County silent on Georgia Power buffer vote taken after closed door session in April

By Eric Curl

June 23, 2026 – Chatham County officials have not responded to requests for comment regarding the county commission’s April 21 vote to amend an agreement with Georgia Power concerning a 100-foot buffer associated with the Little Neck Road transmission line project. In response to open records requests, the county said it had no staff reports, correspondence or resolutions concerning the 5-2 vote (commissioners Anthony “Wayne” Noha and Dean Kicklighter cast the opposing votes without public explanation and Commissioners Tanya Milton and Shirley Sessions were not present).

The county also did not provide the amended agreement or the original agreement that commissioners voted to modify, despite open-records requests for the documents. The action is reflected in meeting minutes recently uploaded to the county’s website, but the votes taken after executive session were not included in the meeting livestream or subsequent video recording. (While not illegal and permitted under Georgia’s Open Meetings Act, votes taken after executive session often occur after members of the public and media have departed, limiting public observation of the action.)

Track Chatham County Commission meetings – Savannah Agenda

On Friday, Georgia Power spokesperson Joshua Peacock said via email that the county commission’s vote clarified the modification of a transmission line route and adjustment of a “small portion” of the required 100-foot buffer necessary prior to construction.

“We are grateful to the County Commission for approving our modification request allowing the project to continue,” Peacock said. “This project is a vital part of our work to enhance, and storm harden the Coastal grid.”

Georgia Power did not specify whether construction had already begun or explain precisely how much of the 100-foot buffer was altered.

Peacock’s response came the same day the inquiry was sent by Savannah Agenda regarding the matter. Savannah Agenda is still awaiting a response from the county regarding the vote after first emailing the entire commission on June 10 and a subsequent email to the commission and media relations representatives on June 17.

The Georgia Power contract modification was one of two actions the commission took after coming out of executive session on April 21. Commissioners also voted to waive Land Disturbing Activities Ordinance (LDAO) penalty fees associated with Phase Four of Highland Woods Mobile Home Park, a 30-lot expansion at 800 Quacco Road. The vote came amid a dispute between the county and the mobile home park’s owner over whether the development had proceeded without the required permits and whether double penalties should apply.

According to a Nov. 12, 2025 county notice obtained by Savannah Agenda through an open-records request, inspectors found multiple LDAO violations at the site, including the clearing of trees for commercial purposes without a permit, conducting land-disturbing activities without a permit and development without a permit. The county issued a stop-work order and warned that unpermitted work was subject to double fees and potential legal action.

In his response, attorney Anthony Abbott said that Highland Woods had been developed incrementally over more than 20 years based on permits that had been prepared and issued by the county and that the owner possessed stamped and approved plans for water and sewer infrastructure. Abbott said that the county’s own records repository should contain documentation related to the project and that the lack of records should not penalize a small business. He further argued that, under the doctrine of waiver, the county should not impose new conditions, fees or standards on the development and specifically requested that the double-penalty LDAO fees be waived.

The commission’s April 21 vote effectively granted that request by waiving the doubling of the LDAO fees for Phase Four of Highland Woods Mobile Home Park.