Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The Braselton News
Page 3A
Hall County
Sheriff’s office to open new jail
Crime prevention tips offered to local community
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
As South Hall continues to grow, law
enforcement services are expanding, too,
according to Hall County sheriff Steve
Cronic.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office will
soon open a 230,000 square-foot jail on 50
acres on Barber Road, off Calvary Church
Road. An open house is planned Thursday,
Oct. 25, from 4-7 p.m.
The 1,096-bed jail will not only have
enough room to house Hall County’s
inmates, but is expected to have 300 beds that may be
available for out-of-county inmates. Hall County has
the potential to earn $5 million a year housing out-of-
county inmates; before the new jail, Hall County was
sending some of its inmates out of the county and
paying those counties about $2.2 million a year for
housing inmates, Cronic said.
The sales-tax funded jail has a $54 million price tag
— and since the project is finishing ahead of sched
ule, about $1 million will be returned to the county,
Cronic said.
“We put so much planning into that project,” he said
on Thursday.
Cronic also outlined the operations of the Hall
County Sheriff’s Office to the Forum Club at The
Village at Deaton Creek, an age-restricted develop
ment in South Hall on Thompson Mill Road, near
Chateau Elan.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is one of the larg
est law enforcement agencies in Georgia, Cronic said.
The sheriff’s office answered more than 174,000 calls
in 2006.
The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety recently
awarded the Hall County Sheriff’s Office its highest
honor in its class for traffic enforcement and safety.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office will also be honored
later this year as the top law enforcement agency
in the nation in its class for traffic enforcement and
safety.
Cronic said his department is a “full-service” sher
iff’s office whose responsibilities span to the court
system, jail, issuing warrants and law enforcement.
“We will always be the largest budget in the (coun
ty) general fund,” Cronic told the Forum Club.
However, Cronic said the sheriff’s office deter
mines its “needs” and “wants” for each budget.
For additional funding for its “wants,” such as teen
driving classes and summer programs for children,
Cronic said the sheriff’s office seeks grants and cor
porate sponsorships. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office
has received more than $3 million in grants in the past
few years, he said.
The sheriff’s office is also recognizing that South
Hall is the fastest-growing area of Hall
County, Cronic said. Sixty-five percent
of the population in Hall County lives in
South Hall, he added.
Improving technology is helping the
sheriff’s office respond to crime through
out Hall County, Cronic said. The depart
ment uses “crime mapping” to track trends
of criminal activity and deputies are com
pleting incident reports on computers.
However, Cronic said he wants the sher
iff’s office to maintain its community
service in Hall County. He explained that for every
hour a deputy is patrolling in their vehicle, they are
asked to follow a “10 minute rule” and get out of their
vehicle to speak to the public, such as in stores or
residents working in their yards.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office also uses a
“reserve” unit of 22 retired law enforcement officers
to help throughout the county. The volunteer unit
may help during parades and festivals, patrol parks on
motorcycles or patrol Fake Fanier on wave runners,
Cronic said.
“The lake is a big economic engine in this county,”
he said.
SECURED COMMUNITIES
Ft. Gene Joy also talked with the Forum Club about
the difference between “gated” communities and
“secure” communities. The Village at Deaton Creek
has a security gate at its main entrance.
Joy said gated communities are becoming more
popular in the United States, with more than 16 mil
lion Americans living in such neighborhoods, accord
ing to 2004 Census data.
“People want to feel that blanket of protection,”
Joy said.
“Gated” communities can physically restrict access
by non-residents, while “secured” communities can
also restrict access, but they may include additional
measures — such as a fence around the development
or security guards at entrances, Joy said.
Gated and secured communities can help improve
property values and create a sense of pride among
homeowners, Joy said.
To maintain the effectiveness of gated and secured
communities, he recommended that residents regu
larly inspect the gates and fence of a development and
limit how access codes are distributed. Joy also rec
ommended that subdivisions begin a neighborhood
watch program and homeowners ask the sheriff’s
office about home security assessments to determine
the security of their house.
For more information, contact the crime preven
tion unit of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, at
770-533-7806 or 770-533-7808,
CRONIC
Jackson County
Housing slump stumps area sales agents
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Focal real estate sales agents
have a key question on their mind:
How do you “sell” Jackson County
to potential homebuyers amid news
of a housing slump?
That’s what several local real
estate sales agents discussed dur
ing a luncheon last week at Vinny’s
restaurant in Hoschton. They hope
their ideas will not only spark the
creative light for realtors, but also
generate new sales in a slower real
estate market.
Fisa Macy, president of Coldwell
Banker RMR, said the houses that
are selling in Jackson County are
either priced below $250,000 or
above $800,000. However, there
is still a 16-24 month inventory
of unsold houses on the market in
Jackson County, she added.
“In Gwinnett County, the con
sensus is Jackson County is dead,”
Macy said about the real estate
market.
