March 6, 2019 Page 7A
il orter
Continued from Front
reason for Vantages decision to drop
the suit.
The suit's condusion came just
under three months after the plain-
tiffs, which also included The Leg-
acy at Durham, LP. (the proposed
complex's operator) and Wilkerson
Group, L.P. (the tracts owner), filed
the claim, citing county violations
against the Federal Fair Housing Act
while saying the county's new zon-
ing ordinance is "exclusionary and
unconstitutional." The plaintiffs were
represented by Scott Parrish Moore
and Mark J. Goldsmith, both of
Omaha, Neb and Joshua R. Archer,
of Atlanta.
By a 4-0 vote, commissioners
denied Vantages request for a con-
ditional use variance in commercial
zoning to build a 72-unit multi-family
apartment complex on New Forsyth
Road called The Legacy at Durham
at a May 1, 2018 meeting. That after
more than 200 south Monroe County
residents opposed the measure.
Among the contentions in the suit,
Vantage claimed commissioners'
actions "have unlawfully discrimi-
nated against potential residents on
the basis 6f race, familial status, and
disability; have a disparate impact on
the basis of race, familial status and
disability; and perpetuate segregation
in violation of the Fair Housing Act
of 1968:'
Prior to dropping the suit, Vantage
had requested a jury trial, an injunc-
tion to allow for the project and un-
specified compensation for damages.
Monroe County commission chair-
man Greg Tapley said he was glad
to learn that Vantage had dropped
the suit because it will savetaxpayer
money spenton legal fees but said the
county was prepared to fight itto the
end. Tapley said he thought the suit
was "ridiculous" and said Vantage
should never havefiled the claim to
begin with. He said he thinks Van-
tage sued as a scare tactic and when -
Monroe County Showed it was ready
to fight, Vantage backed off, l(nowing
the county had handled the zoning
request in an appropriate legal man-
ner.
District 2 commissioner John
Ambrose; in whose district the
complex would have been built, said
that because Vantages complaint
was dismissed "without prejudice"
Vantage could still legally re.file its
claim. However, Ambrose said he
didn't think Vantage would sue again,
saying commissioners never took any
discriminatory actions. Ambrose said
he initially wanted to countersue to
force Vantage to pay the county's legal
fees but said commissioners agreed
not to do that.
Monroe County attorney Ben
Vaughn said Vantage attorneys did
give him a reason why they dropped
the suit but declined to reveal it pub-
lidy, saying he would have to defend
the suit again should Vantage decide
to re-file. Vaughn, who assisted with
writing the updated county zoning
ordinance in 2018, said the revised
document is a "cleaner" one overall
and was not drafted specifically in
response to the Vantage proposal.
Continued from Front
storms that move from
east to west seem to be
the ones most dangerous
to Monroe County.
Instead, most of.the
county merely got 1"-2
inches of rain in what's
already been a crazy
weather week. Saturday
had been beautiful with
highs near 70. Then
after Sunday's storms, on
Monday night, the county
got a'dusting of sleet and
snow.
"The only thing more
southern than that
[weather] is eating cereal '
out of a Cool Whip bowl,"
said Per .
Dodging the tornado
was particularly good
news since Monroe
County's tornado sirens
have not yet been linked
to the county's new radio
system. Perry said the
sirens, which are located
in Culloden, Juliette,
Bolingbroke, the rec
department and High
Falls, were linked to the
county's old radio system,
which was replaced more
than three years ago. He
said the sirens will still
work ffthey can get a
good signal but said ser-
vice is intermittent. Perry
said they're working on
getting SPLOST (Special
Purpose Local Option
Sales Tax) funds to update
the system.
But Perry said smart-
phones have largely
replaced the sirens in giv-
ing weather alerts. He en-
courages Monroe County
residents to get apps on
their phone or weather
radios to get the most up-
'to-date warnings.
"People outside a mile
from those sirens can't
hear them;' said Perry.
Continued from Front
Hwy. 42 near 74. The
accident happened around
9 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2014.
Dell's friends and family
have been holding fund-
raisers through the Mary
Persons soccer program,
including 3-on-3 soccer
tournaments, to raise more
than $9,000 to buy the
scoreboard, which was in-
stalled and used for the first
time this week. The school
system will PaY about
$2,000 for installation.
Dell was a gifted athlete
who had a contagious
smile. He was part of a
senior class that led the
Bulldog soccer team to a
program-best four-year
record of 49-24-3, with
four playoffappearances,
including advancing to the
Elite 8 and finishing No.
8 in the state in 2012. He
went on to be the captain of
the soccer team at Georgia
Military College, and was
an assistant coach for the
girls soccer team there.
GMC named its press box
in his memory after his
death.
Dells parents said they're
overwhelmed by the sup-
port the community has
shown in raising funds
for the scoreboard. The
original scoreboard at Lan-
caster Field was located on
the front of the press box
and was therefore hard for
coaches and players to see
from the bench. Also the
bulbs used in that former
scoreboard are no longer
being made, so a new one
was essential.
The new Taylor Dell Me-
morial Scoreboard is locat-
ed behind the south'goal,
next to the locker rooms. It
includes a new feature that
tracks the number of shots
each team has had.
The Dell family invites
friends and family to at-
tend Tuesday's dedication
around 7 p.m. before the
West Laurens game as they
honor Taytor's memory.
Among those on hand will
be Taylor's little brother
Dawson, an eighth grader,
and sister Carly, a seventh
grader, both following in
their big brother's footsteps
as members of Monroe
County's middle school
soccer teams. See more in
next week's Reporter.
Referral Program for March 2019
* The customer must have 5 new referrals
sign up for gym memberships to be eligible. It
will go by contract count, not the amount of
people on !he contracts. The promotion will
run for the entire month of March.
e
With the most 0veraJl c0r fracts
O
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Eligible at both locations. Pl~se see an assc~zte for detaib.
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Mary
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NEW CONSTRUCTION, SERVICE, REPAIR & RENOVATION
VALIIRO" --- ---
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Charlle Pelt, Agent
Edith Vaughn 478,994-5900
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TOMMY
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