Did the Lowndes County Commission spend nothing or half a million dollars to buy an old bar in Lake Park? And why did they vote to buy it after an Executive Session, with no item entered on a public meeting agenda?

Where did the money come from? Apparently, it did not come from SPLOST. Since the property is to be repurposed for a fire station, did it come from the special fire tax?

Half a million or zero for the bar Lowndes County bought with no agenda item?, Rascal’s into a fire station

The only times I see Rascal’s appearing in Lowndes County Commission meetings of the past five years is in this week’s meetings of June 9 and 10, 2025, in April 2023, and in March 2025.

April 2023 Liquor license for Rascal’s become Twin Lake Club and Grill

In the board packet for April 24, 2023. Back then Tony Taylor wrote, “I was running / managing “Rascals” for my Dad Roy E. Taylor, Sr prior to his death, because of his recent passing | am now applying for the liquor license in my name to continue to run & manage such business.”

Map: Rascal’s 4875 US Hwy. 41 S, LCC Packet 2023-04-24

His application was in the name of Tony Taylor of Taylor Entertainment, LCC, DBA Twin Lake Club and Grill. In the Regular Session of April 25, 2023, Finance Director Stephanie Black mentioned this was the old Rascal’s location.

Tax Assessors sales records for 4875 US 41 South

According to the Lowndes County Tax Assessor, back in 2017 Roy E Taylor Sr sold the property for $500,000 to Smitty’s Entertainment Ltd Inc. In 2018, Smitty’s conveyed it back to him for $0 Non-Market. In 2020 he conveyed it to Roy E Taylor Sr Family LLLP for reason “RELATIVES OR CORP AFFILIATES”. And on August 19, 2024, that LLLP conveyed it to Lowndes County Georgia for $0 “QC-Quit Claim”. Remember that: zero dollars ($0).

Sales of 4875 US 41 South, Lake Park, GA

July 9, 2024, sale record in Lowndes County Commission Minutes

Yet the Minutes of the July 9, 2024, Regular Session say the county bought it for $585,000:

Contract of Sale and Purchase of Property – 4875 Highway 41 South, Lake Park

Chairman Slaughter presented the item stating this is a contract of sale and purchase of property located at 4875 Highway 41 South in Lake Park. County Attorney, Walter Elliott, stated this contract of sale and purchase is made with Roy E. Taylor, Sr. Family, LLP with the purchase price being $585,000.00. Commissioner Griner made a motion to approve the contract as presented, Vice Chairman Marshall seconded. All voted in favor, no one opposed. Motion carried.

This item in those Minutes is immediately after a record of:

Adjournment to Executive Session

At 5:59 p.m., Commissioner Wisenbaker made a motion to enter into executive session for the purpose of real estate acquisition, Vice Chairman Marshall seconded. All voted in favor, no one opposed. Motion carried….

Adjournment to Executive Session
PDF

There is no mention of this item in the Minutes of the July 8, 2024, Work Session.

This real estate purchase also does not appear in the agenda for July 9, 2024 currently online on lowndescounty.com.

So apparently the Commissioners held an Executive Session, after which they voted on a real estate acquisition that was not on the agenda. And which is recorded with a very different purchase price by the Lowndes County Tax Assessors.

This property acquisition vote does not appear in the county’s own video of the July 9, 2024, Regular Session, which stops as they go into Executive Session.

This vote to purchase property does not appear in the LAKE videos of the July 9, 2024, Regular Session, because we do not expect the Commissioners to vote after the Executive Session, especially not to spend half a million dollars on something that was not on the agenda. So Gretchen when home when they went into Executive Session.

November 2024 liquor license for new location for Twin Lake Club and Grill

In the November 12, 2024, board packet, Tony Taylor applied for a beer, wine, and liquor license for a new location for Twin Lake Club and Grill, at 1068 Lakes Blvd. There was no mention in the board packet or the Work or Regular Session of the conveyance of the previous location to the county.

County Manager Paige Dukes did say at the Work Session of November 12, 2024, that she had discussed with him that he had not met the requirements, but he would not serve alcohol until the requirements were met.

