Politics & Government
Oconee County Commissioners Postpone Decision On Old Mars Hill Road Pending Input From Public
The county already has spent $10,000 on design work.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners last night turned back Chairman Melvin Davis’ attempt to get funding for the reconnection of Old Mars Hill Road to Mars Hill Road itself, but it agreed to revisit the question in a month.
The Board also learned that the actual cost of the project will be $140,000 or more, not the $115,000 originally listed.
And it was told that the county already has spent $10,000 of that amount on design work.
County Public Works Director Emil Beshara told the group that he had no data on possible use of the route, which would be a shortcut between the section of Mars Hill Road that runs east-west and the part that runs north-south.
Beshara also told the group that no one from the county had informed residents of the nearby Oak Ridge subdivision or anyone else of the county’s plans to reconnect Old Mars Hill Road to the new Mars Hill Road now undergoing widening and reconstruction.
For more on this story, go to Oconee County Observations.
Pictured: Commissioner Jim Luke, who challenged the proposed project.