The Moral High Ground

When you boil it all down, the argument isn't between deacons and devils, drunks and the temperate, or even developers and farmers. It is between those who want Oconee County to hold onto its past, and those who wish to help shape its future. (Of course, proponents of keeping Oconee the way it has been are quick to turn a blind eye to the centerpiece of our county seat .... or do they think "tavern" has some alternate, tea-totalling meaning?

The problem with this debate, is that it presumes the possibility of a static, unchanging Oconee County. Look around, folks, this county has changed already. Among the influence of nearby Athens-Clarke County, more distant (but growing closer daily) metro Atlanta, and the Lake Oconee effect, this county is among the 100 fastest growing in the nation. The only choices before us involve how to manage that growth. Maintaining Oconee as a primarily rural, agriculturally based community went away with land prices at $1,000 per acre. With large tracts priced at $12,500 per acre as far south as Farmington, and $30,000 per acre off Elder Road, those days are gone.

As we grow, we have choices to make. Some involve whether to attract business, and what kind. Much is made of the prospects for the Orkin tract. Other businesses look to Oconee County as well. Subdivisions are springing up everywhere. Businesses need housing, but businesses also need hotel rooms, and entertainment venues. Our good schools, and improved services need tax revenues. More tax revenues than property taxes on houses can reasonably be expected to provide. This comes from the businesses we seek to attract, and the hotel rooms, retail establishments, and restaurants that serve the businesses and their employees who live here.

That's right, the people who move into all those houses want quality places to dine as well. (And, no Chik-fil-A and Ryan's don't cut it. You may notice that Gautreau's and Maison Bleu were built with a bar in place well in advance of the ordinance.)

The current Board of Commissioners is acknowledging, as Watkinsville has, that we have reached a tipping point. Hoteliers are poised to build, and businesses are giving us a serious look. Now is the time to remove the anachronism that is a "dry county." Those who would keep things the way they were are holding onto an Oconee County that is no more. Our Commission deserves high marks for helping to move us into this new territory in such a measured and responsible way. To fail to do so may very well be to consign Oconee County to a retreat to lesser schools, empty houses, and business revenues that have passed us by.

I, for one, look forward to my first good meal at the local DePalma's.