March 2025 Lowndes County Commission retreat

In the packet materials for the Commission three-day Annual Planning Meeting, aka retreat, on March 5, 2025, the Engineering Department mentions on page 26 in “Non-SPLOST Facility & Special Projects”: “Taylor Property Purchase”.

Taylor Property Purchase (Twin Lakes Fire Station) 2025-07-09 Engineering Dept. Non-SPLOST at Retreat on Jekyll Island

There’s a paragraph on page 28:

Taylor Property Purchase (Twin Lakes Fire Station) — This project is complete as far as the purchase is concerned. Staff and Celine Gladwin are currently in the process of a building and structural review to determine if a remodel is a viable option.

July June 9, 2025, Work Session

And finally we hear this county purchase of the old Rascal’s property mentioned in the July June 9, 2025, Work Session, which is what caused this archaeological dig into county records.

Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker asked, “Leaping ahead, the Lake Park proposed new fire facility, is it going to be exacly like this one? You said a flagship is what we want, so is it going to be a new one?”

Rascal’s into Fire Station, Work Session 2025-07-09

County Manager Paige Dukes answered, “We are hoping, Commissioner Wisenbaker, for budgetary purpose, that we are able to retrofit the Rascal’s building into a fire station. It will be much cheaper, we think right now, until the architects and engineers tell us differently that would be to bulldoze and start from scratch. But I think there will be some anomalies based on the space that we have there that will establish that as an anchor in the south end as well. So if we were to receive the information from the architect and the engineers that we did need to level the old Rascal’s to rebuild on that site, then this would be the station that we would duplicate here, yessir.”

Commissioner Wisenbaker clarified, “Lake Park would have living quarters for firemen and EMS?”

Fire Chief Billy Young answered, “Yessir.”

Gretchen Quarterman noted on her LAKE video, “The last I remember anything about that property was Tony Taylor got a liquor license in the spring of last year.”

CWTBH: Gretchen Quarterman, Transparency and the purchase of Rascals, LCC Regular 2025-06-10

In the Regular Session of June 10, 2025, Gretchen Quarterman asked in Citizens Wishing to Be Heard,

“So my ask is that you do the peoples’ business in the open. And not to the minimum requirement. Because the minimum requirement is that you had the public meeting, you went to Executive Session, you came back to the public meeting, everybody was gone by then. You didn’t take any video of your own, so there’s no recording other than the minutes.

CWTBH Gretchen Quarterman @ LCC Regular, LAKE Video, 2025-06-10

“The other ask that I would have is that, as we go forward, especially building up the fire department, why aren’t we more telling the public what we’re doing. Because people care about their pocketbook, and that fire tax is a big one. And I think they’d feel better; I would feel better, if every once in a while on the website or facebook I would see this great thing is happening, and this is what they’re going to be doing.”

LAKE archaeology of Lowndes County Commission records

It’s no wonder that Gretchen didn’t remember anything about that purchase. Like everybody else, she went home when the county went into Executive Session on July 9, 2024. I only found it in the Minutes of that meeting because LAKE keeps copies of all the board packets, so I could search them all.

Those Minutes for July 9, 2024, are on the county website, but in a non-searchable form.

The only other place that purchase turns up in county documents that LAKE has is in the packet for the March 2025 retreat, which you may recall was held on Jekyll Island with one day’s notice to the public.

So far as I know, nobody from the public wanted to pay the $299/night, or $372 with taxes and fees, to stay at The Westin Jekyll Island Beach Resort, or anywhere else on Jekyll with that little notice.

Questions

Why was this July or August 2024 property purchase approved so abruptly, without ever appearing on an agenda for a public Lowndes County Commission meeting? What was the urgency?

How much did the county pay? $585,000 as the county’s own Minutes say? Or $0 (zero dollars) as the Tax Assessors website says? Or some other price?

And is this oddly managed purchase related to the apparently special treatment for the November 2024 liquor license for the relocated successor bar?

Maybe this is all something as simple as the county did not expect as conveniently-located a property to be for sale. But why so secretive about it?

-jsq

Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/donate

Short Link: