The City of Oakwood was supposed to have a planning commission meeting on Thursday.
There was only one item on the new business part of the agenda: Northeast Georgia Health Systems (NGHS) attempting to rezone their corporate plaza to construct and expand their sterile processing department.
The issue? Four of the five members of the mayor-appointed terms had expired.
“It just turned out as we were going through and looking at all the appointments and such, we realized that the terms couldn’t just be rolled over,” Oakwood Community Development Director Dan Schultz. “They had served the extent that they could serve.”
Schultz said that some of them went to the Development Authority on reappointments.
The planning commission members whose terms had expired were Chairwoman Melissa Puckett, Roger Roesler, Joreal Mack, and Tony Millwood.
The only unexpired member was Sherry Wilson, but it takes at least three members to have a quorum.
“There was a lot of discussion, consultation with the city attorney and such to … come to that determination,” Schultz said. “Hopefully this will be rectified at the December council meeting and then we can move forward first of the year with their first meeting.”
Schultz clarified that the NGHS issue will be on the next City Council agenda without planning recommendation.
The mayor appoints members of the planning commission and then the city council votes to confirm them to four-year terms.
Schultz did clarify that this was the first meeting that was missed due to the terms expiring and that they do not meet in December, so it will be rectified by 2025.
