Corps Extends Deadline For Comment On Publix Permit Request

The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has extended its deadline for public comment on the request by Publix Supermarkets Inc. to dredge and fill a tributary of Barber Creek so it can build a shopping center on the Oconee Connector between SR 316 and Mars Hill Road.

The Corps made its decision to extend the deadline from Thursday until Nov. 21 after Vicki Soutar, chair of Oconeewaters, contacted Project Manager Stacy Marshall and indicated that Marshall had been inaccessible during a move of the Corps’ Office.

In a reissuance of the Joint Public Notice regarding the project today, the Corps blamed “unforeseen circumstances with the relocation of the Piedmont office” from Murrow south of Atlanta to Atlanta for the problem.

Jody Woodall, Public Works director for Oconee County, has confirmed that the construction plans and final construction of the Oconee Connector from SR 316 to Mars Hill Road do not include a cut for the entrance to the shopping center shown on the grading map submitted to the Corps.

Publix would have to apply for a driveway permit before it could build that entrance, Woodall said, and that application would be reviewed by the Georgia Department or Transportation or by Oconee County, depending on which has authority over the roadway at the time of the application.

At present, the roadway is still designated as a state roadway and is under Georgia Department of Transportation control, though it is expected to be transferred to the county shortly, Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell has said.

In unrelated news, the Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration Thursday certified the results of the Watkinsville elections held on Tuesday. Incumbent Mayor Dave Shearon, who lost to Bob Smith by two votes, now has two business days to ask for a recount.

For more on the story, including a video of the Board of Elections and Registration meeting, please go to Oconee County Observations.