Winder Council Members Discuss Downtown Automotive Business

A downtown Winder business came under scrutiny from members of the Winder City Council on Monday evening.

During a work session preceding the Tuesday, Jan. 10, regular business meeting, Councilman Sonny Morris said he had received complaints about Scatt’s Automotive located at 103 Park Ave. in Winder.

Morris said a number of residents had complained about employees parking vehicles on the street near the business, as well as visible outside storage at a nearby location.

City Planning Director Barry Edgar said the current zoning permits outside storage on that property.

Councilman Bob Dixon said the city should take immediate action in putting its planning and permits employees to work looking into the problem.

“This problem has existed for years but it needs to be solved now,” Dixon said. “We don’t need a business like that in what I call downtown Winder. We don’t want a junk yard in the city.”

When John Scatterday and Melissa Hollis, co-owners of Scatt’s Automotive, attempted to address Dixon’s concerns, the councilman said he was not speaking to any residents — that there was a separate time for public comment.

“I don’t think we can afford to run any business out of downtown,” Mayor David Maynard said. “They are paying taxes, they are generating revenue, they are bringing people into town.

“They haven’t been totally unresponsive to this during the process,” Maynard added.

Councilman Larry Evans said privacy fencing should fix the problem.

At the conclusion of the meeting Dixon further addressed the council.

“I was not saying businesses are not welcome,” he said. “I’m not against anybody or any business.”

What do you think the city of Winder should do to improve the appearance of the downtown area? Tell us in comments.