PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
20 September 2022
Chairman Scott Stewart opened the meeting asking for announcements from the committee. There being none, he announced the next meeting would be the 4 October 2022. Commissioner Pope was asked to offer a prayer and lead the pledge. The Minutes of 2 August 2022 were moved for approval by Commissioner Erin Curry and Tameika Russell, and were approved. Chairman Stewart then noted that newly elected County Executive Graham Stowe would address the Commission.
County Executive Stowe thanked the commission for their work, and showed his desire to work in partnership with the commission. He also noted that he will be working with the Chairman to keep all informed.
Election of new officers was next on the agenda, with Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary to be elected. In all three offices only one person was nominated and with no other nominations, each person was approved by vote and elected after nominations were moved for ceasing. New officers are Connie Howell, Chairman, (nominated by Annelle Guthrie and seconded by Terry Jones;) Vice Chairman, Tommy Pope (nominated by Connie Howell, seconded by Terry Jones; and Secretary, Annelle Guthrie (nominated by Erin Curry, and seconded by Terry Jones). Former Chairman Stewart had noted prior to the voting that he was not interested in remaining as Chairman. He further noted prior to the Secretary’s election that position would be responsible for minutes in the absence of the undersigned, and would have the responsibility among other duties of signing and showing approval of the plats reviewed and approved by this Commission.
Chairman Howell then allowed concerned citizens from North Giles County to speak, noting they were on the agenda. Ms. Morgan Flowers of Flowers Creamery addressed two rumors of concern to citizens living in the North part of Giles County. The first rumor came about as a Rehab facility location being planned at a nearby ranch. With no zoning in the county and dependent solely on state laws, a rehab facility could be built in Giles County. Concerns raised were a near-by daycare center with young children attending, increase in drug related crimes, and decreased property values. However, this rumor turned out to be untrue with the property actually being re-worked into an event Center. Owner of the property Mr. Zac Hartog thought the rumor was the result of miscommunication. He mentioned his vision for the Center is community oriented especially for children, given his recent experience for a school in another state. He invited all to tour the Anchor Ranch and mentioned he had personally paid for extensive broadband lines that would accommodate approximately 400 households, with his center being only one of those. That capability should be up in the spring, he noted.
The second rumor is that a rehab center will be located in Odd Fellows Hall in Lynnville, which raises an additional concern that Giles County could be conceived as a haven for such enterprises. This rumor could not be confirmed but was a potential. At this point Scott Stewart gave a recap of previous actions regarding a Land Use Management Plan, known as LUMP or zoning. During this past year the existing LUMP, which was unenforceable, was discarded by the full legislative body. A request for funding for an expert to assist in the development of a scaled down version was also refused. Afterwards this Planning Commission also chose not to pursue any action on a LUMP until after the election (which would change the potential members of the commission). There was consensus that the state did have some protection for land owners, seen as more reactive than proactive. There were concerns raised at the time however that some protection was needed above the state’s, but a desire to strike a balance between land management vs protection was desirable. Ms. Flowers also spoke about absentee landowners and the rights of local property owners being impacted by the absentee owners.
Scott Stewart raised the question of do we want to send to the County Commission the concerns raised. County Executive Stowe stated “Be specific” and since it was noted that the county attorney was not present at this meeting, County Executive Stowe noted he would be meeting this week with the county attorney and would discuss this issue with him.
Next Agenda Item, TK Recycling, dealt with a request for county approval required under the Jackson Law for materials being recovered that are used for example in automotive air bags. Answering questions such as are you meeting zoning ordnances and all state requirements must be considered. Mr. David Kersey owner of TK Recycling gave a handout and spoke to the business. In particular the igniter that lights the chemicals to induce the inflation has had a more problematic history but has evolved to a more stable solution. Commissioner Jones asked about the timeline needed for the approval given this commission would not meet for another month, and was told by Mr Kersey that was within the necessary approval time. A motion by Scott Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Erin Curry was made and approved to send a recommendation to provide a county approval to the full legislative body.
Chairman Howell asked if there were any old/new business. Commissioner Guthrie discussed that she and Commissioner Jones during a CTAS meeting had discussed with a Putnam County individual how their county handles land management. Putnam County being similar to Giles County does not have zoning, and Commissioner Guthrie plans on having additional discussions with that individual.
Motion to adjourn made by Commissioner Jones, seconded by Commissioner Pope and was approved.
ATTENDEES: Members of the Committee – Connie Howell, Chairman, Scott Stewart, Malcolm Moore, Kristen Pfeiffer, Tamieka Russell, Tommy Pope, (absent John Haislip and Bill Myers) and Commissioners Terry Jones, Erin Curry, Annelle Guthrie. Other Commissioners attending – Roger Reedy, David Adams
Other – County Executive Graham Stowe; members of the public including speakers Morgan Flowers, Zac Hartog, David Kersey, Justin Davis
Lois Aymett
Recorder
