From 12-16-04 Progress

Jail not yet in Jasper, but will be, says mayor
By Michael Moore

Despite what many residents and some city of Jasper and
county officials initially thought, the site of both the current and
future Pickens County jails was not annexed into the city at this
month's council meeting.
The parcel where a new jail is being constructed and the
current structure will be demolished to allow more parking, is
adjacent to two other parcels of land owned by the county which the
council annexed Monday, December 6.
A new Georgia State Patrol post as well as property
containing the recycling station and work camp, both on corners of
Camp Road and A.W. Lawson Boulevard, were annexed at the request of
lame-duck county commissioner Bill Newton.
There was some confusion among both city and county officials
as to whether or not the jail was included in the annexation.
One city employee mistakenly thought the site known commonly
as the "convict camp," which is now the county recycling center,
referred to the jail.
Jasper Mayor John Weaver confirmed that the jail as well as
the property behind it where the new facility will be built, were not
annexed into the city, even though the existing jail is already
served by city sewage and the new jail will be served when completed.
The jail site, located on another corner of Camp Road and
Industrial Drive, was not annexed because the county is set to begin
road improvements in front of the site, according to Weaver.
"We didn't want to get in the middle of their project, and
the commissioner didn't want us to get in the middle of it," said
Weaver.
He said the new jail will need a bigger sewer tap when it is
complete, and the county will likely have to request annexation at
that point.
The current jail is tapped onto the city's water and sewer
system now, and has been for close to 20 years. Weaver said the jail
tied onto city infrastructure as part of a deal with a "previous
administration," who agreed the county would annex the jail when it
became contiguous with the city limits.
The city of Jasper requires any user of their sewage to be
annexed into the city whenever the limits expand to reach their
property. Property cannot be annexed if it is not bordering on
existing city limits and the owner doesn't present a written request.
The county-owned Georgia State Patrol post across the street
from the jail tied onto city water and sewer this past summer. At the
recent city council meeting in which that property was annexed into
Jasper, Newton said the county "may have bypassed city regulations"
in tying the site on to the city sewage.
The mayor said the city has not yet charged the county for
water and sewer taps for the state patrol post, but they will. Weaver
added that "inter-governmental transactions" between the city and
county usually balance out to the benefit of both parties, despite
the lack of rigid formality.
"We've been working with the county to get a lot of things
done," said Weaver, noting as an example that water transfers between
the two government water systems take place regularly.
Weaver defended the annexation of the state patrol post,
recycling station/work camp, airport, and EMS station as part of the
city's and county's ongoing effort to "provide services to the
residents and taxpayers of Pickens County."