that hearsay of the town has led citizens to believe that the sewer plan’s end goal has always been to service their homes, whereas the true nature of the sewage agreement originated from the needs of the commercial downtown area.
”We’ve got to start somewhere with the infrastructure to be able to do sewer, and this is where it starts,” said Council member Kieth Roughton.
City Manager Carter Crawford says that a comprehensive growth management plan is going to be necessary as the tap allotments are negotiated between current Brooklet subdivisions, future developments and the commercial downtown businesses.
Council members are concerned and want to be cautious about doling out the taps and allowing construction of homes at a pace which is sustainable in Brooklet, under the advisement of the city attorney, engineer, manager and consultant. Council has made estimates of allotments of taps but plans are not solidified.
- DISCUSSION ITEMS
- APPROVED Consideration of a Motion to Approve the recommendation from the Planning & Zoning Commission for Application RZ2024-016 submitted by G3 Ventures, LLC. On April 9, 2024, the Planning Commission recommended not to approve the rezoning request for application RZ2024-016.
As this is Mayor Gwinnett's personal application, he recused himself during the discussion and voting. Council member Harrison says that City Attorney Ben Perkins has given council plenty of feedback on the situation, and Harrison does not believe that this is a spot zoning issue. Therefore Harrison, as well as Roughton, support the rezoning in favor of the application’s request.
Gwinnett's attorney referred to the packet that was passed to the council, which lists the zoning code that states the various uses, alongside historical zoning decisions that he believes supports Gwinnett's case for a rezone.
The council recorded a vote of 3-2 in favor of the planning and zoning commission recommendation to deny the rezoning request.
- APPROVED Discussion and Consideration of a Motion to Approve the Proposal from Rehrig Pacific Company for purchasing (112) 95 Gallon EG Carts, (50) Lids with Pins, and (100) 10- inch Wheels for $9,248.00.
- Brooklet Mainstreet Makeover Discussion
Council has reached out to multiple local entities in order to start putting a committee together, that may decide upon the multiple suggested makeover items, such as new signage, that were brought in front of council.
- APPROVED Discussion and Consideration of a Motion to Approve a Resolution of the City of Brooklet, Georgia to impose a Moratorium on the Receipt of Zoning and Annexation Applications.
The growth of Brooklet is unprecedented, and the purpose of the moratorium would be to give the city the opportunity to take measures to ‘clean up the permitted use charts’ and flesh out the council’s ideas regarding development and designs, according to City Attorney Ben Perkins.
- Motion died for lack of a second - Discussion and Consideration of a Motion to Approve the Quitclaim Deed for undedicated City streets.
Mayor Gwinnett strongly suggested that the council do not approve this, as they do not want to annex and want to drill their own well. Perkins says he is unsure if the area is platted and dedicated, and cautions the city not to hastily approve.
- APPROVED Discussion and Consideration of a Motion to Approve the purchase of a new Police Vehicle to be paid from Splost.
Police Chief Roberts' 2023 Dodge Durango would be from Woody Folsom, and the vehicle would be getting outfitted by another service. Chief Roberts says it is beneficial as a command type vehicle that could store equipment and is competitive price wise.
The council approved a consideration of a Motion to adjourn just after 8:45 pm.
