Two issues dominated public comment at the Gilmer County Board of Commissioners meetings last week, short-term rentals and crypto mining.
Several short-term rental owners and a few local residents who have voiced complaints showed up voice support or speak againstvarious parts of the proposed ordinance during the board’s work session on April 10 and regular meeting on April 11.
A decision to form a committee of stakeholders to hash out an ordinance did not survive from the last meeting, nor did the latest version of the ordinance.
Gilmer County Chair Charlie Paris said commissioners would work to unify short-term rental ordinances from Fannin County and Union County with some of the ideas which have been previously proposed.
Wayne Johnson, a Gilmer County resident of Rock Creek and a longtime proponent of a short-term rental ordinance, voiced frustration with the process.
“You need to get this thing going,” he said. “Quit nitpicking. There is too much nitpicking going on.”
Commissioners had put in a lot of hard work on the ordinance to date, and Johnson said he thought they had a good document.
Johnson said he is tired of the loud parties, gunshots and trespassing by people renting short-term in his area.
“In the event that something goes wrong, someone needs to be held accountable,” he said.
Short-term rental owner Natalie Bang said in our republic the rights of the individual supersede the right of the collective because the rights of the individual serve all people, while the rights of the collective can be used to discriminate.
She encouraged the commissioners to keep the rights and freedoms of the individual in mind.
No action was taken on the short-term rental ordinance.
Commissioners did take steps to address at least some of the issues cited as part of the problem with some short-term rental guests.
By a unanimous vote, commissioners transformed the code enforcement department into a county marshal department with two employees to enforce county ordinances and codes.
They also authorized the advertising of a county littering and a county noise ordinance.
Crypto mining
An application will be reviewed at the next meeting of the planning commission to rezone a property along Eller Road for the purposes of crypto mining.
Commissioners passed an ordinance along with a new zoning category to deal with crypto mining at the end of 2023.
Curt Ashley, who is requesting the rezoning, attended commissioners meetings throughout the process telling board members he was going to create a liquid cooled crypto mining operation on his property on Eller Road.
Residents of the local neighborhood and surrounding area attended the commissioners meetings to speak out against crypto mining in the county.
Resident Ron Zimmerman said he knew nothing about crypto mining three weeks ago, but after reading about the subject, he felt it had nothing to offer Gilmer County.
He particularly questioned commissioners why they allowed a higher decibel count in the ordinance -— 60dB during the day and 50dB at night — in the county ordinance than is recommended by the state — 50dB and 40dB.
Ashley spoke up during the meetings to point out there was a noise requirement for crypto mining operations, but not for any other industry in the county.
At the first reading of the ordinance Nov. 9, Ashley did tell commissioners he was not planning on abiding by some measures in the ordinance.
“I’m not going to build an 8-foot fence,” he told commissioners at the meeting.
He also told them the air purifier in the room was at 63dB.
The planning commission meets at 5 p.m., April 18, in the jury assembly room in the Gilmer County Courthouse.
Other business
﹣ Commissioners received a report from the parks and recreation advisory board recommending improvements to River Park, supporting a facility similar to Fannin County’s recreation center and advocating for a usage policy for park facilities.
﹣ The board instructed Public Works Director Ryan Steingruber to acquire right of way for Orchard Lane before paving the road.