The Mayor Broke the Tie, and the Burkhalter Rezoning Passed

Hello, Statesboro!

The room was full Tuesday night. Not full in the usual sense, full in the sense that the fire code stopped letting people in at 133, the corridor upstairs filled, and the rest stood on the sidewalk in the heat. Council split 2-2 on the Burkhalter Road rezoning. Mayor Jonathan McCollar voted yes. The crowd booed.

That is the story of the week, and the more interesting part is what sits under it: the vote was 2-2 because one of the five council seats has been empty since May. Three people qualified for it on Thursday, and the election is Nov. 3.

Also this week: the 1920 Coca-Cola bottling warehouse downtown is getting a brewery and 108 apartments, the police department renewed its camera contract for five more years, Raising Cane's opens on Highway 80 today, and rain is finally in the forecast every single day.

Let's get into it.

Council Approved the Data Center Rezoning 3-2, With the Mayor Breaking a Tie

Statesboro City Council voted Tuesday evening, Aug. 18, to rezone about 26.49 acres at 6539 Burkhalter Road from R-4 high-density residential to O, office and business district. Council members Tangie Johnson of District 1 and Ginny Hendley of District 3 voted yes. Shari Barr of District 5 and John Riggs of District 4 voted no. That left it 2-2, and Mayor Jonathan McCollar broke the tie in favor.

The applicant is 4AM Development LLC, owned by Charles C. Way of Savannah and Bobby Bagwell of the Augusta area. What they have described is a two-story data center of roughly 230,000 square feet.

The council chamber and the second-floor corridor hit the 133-person fire code limit before the meeting started. About 100 people stood outside City Hall. When the vote landed, the room booed.

Two things the vote did not do. It did not approve a data center, and it did not end the process. Under the technological facilities ordinance the city adopted effective June 2, a data center needs a special use permit no matter what the underlying zoning says. That is a separate application, a separate public hearing, and a separate council vote. Council also attached a condition to the rezoning: 4AM has to dedicate a 10-foot strip along the Burkhalter Road frontage for future roadwork.

The numbers the applicant put in front of council, all of which are theirs and not the city's: 40 to 90 megawatts of power in practice against a 99-megawatt maximum requested from Georgia Power, about 156,000 gallons of water a year on a closed-loop cooling system needing 30 to 100 gallons of makeup water a day, and a noise limit of roughly 50 decibels at the property line. For comparison they offered the 240-unit residential development previously planned for the same land, which they put at 26.28 million gallons of water a year.

Hendley explained her yes narrowly: "I don't have a problem with the zoning; it's staff approved, and staff knows what they're doing." Johnson said, "I work for a facility that has one. I'm not against data centers." Way told council the project would not be built on speculation: "This is not going to be built on spec. There is zero chance that they're going to build this speculatively."

The people who came to say no were not persuaded by the process argument. "When we voted these elected officials in, it was supposed to be people over politics, but now the people don't have a voice, and we're tired of it," resident Trayialia Prince said. Organizer William McDaniel said, "The mayor, the city council, they didn't take any of that into consideration at all, I feel."

McCollar, after casting the vote that decided it, pointed at the next hearing: "This is not the end of this journey, we want them to continue to make sure their voices are heard."

Read more at the Statesboro Herald / Read more at WTOC / Read more at Grice Connect

Three People Are Running for the Council Seat That Was Empty Tuesday Night

District 2 has had no council member since Paulette Chavers resigned in May, six years into the job. Qualifying for the special election closed Thursday, Aug. 20, with three candidates paying the $330 fee.

Kathleen Keehner is 25, moved into the district in January, holds a degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design, runs her own apparel business and substitute teaches. "I am deeply passionate about securing a prosperous future for the next generation," she said.

Maleek Jones is 32, works at Georgia Southern as a lead success coach, holds a bachelor's and a master's from Georgia Southern, and has lived in District 2 with his family for four years. He said he is "feeling led to step into this space to be voice for the people."

Loletta Donaldson-Elliott is 48 and has lived in District 2 her whole life. She is a partner at Gayla's Gifts of Beauty, works in healthcare, co-manages Bigma's Restaurant, and teaches youth Sunday school and directs the youth choir at Historical First African Baptist Church. She graduated from Statesboro High, Ogeechee Technical College and Swainsboro Technical College. "I know District 2, its people, its history, and its needs, and I want to serve my neighbors well," she said.

The election is Nov. 3, on the same ballot as the county and state races, and only District 2 voters will see it. The winner finishes Chavers' term, which runs through 2027.

