County Commissioner's
Office
County Talk
By
Lamar Paris - Commissioner
Q. When
are we going to be required to change our addresses?
A. There will be a story in the newspaper
soon, but at this time it looks like the county will notify property
owners of their new addresses some time in June or July. We
have worked with the post office and they have agreed to utilize
the old and new addresses for a minimum time of 6 months. Therefore,
everyone will have at least that amount of time to have all of
your addresses changed.
Q. Can we call in now and find out what our new address
will be?
A. No. The Post Office has asked us not to do that. The
reason is that some people may try to use the new addresses before
the Post Office has all of the new addresses entered in their system,
which would cause much confusion. As soon as the county has
all the new addresses completed, given them to the post office and
they tell us they are entered into their mail system, we will then
send out a mass mailing to everyone in the county letting you know
your new address. From that point on, you can use either address
for at least 6 months, to give you time to notify everyone of your
change of address.
Q. Will all of our streets and
numbers be changed?
A. No. Most street and road names will remain the same, with
only house numbers changing. However, there will be several
changes in road names when necessary to clear up a name or to properly
address someone on the road their driveway actually fronts on. We
currently have several addresses where a home has a county road on
both sides of the home and it is addressed on a road that is different
from the one where their driveway is located. The new
system will require addresses to be located off the road on which
your driveway is located.
Q. Why is it necessary to change
all the addresses?
A. It is for one reason only and that is for the public safety
of you, our citizens. As we continue to grow, many times new
employees do not know the county or the road system well and they
must rely on proper addresses for the fire department, sheriff and
police dept, ambulance service, and others to be able to rapidly
locate addresses. Our current system is outdated, neither consistent
with the side of the road (odd/even numbers) or the orderly progression
of numbers. We also have many confusing road names that
are similar and located in different parts of the county that need
changed.
Q. Will changing our new addresses
be confusing?
A. I don’t know about confusing , but it is always frustrating
changing addresses, especially ones you have used for years. However,
going forward, this will provide organization and increased safety
for years to come. I am sure it will be confusing for post
office personnel for a while.
Q. How does the new system work?
A. It is really pretty simple. It is based on actual
distance from an intersection. Once we have the new numbering
system in place, emergency personnel will be able to locate an address
based on odometer readings from the intersection, even if a house
number is missing. Every mile (5280 feet) is broken down into
1000 different addresses located every 5.28 feet apart. This allows
for adequate numbers for future development. The distance from
the intersection to your driveway is measured and that distance divided
by 5.28 will be your new address. One side of the road
will be even numbers and the other side will be odd numbers.
Q. Will we be required to use special
numbers on our mail boxes?
A. We have been working on uniform size and type numbers
for the county and we hope to have that finalized soon.
For
any additional questions, please call 911 Mapping office at 706-439-6056
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