And that’s why she’s wondering
how real estate sales agents can
encourage people to buy houses in
Jackson County.
Broker Jan Baker suggested fol
lowing the lead of other metro
Atlanta counties and market
Jackson County in advertisements
in Atlanta and interstate billboards.
She added that the advertisements
should focus on why now is a good
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Focal real estate sales agents,
however, also said they’re facing
some tough realities in the slower
residential market. Their concerns,
they said, are not just limited to
Jackson County, but most metro
Atlanta counties.
Some banks are not loaning
money as easily for new hous
es without first having residents
for the houses. News of recent
tax hikes in Jackson County has
deterred some customers from
buying locally. And real estate
sales agents throughout the nation
are having to deal with customers
hearing bad news about the hous
ing industry.
“It’s not a local issue, it’s a
national issue,” said developer
Shannon Sell. The national media,
he said, is focusing on the declin
ing market.
That’s why Baker said it’s key
for local real estate sales agents to
find their niche in the market and
work hard to be successful. She
said the two communities appeal
ing to older residents with smaller
lots - The Village in Deaton Creek
in South Hall and The Village at
Hoschton - are still selling well.
Those developments, Baker said,
are appealing to the area’s rural
and small-town character.
Macy agreed that local realtors
should promote Jackson County’s
positive aspects, such as its rural
character and less traffic conges
tion.
Sell suggested that local real
estate sales agents work with the
Jackson County Area Chamber of
Commerce, the Jackson County
Builder’s Association and the 1-85
North Board of Realtors.
“It’s going to take time and
lower interest rates,” Sell said of
the housing market.
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JCCHS HOMECOMING WINNERS
Jackson County Comprehensive High School held its homecoming against Loganville on Friday
night. The homecoming court winners were: Elizabeth Castro, Miss Freshman; Christa Beth Vaughn,
Miss Sophomore; Sarah Holcombe and Dana Page, Miss Junior (tied); and Chelsey McDaniel,
Homecoming queen, senior. Photo by Kerri Testement
Braselton
More commercial projects on Hwy. 53 get approval
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Two requests for new commercial
projects on Ga. Hwy. 53 received a
nod of approval from the Braselton
Planning Commission on Monday
night.
The Braselton Town Council
will hold a public hearing on the
recommendations of the planning
commission on Thursday, Nov. 8,
at 4 p.m. A vote is expected during
the council’s regular meeting on
Monday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m.
The first request came from
Harold Fletcher to annex and
rezone 22.56 acres from A-2
in Jackson County to General
Commercial (G-C) in Braselton.
The property is located about a
half mile north of Cracker Barrel
and has several residential build
ings on the site.
Fletcher is a former chairman
of the Jackson County Board
of Commissioners. Farry Beck,
Hoschton, presented the proposal
to the planning commission.
Fletcher is proposing to create
a commercial office park on the
property. The development will
include two, two-acre parcels
along Hwy. 53, Beck said.
Those two buildings for a retail
store or restaurant will total 18,000
square feet, according to plans.
An internal road through the
Submit your school
or social news from
Braselton, Hoschton,
Chateau Elan, Mill Creek,
South Hall or West
Jackson by e-mailing
news@mainstreetnews.
com, faxing items to
706-387-5421 or calling
706-367-5986.
Feature story ideas are
also welcomed.
development will lead to an addi
tional 16 smaller buildings for
office and warehouse space.
The Braselton Planning
Commission recommended
approval of Fletcher’s request.
The planners also recommend
ed approval of another proposed
commercial development located
directly across Hwy. 53, between
Johnson Drive and Fagree Duck
Road.
Dunhill Developers, FFC is
requesting annexation and rezoning
of 3.653 acres from A-2 in Jackson
County to G-C in Braselton.
Dunhill Developers is planning
to build three buildings, across
Johnson Drive from Cycle Nation,
Beck said.
The development will include
17,000 square feet of commer
cial building space, according to
plans.
LAND USE REQUEST
The Braselton Planning
Commission also recommended
approval of plans for a 61.76-acre
property on Ga. Hwy. 124 in
Barrow County.
Property owner Anna Properties
is asking that the town’s current
future land use classification for
the property be changed from light
industrial/warehouse to general
commercial/business and high-
density, single-family residential.
Greg Hill, who spoke on behalf
of the applicant, said the property
is surrounded by a commercial
development on the north and resi
dential property on the south. The
property is currently zoned for
industrial use.
The property now includes an
office and warehouse building,
and vineyards for Chateau Elan.
Those facilities will be removed
and replaced with the proposed
mixed-use project, according to
plans submitted to the town.
Plans call for the property to
include 106,700 square feet of
building space for office and com
mercial uses. A proposal submit
ted to the town also includes 206
residential townhouses.
Planning commission chairman
Allan Slovin said the townhouses
are more appropriate for the area
than the initially-planned indus
trial uses.
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