Worth sitting with for a second: Tuesday's rezoning was 2-2 among council members. A fifth vote existed on paper and not in the room. Whoever wins in November will be the fifth vote on the special use permit, on the Burkhalter Road widening design, and on everything else that comes through in 2027.

Read more at the Statesboro Herald / Donaldson-Elliott's entry at the Statesboro Herald

The Old Coca-Cola Bottling Plant Is Becoming a Brewery and 108 Apartments

The same Tuesday meeting approved a redevelopment of the former Coca-Cola bottling property at 401 S. Main Street, five parcels totaling 7.54 acres bounded by South Main Street, West Brannen Street and South College Street.

The brick warehouse facing South Main went up in 1920, with more warehouse buildings added through about 1930. Under the conceptual plan from 401 S. Main OZ Business, LLC, that building becomes a two-story restaurant and brewery. Four apartment buildings go up along the South College Street side, 108 units and 240 beds, with a clubhouse, a pool and fitness center, outdoor dining and gaming areas, and a walking trail along the railroad tracks.

Council approved two applications to make it possible: a variance from the city's 10-acre minimum for a Planned Unit Development, since the site is 7.54 acres, and the rezoning into a Planned Unit Development / Mixed Use district.

This is the piece of downtown most people have driven past a thousand times without a reason to look at it. The 1920 building staying is the part worth noting. Plenty of towns knock that building down and build the apartments on top of it.

Read more at Grice Connect

Raising Cane's Opens Today

The chain's first Bulloch County restaurant opens Monday, Aug. 24, at 24087 U.S. Highway 80, the old Applebee's site in front of Lowe's. Opening day includes giveaways and a drawing for free Raising Cane's for a year. The company hired 165 crew members for the location, starting at $15 an hour.

Expect the Highway 80 turn lanes to be interesting for a few days.

Read more at WTOC / Read more at The Georgia Virtue

Police Renewed the Flock Camera Contract for Five Years

Council approved a five-year renewal with Flock Safety covering 54 license plate reader cameras and the existing gunshot detection sensors over about two square miles, at roughly $1.15 million total, or $229,500 a year through July 31, 2031. The vote had no opposition on council.

Police Chief Jared Akins gave council the case list the system has been part of: 22 stolen vehicle recoveries, four missing persons cases, three robberies, one kidnapping, 12 aggravated assaults and eight homicides. "Two of those homicides would have been extremely difficult to solve" without it, he said.

Two residents spoke against the renewal at public comment, raising Fourth Amendment concerns and pointing to opposition to AI-driven surveillance cameras nationally. The context there is real: several Georgia law enforcement agencies were under GBI investigation this summer over Flock misuse. Statesboro's answer is its Ethical Use of Technology Policy, updated this year to name Flock specifically, plus weekly audits of officer access. Akins told council no employee has been disciplined or charged for violating it.

Read more at the Statesboro Herald

The County Set Its Millage and Kept Working on Its Own Data Center Rules

The Bulloch County Board of Commissioners adopted the 2026 millage rate Tuesday, Aug. 18: 10.260 mills for county maintenance and operations and 3 mills for the Bulloch County Fire District. The vote was 4-1, with Commissioner Nick Newkirk against.

Commissioners also went through a draft ordinance governing where and how data centers could operate in unincorporated Bulloch. That is a separate track from the city's decision and applies only outside the city limits. Both county moratoriums, the one on data centers and the one on residential rezonings and planned unit developments, run through Dec. 31, 2026.

The next Board of Commissioners meeting with planning and zoning items on it is Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Read more at Grice Connect / The moratorium extension at The Georgia Virtue

The City Wants to Hear About Blue Mile Phase 2 on Tuesday

Open house Tuesday, Aug. 25, 5 to 7 p.m. at the Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau, 222 South Main Street. Drop in any time in that window.

Phase 2 runs from the South Main and Fair Road intersection down to the Statesboro Regional Library at Grady Street, picking up where Phase 1 stopped in 2023. The work: rehabilitating South Main, adding a grass boulevard, new sidewalks with brick pavers, realigning the offset intersection at Grady Street, and upgrading traffic signals. Budget is $10 million from T-SPLOST with possible GDOT help. Construction is expected to start in late 2027 and run about 24 months.

Written comments can be handed in at the meeting or sent to City Engineer Brad Deal by Sept. 25, or emailed to [email protected].

