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Wednesday, November 14, 2007 The Braselton News Page 3A Braselton Braselton changes rules for watering Town also looking at a reuse water hydrant BY KERRI TESTEMENT Braselton will reduce the num ber of days that new landscaping can be watered in the town limits. On Monday, the town council approved a watering ban resolu tion that would limit irrigation of new landscaping to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from dawn to dusk. Current regulations allow the irrigation of new landscaping for 30 days. The new rules would reduce that to 12 days. Town manager Jennifer Scott said Braselton’s revised regula tions for new landscaping follows a similar measure recently adopted in Gainesville. New landscape users would be required to be issued a permit and town officials could monitor their water usage, Scott said. Violators of Braselton’s outdoor watering restrictions face a warn ing after the first offense, a $250 fine after the second offense and a $450 fine after the third offense. All subsequent offenses include a $1,500 fine and service being disconnected, with another fee for reconnecting service. Braselton has taken two water ing ban violators to court, accord ing to Scott. In other drought-related news, Scott reported last week that Braselton is trying to get a hydrant at the town’s reclamation facility that can provide reuse water. A reuse water hydrant may be used to provide water for con struction materials, such as conce- atre, Scott said. Braselton officials hope to have the purple-colored reuse hydrant operating in two weeks, fol lowing approval by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD), Scott said. Trucks that fill their tanks with the reuse water will be required to display a pur ple sticker designating that reuse water is in the tank, she added. Those who use the purple hydrant will also be monitored by town employees at the reclamation facility on Josh Pirkle Road and will pay a fee for the reuse water, Scott said. Braselton is also offering resi dents with homes older than 1993 a free retrofit kit that includes equipment for low-flow faucets and toilets. The kits are avail able at Braselton’s public utili ties building, located behind town hall. OTHER BUSINESS In other business, the Braselton Town Council: •met in a closed-door meeting for 35 minutes to discuss “pending or potential litigation.” The coun cil took no action when the meet ing was opened to the public. •amended its sewer agreement with Oakwood, to remove a con tingency that required Oakwood to change its 2005 intergovernmen tal agreement with Hall County related to the House Bill 489 (shared services) agreement. Scott said Oakwood no longer needs to follow that condition of the HB 489 agreement, as Oakwood has annexed closer to Braselton along Ga. Hwy. 53. •certified the election results from the Nov. 6 special elec tion. Voters approved a measure allowing Braselton to have rede velopment powers to create a Tax Allocation District (TAD) in downtown Braselton. •approved a request from town manager Scott to start a per diem system of reimbursing town employees for meals while travel ing on town business. Scott said Braselton would follow the state law on employee expenses, which would allow either $36 or $28 for three meals a day, based on the region of travel in the state. Scott said Braselton doesn’t have a set amount to reimburse employees for meals while traveling. The town council rejected a similar request in 2002, she said. •adopted a resolution honoring Veteran’s Day. •heard from mayor Pat Graham, who thanked the Braselton Business Association for organiz ing the “Carols of Christmas” fes tival on Nov. 3. Barrow County BOC considers impact fees BY BRITTANY WHITLEY Barrow County took a step for ward in the impact fee assessment process Tuesday night when the Impact Fee Methodology Report was presented to the board of com missioners. Impact fees are charges imposed on developers to pay for capital projects. These fees are imple mented to accommodate new development. In Barrow County, the fees would be applied to fire protection and emergency services, librar ies, the sheriff’s office, emergency communications (911) and parks and recreation. Bill Ross, president of Ross & Associates, the firm working with Barrow County in the assess ment of impact fees, presented the report giving an overview of what to expect if the fees were to be implemented. The report outlined future costs that could be met through the use of impact fees. Ross said that 63 percent of local capital cost in the public facilities could be met in the next 19 years using the fees. The total costs of future projects listed in the report are $161.3 million. Around $101.1 million could be collected through impact fees. Ross stressed that the county does not have to charge the full 100 percent of the maximum allowed through impact fee laws. Three percent of the cost of a development is the maximum that can be charged for residential and non-residential properties. Meanwhile, the next step in the impact fee process will be an open committee meeting on December 11. The board also wants to hold a work session to go through each project individually to determine the fee for that project if there is to be one. One citizen, Scott Hang, spoke against implementing impact fees. He was concerned the county could take money from certain parts of the community and use the money elsewhere. Hang suggested service areas for the money collected so it would be distributed fairly. He also said that the fees do not take into account the money needed for operation cost and staffing of new facilities. OTHER BUSINESS In other business: •new CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) mem bers were recognized. New mem bers are: Brian Keener, Connie Keener, Bruce Davis, Gordon Dyleski, Billy Carver Jr., Brian Greer, Sarah Roberts Cook, Robert Cook, Shannon Baxter and Michael Velasquez. The 30 active members volunteer along side other emer gency workers in the county. Each member received a certificate. Mark Melvin, the coordinator of CERT, was also recognized for his achievements at the meeting. •the board unanimously approved a West Winder Bypass agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation. Two agreements for the bypass were approved over a year ago because construc tion was supposed to