Jim Thompson suggests that the Smith proposal could work in SPLOST plans (but only if you push for it Feb. 10)
WATKINSVILLE | A plan for the future development of downtown
Watkinsville designed, in the words of its creator, “to accommodate
growth ... and still keep it like a small town,” has gotten a largely
positive response at two recent presentations, each of which attracted
dozens of people.
The proposal, from fourth-generation Watkinsville resident Robert Smith — son of former state Rep. Bob Smith — could become a point of discussion at an upcoming public meeting on Oconee County’s plans for May 20 referendum on a 1 percent special-purpose local option sales tax, although it is not included in any plans for SPLOST funding.
Smith, who developed the plan in a semester-long process on the way to obtaining a master’s degree in architecture at Notre Dame, is a member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, and his proposal incorporates the walkable, neighborhood-based model promoted by the New Urbanism approach to development.
Briefly, the plan, available online at http://watkinsvilleplan.wix.com/home, calls for alleviating crowding in the current Oconee County Courthouse by constructing an adjacent annex, and a new government center on the opposite side of a three-block long village green that would house county, city and school district offices. The green would extend from the courthouse across Main Street to near Thrasher Drive between School Street and Third Street. Over time, Smith explained at a Sunday presentation at the Oconee County Library, private-sector mixed-use development could line the village green between the courthouse and the new Municipal Hall, and beyond that, the gridded street system promoted by the green could expand into nearby residential areas.
Smith, who offers no cost projections for his proposal, told the dozens of people gathered at the library — an initial presentation a couple of weeks before also attracted a large number of people — that his proposal is a “generational project ... not for us (but) for our kids.”
Smith’s plan to keep the county courthouse in the downtown area contrasts with recent decisions in other area counties to build new courthouses some distance away from town centers. His Sunday presentation included photographs of those new courthouses, along with his argument that concentrating governmental buildings in a downtown area will attract people, helping to make it a center for economic development.
A $25 million outlay for a new Oconee County courthouse is under discussion for potential inclusion in a list of projects to be funded with SPLOST dollars, and on Sunday, Smith suggested that those who liked his proposal might want to attend a public meeting on the planned May 20 referendum scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Oconee County Civic Center.
It’s unclear how any enthusiasm for Smith’s proposal might be received at the Feb. 10 meeting. Oconee County Commission Chairman Melvin Davis, who called Smith’s effort “a nice plan,” went on to note that it’s not certain whether a new courthouse will make the cut for SPLOST projects, given that more than $100 million in proposed projects now are competing for the projected $55 million the tax would raise if approved by voters on May 20.
County officials have, however, been made aware of needs to improve courthouse security, and on Monday, Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry said the current courthouse is deficient in dozens of state standards for courthouse security. Berry said it’s difficult to know whether “it’s cheaper to build again, or to renovate,” but then went on to say that the current courthouse is problematic in terms of its location. “The site itself would prohibit me from meeting all the [security] standards,” the sheriff said Monday.
Superior Court Judge David Sweat, chief judge of the Western Judicial Circuit comprising Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties, has met with Oconee commissioners on courthouse security issues in connection with the upcoming SPLOST vote. At Sunday’s presentation of Smith’s plan, he noted that no judicial personnel have weighed in with regard to any site for any new courthouse. “One of the things we did not say is where to put it,” Sweat said Sunday, calling Smith’s presentation “a creative proposal.”
In a Monday interview, Sweat said that increasing caseloads, along with the possibility of placing a judge “in residence” at the Oconee County Courthouse, and ensuring that jurors and other people involved in court cases are accommodated comfortably, point to the need for additional judicial space in the county. He also noted that accommodating the large number of people regularly called to the courthouse for possible jury service creates a need for significant parking space.
Following the Feb. 10 SPLOST public meeting, Davis and the other commissioners will prioritize a list of potential SPLOST projects, and will finalize that list at their March 4 meeting.
The proposal, from fourth-generation Watkinsville resident Robert Smith — son of former state Rep. Bob Smith — could become a point of discussion at an upcoming public meeting on Oconee County’s plans for May 20 referendum on a 1 percent special-purpose local option sales tax, although it is not included in any plans for SPLOST funding.
Smith, who developed the plan in a semester-long process on the way to obtaining a master’s degree in architecture at Notre Dame, is a member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, and his proposal incorporates the walkable, neighborhood-based model promoted by the New Urbanism approach to development.
Briefly, the plan, available online at http://watkinsvilleplan.wix.com/home, calls for alleviating crowding in the current Oconee County Courthouse by constructing an adjacent annex, and a new government center on the opposite side of a three-block long village green that would house county, city and school district offices. The green would extend from the courthouse across Main Street to near Thrasher Drive between School Street and Third Street. Over time, Smith explained at a Sunday presentation at the Oconee County Library, private-sector mixed-use development could line the village green between the courthouse and the new Municipal Hall, and beyond that, the gridded street system promoted by the green could expand into nearby residential areas.
Smith, who offers no cost projections for his proposal, told the dozens of people gathered at the library — an initial presentation a couple of weeks before also attracted a large number of people — that his proposal is a “generational project ... not for us (but) for our kids.”
Smith’s plan to keep the county courthouse in the downtown area contrasts with recent decisions in other area counties to build new courthouses some distance away from town centers. His Sunday presentation included photographs of those new courthouses, along with his argument that concentrating governmental buildings in a downtown area will attract people, helping to make it a center for economic development.
A $25 million outlay for a new Oconee County courthouse is under discussion for potential inclusion in a list of projects to be funded with SPLOST dollars, and on Sunday, Smith suggested that those who liked his proposal might want to attend a public meeting on the planned May 20 referendum scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Oconee County Civic Center.
It’s unclear how any enthusiasm for Smith’s proposal might be received at the Feb. 10 meeting. Oconee County Commission Chairman Melvin Davis, who called Smith’s effort “a nice plan,” went on to note that it’s not certain whether a new courthouse will make the cut for SPLOST projects, given that more than $100 million in proposed projects now are competing for the projected $55 million the tax would raise if approved by voters on May 20.
County officials have, however, been made aware of needs to improve courthouse security, and on Monday, Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry said the current courthouse is deficient in dozens of state standards for courthouse security. Berry said it’s difficult to know whether “it’s cheaper to build again, or to renovate,” but then went on to say that the current courthouse is problematic in terms of its location. “The site itself would prohibit me from meeting all the [security] standards,” the sheriff said Monday.
Superior Court Judge David Sweat, chief judge of the Western Judicial Circuit comprising Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties, has met with Oconee commissioners on courthouse security issues in connection with the upcoming SPLOST vote. At Sunday’s presentation of Smith’s plan, he noted that no judicial personnel have weighed in with regard to any site for any new courthouse. “One of the things we did not say is where to put it,” Sweat said Sunday, calling Smith’s presentation “a creative proposal.”
In a Monday interview, Sweat said that increasing caseloads, along with the possibility of placing a judge “in residence” at the Oconee County Courthouse, and ensuring that jurors and other people involved in court cases are accommodated comfortably, point to the need for additional judicial space in the county. He also noted that accommodating the large number of people regularly called to the courthouse for possible jury service creates a need for significant parking space.
Following the Feb. 10 SPLOST public meeting, Davis and the other commissioners will prioritize a list of potential SPLOST projects, and will finalize that list at their March 4 meeting.
Comments