Newspaper Page Text
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BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011
24-hour walk benefits
local Rape Crisis Center
By Lorin Sinn-Clark
lorin @ barrow-journal, com
Steve Power is an extreme
athlete, so when he sets his
mind and body to a challenge,
no matter what it takes, he suc
ceeds. And, on May 21, Power
achieved his goal of walk
ing 24 hours straight to raise
funds and awareness for the
Piedmont Crisis Center, which
is located in Winder.
A Winder native, Power said
there are “some incredible
people in my life, this com
munity, and in the world” and
thanks to them, he “had a great
crowd” throughout the walk.
During the entire 24-hours,
he never walked alone and
received over 75 text messages
from people as far away as San
Francisco and Arizona.
“Those texts and the people
around me got me through
the lowest point, which was
around midnight,” Power said.
“I hit a mental wall at that time
but quickly got past it with all
my positive surroundings.”
Power said he’s not sure of
the total amount of money he
raised by doing the walk, but
POWERING ON
THROUGH
Thanks to determination,
stamina and support from
a lot of “incredible peo
ple,” Steve Power made
it through his pledge to
walk 24 hours.
it is over $500 and the aware
ness raised was also worth the
effort.
“It was such a great experi
ence,” he said. “We believed.
We endured. We conquered.
I have a lot of swelling and
bruising from the knees down
and will lose some toenails but
it was so worth it. I suffered so
that maybe others won't.”
Gov. vetoes legislation
proposed by Sen. Ginn
Apartment complex set to locate on Hwy. 316
By Susan Norman
snorman@barrowjournal.com
An Atlanta developer is planning to
break ground within 10 days on a 72-unit
apartment complex for low-income resi
dents in Barrow County.
And the Barrow County Board of
Commissioners on Tuesday night voted
unanimously to approve a resolution to
help the same developer, MHL Inc.,
obtain tax credits for an additional 72
units that would be constructed a year
from now.
The 144-unit Farmington Hills
Apartment complex is to be built in
two phases just south of Hwy. 316 off
Haymon-Morris Road between Haymon
Drive and Carl-Bethlehem Road. It is just
over a mile from the Barrow Crossing
shopping center and in the Apalachee
school cluster.
The two-story apartments are for fami
lies with annual household incomes of
$21,600 to $38,800, according to a 2010
market study for the development.
The project would not offer rent sub
sidies, but renters with individual hous
ing vouchers would be eligible to use
them at the complex, according to Kevin
Buckner, president of MHL Inc.
The company, which builds low-
income developments around metro
Atlanta, applied in 2010 for $961,000 in
tax credits to cover about 10 percent of
the $10 million cost to develop the first
phase of the Barrow project.
Buckner told the commissioners that
because of their support last year the
company obtained the tax credits that
helped hold the development costs of the
first phase to about $9 million. The cost
of both phases should be about $17 mil
lion, he said.
“We are bringing affordable housing to
Barrow,” he said.
The apartments are being built to
“South Bay” environmental standards
and will be energy efficient, Buckner
said.
“The apartments we are going to be
building will save consumers up to 25
percent in utility bills for very little extra
money,” Buckner said. “It’s a new way of
building and really is about how we insu
late and how we close up the buildings.
It’s the first time we’ve done this but we
are excited about it, and it will bring a lot
of value to our residents.”
The apartments in the first phase
should be available for rental within 14
months, he said. His company’s market
study stated that the units likely would be
leased within six or seven months of the
opening of the first phase.
The study indicated the rents would
range from $490 for a one-bedroom
unit to $620 for a three-bedroom unit.
Utilities would be extra.
Commissioner Isaiah Berry expressed
concern about the long-term upkeep of
the complex.
“I am concerned that everything stay
neat and orderly down there,” Berry said.
“We certainly want it to be presentable.
That’s my concern that it not turn into
something we won’t be proud of.”
Buckner gave the board his personal
guarantee that the project would be well
managed and maintained.
“We are strict managers, and I appreci
ate that,” he told Berry.
The BOC also approved three other
development-related requests that includ
ed the following:
•The rezoning of .95 acres at 235
Highway 211 NW from AR to C2 to
allow the commercial use of a house on
the property.
•The rezoning of six acres at 727 Smith
Cemetery Road from AG to AR to allow
the tract to be split for a new single
family residence.
•The rezoning of 3.81 acres at 276
Pierce Road from AR to AG so that a por
tion of the property could be sold.
OTHER BUSINESS
The BOC also approved an agree
ment with the City of Winder to utilize
at no cost some Geographic Information
System data compiled by the city govern
ment.
And in a separate matter the board
voted to advertise for rent a storage
building on county-owned property on
Highway 82. A local resident has asked
to rent the building but Commissioner
Steve Worley said the availability of the
rental space should be advertised before
entering into a contract with any indi
vidual.
Auburn residents cautious about redevelopment plan
Second public meeting met with questions, but no statements of opposition
By Mark Beardsley
mark@mainstreetnews.com
Forty-seventh District State Senator Frank Ginn said he’s “very
disappointed" that Gov. Nathan Deal last week vetoed legislation
Ginn introduced to reduce state planning mandates on smaller
cities and counties.
The first-year legislator said he plans to meet soon with Deal to
find out what problems Deal had with legislation that overwhelm
ingly passed both the House and the Senate.
“Senate Bill 86 attempts to address concerns of smaller cities
and counties regarding the expense of developing and maintain
ing plans in order to obtain certification for ‘Qualified Local
Government’ status," Deal said in a written explanation of his
action. “While I am sympathetic to the desires of cities and
counties to more easily attain such status, the Department of
Community Affairs through the promulgation of its own internal
rules and regulations, is already attempting to meet their needs.
Accordingly, I do not believe this bill is necessary and therefore,
I veto SB 86.”
“I don’t know exactly what his thought process was, but I look
forward to having some discussion on it,” Ginn said.
The legislation would have repealed the definition of a “quali
fied local government and made comprehensive plans optional as
opposed to mandatory.
The Senate approved the final version by a 47-0 margin, and the
House approved it 159-7.
Ginn gave “two important reasons" why he thinks SB 86 should
be made into law.
“Planning needs to fit the community’s size,” he said, referring
to the frequent complaint of state and county officials that low-
growth rural communities had to meet the same planning stan
dards as high-growth urban jurisdictions, “and the DRI portion of
the bill, we elect local officials to do what’s right for their com
munities. I don’t think it’s right to second-guess what they do.”
The development of regional impact process requires govern
ments to submit data on proposed major developments to their
local regional development commissions, which then declare
whether the projects are “in the best interest” of the state, Ginn
notes that the regional commissions’ findings are recommenda
tions only, with no enforceability. SB 86 would have eliminated
the DRI process.
Ginn said he got input from the Georgia Municipal Association,
the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the
Department of Community Affairs to address concerns those
groups had.”
“If I had known the governor had issues with the bill, I would
have tried to work them out,” he added.
Ginn said he's talked briefly with Deal’s chief of staff, but that
the governor was on his way out of town when Ginn learned of
the veto.
“I’m sure we'll be getting together over the next week or two,”
he said.
Movie slated to premier at
Winder Cultural Arts Center
By Blair Spiva Rivkin
mbspiva @ yahoo, com
The work of the youth at St. Anthony’s Episcopal Church
and writer Kathryn Kyker will premiere at the Winder Cultural
Arts Center this Sunday. “Five Smooth Stones” is a local pro
duction that explores the nature of bullying and dealing with
the differences between human beings.
“Bullies come in all varieties but have one thing in common
— fear. When a strange new kid, Daniel, shows up on Matt’s
soccer team, he proves how the weakest among us can become
the strongest,” the film’s Web site says.
St. Anthony’s has joined forces with Four Winds Production
and Kyker to create the film as “a gift to the community.” A
trailer for the film can be viewed at http://www.imdb.com/
video/wab/vi 1302895385/.
The premiere is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in the Colleen O.
Williams Theater at the Center. Remaining tickets are avail
able on a first-come basis. Contact St. Anthony’s at 770-867-
5633, or the Winder Cultural Arts Center at 678-425-6884 for
availability.
For more information about the cast and crew, as well as
updates about “Five Smooth Stones,” visit the movie’s Web
site at http://5smoothstonesfilm.com/.
By Kristen Morales
news @ barrow journal, com
Auburn hosted its second
of three public meetings on
the town’s redevelopment
plan last week, with no public
comments but plenty of ques
tions.
The third public hearing
will take place at 7 p.m. May
26, with a final hearing sched
uled during the City Council
meeting at 7 p.m. June 2.
With the redevelopment
plan, the city aims to designate
certain areas as “blighted”
or “underdeveloped,” open
ing the door for state grants
and low-interest loans to spur
redevelopment in these areas.
City Planner Larry Lucas
recapped the six areas under
discussion — areas along
Carter Road, Main Street and
Parks Mill Road identified as
blighted, and the underdevel
oped areas of Auburn Station,
the downtown district and
Auburn Business Park.
When Lucas opened the
floor to public comments,
several had specific questions
related to the redevelopment
plan.
One resident said he was
concerned about the city’s
use of eminent domain for
the project, but Lucas assured
him that while, under state
law cities are allowed to use
eminent domain, officials had
no intention of exercising that
right.
Another resident ques
tioned how much time would
be spent planning the redevel
opment areas once they are
approved.
City Administrator Ron
Griffith said the consulting
firm hired to work on the
redevelopment plan was con
tracted to not exceed $3,000 a
year, at an hourly rate of about
$50 — not that the company
would spend just 40 hours on
the plan.
Several residents also won
dered what the city was doing
to market itself to attract new
businesses, hotels and tour
ism.
“We do need to increase our
marketing,” Lucas said. “And
one of the initiatives in this
plan is to seek builders in the
hospitality industry.”
Lucas added that the city
also is part of a countywide
effort to attract businesses
needing large tracts of devel
opable land — something the
city has several of in its rede
velopment plan.
If approved, the redevelop
ment plan would allow the
city to qualify for state, feder
al and low-interest bank loans
or grants to finance improve
ments such as sidewalks,
landscaping, infrastructure,
marketing, new construc
tion and economic benefits
within certified “opportunity
zones” in the downtown area.
Opportunity zones offer tax
credits to employers with
more than 15 employees.
The blighted areas may
include properties with low
real estate values, poorly
maintained buildings, high
crime or high unemployment.
Among the areas identified by
the city as blighted, many are
dominated by mobile homes
in various states of upkeep,
along with vacant land.
On Parks Mill Road, for
example, chicken houses con
verted into apartments are tied
to a septic system, so it can’t
handle clothes washers and
dryers, Lucas said.
Among underdeveloped
areas, Lucas said there are
several areas with vacant
houses that could be convert
ed into commercial buildings.
Lucas specifically pointed out
the single-family homes along
6th Avenue in the downtown
area.
“It is the objective of the
redevelopment plan to see
these homes turned into office
space, boutiques or a florist,”
he said. “We will create a
streetscape and work with
various developers to acquire
funds to renovate these
homes.”
Auburn Business Park suf
fers from a different issue
— visibility, along with the
sputtering economy.
“The recognition and expo
sure of this building is not
maximized,” Lucas said, not
ing the business park’s 57
percent vacancy rate.
And the Auburn Station
development simply suffers
from the economy, with infra
structure already in place for
a mixed-use development.
It needs the right developer.
Lucas said.
“The program has to have
a developer that meets the
experience and qualifications
for the lender,” he said last
week.
BOC votes to remove mold, restore annex building
By Susan Norman
snorman@barrowjournal.com
The Barrow County Board
of Commissioners on Tuesday
night decided not to raze the
20-year-old courthouse annex
in downtown Winder but
instead to remove the mold and
to restore the building.
In a pair of votes, the com
missioners agreed to invest
about $425,300 to replace the
building's badly leaking roof
and to remediate the mold
problem.
The remediation work
will involve tearing out sur
faces where mold has grown
unchecked since the spring of
2009 when the sheriff and judi
cial officials moved out.
The judges, district attorney
and clerk of Superior Court
relocated to the new Barrow
County Criminal Justice Center
off Barrow Park Drive, The
sheriff's administrative and
patrol division offices moved to
temporary space in the adjoin
ing downtown courthouse.
After two years of no prog
ress on the renovation of the
downtown facilities. Sheriff
Jud Smith in January request
ed that the project move for
ward. Commissioner Larry
Joe Wilburn suggested that the
four-story annex be torn down,
with the county restoring only
the courthouse and instead
building a new Sheriff's Office
off Barrow Park Drive.
However, a project commit
tee led by operations devel
opment manager Bob Hohe
decided last week to recom
mend the full restoration of
the annex along with the court
house.
On Tuesday night Wilburn
joined in the unanimous
BOC votes to approve both a
$277,612 contract with Sunbelt
Builders for the replacement of
the annex roof and a $147,680
contract with J.J. Morley
Enterprises for mold remedia
tion. It is unclear exactly how
much funding is available for
the ambitious restoration proj
ect that could include not only
the courthouse and annex but
also the former jail that adjoins
the courthouse via an under
ground tunnel.
BOC Chairman Danny
Yearwood at the May 17 com
mittee meeting pushed for a
recommendation about the jail
but the panel opted to wait
until it becomes clear how
much money is available and
how much the renovations of
the courthouse and annex will
cost.
As of January, the county
had spent only $130,500 of the
more than $3.3 million bud
geted for the project out of $58
million in bonds issued in June
2005 for the construction of
several facilities.
However, Hohe said last
week that the funding for
the project could exceed $4
million. He and CFO Rose
Kisaalita have been pouring
over years of records to nail
down the funding figure.
Still undecided is exactly
how the renovated office space
in the courthouse, annex and
former jail would be used.
The original plan called for
the sheriff's office to occupy
the entire annex, but Smith has
asked only for the use of the
top two floors of that building.
One commissioner has men
tioned the possibility of mov
ing the BOC offices to the his
toric courthouse and holding
future commission meetings
in the former Superior Court
courtroom.
Hohe said the project com
mittee — comprised of BOC
Chairman Danny Yearwood, a
few other commissioners and
county staff — would soon
look at how to program the
renovated office space.
The sheriff is not on the
committee and has not been
personally invited to attend the
meetings. However, he attend
ed last week's meeting and
raised concerns about the lack
of air conditioning on the sec
ond floor of the historic court
house where 12 of his patrol
command members are sharing
three temporary offices.
The next committee meeting
is at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June
1, in the conference room on
the second floor of the county
administration building on East
Broad Street.
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