March 12, 2007
CODE
ENFORCEMENT GETS ONE RIGHT!
TWG
has now been informed that former Commissioner Russell
C. Bennett was arraigned in Magistrate court on Friday,
March 2, pled not guilty to solid waste violations, and
is scheduled for trial in Magistrate Court on Friday, March
30.
See
pictures taken 2/14/07 showing code violations:
Click
an Image to Enlarge
Code
Enforcement is correct in bringing this case to court
and is doing a good job following up and enforcing this
violation. TWG supports such enforcement throughout
the County.
________________________________________________
WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND BEHIND THIS CASE?
Former Commissioner Russell Bennett,
along with his business partners, former Commissioner Greg
Wyatt, former JCWSA board member Doug Thomas, and Johnathan
Glenn Parrish formed an LLC called CEDAR CREEK LAND INVESTMENT,
L.L.C.
__________________________________________________________________
Information from the Secretary of State shows Mr. Bennett
to be registered agent of this entity.
Limited Liability Company - Domestic - Information
Control No.: 0560152 Status:
Active/Owes Current Year AR Entity Creation Date:
9/2/2005 Jurisdiction: GA Principal
Office Address: 3881 SEVEN ISLANDS ROAD MONTICELLO
GA 31064 Last Annual Registration Filed Date:
1/30/2006 Last Annual Registration Filed:
2006
Registered Agent Agent Name: RUSSELL
C. BENNETT Office Address: 3881 SEVEN
ISLANDS ROAD MONTICELLO GA 31064 Agent County:
JASPER
__________________________________________________________________
http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/corp/soskb/Agent.asp?1391260
http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?384045
http://corp.sos.state.ga.us/imaging/12909995.pdf
__________________________________________________________________
Cedar Creek
Land Investment, LLC was formed September 2, 2005
and then quickly bought land from Neal Jordan,
David Morrison, Shane Sealy, and Van Box. This land
was formerly known as “Jordan’s Trailer Park” and is located
at the corner of Hwy 380 and Hwy 11 S.
Around
this same time, the JCWSA was trying to get a USDA “Emergency
Grant” to run water up Hwy 11 S from the Feldspar area to
Hwy 380, then up Hwy 380 to Funderburg Dr.
Interestingly, this project was called the ”Cedar
Creek Project.” This water project would provide
this corner of land with water and the ability to develop
the land with smaller lots.
This area has
been unsightly for some time. In September 2006,
when asking about the unsightly mess, TWG was told by Planning
and Zoning/Code Enforcement, that Mr. Bennett and his partners
had until October 23, 2006 to get the mess cleaned up. This
was 13 months after it was purchased.
Below is a view of what could be seen from Hwy 11 S in
September, 2006:
_JPG.jpg)
Click to Enlarge
October 23,
2006 came and went. Nothing was done and trailers and junk
got worse. Code Enforcement extended the time to get the
area cleaned up to February 1, 2007—approximately a 14 week
extension, and over 16 months after it was purchased.
There was some
clean up activity, but on 2/14/07 the area was still a mess.
This was 2 weeks past the “deadline” given by Code Enforcement.
See pictures taken on
2/14/07 above.
In
the meantime, JCWSA was denied its “Emergency Grant” for
their water line to the property and on to Funderburg Dr.
Cedar Creek Land Investment, LLC put the property up for
sale. Mossy Oak Properties out of Augusta,
GA has 171 acres for sale and has advertised the property
in several publications, including the Georgia Outdoor News
(GON).
Click
to Enlarge
Sources tell
TWG that there are more problems than the old trailers and
junk. There are many, many septic tanks on the
property and all those would have to be removed
before the land could be developed. Certainly EPD would
have to approve any clean up and development of this property.
Below
are pictures taken 3/5/07, just 3 days after Mr. Bennett
pleaded not guilty to violations:
Click
an Image to Enlarge
Over
the past weekend someone made a BIG effort to get this area
cleaned up. By Monday, 3/12/07 at this writing, piles of
debris were burning and the areas visible from the road
were cleaned up. Code Enforcement will have to investigate
just where all the tires and metal went.
It is illegal to burn or bury many of the substances left
at the old trailer park.
TWG
appreciates Code Enforcement pursuing these violations!
We hope this is the type of Code Enforcement the County
pursues.
TWG
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Mission
Statement:
** To keep the taxpayers of Jasper County, Georgia informed
as to where and how
their tax dollars are being spent.
** To keep the taxpayers abreast of local policies and
laws being
discussed and enacted.
** We advocate more open government, less government spending,
and lower property taxes.
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