City Council votes 2-1 to take legal action against Dawson County Board of Commissioners

News

 

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — In a special called meeting this morning (Friday, April 2) Dawsonville City Council voted 2-1, with Councilman Mark French opposed, to reject the county-proposed intergovernmental agreement (IGA) regarding Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax VII (SPLOST) and proceed with legal action against the Dawson County Board of Commissioners.

Councilman Caleb Phillips was unable to attend the meeting.

Councilman Mark French

City leaders agreed in March to a resolution to sue the county, challenging the legality of the six-year, $60-million Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) VII passed by Dawson County voters last month. In a special called meeting on Mar. 29, they decided to delay the lawsuit and try again to reach an agreement.

Prior to Friday’s vote, City Attorney Kevin Tallant announced that at he received a response from the county to his request to resolve the dispute at 11:09 p.m. on Thursday and recommended council discuss the response in executive session.

When council came out of executive session, Mayor Mike Eason said, the county’s response was “there is no room for negotiation in this matter.”

Councilman Stephen Tolson

The mayor then asked for a motion to reject the IGA and move forward with the action to resolve this matter in the court.

Councilman Mark French instead made a motion to accept the IGA as presented and forego any further consideration of legal action. The motion died for a lack of a second. Councilman Stephen Tolson then made the motion to proceed with legal action which Councilman John Walden seconded.

“This is a mistake in my humble estimation,” French said. “I feel we are not serving the people who elected us to the best of our ability.”

Tolson replied, “I simply cannot, in good conscience, accept an illegal taxation on our citizens. My ethical and moral compass guides me to work a little harder to get what I think our citizens deserve. It sounds like the only way we can do that at this point is to move forward with filing this action.”

 

 

 

 

 

Council will reconsider Moonshine Festival permit

News

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – The Dawsonville City Council will hold a called meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 29 to review conditions for the 53rd Annual Mountain Moonshine Festival permit.

City officials approved a permit for K.A.R.E. for Kids to hold the event on Sept. 7 but were not aware that a parade was planned as part of the event. At last week’s meeting, City Manager Bob Bolz told councilmen he was surprised to learn about plans for the parade. “That was news to us,” he said.

Councilman John Walden immediately made a motion for the special called meeting to “reconsider the conditions of the permit.”

 

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

Unanswered question about the city’s Mountain Moonshine Festival

News

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — The K.A.R.E. for Kids 53rd annual Mountain Moonshine Festival experienced a major hiccup at the Dawsonville City Council meeting Monday (Sept. 21).

Nearly two weeks after council members gave the popular event a green light, City Manager Bob Bolz said he was surprised to learn about plans for a parade. In making his report, Bolz said he first learned about the parade when he met with K.A.R.E. for Kids Executive Director Tiffany Buchan and Major Greg Rowan of the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office.

“We did not realize the parade was on,” he said. “That was news to us.”

On hearing Bolz’ report, Councilman John Walden immediately made a motion to hold a special called meeting “to reconsider conditions of the permit” on Tuesday Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. Council members approved the motion unanimously.

Council also approved:

  • A resolution that designates Dawsonville as Bee City USA;
  • A second amendment to the Farmer’s Market that extends the hours it can operate on Wednesdays until 7 p.m. or dusk;
  • A consulting agreement with former Utilities Director Gary Barr, who retired recently that will allow him to work up to 10 hours a week at a rate of $41.75 per hour
  • Approved the appointment of Cody Dinsmore to the Board of Directors for the Dawsonville History Museum;
  • Renewed the trash collection with Red Oak Sanitation for 2021. The rate will increase from $13 per can per month to $13.20 per can per month.

 

 

Back to Top