The Baldwin County Board of Commissioners (BOC) met Tuesday and the meeting opened with recognition of Sacred Heart Catholic Church for its 150th anniversary. A plaque was presented to Father Bryan Kuhr, the church’s newly appointed pastor, for its service since 1875 to Baldwin County.
Executive Director of Develop Milledgeville-Baldwin County (DMBC) Jonathan Jackson then presented updates to the board on the Sibley-Smith Industrial Park. The park is set to begin development in phases and will provide a convenient location for rail and road access.
Jackson stated DMBC has received six requests for information about the project and inquiries have come from large manufacturers to homegrown companies. He suggested the park’s completion could have a significant impact on the local job market.
District 3 Commissioner Sammy Hall commended Jackson’s work and emphasized the importance of investing in infrastructure to help create jobs within the county.
Jackson said his team will also soon launch a hyperlocal jobs board to list jobs actively open in the county. The intent is to cut the commute a lot of Baldwin County and surrounding residents make each morning, not knowing if any jobs are available to match their skills.
The board approved the Ocmulgee Circuit public defender’s office request for a $79,830 budget increase from fiscal year 2024 for fiscal year 2025. Assistant City Manager Dawn Hudson said the requested budget increase came in response to an increasing number of Baldwin County state court defendants.
“In the Baldwin state court, which is a misdemeanor court, we’re on track for 750 cases that we represent this year. Which is more than enough for one fulltime attorney,” circuit public defender John Bradley said.
The increased budget will go toward securing resources and assistance for attorneys working at the Baldwin County state court.
A fire and rescue presentation followed, presented by Fire Chief Victor Young and Deputy Chiefs Phillip Adams and Sheri Kniep providing updates and goals for education, training, and operations.
“I’m glad to say that the fire department is growing and moving forward. We have accomplished many objectives,” Young said. “The fire and rescue department also handles the public transit system in the county. They have recently added two new buses and hope to have another one next year to serve residents of the county.”
County Manager Carlos Tobar updated the board on citizen Edwin Atkins’ concerns about archaeological discoveries, stating no bones or coffins have been discovered in the excavation process for the aquatic center located at Walter Williams Park.
Tobar also emphasized the importance of providing information about issues with shortterm rental (STR) property permits, such as those associated with Airbnb and VRBO, saying that it is complaintdriven, and nothing will happen unless citizens say something. Commissioner Craig echoed Tobar’s thoughts.
Citizens Jeff Kelly and his wife Ronda Kelly both gave public comments on STR properties, suggesting the Putnam County ordinance for the issue should be modeled in Baldwin County. Following their comments, the board expressed a majority opinion to look at the Putnam County STR ordinance for reference.