MOULTRIE, Ga. — The City of Moultrie approved a zoning change Tuesday night that helps pave the way for an asphalt plant on Second Street Northeast.

Astec, a Chattanooga, Tenn., based company, hopes to build the plant at 804 Second St. N.E. The Moultrie City Council approved changing the zoning of the 13.04 acres there from M-1 light and service industrial district to M-2 general industrial district, but it was not a unanimous decision.

Landowner Gary Jenkins had applied for the rezoning. 

Director of Planning and Community Development Stephen Godley reported that the site would need access to a reliable railroad. The site very near to an existing line, but a new spur-line will need to be placed, he said. 

Godley said the plant would utilize an existing building on the lot. He said traffic should not be affected nor should the surrounding businesses. He concluded that there were no serious concerns regarding a rezoning.

Councilman Daniel Dunn of District 2, Post 5 asked about the environmental impact, noise possibilities and further economic requirements from the city. 

Astec Director of Environmental Compliance Catherine Sutton Choate said the Georgia Environmental Protection Division must evaluate potential emissions on an hourly and yearly rate before the plant is approved by the state. She said the plant will have “regular business hours” productivity and that the plant itself is “relatively small.”

After discussion concluded a motion was put forward to rezone the land. All council members voted yes except for Dunn, who voted no. 

“I did not have enough information to comfortably vote yes,” he stated later during the session.

The lot on Second Avenue Northeast was the second rezoning request Tuesday night.

The first item on the agenda regarded a request to rezone 0.24 acres at 16 Seventh Ave. S.W. Applicant Mahendrakumar Patel requested that the C-1 neighborhood business district be rezoned to an R-3 multi-family residential district in order to build a duplex apartment. 

Godley presented his report on the lot and concluded that “there are no concerns of rezoning.” Council unanimously approved the rezoning request.

Mayor Bill McIntosh put forward the consent agenda, which contains several issues the council can approve with a single vote. It passed unanimously.

Items in the consent agenda were:

• Consider approval of minutes for March 16 work session and council meeting.
• Consider a memorandum of understanding with the Colquitt County Archway Partnership. The partnership links local governments with the resources of the University of Georgia to address local problems. Participants — the city, Colquitt County Board of Commissioners, county Board of Education and Colquitt Regional Medical Center — each appropriate $15,000 to fund the partnership each year.
• Consider an agreement for mutual aid in fire and emergency services with Moody Air Force Base.
• Consider bid for a traffic signal project at Second Street and Fourth Avenue Northeast to Reedwick LLC of Villa Rica in the amount of $91,975. The money for the traffic signal was paid to the city by Canfor earlier this year after the city council transferred ownership of a street near the Canfor sawmill to the company by way of the local Land Bank.
• Consider approval of two budget amendments.
• Consider appointment of Ellen Cobb Robinson to the Health Department Board from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026.

Separately, the council also unanimously approved a contract for City Manager Pete Dillard. Dillard was hired in 2016 but his contract must be approved annually.