The Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved moving forward in the process to buy three drones to use for search and rescue operations, terrain mapping, watershed inspections and even sludge tracking.
Douglas Spencer, the director of Oglethorpe County’s emergency management agency, recommended spending $25,000 on three drones at Monday’s meeting, which lasted about 50 minutes.
“What Sam Moore from Wilkes County brought up here about those sludge sites, (drones are) going to be helpful, too, to monitor 300-500 acre sites for the sludge,” Commission Chair Jay Paul said.
One drone would be a Teledyne FLIR SIRAS that specializes in public safety applications due to its weather resistance and thermal cameras.
Spencer also requested a Parrot ANAFI USA drone that is lighter and could be used for inspections and mapping. In addition, the board will purchase a cheaper hobby drone to be used for pilot training.
County administrator Jason Lewis informed the board that the Sheriff’s Foundation would fund $10,000 for the drones, leaving the board to spend $15,000 from 2022 SPLOST funds.
The board also unanimously approved raising the EMS mileage rate from $10.50 per mile of transport to $15 per mile of transport, said Josh Robinson, new director of EMS. It’s also the recommended “reasonable” rate from the Georgia Medicare program.
“It's in line with other counties around us, and it's also in line with what Medicare and Medicaid will reasonably reimburse us for,” Robinson said. “(They reimburse) the county for the service it provided for EMS. So we bill insurance companies, and if you don’t have insurance, you get billed as a self-pay.”
Dredrick Lane’s request for a variance for his property at the corner of Hutchins Wolfskin Road and Harris Field Road had been recommended for denial by the zoning board due to concerns about emergency services’ ability to identify his property and others farther down the private drive that goes through his property.
The zoning board had told Lane that he would have to build a different driveway to distinguish his address.
“It's an adverse effect to me that now I have to go spend an extra amount of money to put in another driveway when I have an access road with a drive,” Lane said. “I shouldn't have to pay the price for a mistake made by someone else based on what they're saying because of the 911 system.”
The board unanimously overturned the zoning board’s recommendation.
The board also unanimously approved a resolution requesting that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division take steps to protect the Middle Fork of the Broad River from the environmental impacts of a chicken processing plant planned for Franklin Springs in Franklin County.
“This is just a team effort by several counties to help protect and preserve the Broad River,” Paul said.
In other news, the BOC:
- Unanimously approved Marc and Angela Rankin’s request to rezone 2686 Beaverdam Road (Tax Parcel 044 007) from general agriculture to agriculture residential to build a new home.
- Unanimously approved Brandi Escoe’s request to rezone 191A Pine Haven Lane from agriculture residential to single family residential to subdivide for family.
- Unanimously approved Escoe’s variance request for that same property, with the note that this is not an acceptance of a county road.
- Unanimously approved James Smith Jr.’s request for a withdrawal of a variance request.
- Unanimously approved the 2025 Special Revenue Fund budgets, totaling $1.78 million, including $50,000 for jail construction.
- During public comment, Scott Pettis of Crawford argued for more county government oversight over the school board, citing the Georgia Constitution.
- Brad Johns of Comer asked that the board open each meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.