Tattnall County Attorney Tom Peterson presented resolutions to the Tattnall County Commissioners at their Monday, July 11, 2022, meeting, which sets in place the alcohol-related items approved on the May 24, 2022, ballot, along with the accompanying licensing fees. The commissioners approved the resolutions.
In summary, the resolutions approve the setting of licensing fees for the package sales of distilled spirits (liquor) and the sale of distilled spirits by the drink for consumption on the premises Monday through Saturday. The sale of distilled spirits by the drink is also legal on Sunday. However, retail package sales of distilled spirits (liquor) are still not legal on Sundays in Tattnall’s unincorporated areas. These resolutions approved by the commissioners affect the county only and does not refer to the incorporated cities in Tattnall.
These resolutions can be viewed in detail at the office of the Tattnall County Commissioners in the Tattnall County Courthouse.
Attorney Peterson then presented an ordinance to the commissioners, which they approved, regarding “non-economic remnants” of land owned by the county. These are small, usually irregular, strips of land that are no longer useful for public purposes, such as use as a public street or road, and are well-suited to assist one or more abutting landowners in providing for the highest and best use of his or her land. As permitted by state law, the ordinance enacts a procedure that will authorize the County, if it so chooses, to sell and convey these non-economic remnants to one or more abutting landowners without following traditional requirements regarding the sale of surplus county property, such as publication of sale and public auction or sealed bids.
Related agenda items reviewed by Attorney Peterson involved the securing of needed rights-of-way in reference to the Mile Field Road and Reidsville Airport Authority projects, a primary goal of which is safety enhancement.
With the approval of this “non-economic remnants” ordinance, the commissioners were able to proceed in obtaining needed parcels of land related to these projects. To complete both projects, the County must obtain small parcels of land from tracts abutting these roads. On Mile Field Road, for example, the non-economic remnant ordinance allows the commission to complete negotiations and acquisition of small parcels of land from abutting landowners Ann Lyon and A. Sikes Family, LLLP, which includes conveying a small strip of land to each that is no longer suitable for road purposes. In the process, the County avoids the costly and time-consuming process of filing suit to condemn the necessary property. In each case, the County saved money by avoiding condemnation. The Mile Field Road project will extend the current terminus of this road north, so that it intersects with Hwy. 144.
Another agenda item approved was the revision of the Noise Ordinance, Chapter 50 Amendment, which prohibits the creation or amplification of noise or sound from a radio, tape player, and a list of other similar devices that can be heard 100 feet or more from the source of the loud music. This addition arose since the Sheriff’s Department is continuing to receive complaints of loud music that is disturbing to nearby residents.