The Board of Commissioners’ monthly meetings will relocate to the Oglethorpe County Courthouse starting Monday, March 2.
Meetings have been regularly held at the Board of Commissioners office on Union Point Road in Lexington since 1998, after previously being at the courthouse. An exception was one meeting in May 2021, when commissioners moved to the courthouse because they anticipated a large audience regarding a major rezoning request.
“I think, overall, it’s going to be a good move,” said Jay Paul, chairman of the Board of Commissioners.
Paul said the primary reason is to accommodate more attendees. The office room has about 30 seats, while the courtroom can fit at least 150 people.
“It’s happened a few times in the past, where the number of participants and audience members that come to the meeting — it overwhelms the room,” Paul said. “We don’t know if the meeting is going to continue to get bigger and outgrow our space.”
About 80 people attended the January meeting, when a noise ordinance proposal was on the agenda. Paul said that meeting’s large turnout is what sparked the board’s discussion about potentially relocating.
Paul said he believes social media has driven some of the increased public engagement at recent meetings.
“What people read on social media posts and what they believe, whether it’s true or not, may get them more spirited about things, and so they come to meetings,” he said. “I think we probably have people more engaged in government than we did 25 years ago due to social media.”
Commissioner David Clark (District 3) voiced his displeasure with the move at February’s meeting.
“I’d rather be here than out at the courthouse,” he said during the meeting. “I walked in today and nobody said, ‘All rise.’ It’s a lot homier right here.”
But, Paul said the board intends to keep the meetings at the courthouse for the foreseeable future, unless problems arise.
“If we run into some hurdles, and we feel it’s best to come back, we will,” he said.
Regular meeting attendee and Smithonia resident John Robertson said he was surprised by the relocation and that he believes the meetings may return to the office if courthouse meetings have low attendance.
“I have been going to board of commissioners meetings for the last six or eight years religiously, and I’ve only seen an overflow crowd once or twice,” Robertson said. “It may be premature.”
As a member of the Oglethorpe County Economic Development Authority, Robertson is even more accustomed to the office meeting room because EDA meetings are also held there.
“The (office) room is perfect,” Robertson said. “That’s the center of operations for the county.”
Though there were previous discussions about upgrading the technology at the office room, Paul said those upgrades may not be necessary in light of the transition.
Paul said he also appreciates the courthouse’s history and architecture.
“It’s just a masterpiece of a building,” Paul said. “The architecture that they were able to put together at that time — I think it will more than serve its purpose.”
Paul said the first courthouse meeting will feature roughly 10 rezoning requests.
“I’m not worried about this at all because they’ll make the right decision,” Robertson said. “I’m really proud of the way the county is run.”
The Oglethorpe Echo’s Bridget Goodman contributed to this article.