Read more at the Statesboro Herald

A Southeast Bulloch High Student Was Arrested Over a Threat on a School Bus

A Southeast Bulloch High student was charged with terroristic threats and disrupting a public school after making a verbal threat to a Southeast Bulloch Middle student on a bus Wednesday morning. School resource officers called in a Bulloch County Sheriff's patrol unit, ran a K-9 search of the student, the bus and classrooms, and took the student to the Bulloch County Jail.

Hayley Greene, director of public relations for Bulloch County Schools, said multiple students reported it to administrators and gave written statements. She noted the district's Code of Conduct requires a mandatory report to law enforcement for threats made through written or verbal language that create fear or express intent to harm, whether or not a weapon or a physical attack is involved.

Read more at the Statesboro Herald

The Burn Ban Is Still On, Even With Rain Coming

The emergency ordinance from July 31 took effect Aug. 1 and stays in place until drought conditions improve and commissioners formally vote to rescind it. No such vote has happened, and the next commission meeting is Sept. 1, so it holds through this week regardless of what the sky does.

No burning yard debris, limbs, grass, leaves or other vegetative matter in unincorporated Bulloch County. Agricultural and forestry burns under a valid Georgia Forestry Commission permit are exempt, and so are attended cooking fires in grills and fire pits. Maximum penalty is a $1,000 fine or 60 days.

Read more at WTOC / Read more at the Statesboro Herald

Raising Cane's Opening Day
Monday, Aug. 24 | 24087 U.S. Highway 80 | Giveaways and a drawing for free Cane's for a year

Family Constellation Craft Activity
Monday, Aug. 24 | 4 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library, 124 S. Main Street | All ages, no cost listed

Statesboro Line Dancing Club
Monday, Aug. 24 | 5:30 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library | All ages, no cost listed

Blue Mile Streetscape Phase 2 Open House
Tuesday, Aug. 25 | 5 to 7 p.m. | Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau, 222 South Main Street | Free, drop in any time

Lego Club
Wednesday, Aug. 26 | 5 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library | Ages 6 to 11, no cost listed

Adult Book Club
Thursday, Aug. 27 | 5:45 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library | Ages 18 and up, no cost listed

Bulloch County Board of Education Work Session
Thursday, Aug. 27 | 6:30 p.m. | Central Office boardroom, 150 Williams Road | Free and open

Family Dinosaur Dungeons & Dragons Adventure
Friday, Aug. 28 | 1 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library | Whole family, no cost listed

Genealogy Preservation Workshop
Friday, Aug. 28 | 3 p.m. | Statesboro Regional Library | Ages 18 and up, no cost listed

Burke County at Statesboro High
Friday, Aug. 28 | 7:30 p.m. | Statesboro High School | Home opener

East Laurens at Southeast Bulloch
Friday, Aug. 28 | 7:30 p.m. | Southeast Bulloch High School, Brooklet | Home opener

Main Street Farmers Market
Saturday, Aug. 29 | 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | 222 S. Main Street, behind the Visitors Center | Free to browse

Cosplay Day
Saturday, Aug. 29 | Statesboro Regional Library | All ages, time not listed, call (912) 764-1341

Splash in the Boro
Saturday, Aug. 29, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 30, noon to 6 p.m. | 1388 Georgia Highway 24 | Weekends only through Sept. 6

No city council meeting this week. Council meets first and third Tuesdays; the next one is Sept. 1.

Library and community calendar via the Statesboro Herald / Board meeting dates via Bulloch County Schools / County meetings via Bulloch County

Week Two, and It Is the Biggest Student Body the University Has Ever Had

Classes started Wednesday, Aug. 19. Georgia Southern is projecting more than 33,900 students across its campuses this fall and a freshman class of more than 6,500, both institutional records.

You already know what that means without being told. Lunch at noon is a decision now. The Fair Road left turn is a decision. Give yourself the extra ten minutes for the next two weeks and it stops being a problem.

Read more at the Statesboro Herald

Statesboro 44, Southeast Bulloch 7

The Blue Devils opened the season Friday night in Brooklet and ran for 463 yards doing it. Statesboro is 1-0.

Both County Teams Are Home Friday

Statesboro High hosts Burke County at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28. Southeast Bulloch hosts East Laurens at the same hour in Brooklet. Pick one, or catch a half of each if you enjoy driving.

The Eagles Open Sept. 5

Georgia Southern hosts Charleston Southern at Allen E. Paulson Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, on ESPN+. That is the next home football date on the calendar. Eagles volleyball opens on the road at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu, Aug. 28 to 30, and women's soccer is at Mercer at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27.

