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The Hogansville City Council voted Monday to accept a bid to expand the Hogansville Tower Trail Monday night.

The new construction will connect the Tower Trail to the new city hall and post office on High Street.

According to City Manager Jonathan Lynn, the two bids received were from JHC Corp. at $591,825 and from Piedmont Paving for $357,614.25.

The council voted to choose Piedmont Paving for the project.

Lynn said the city had received a grant from the Department of Natural Resources for the amount of $200,000.

“That will go toward that $357,614.25,” Lynn said. “We will use the special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST) to fund the rest of that project. There are also some possibilities of contributions from others in the area for that project. We will not exceed the amount of 138,614.25, and that would cover us.”

Lynn said as of Monday, the balance in the city’s SPLOST account is $524,177.89.

The city council also voted to utilize the SPLOST account to construct three 20-by-20 foot pavilions at Lake Jimmy Jackson at the cost.

The council also voted to approve the following items:

• A zoning amendment to allow farm wineries in the city’s commercial and industrial zones.
• An alcohol amendment that amends the City Alcohol Ordinance to define farm wineries, and to set the city license fee for them at $250 per year. Currently in OCGA 3-6-21.1, farm winery is defined as a winery that makes at least 40 percent of its annual production from agricultural produce grown in Georgia, and is located on premises, a substantial portion of which is used for agricultural purposes, including the cultivation of grapes, berries or fruits to be utilized in the manufacture or production of wine by the winery. Or it is owned and operated by persons who are engaged in the production of a substantial portion of the agricultural produced used in the annual production. A farm winery may sell up to 24,000 gallons of its wine at wholesale within Georgia.
• An alcohol amendment that allows growlers as a container for beer or wine at retail package sale locations. According to the Hogansville Planning and Zoning Commission, a growler is a bottle that is to not exceed 72 ounces and is capable of being sealed with lid or cap. It is filled with beer or wine from a licensed establishment authorized to sell beer or wine for off-premise consumption.
• A zoning amendment that amends the city zoning ordinance that relates to accessory structures in R1 and R2 residential zones. The amendment states that surfaces cannot cover more than 40 percent of a lot, stipulates that an accessory structure cannot exceed the square footage of the primary structure, requires building permits, and states that no accessory structure shall serve as a dwelling.
• A replacement ordinance that will define and regulate tiny homes. A tiny home is defined in the ordinance as a single ¬family home, with a minimum of 160 square feet and a maximum of 1,000 square feet, excluding lofts.
• The council was also approved by GDOT to begin construction on lighted cross walks. Lynn said that GDOT is paying for $70,000 of that project.

The council will meet again Monday, Aug. 3 2020, at 7 p.m. at the Vintage White Barn at Victoria Belle, located at 602 East Main St in Hogansville.