The first meeting of Union County Sole Commissioner Harold Collins on Jan. 16 drew a standing-room only crowd of more than 200 residents, all of whom were eager to see how county business would be conducted under the first new commissioner in 24 years.
It was the largest gathering for a regular county meeting in recent memory and had to be moved to the large Jury Assembly Room of the Union County Courthouse to accommodate so many guests, and Collins opened by asking people to bear with him for his inaugural outing.
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That night, Collins issued several decisions that clearly set him apart from his predecessor. Some of his decisions even reversed or modified actions taken last month by former commissioner Lamar Paris that did “not meet the minimum legal requirements for acceptance by Union County.”
New Business
As the first order of new business, Collins welcomed Jared Ogden and Sid Turner of the Blue Ridge Mountain Chapter Sons of the American Revolution, a fraternal order of patriots that champions community engagement and education about American history.
The men gave public safety awards on behalf of their organization, first presenting father and son firefighters Union County Fire Lt. Ernie Pruitt and Fire Lt. Doug Pruitt with Medals of Heroism for their bravery in averting catastrophe during a major propane leak in Suches last September.
Next, Ogden and Turner presented Union County Sheriff’s Sgt. Alan Patton and Sgt. Brandon Hogsed with Life Saving Awards for their roles in saving the life of an injured man who was in the process of committing suicide, also last September.
In other business, the commissioner adopted the updated Local Emergency Operations Plan “to provide a comprehensive framework for countywide emergency management during the event of a period of major emergency.”
Emergency Management Agency Director David Dyer addressed this in the meeting, saying that the updated plan serves as a base plan to enable better implementation of individual emergency responses.
Appointments
Collins also ratified county appointments made by Paris in the December county meeting. He had to re-do the appointments because the individual terms began on Jan. 1, 2025, after Paris left office, meaning Collins was the one with the proper legal authority to make the appointments.
Longtime Elections Board Chair Libby Stevens received an affidavit of appointment from Collins to serve as the commissioner’s selection to the Board of Elections for the term of Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2028.
The commissioner also re-appointed Dr. Elizabeth Wiles and William Stone to the Union County Board of Health for six-year terms running Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2030, mirroring Paris’ actions from December.
As for Paris’ Dec. 19 appointment of Courtney Waller to the Union County Development Authority Board of Directors, Collins invoked his authority as the current commissioner to remove her effective Jan. 16, and he substituted in Wesley Hopgood as her replacement.
Hopgood served as Collins’ campaign manager, and the commissioner said after the meeting he feels that his friend will do an excellent job at the Development Authority. Hopgood’s term will last from Jan. 16, 2025, to Dec. 30, 2028.
Since local government authorities are housed under the county government, their volunteer board members serve at the pleasure of the commissioner, and Collins said he will be reviewing all county-specific boards for potential changes moving forward.
Hotel-Motel Taxes
Collins modified another decision by the previous administration by substantially adjusting the distribution of the hotel-motel tax receipts going to the Blairsville-Union County Chamber of Commerce.
In December, then-commissioner Paris allocated 70% of Fiscal Year 2025 hotel-motel tax revenues to the chamber. Since Collins campaigned on decreasing the distribution to the chamber if elected, he lowered that figure to 40% last Thursday.
Ordinance Revisions
Also in the meeting, Collins held a first reading to revise the Union County Code of Ordinances related to the Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals regarding the issuance of variances for construction that does not meet codified building specifications.
The Construction Board consists of five members and two alternates appointed by the commissioner. The purview of the board is to hear appeals and requests for variances for Sections 18, 44, 46, 62, and 78 of the Code of Ordinances.
These code sections deal with all types of construction overseen by the county Building Department, including apartment complexes, septic systems, mobile homes, RV parks, billboards, cell towers and more.
With the first reading that evening, Collins started the process of amending the authority of the Construction Board to transfer variance approval power from the board to the commissioner, giving Collins final say over which variances are approved.
Another ordinance revision outlines a public hearing process for variance requests and appeals “where the citizens of Union County have a right to be heard and express their opinions before the Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals hears the appeal.”
After a public hearing on the intended revisions – to be scheduled and announced soon – and a second reading and enactment of the revisions in an upcoming county meeting, Construction Board decisions will serve as recommendations only for the commissioner’s consideration.
“The Commissioner of Union County will approve or disapprove the recommendation for variance of the ordinance,” a revision reads, going on to say, “Every decision of the Commissioner shall be final, subject however to such remedy as any aggrieved party might have at law or in equity.”
These changes line up with Collins’ campaign pledge to better watch growth and development in the county, giving him direct control over variance approval as opposed to a board appointed by his office.
Residents may receive a copy of the ordinance revisions inside the Commissioner’s Office at 65 Courthouse Street. And keep an eye out for the public hearing date and time to attend to offer suggestions that could be incorporated into the revisions before enactment.
