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BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011
City of Statham to construct Veterans Memorial
BY KATIE COFER
katie@barrowjoumal.com
American Legion Statham
post member Bryant Perkins
made an exciting announcement
at Statham’s City Council meet
ing Tuesday, which may reflect
high on area Christmas lists of
Barrow County Veterans this
year.
The city has undertaken plans
to construct a Veterans Memorial,
tentatively slated to be built by
summer on Jefferson Street in
downtown Statham. Engraved
memorial bricks will be $30
each and can be bought through
city hall or assisting American
Legion posts.
More structured plans for the
memorial came together about
four months ago, said Perkins,
although it has been discussed
for years.
“This is going to be some
thing that Statham and Barrow
County can be very proud of,”
said Perkins, who added that
American Legion District
Meetings on 14 polls have been
asked to support. “It’s going to
really be nice.”
Statham Mayor Robert
Bridges said the committee has
done a lot that Barrow County
can be proud of with the plans.
University of Georgia student
and Barrow County resident
Tangela Brunies drew the plans,
which Perkins elaborated on to
reporters during the meeting.
The memorial is proposed to
be built on the existing sidewalk
leading up to the Jefferson Street
gazebo. Plans include existing
and additional parking, a handi
cap entrance, brick planters and
a 30-inch brick wall, which will
double as benches. The plans run
parallel to the city’s beautifica
tion project. Atop an archway
in the center of the memorial
will be an eagle set in a domed
frame.
Six flags, including the
American flag and the flags of
the U.S. Marine Corp, the U.S.
Army, the U.S. Navy, and the
U.S. Coast Guard, are expected
to be incorporated.
Statham city council member
Gayle Steed said, “this is such a
special way to remember a loved
one, a family member or friend
who have given their lives for
this country.”
Winder entrepreneur Mike
Rice, who was present at the
Nov. 15 meeting, added that
memorializing a veteran with a
$30 brick would make an excel
lent Christmas gift.
For more information, or to
purchase a memorial brick, con
tact Statham city clerk Susan
Gabriel at 770-725-5455 or
check for advertisements in the
Barrow Journal.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business Tuesday
night, the Statham City Council:
•unanimously approved a beer
application for Piggly Wiggly
Express. The city held a public
hearing prior to the vote in which
no one spoke for or against the
application.
•tabled an item regarding Tree
City USA, which is an Arbor
Day observance nonprofit orga
nization.
•unanimously approved a first
hearing waiver for an item related
to plumbing code, water supply
and conservation. According to
city attorney Thomas Mitchell,
the item does not need a public
hearing.
•unanimously approved an
employee Christmas gift.
•discussed the 2011 Statham
Christmas Parade, which is
expected to host 60-plus vendors,
along with Santa Claus, free hot
dogs and a marshmallow roast.
•took no action following a 10
minute closed session to discuss
litigation.
Veader celebrated as Businesswoman of the Year
Pam Veader’s servant style of
leadership was celebrated at a
luncheon in her honor hosted
by the Barrow County Chamber
of Commerce, on Nov. 8 at
The Georgia Club. Veader was
recently selected as the Barrow
County Businesswoman of the
Year for 2011 by the chamber.
In addition to serving as a
dedicated and successful State
Farm agent, Veader has been
an active and valued member
of the Winder Woman’s Club,
a Barrow County Schools
Business Partner, a member
of the Barrow County Board
of Education’s Business and
Technology Initiative and a past
member of the Winder-Barrow
High School Band Boosters.
She is also the lights, sound and
technical gum for the Winder
Cultural Arts Center and the
Winder Community Theater.
Rev. John Talley, Veader’s
pastor at the Winder First Baptist
Church for the past 18 years and
speaker at the luncheon, called
Veader a long-time, invaluable,
positive force at her church and a
“constant benevolent presence.”
Veader said she was “surprised
and very much honored” to be
PROUD FAMILY
Barrow County Chamber of Commerce Businesswoman of the Year, Pam Veader, is
nothing if not family focused. She is shown at the luncheon in her honor with her
son, Jim Veader and her mother, Gwen Jackson, to whom she lives next door.
selected as this year’s chamber
woman of the year. Her son,
Jim Veader, and mother, Gwen
Jackson, attended the event with
her.
Other nominees for the
2011 award were: Debbie
Burgamy, publisher, Barrow
County News; Betty Lewis,
owner. Huddle House Winder;
Susan Litchford, Arbonne
International consultant; Bobbie
Metheny, manager. Fidelity
Bank Winder; and B.B. Webb,
owner, Carl House, Carl.
Winder City Council
More than $100,000 needed for utility line relocation
Hwy. U-Star St.
red light on hold
The installation of a red light
at the intersection of Highway 11
and Star Street in Bethlehem is on
hold - possibly until next spring
- while town officials try to find
more than $100,000 to relocate
roadside utility lines.
Winder water director Roger
Wilhelm told the Winder City
Council Monday night that
Bethlehem officials in September
requested that Winder relocate
some water lines at no cost, but
the request wasn’t submitted until
after the city’s budget for FY2011
was adopted. And Wilhelm said
the lowest cost estimate was
$98,000.
Bethlehem Mayor Sandy
McNab said afterwards that he
is not surprised by Winder’s posi
tion. He’s facing the same uphill
battle with Georgia Power over
the needed relocation of power
lines and with Windstream over
the relocation of phone lines.
McNab acknowledged that the
budget for the improvement of the
main intersection in Bethlehem
did not include the cost of relocat
ing utilities.
He said town officials were
under the impression that since the
improvement was jointly funded
by the Georgia Department of
Transportation, and since the
lines are inside GDOT’s right of
way, the town would not have to
absorb those costs.
After the project was under
way, he learned that was incor
rect.
He said he is still in nego
tiations with Georgia Power offi
cials over the cost of relocating
the power poles and lines. But he
hasn’t heard from Windstream
officials.
“I guess they had to go buy
another calculator,” McNab said.
The unexpected expense will
delay until March or so the com
pletion of the project, he said.
“We’re going to do it some
way, somehow,” he said. “I don’t
know exactly how right now, but
we’re going to get the red light up
sooner or later.”
Wilhelm and Toms said Barrow
County officials had made a simi
lar request for the relocation of
city water lines adjacent to the
ongoing intersection improve
ment at Highway 81 and Hoyt
King Road. That cost is estimated
to be $68,000.
WINDER PROJECTS
DISCUSSED
In other business Monday
night, department managers pro
vided updates on some ongoing
Winder projects.
Planning director Barry Edgar
said bids for the demolition
of the Granite Hotel would be
opened at Winder City Hall at
noon Thursday and then pre
sented to the Winder Downtown
Development Authority at a
rescheduled monthly meeting
Nov. 22. The DDA’s recommen
dation regarding the contractor
would go before the city council
in December, he said.
Edgar said a traffic engineering
consultant recommended that the
city not make East Athens Street
a one-say road in order to accom
modate angled parking in front of
restaurants and businesses not far
from city hall.
He said the engineer did recom
mend the addition of stop signs at
the T intersection of King and
Athens streets in order to improve
the flow of traffic.
The city also will post flash
ing signs in both directions on
Athens Street to alert motorists of
the change in the traffic pattern,
he said.
Winder Police Chief Dennis
Dorsey said motorists running the
stop signs would be warned dur
ing the first 30 days after the signs
are erected.
Edgar said GDOT also plans
to close a portion of West Athens
Street near McNeal Road and
Horton Street from 9 p.m. to
6 a.m. from Nov. 22 to Dec.
2 for work on that intersection
improvement.
In addition, public works
director Ken Chalker updated the
council on some recently com
pleted sidewalk improvements
along Center Street, Park Avenue
and Candler Street. He said other
sidewalk improvements are on
the drawing board.
The city administrator also
cleared up some in-house confu
sion over the cost of the recent
improvement of a project on
Jackson Street near city hall. He
said the cost overrun was $1,785
due to the extension of some of
the paving.
COUNCIL ACTION
At Tuesday night’s voting ses
sion, the council approved:
•Budget amendments needed
to complete the FY2011 compre
hensive financial report.
•The appointment of Ronda
Leary as the city’s new solici
tor, who will prosecute cases in
municipal court at a cost of $450
each Friday and an hourly rate for
other work.
•The appointment of Eloise
Booth to the Winder Planning
Board to replace Jo Ann Nevins.
The appointment is through Dec.
31,2014.
•The city’s participation in
a statewide program that will
enable the city to finance to cus
tomers the purchase of natural
gas appliances.
•A permit for the City ofWinder
Christmas Parade on Saturday,
Dec. 3. The parade will start at
4 p.m. at the Ingle’s parking lot
north of the city and continue to
the Jug Tavern Park next to the
Winder Community Center.
•A retroactive permit for the
Winder-Barrow High School
Homecoming Parade that already
occurred on Oct. 13.
•A retroactive event permit for
a Holiday Harvest Run/Walk 5K
sponsored by the Barrow County
Family Connection Communities
in Schools. That event was held
on Nov. 11.
•A beer by the drink and wine
by the drink license for Heart of
the City Infusion LLC at 189 W.
Athens Street.
•A beer by the package and
wine by the package license for
the Super H at 243 E. May St.
The council tabled for further
discussion a beer by the drink
application by the American
Legion Post 509 due to a couple
of citations over the past two
years.
The council also tabled the
planned purchase of a new brush
truck.
Airport Authority
Barton pushes to
‘back-bill’ Romanair
But operator says it was a county
error and he doesn’t owe the money
An error in the placement
of a decimal point made by a
typist in 1997 was the main topic
of the Barrow County Airport
Authority’s Nov. 15 meeting. At
issue is $23,130 in back rent
that may or may not be owed
by Romanair, the airport’s fixed
base operator and tenant for the
past 30 years.
