Hogansville Council Meets, Discusses Development

Photo By Todd Pike
BASWELL SWORN IN – City Attorney Alex Dixon swearing in Jason Baswell, who was reelected to the Hogansville City Council in November.

By TODD PIKE
The Hogansville City Council held their second meeting of the new year on Tuesday, January 20, because of the holiday on Monday the19th. Mayor Pro-Tem Mandy Neese filled in for the absent Mayor Jake Ayers. After approval of the consent agenda, City Attorney Alex Dixon swore in Michael Taylor, Jr. and Jason Baswell who were reelected to their council seats in November.
Albert Prado of 700 East Main Street made a citizen appearance to speak about non-disclosure agreements. He said current city codes provide no protection against the harmful effects of data centers and the city should declare a moratorium to pause discussion on such centers. He mentioned statements by Aaron Fortner at last week’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, where Fortner said the city needs to make code changes, with several potential updates in the future, to ensure regulations are in place so Hogansville citizens are protected. Prado also asked if the NDA with Fertile Ground Development was still in effect. He also stated we was submitting, for a second time, a request for public records about the agreement.
First up in new business was the draft development for Martins Meadows on East Boyd Road by Sawgrass Development. The developer has gained easement rights through two other properties  for the sewer line to tie into the line at the Hummingbird Hollow development on Mountville and Bass Roads. The line must be 18 inches instead of the originally proposed 10 inch line, which will cost an extra $262,ooo. The city will pay the extra cost and will make it back through tap fees in the future. The city will also offer $2,300 in tap fee credit for the developer allowing natural gas lines to be installed for at least two gas appliances, besides fire logs, in each home. This was unanimously approved by council.
The plat application for Hillstar Cottages, a 116 unit with courtyards between groups of homes, was tabled to a later date. Councilman Mark Ayers said he had never seen a cottage community with that many homes and was also not in favor of the homes not having driveways of carports. Councilman Baswell also stated his preference for waiting until certain differences could be ironed out.
Lastly, City Manager Lisa Kelly said installation for the new sewer interceptor for Phase 2 and 3 of the 82 unit Shallow Creek expansion had been completed. The line was recently joined to a new interceptor on Ware Street. Natural gas lines will be added for these homes like those in the Martins Meadows development. Engineers plan to make a few map changes for the development. This plat application was unanimously approved.
In her City Manager’s report, Kelly stated that in 2024-25, 494 new homes were built in the city, increasing our population by approximately 1284 residents. This is a 30% increase in Hogansville’s population since 2020. Several developments, besides those mentioned earlier, are scheduled to begin in the near future. The three warehouses scheduled for construction off of Emmaus Church Road are on hold until sewer issues can be resolved. The Department Of Transportation will soon hold meetings about plans for traffic improvement and the roundabouts by Interstate 85. The city is also planning to purchase a new sidearm mower in the next 60 to 90 days. Lastly, the Public Service Commission recently visited city hall to check on the city’s drug and alcohol testing requirements for employees. Kelly said there were no violations found and thanked City Clerek LeAnn Lehigh for her great work.
Police Chief Jeffrey Sheppard introduced new employee, Patrol Captain Jorge Olmos Novoa who is originally from Puerto Rico. Novoa came to Hogansville from the Georgia Public Training Center and has a long history of experience in the military, police work and private security. Sheppard also showed some new “No Truck” signs, which are much larger than normal signs, to put on Johnson Street and East Boyd Road to warn semi truck drivers not to try to cross the railroad tracks on those streets. In 2025, two became stuck and were hit by trains, The HPD also received an award from the Troup County NAACP for their “getting home safe” program. Hogansville officers will also give talks about the program to local college students in the near future. 
During the council members’ closing comments, Neese stated that the council was putting a moratorium on data centers coming to Hogansville, which was well received by most of those in attendance.