Brown’s bypass discussion on County Commission agenda

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Fayette County Commissioner Steve Brown will get his wish: a chance to espouse on the West Fayetteville Bypass during a commission meeting.

The topic appears on the “reports” section at the end of the commission’s agenda for its regular meeting Thursday night, which begins at 7 p.m.

At the commission’s Jan. 27 meeting, Chairman Herb Frady refused to let Brown address the bypass during the reports section of the meeting, noting in part that the matter had not been placed on the agenda in time.

The heated discussion between the two ended with Frady banging the chairman’s gavel multiple times over Brown’s voice of objection. Brown shot back that he was being censored and argued, after his motion to add the bypass to the agenda for discussion died on a 2-2 tie vote.

The fracas ended after Frady suggested if Brown couldn’t remain “in order” that he could be ejected from the meeting.

Brown is expected to ask county staff to look into the actions of the company which is handling property acquisition for the second phase of the bypass. Brown told The Citizen that he has heard reports of questionable tactics being used by the contractor. Brown has said he wants to see the written correspondence between the contractor and the property owners.

Brown also has said he wants to defend himself against allegations that he supported the West Fayetteville Bypass when he was mayor of Peachtree City. Brown also plans to inform bypass opponents that there are no records of a previous commission voting to divert funds from the East Fayetteville Bypass to the West Fayetteville Bypass.

In other business at the meeting, the commission will discuss filling an expired seat on the Fayette County Board of Elections that is currently held by Marilyn Watts, who is the commission’s appointee to the three-member board.

Also on tap is a proposal from staff to add child care facilities to the list of uses from which a business must meet distance requirements to be allowed to serve or sell alcohol.

Another proposal will allow county staff to transmit occupation tax and business license data to the Georgia Department of Revenue in an effort to “ensure proper payment of sales tax.”