Transportation, Including Referendum, Dominates Town Hall Meeting

Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell said in advance that the Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday night was going to have a “special focus” on the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum on the ballot in November.

As a lead-in to the discussion of the tax, Daniell gave a rundown of road projects underway in the county and then transitioned to what the county will do with the sales revenue if voters approved the 1 percent additional sales tax.

Audience members certainly picked up on the word “transportation” in those introductory comments.

They raised concerns about speeding on Lavista Road, paving of dirt roads, the planned interchanges on SR 316 at Dials Mill Road and Dials Mill Extension, and congestion at the Hog Mountain Road intersection with U.S. 441.

They also asked for additional details on the proposed tax and the use of the money it will generate if passed.

They also asked why the Board of Commissioners didn’t always follow the recommendation of the county’s Planning Commission and questioned the use of bond sales to finance the planned administrative building.

The meeting ran 80 minutes, was attended by 21 people in-person with another seven connected remotely, and was testier at times than is usual at Town Hall meetings.

For more on the story, with a video of the Town Hall meeting, please go to Oconee County Observations.