At issue is a rent supplement
calculated using a formula
arrived at in 1997, after court
ordered revisions of Romanair’s
lease mandated an additional 2.8
percent payment to the airport
authority for profits attributed
to Romanair’s forced move to a
new building constructed by the
airport authority. One page of
that lease states that Romanair
owes the authority the 2.8 per
cent; another page - the page that
both the authority and Romanair
functioned off of from 1997-
2009 - has the supplement
amount at 0.28 percent.
Current airport authority
attorney John Stell discovered
the discrepancy in 2009, while
he was drafting and reviewing
Romanair’s current lease, which
has a term of Aug. 2010-Aug.
2015. He notified the authority
and the Barrow County Board
of Commissioners about the
apparent typing error and sub
sequent financial discrepancy at
that time. Then when a recent
audit by Barrow County Chief
Financial Officer Rose Kisaalita
confirmed that two versions
of the rent supplement exist in
Romanair’s lease, Kisaalita com
pleted her audit by indicating
that Romanair owes the county
$23,130 for the 2.8 (not 0.28)
percent supplement in back rent
from Oct. 2006-Sept. 2009.
Romanair owner/operator
Rob Mancini’s position is that
he paid the authority what they
charged him for years and since
they accepted those payments
and never brought up or even
noticed the discrepancy between
the 0.28 and the 2.8 percent he
is not liable for the additional
funds. Romanair was billed by
the authority and paid in full the
2.8 percent amount in 2010; it
was $4,995. The bill for 2011
has yet to be calculated, but
Romanair has agreed to pay the
2.8 percent.
Expressing that he was acting
under the direction of “several”
Barrow County Commissioners
and calling Romanair a “bad
tenant,” authority member Perry
Barton led a lone charge in
favor of not only requiring that
Romanair pay the $23,130 “as
soon as possible,” but also refu
sing to consider negotiating the
new, longer term lease reques
ted by Romanair at the October
authority meeting until the dis-
‘If we have to spend
every penny (on litiga
tion) we might gain, I
am willing to do that. ”
—Airport Authority member
Perry Barton, who voted
alone to back-bill Romanair
puted funds were paid in full.
“If we have to spend every
penny (on litigation) we might
gain, I am willing to do that,”
Barton said, citing his desire not
to practice “bad governance.”
Airport authority chairman
Scott Miller repeatedly called
for reason, expressing concern
about the cost of potential liti
gation, should the matter remain
unresolved.
“This matter will ultimately
be decided by the same parties
who sit in this room right now,”
Miller said. “It’s just a matter
of how many lawyers and at
what cost those decisions will
be made at...whatever attorney’s
fees are incurred, those fees will
be paid by this authority, not the
(Barrow County) board of com
missioners.”
After what was at times hea
ted discussion. Barton made a
motion to formally bill Romanair
for the $23,130. That motion
died for lack of a second and the
authority tabled the matter.
In other action, the authority:
• Approved a bid of $16,500
to reseed 20 acres of barren
and eroding land in the area of
the approach for Runway 13/31.
The authority has budgeted
$14,000 for the much needed
project and Hydrospec of Ball
Ground, GA, one of four DOT
approved companies that sub
mitted bids, came in the lowest.
The highest bid, $128,000 for
the same project, came from
Ed Castro Landscape. The other
two bids were $56,000 and
$66,000.
• Agreed to add one or two
meetings per month to its sche
dule to discuss and draft a gene
ral lease that would be applicable
to any airport business tenant.
Currently Romanair is the only
tenant with a lease; others rent on
a month to month basis or have
gone out of business. Romanair
has requested a new, longer term
lease than their current five year
agreement, which ends in 2015.
Auburn set to approve
Sunday alcohol sales
Ever since voters in the city
of Auburn expressed via refer
endum their interest in Sunday
alcohol sales, the city council
must now approve their request
in order to make the sales legal.
On Thursday, the council is
set to adopt an alcohol ordi
nance that will give eight estab
lishments a provisional alcohol
license to sell beer and wine on
Sundays until Dec. 31, 2011.
After that, stores must pay a
regular fee of $125 per month.
Under the ordinance, a fee
will only be waived for current
holders of alcohol licenses in the
city, not new applicants.
Also on the agenda are:
•a 2012 schedule for special
events and activities.
•a proposed holiday sched
ule.
Citizen comments on agenda
items will be heard promptly at
7 p.m. The meeting takes place
at the Auburn city hall coun
cil chambers located at 1369
Fourth Avenue in downtown
Auburn.
Early deadlines set for next week’s issue
The news and ad deadlines for the next week’s issue
have been moved forward due to the Thanksgiving
Day observation on Thursday, Nov. 24.
The deadline for news and ads will be at noon on
Friday, Nov. 18.
The publication date will be Tuesday, Nov. 22, and
papers will be on the news stands that night and in
the mail the next day.
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