Bishop Town Council

Daniel J. Matthews, Jr.
Bishop town council
Sept. 13, 2005
Oconee Living section -Athens Banner-Herald

Bishop council prefers Payne Rd. widening
By Daniel J. Matthews, Jr.
Correspondent

The Bishop town council members, led by Mayor Johnny Pritchett, listened to landscape architect Ken Beall at the regular meeting Monday evening at the Chandler-Marable house. This time Beall was seeking input from the council members as to which road they preferred to have widened by the developer for access to 441 for an as-of-yet unnamed subdivision behind Townside and between Payne and Cemetery Roads.

Nedra Johnson made the motion and Harold Parsons seconded it for the council recommendation to widen the narrow passage of Payne Road. The motion passed unanimously.

Bishop resident and videographer Bob Foster (who owns an apartment adjacent to the roads) spoke about how he would rather have Payne Road widened.

Later on Bishop’s planning department representative Bruce MacPherson spoke about the idea of making Cemetery Road one way heading north to try and limit the traffic accessing the busy Highway 441. Council members foreshadowed his sentiments earlier in the meeting. No official action was taken on making the street – which has no residents living directly on it and is owned partially by both the city and the county – one way.

The new subdivision is early on in the planning stage. At one point it was to be named The Alexander and Beall is working for the owners of the property, who wish to remain anonymous at this premature point. Local real estate agent Norm Grayson is representing the purchasers. The development has yet to go before the planning commission or the Board of Commissioners for approval.

(this is where two stories about Bishop somehow got fused togethered)

The work session let the council members input their ideas in a free-flowing format less constrictive than the formal meeting. The next two council meetings will be on Tuesdays to give Northeast Georgia Regional Development member Lee Carmon the chance to attend and give her input on the zoning matters.

Bishop resident E. Wayne Norris peppered Pritchett with questions about the rezoning process and as to whether he would be able to see the final version before the next meeting. Pritchett invited Norris to stay and observe the work session following the regular meeting.

The May meeting of the Bishop Town Council will be 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 10 after the semi-annual Town Supper Monday, May 9 across the street at the Community Center.
Mayor Pritchett led the brief meeting with updates on insurance and the work on the porch.

“It’s on ongoing saga” said both former Mayor Nedra Johnson and Pritchett. The front porch of the Chandler-Marable house had already suffered some damage before an auto accident rendered the front of the building unsafe for public usage.

Pritchett has pursued an estimate of $1784 from an adjuster for the damage done by the auto accident. The city has a deductible of $1000 which would be refunded from the insurance company of the person driving the automobile if subrogated properly. The insurance adjusters accounted for only a portion of the porch’s problems.

Bishop has received bids of $3550 (Phoenix Enterprises) and $5505.25 (Remodeling Specialists) to fix the porch in its entirety. Council members agreed that the full porch should be repaired and not done in spots or spurts. Pritchett said he would go over this year’s budget to find the funds necessary to facilitate the repairs. No formal action was taken as far as the bids.

Bidding process may begin to renew the insurance for the city, which expires July 9. Local agent Rick Waller is looking into the cost to compare quotes for the city.

Pritchett read a letter from the Sheriff’s Department reporting that there were two calls answered in Bishop during the month of March, along with 306 patrols, 2097 inspections and 10 traffic stops.

Pritchett added that Oconee County tax commissioner could collect, bill and deposit taxes for $250 which is $25 less than the TDS billing rate which currently only covers billing. Pritchett had a copy of the agreement that the City of North High Shoals uses with Browning’s office.

Bishop resident Charlie Brooks picked up a copy of his business license for Brooks and Brady. City attorney R. Judson Huff had made some updates to the proposed business license ordinance changes and it was tabled until next month.

Ken Parsons, son of long-time city council member Harold Parsons, let his father know he did not want to continue putting up flags along the city’s electrical poles. Bishop usually keeps flags up from July 4 through November. The younger Parsons also suggested to his father that the city make some improvements to the stanchions to support the flags. Pritchett thought that the city could possibly use those improvements to hang some Christmas decorations in the future.

Bishop business owners Bill and Beth Gilmer have been having an ongoing battle with the Oconee County Health Department over the food service preparation at the Cross Roads Café and Flea Market. They had a petition to sign to protest the continued closing of the city’s only eatery. Under advisement from Huff, Pritchett was unable to sign the petition although he really wanted to for his life long friend. Seems the County wants Gilmer to haul his 12,000 lbs trailer to and from his commissary at the Apalachee Bait Store daily to wash the few utensils such as a tongs and spatulas.

“I do like the city of Bishop,” said Gilmer.

“(Your restaurant is) a vital part of Bishop,” echoed Pritchett.
Council member Frank Parks was particularly incensed about the battle with the health department. Gilmer gets his meat daily from Sam’s Club, most of his plates are disposable, and has a bathroom within the prescribed 200 feet of the restaurant.

Council member and fruit stand vendor Vern Hammond described how mountain fairs and stands are able to sell anything baked or cooked at home from their roadside shops but he is unable to do so.

Pritchett described a “win-win” situation for the city and county in getting the entire portion of Cemetery Road paved by signing over the Bishop LARP funds to the county with a letter.

“It’s good for the city that we’re getting it done,” said Pritchett. “The county would be paving it in a couple of months anyhow.”