Residents, business owners critical of new Buc-ee’s plan in Monroe County. What we know

A new Buc-ee’s location set to be built in Monroe County got approval from city officials Monday night despite numerous concerns raised by locals.

Nearly 100 people attended the Monroe County Board of Commissioners meeting Monday, at which the new location was approved. The meeting lasted nearly three hours, and attendees expressed concerns that the Buc-ee’s could worsen traffic, create safety concerns and harm local businesses.

The commissioners approved the proposal unanimously. Buc-ee’s has not released a timeline for when construction on the new location will begin.

Buc-ee’s is a national chain of travel centers that offer food, gas and merchandise. The stores have become well-known on social media, making them a sort of tourist destination in their own right. There are already two locations in Georgia.

Monroe Commission Chairman Gregory V. Tapley said the lot was already zoned as a commercial space, and it was only a matter of time before a company developed it.

The location — which is slated to have a 74,000-square-foot facility on 30 acres of land with 120 gas pumps — would be on Rumble Road in the Smarr/Forsyth area, off Interstate 75 in Monroe County. It’s just 30 miles up the road from Georgia’s first Buc-ee’s location in Warner Robins, which is 21,000 square feet smaller than the proposed size of the Monroe County location.

The new Buc-ee’s had to be approved by the county because of its large size. While the lot is zoned for commercial development, the zoning only allowed for buildings up to 45,000 square feet. Tapley said a Love’s or similar business could open a smaller stop without approval from the county, and Buc-ee’s — which does not allow tractor-trailers on its properties — at least gives Monroe County a chance to control what goes there.

“I don’t want to denigrate truck stops, but they are not as rural county friendly,” Tapley said. “It’s kind of the lesser of two evils. If someone thinks we ought to stay rural, I want it to be that way too, but that location was not going to stay a pasture.”

This isn’t the first time the new Buc-ee’s has faced pushback from the surrounding community. On Nov. 25, more than 100 people attended a Monroe County Planning and Zoning meeting to oppose the proposal. Zoning and planning leaders ultimately didn’t approve or deny the proposal, and passed it along to county commissioners without a recommendation.

Critics worry about traffic, local businesses losing out

Most of the attendees at Monday night’s commission live and work along Rumble Road.

Zach Thomas, a Monroe County business owner who also opposed the Buc-ee’s location at the planning and zoning meeting, said Monday he worries the enormous gas station and store could kill local businesses. Thomas has a vending contract with a rest area near the site, and said the new Buc-ee’s could destroy him and other local business owners who rely on travelers making stops along I-75.

“For Buc-ee’s to move in, it’s not all an increase. It will pull from other businesses in the county,” Thomas said. “Think of the businesses that it will impact, the businesses that have been here for years, if not decades.”

Other residents expressed concerns about increased traffic and safety issues.

Deborah Hammock, who lives near Rumble Road, said it’s not prepared for the level of traffic a new Buc-ee’s would bring and that the site is very different from Russell Parkway, the road the Warner Robins Buc-ee’s is located along.

Russell Parkway is a four-lane highway, while Rumble Road is only two lanes. Rumble Road also crosses train tracks, and Hammock worries that increased traffic due to a Buc-ee’s in the area may worsen the risk of cars and trains colliding.

“It does impact Rumble Road negatively,” Hammock said. “If you live over there, you know it’s a little country road. It’s curvy, there’s no lights.”

During the commission meeting, county officials said Rumble Road would need to be improved in order to accommodate increased traffic.

Hundreds of jobs planned, traffic upgrades expected

Stan Beard Jr., Buc-ee’s director of real estate and development, said Buc-ee’s plans to lengthen the on and off ramps along the Rumble Road exit and build a roundabout over a signalized intersection as part of the new site. More lighting will be installed along the renovated ramps. The company is also working with the Georgia Department of Transportation to gauge how best to relieve traffic in the area, Beard said.

“I don’t want anyone to have the thought that we are just plunking down a big old Buc-ee’s and the interchange is going to be as-is,” Beard said. “That is not the case at all.”

Supporters of the new Buc-ee’s location say it could bring jobs and tax revenue to Monroe County.

Beard said the new location will generate at least 200 full-time jobs with a starting pay of $17 to $20 an hour with benefits. While Beard did not give an exact number, he said the location will also bring part-time and seasonal jobs.

“It’s a living wage job, it’s a job that one wage earner can raise a family on,” Beard said.

When it was first proposing the new location to the county, Buc-ee’s said it could generate up to $30 million a year for the surrounding area.

Tapley said while he thinks this number isn’t completely accurate, he estimates the location could still generate more than $1 million a year in tax revenue to be split between Monroe County, the Monroe County Board of Education and the cities of Forsyth and Culloden.

Ray Wilson, who lives along Rumble Road, encouraged his neighbors at the commission meeting to embrace the new Buc-ee’s and the jobs and revenue it could bring to Monroe County.

“I think we have to open our minds and understand that we’re going to grow because we have a good community, this isn’t them trying to pick on us because we’re this little rinky-dink town,” Wilson said. “Let’s go ahead and get these jobs and welcome Buc-ee’s to the community.”

Tapley also affirmed his support for the new Buc-ee’s, and said that while some residents who live along Rumble Road are opposed, the idea is still broadly popular in the county.

“I think we’ll find that there’ll be a big benefit to the community,” Tapley said.