take place in two phases. The construction will now take place in one phase. At Tuesday night’s meeting, the board approved a single agree ment. The new agreement includ- eds the intersection overpass at Hwy. 316. Barrow County is still responsible for preliminary engi neering, environmental and right- of-way acquisitions services, but not right-of-way costs, construc tion and utility relocation. • the board voted unanimously to fund the Barrow Park Drive Supplemental Agreement No. 1 at a cost of $230,120. The Barrow Park Drive and entrance to the new criminal justice facility must have a storm water infrastructure to remove the water from the prop erty under Barrow Park Drive. DECORATING IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS Guests at the home of Dr. Brian and Leah Pugh will be greeted by one of several rustic-themed Christmas trees this week during the “It’s a Wonderful House” tour of homes at Chateau Elan. Photo by Kerri Testement TOUR — continued from page 1A the “standards” featured on the tour of homes at Chateau Elan - a home movie theatre, gourmet kitchen, a unique entertainment area, and outdoor amenities, such as pools and bars. But the homes featured on the “It’s a Wonderful House” tour also highlight the families’ personali ties. For the Pughs, their house includes a custom-designed bar that encases Brian Pugh’s first gun that his father gave him. The largest house on this year’s tour - the 15,000 square-foot home of Markee and Johanna Brown - features an indoor basketball court, dance stage, wine cellar and a special room dedicated to slum ber parties. The other privately owned hous es on the tour include the homes of A1 and Missy Bartlett, and Grady and Dawn Cotter. This year, the tour will also include a stop at a decorated model house in Creekside Village, the newest residential neighborhood in Chateau Elan. Guests will also have the opportunity to visit the nearby Corner Shoppe store for holiday gifts and decorations, and the Silver Bell Cafe for lunch, cof fee or a snack. And all of the stops along the tour of homes will mark the holi day season. Professional decora tors worked with each homeowner to design a holiday theme for their house. Leah Pugh said when the holi day decorations were placed in their house a couple of weeks ago, their four-year-old son wanted to know where Santa was. The tour of homes typically occurs the week before Thanksgiving to give guests ideas for decorating for the Christmas season. Nancy Friauf, executive director of the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, said she encourages people to take a break from their busy lives and enjoy the tour of homes. The “It’s a Wonderful House” tour of homes at Chateau Elan has raised more than $651,000 in five years for the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, Friauf said. The children’s shelter is now in the process of becoming a foster home agency, getting accreditation and starting “fatherhood services” in the community, Friauf said. “It is just tremendous,” she said of the tour of homes. “It takes thousands of hours every year to put on the tour.” For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www. itsawonderfulhouse.org or call 1-800-514-ETIX. Tickets will also be available at the Chateau Elan Winery. Braselton approves 18 residential building permits The Braselton Planning and Development Department issued 18 residential building permits in October, according to a town report. Nine permits were issued in Jackson County, four in Gwinnett County, three in Barrow County and two in Hall County. Two non-residential build ing permits were issued in Hall County and one in Jackson County. A building permit for a 632,500 square foot warehouse/distribu tion center was issued for build ing J of the “Park 85 at Braselton” development in Jackson County. In October, a site development permit was issued for “Park 85 at Braselton” for speculative build ing J. In Hall County, building per mits were issued for a 14,291 square foot retail strip center and for a 3,000 square foot retail strip center, both located on Spout Springs Road. A grading permit was issued for Braselton Crossing. Permanent sign permits were issued to Emma’s Attic, Betty Sue’s Quilt Shop, Merle Norman and Maggie’s Spa. The following items are list ed by town officials as pending development permit applications, preliminary plats or site develop ment plans: Braselton Village, located on Ga. Hwy. 211 and Beaver Dam Road; Reserve at Liberty Park, phase 2; Liberty Crossing, phase 2; Discovery Point; Braselton Distribution Center, building 12; Braselton Crossing; Wachovia Bank, locat ed in front of Publix; Braselton Academy; CGJ Enterprises, office warehouse at Bordeaux Business Park; and Hampton Inn. Business licenses approved in Hoschton Hoschton officials recently approved several business per mits. Business licenses were issued to: Checkered Flag Performance (racing performance), 55 Pearl Ind. Blvd.; Woodall Promotions (graphic designs), 52B Jopena Blvd.; and Aunt Annie’s Fabric (fabrics/sewing lessons), 4219 Hwy. 53. No building or home occu pation permits were issued in October. Also, the city paid $62,269 in general fund bills, $231,549 from the capital projects account for bills for the waste- water treatment plant, $33,578 for the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) account and $29,830 in bills from the city’s water and sewer fund. HOLIDAY SAVINGS Going on now TRUNK SALE 50% Off regular priced Designer Clothing Inside the Trunk “The Day After Thanksgiving” 6 cum. -10 a.m. 25% Off alt Designer Clothing 6 cum. - 7 a.m. 15% Off all B. B. Becker Jewelry 7 a.m. - 8 a.m. 15% Off all Roman Glado/Mooaico Jewelry 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. 25% Off Kim Lou E Special Dedigno Jewelry 10:00 a.m. - $100 Chez Femme Gift Certificate Drawing December 1 “Chriotmcu In Lights ” at Hodchton Town Center Chez Femme will hoot a feu h ion dhow. Bring the kidd to dee Santa and AIrd. CUuu. Lotd of free fun activitieo. December 8 Paper Lady Bugd will hodt a trunk dhow with many more fan too tic gif to for Chridtmcu. P. S. Ladieo - the coffee table “bookd” and collectible Chriotmao ornamentd are in. • Flowers • Shrubs • Trees • Edging • Fencing • Mulch • More e Landscape Installations Trevin Boucher 706-983-9688 Love's Essential Flooring, Inc. 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