Angel's House

is one step closer to having a brand-new loction after Coweta County commissioners

voted Tuesday night to grant a conditional use request for a five-acre

site on Holbrook Road in Newnan.

The vast majority

of the audience at the commissioners' meeting was present to hear the

outcome of this issue, and scores of people wore name tags reading, "I

support Angel's House," referring to a proposed children's emergency

shelter.

Some controversy

arose before the matter was officially heard, as Commissioner Robert Wood

announced that he would not hear the discussion or participate in the

vote due to his ties to both sides of the issue. Wood formerly served

as a board member for Angel's House, and a longtime business associate

of his was present to speak on behalf of the opposition, he said.

As Wood was

leaving, Commissioner Lawrence Nelms stated for the record his objection

to Wood's recusal, which sparked a lenghty debate on that issue. At Wood's

urging, County Attorney Mitch Powell expressed his opinion, based on earlier

conversations with Wood, that the commissioner's business and financial

interests were a sufficient reason for his recusal. After a bit more verbal

sparring, Chairman Jim McGuffey declared the matter closed and Wood left

the room.

Nan Newman,

speaking on behalf of Angel's House, said that the surrounding neighborhood

was an appropriate one for the shelter, which would have no more than

10 children at any time and would be run by a husband-wife team of house

parents. An extensive security system would operate both inside and outside

the house, partially because of state and federal regulations that require

monitoring such situations where boys and girls are living in the same

house.

Approximately

$1 million has been raised for the construction of the house and initial

operation, Newman said, and the land is being donated.

The attorney

speaking on behalf of the opposition said that there were some concerns

about safety of the children as well as the neighbors, since the surrounding

land was secluded and consisted of some hunting land.

McGuffey stated

at the outset that the commissioners' ruling would have nothing to do

with whether anyone opposed the idea of a children's shelter. "There's

not anyone in this room who opposes a children's shelter," he said.

"This is about the location."

He went on

to say that some misinformation and mishandling of the issue had led to

widespread confusion about who was in favor of or against this request

and why. He urged the people involved to do a better job of getting the

facts out correctly in the future.

Since the site

in question is in his district, McGuffey made a motion to approve the

request with several conditions stipulated by the Planning Department

and a few new ones of his own. Those conditions included a 50-foot vegetated

buffer and a fence around three sides of the property, along with no future

expansion of the house and a maximum of 10 children at a time residing

there. His motion passed 4-0.