Game recap at the Statesboro Herald / Statesboro schedule at MaxPreps / Eagles football schedule / Eagles volleyball schedule / Eagles women's soccer schedule

El Sombrero, 406 Fair Road

Last week the spotlight went to Holiday Pizza because the street out front closed. This week it goes to its neighbor for the same reason, and because of a small detail worth pointing out: when the city wrote its official detour instructions for the Max Lockwood Drive closure, the landmark it used was this restaurant. Enter the shopping center from Fair Road north of the closed street, and exit northward past El Sombrero. That is the city's own wording. Thirteen more weeks of it.

El Sombrero has been a default around here long enough that most people have a usual. It is the sit-down kind of Mexican restaurant: fajitas that arrive loud, burritos the size of a forearm, enchiladas, quesadillas, tacos, lunch specials that get you back to work on time, and a bar doing margaritas. There is more than one El Sombrero in town. This is the Fair Road one, and it is the one behind the orange barrels.

It has 1,447 Google ratings. That is not a score, that is a headcount, and it tells you how many people in a town this size have eaten there and had an opinion about it.

Nothing about the restaurant has changed. Only the way you get to it has.

Hours: Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Phone: (912) 764-9828
Getting there during the closure: Use the shopping center's main Fair Road entrance north of Max Lockwood Drive, and exit northward.

Order online and see the menu / The closure detour details at the Statesboro Herald

No active weather alerts for Bulloch County as of this morning, which is a change from last Monday's Heat Advisory. The heat has stepped back a few degrees and rain is in the forecast every day this week, with Thursday the best chance in a long while.

Monday: High near 95, slight chance of storms between 3 and 5 p.m., rain 20 percent
Tuesday: High near 93, chance of storms between 2 and 5 p.m., rain 40 percent
Wednesday: High near 92, chance of afternoon storms, rain 40 percent
Thursday: High near 92, storms likely after 2 p.m., rain 60 percent
Friday: High near 92, chance of storms after 2 p.m., rain 50 percent
Saturday: High near 92, chance of afternoon storms, rain 50 percent
Sunday: High near 92, chance of storms, rain 30 percent

Lows run around 71 all week, four to seven degrees cooler at night than last week and enough for a house to actually catch up after dark.

On the drought, since it drives the burn ban: the U.S. Drought Monitor map published Aug. 18 puts 16.18 percent of Bulloch County in moderate drought, down from 26.63 percent on July 28. About 95.6 percent of the county is still at least abnormally dry, and nothing is in severe drought. It is improving slowly. A week of scattered afternoon storms helps and does not finish the job.

Friday night football at 7:30 sits right at the back edge of the storm window. Take the poncho.

Forecast pulled from the National Weather Service Charleston office at 6:29 a.m. ET Monday, Aug. 24, gridpoint CHS/20,55. Afternoon storm timing shifts. Check weather.gov before outdoor plans.

Tuesday, Aug. 25: Blue Mile Phase 2 open house.
5 to 7 p.m., Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau, 222 South Main Street. Written comments accepted through Sept. 25.

Thursday, Aug. 27: Board of Education work session.
6:30 p.m., Central Office boardroom, 150 Williams Road.

Friday, Aug. 28: Both county teams home.
Burke County at Statesboro High, East Laurens at Southeast Bulloch, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 1: County commissioners, with planning and zoning items.
The draft data center ordinance for unincorporated Bulloch is on that track.

Saturday, Sept. 5: Eagles home opener.
Charleston Southern at Paulson, 7 p.m., ESPN+.

Sunday, Sept. 6: Last day of the season at Splash in the Boro.

Tuesday, Nov. 3: The District 2 special election.
Keehner, Jones and Donaldson-Elliott, District 2 voters only, same ballot as the county and state races.

Late November: Max Lockwood Drive, if 14 weeks holds.

No date yet: the special use permit hearing for the Burkhalter Road site.
That is the application that actually decides whether a data center gets built. No date has been announced.

That's Edition 46. A tie broken, a warehouse saved, a chicken place opened, and rain in the forecast every day for the first time in a while.

The thing to hold onto out of Tuesday: the rezoning is done and the data center is not approved. The special use permit hearing is the one that decides it, and there is no date on it yet. If you were outside City Hall in the heat last week, that is the meeting to watch for, and there will be a fifth council member by the time the 2027 decisions come around.

Until then: the burn ban is still on, take the Fair Road entrance, and give yourself ten extra minutes on campus.

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