SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — Members of the Social Circle Planning Commission sided with the overwhelming majority of citizens, unanimously voting ‘no’ for a potential Jones Petroleum (JP) Truck Stop. 

In front of a packed house on Tuesday evening at the Social Circle Community Room, members of the commission unanimously recommended that the city not annex roughly 46 acres of unincorporated Newton County. The commission also opposed a related rezoning request, among other items.

Bill Jones, land owner and CEO of JP, is seeking to build 86,270 square feet of buildings on Highway 11 near I-20. The project includes JPC Construction, a subsidiary of JP. The construction efforts would result in a commercial travel center with overnight truck parking, restaurants with drive-thrus, a hotel and three outparcels for potential businesses to lease or purchase.

JP previously attempted the project in 2021 but was denied by the Newton County Board of Commissioners. Following a legal battle in Newton County Superior Court, the two parties settled on a scaled-down travel center with no overnight truck parking. However, JP never began construction on the property. 

JPC Construction CEO Jeremy Crosby attended Tuesday’s meeting, speaking in favor of the project’s annexation and rezoning request. Crosby said that the previously agreed-upon plan was never built due to inflation and that the proposed truck stop would help offset the costs of building.

“The cost since 2021 to build this facility has doubled—literally doubled,” Crosby said. “So that’s what makes it necessary to have that trucking component where we sell diesel fuel and provide parking for that as another revenue generator.”

Crosby added that JP and JPC are seeking to build this multipurpose truck stop with the goals of bringing jobs to the community and providing a place for all to enjoy.

“We look for places that there’s a need for the traveling public and have a great place to stop off the interstate,” Crosby said.

But Crosby’s sentiments were met with audible laughter from the audience. While Crosby was the only person to speak in favor of the annexation, nine citizens opted to voice their opposition.

This included Wayne Pugh, a trucking business owner. Pugh said that after working in the trucking business for decades, he knows what environmental impacts this development could have.

“The environment that the exhaust and the idling…just consider what you’re going to do to the air right around here that we breathe, our kids breathe,” Pugh said. “It will be different.”

Social Circle resident and local veterinarian Dr. Robin Barrow delivered an impassioned plea to the council, stating that the city would not be the beneficiaries of the proposed annexation.

“Make no mistake that the annexation tonight is not about Social Circle,” Barrow said. “They’re [JP and JPC Construction] asking you to annex a portion of the property to be able to profit… They’re not trying to increase the property value. They’re not trying to bring anything to our community that would be useful.”

Barrow added that she was tired of seeing Social Circle tangled in lawsuits. 

“There is no reason for us to take up this annexation tonight when we haven’t even settled the annexation that’s on the board,” Barrow said.

Currently, the city of Social Circle is in litigation with Newton County over the jurisdiction of three parcels of land. The city claims that the parcels were never properly deannexed from the city in 2009. Newton County refutes that the land was deannexed, citing that Social Circle has not collected property taxes from the land tracts since 2009.

One of the parcels includes a proposed data center on 708 N Hwy 11. The Social Circle City Council approved a rezoning and a special use permit for the data center a few months ago. However, a contract for the proposed data center has reportedly been cancelled. The Covington News is working to obtain more information.

Regardless of what is built, if Newton County wins jurisdiction over the land, it could spell trouble for JP’s annexation hopes. Georgia law requires annexed properties to be contiguous to each other, and the property under dispute is the bridge that would permit JP to join Social Circle.

Joining Barrow and Pugh in their concerns were Newton County Commissioners Stan Edwards and LeAnne Long, who spoke during the public hearing portion of the meeting as citizens.

Edwards, who is the District 1 commissioner for Newton County, said he had previously met with Jones about the site in 2021, with the two agreeing on a handshake deal for the convenience center. He has since been outspoken on social media and during commissioner meetings regarding Jones’ recent action. Tuesday night was no different.

“I want everyone to know when a man or an organization hears a county say ‘no’ as loud as they can say it—the government of that county and the people of that county—and he still opts to end-around and get around, you know it’s all about the dollars,” Edwards said. 

Long, Newton County’s District 5 representative, was also instrumental as a citizen during JP’s negotiations in 2021. In a letter read into the record before the public hearing, Long felt it was clear that the citizens did not want the full-scale truck stop, but rather the previously agreed-upon convenience center.

“The convenience center plan, as approved in 2021, represents a fair compromise that protects the area’s character, preserves future opportunities for upscale development and still generates tax revenue,” Long wrote. “Ignoring this history and proceeding with annexation and zoning that contradicts the agreed-upon plan risks unnecessary conflict, potential litigation and long-term harm to the area.”

When the dust settled, the planning commission members took time to discuss each proposal before them. They all agreed that the annexation and rezoning were not feasible for the city.

“I think I-20 is a great place to stop [the city boundaries],” said Travis Parr,  planning commission member. “It’s a boundary, we all see it. There’s no need in going further. It doesn’t make sense.”

Chair Scott Gaither said he agreed with Barrows’ earlier assessment, stating that he felt JP and JP Construction were trying to loop around its agreement with Newton County.

“This is solely about limitations that Newton County placed upon the request five years ago, and this is an opportunity to skirt around that,” Gaither said. “[It’s] very similar to a child not getting what he wants from one parent and going to the next parent.”

While both the Newton County Board of Commissioners and the Social Circle Planning Commission have denied an annexation request, it is possible that an annexation may still occur.

The matter will next be heard before the Social Circle City Council, where they can choose to accept or deny the planning commission’s recommendation. Should they choose to vote in favor of an annexation, an arbitration panel with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs would likely hold a hearing regarding the future of the land.

The council meeting will take place on Aug. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at 138 E. Hightower Trail in Social Circle.