Related to the above ordinance revisions, Collins adopted a 120-day emergency moratorium on all applications for variances to give him time to finalize and enact the revisions. The moratorium is expected to be lifted following enactment.
Other Business
Among other business, Collins accepted an agreement with CorrectHealth Union, LLC for inmate health services at the Union County Jail. The agreement – another agenda item that had to be redone under the proper legal authority – is a 12-month contract for $192,431.20, effective Jan. 1.
Toward the end of new business, Collins asked County Manager Tony Hughes to provide attendees with an update on county operations.
Hughes thanked everyone for coming before launching into a discussion of the Jan. 10 snowstorm. Hughes officially started his new position on Jan. 7, so he had a lot on his plate within just a few short days of coming on board with the county.
In response to the storm, Hughes said he drove Blood Mountain and notified people on social media about road conditions, which he considers “part of my job” as county manager.
“My personal opinion … I don’t feel like it’s the commissioner’s job to get out there and do that,” Hughes said. “The past administration did different, but that’s OK – I have no problem with that. Mr. Collins, I feel like, has got more important things to do.”
Hughes commended the Road Department for their work spreading salt and blading county roads during and after the storm. He said the Road Department ran low on salt but did not run out, and that the county had purchased more to re-supply its stockpile.
He noted that at least one subdivision benefited from the county selling salt at cost to spread privately on roads there, but he said no county salt left Union County.
Also, Hughes said he and Collins were made aware after the fact that the Road Department had been previously authorized to mix salt with ground-up recycled glass from the Transfer Station in place of gravel, which is something he remarked other states were known to use to treat roads.
He said the county has been selling a lot of the crushed and smoothed glass for landscaping uses, and that, “from a profit standpoint,” the Commissioner’s Office would stop using it to treat slick roads and start selling all of it for landscaping purposes.
In terms of Parks & Recreation, Hughes reiterated his commitment to gauging community interest in adult league sports, and Assistant Rec Director Susan Stalcup shared that uniform bidding approved by this Commissioner’s Office will save local families money in youth sports.
During his Commissioner’s Comments, Collins said he had learned that the county had 988 significantly damaged culverts, working out to 20% of the county’s culverts being in need of repair.
“And we’ve got a bridge in Suches that needs immediate attention,” Collins said. “I’m not bashing the (previous) administration, but our infrastructure is dwindling down.”
He said other immediate priorities include paving of multiple miles of county roads on Town Creek School Road, Pat Colwell Road and Gaddistown Road.
With about two weeks in office at the time of the meeting, Commissioner Collins said he was still “turning the rocks over and seeing what’s under them,” but he noted his belief that “we’ll be able to really cut a lot of wasteful spending when we get all this done.”
“I encourage y’all to come to our next meeting,” Collins said. “We’ll have more information on this other stuff that we’re finding out now we can save money on.
“Our Manager Tony Hughes is doing a great job, he’s wide open. We’ve got the best staff in the United States. I could not have come into this job without this staff right over here, and I think they need a big hand for what they do.”
Questions & Answers
With that, Collins adjourned the meeting and took about 30 minutes of questions from the sizeable audience. He deviated from the previous administration’s approach of restricting questions to agenda items, instead taking queries on anything people wished to speak about.
Topics broached by the public were varied, including the condition of roads during snow/ice events and concerns over ensuring they are cleared in a timely manner for students to travel safely to school in light of the week of at-home learning due to the Jan. 10 snowstorm.
One guest wanted to know what the commissioner would do with public services available at Meeks Park. Collins said that he does not plan to interrupt services there but will be examining all facilities in search of spending cuts to save taxpayers money.
In response to a question about whether he would be privatizing the Butternut Creek Golf Course, Collins said, “It may come to that, but where it is right now, the Golf Course is making money.”
“You’ve got to figure the salaries, though,” he added. “It’s not making money with the labor cost, but it is a good revenue for the county with the figures I have seen so far.
“And I plan on having monthly figures (available) when we get all this straightened out so you can see what each department – is it making, losing, breaking even – and that’s so the people will be informed.”
Collins added that he will keep in place the support that has always existed for the Union County Historical Society and the Canning Plant at the Farmers Market.
Two people asked about the possibility of the county treating private roads during winter weather, and Hughes stepped up to the podium to say that the county would do so if necessary to respond to an emergency.
Regarding a question about the imposition of a development impact fee Collins campaigned on, he said he would not make any decision until receiving input from residents in townhall meetings.
After the final question, Collins thanked everyone for coming and invited them to visit him in his office if they ever had any concerns, and he stuck around for another 30 minutes or so to greet and speak with a line of attendees.
The next county meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 20, starting at 6 p.m. inside the Union County Courthouse.
