This coming Tuesday, Jackson County voters will consider permitting liquor-by-the-drink sales on Sunday in unincorporated Jackson County.
The last time Sunday sales came up for a vote in July 2006, the voters turned it down. Currently beer, wine and spirits can be sold in restaurants six days a week. At least 50 percent of an establishment’s sales must be nonalcoholic, such as food, to be granted a liquor license. Beer and wine package sales also are permitted six days a week.
In addition, a $15 million parks and recreation bond is on the ballot. The county is asking voters to acquire $15 million in debt to pay for several recreation projects. According to the county, the bond will cost $25 per year for the average owner of a $150,000 home.
"I think it would be a great benefit to every individual’s quality of life in this county," said Commissioner Bruce Yates, who represents West Jackson.
Jackson County plans to purchase about 340 acres of park land throughout the county and build a recreation center next to Lamar Murphy Park on I.W. Davis Road in Jefferson; a football/soccer stadium at Lamar Murphy Park; a "Field of Dreams" adaptable for wheelchair athletes; a covered arena exposition center next to Hurricane Shoals Park; and a soccer field and tennis court at West Jackson Park in Hoschton.
The recreation center would include basketball and racquetball courts, an eight-lane indoor pool suitable for high school athletics and water aerobics, meeting rooms and recreation offices,
Properties slated for purchase in West Jackson include 80 acres on Creek Nation Road near Ga. 124 and Ga. 332. Plans include a four-field, lighted baseball/softball complex; one lighted soccer field; one lighted multipurpose field (football/soccer); two lighted tennis courts; one multipurpose court (basketball/volleyball); one open, grassed playfield; two playgrounds; two pavilions and picnic areas; two horseshoe courts; two shuffleboard courts; and a three-mile walking/jogging trail.
Other properties identified are 79 acres on Holiday Cemetery Road (southeast Jackson County), 22 acres next to Hurricane Shoals Park (near Maysville), 80 acres near Plainview and 20 acres next to Lamar Murphy Park (next to the county government complex).