Newspaper Page Text
Serving the communities of Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Mill Creek, West Jackson and South Hall
Wednesday, January 9,2008
Vol. 3 No. 38 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. BraseltonNews.com 22 pages, 3 sections
Inside
•Mill Creek teacher
qualifies for Olympic
trials page 4B
JACKSON COUNTY
•Bicknell announces run
for BOC chairmanship
page 2A
HOSCHTON
•Water conservation
efforts working
page 3A
Sports:
•Lady Hawks No. 1 in
state page 1B
Opinion:
•‘Rec board vote will
be important to West
Jackson’s future’
page 4A
Public safety:
•Teenager arrested for
stealing manhole covers
page 6A
•Church events
page 7A
•Obituaries
pages 9-1OA
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Big mixed-use project slated near Braselton
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A major mixed-use project is in the works
next to The Village at Deaton Creek, near
Braselton.
Vintage Communities, Lawrenceville,
plans to develop 657 condos and town-
houses, 424,218 square feet of retail space
and 359,249 square feet of office space near
Ga. Hwy. 211. A 200-room hotel is also
included in the plans.
The project — dubbed Thompson Mills
Village — will be located along the realigned
Thompson Mill Road (Ga. Hwy. 347), next
to The Village at Deaton Creek, Northeast
Georgia Medical Center’s planned Braselton
medical campus, Chateau Elan and Mulberry
Baptist Church.
The 67-acre site is largely located in unin
corporated Hall County, with the balance in
unincorporated Gwinnett County.
Hall County planning director Randy
Knighton said the project must complete
a Development of Regional Impact (DRI)
review before a planning commission meet
ing is scheduled.
However, the Hall County Planning
Commission is expected to hear the rezon
ing request around March, before the board
of commissioners take a vote on the pro
posal, Knighton added.
The Gwinnett County Planning
Commission and board of commissioners
will also have to grant rezoning approval for
the project.
See PROJECT on page 8A
By the Numbers
• 200: Number of rooms in hotel
• 1,957: Total housing units planned*
•926,467: Total square footage of
retail and office space planned*
includes both The Village at Deaton Creek
and the proposed Thompson Mills Village,
according to planning documents
Economic opportunity
SPOUT SPRINGS REUSE FACILITY
Hall County officials say the county’s purchase of the Spout Springs Reuse Facility — formerly
known as the John Wieland Wastewater Plant —may open the door for new commercial projects in
South Hall.
Hall County buys private sewer plant
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Hall County’s purchase of a private sewer treatment
plant could provide a major economic boast to South
Hall, officials said Monday.
Hall County took ownership of the new Spout
Springs Reuse Facility — formerly known as the John
Wieland Wastewater Plant — on Jan. 1.
The private facility provides sewer services for
three major residential developments in South Hall
— Sterling on the Lake, Reunion and The Village at
Deaton Creek.
Hall County paid $13.8 million for the 307-acre
property located off Spout Springs Road. The cost
will be repaid by customers through sewer tap and
service fees for new residences and businesses.
“This is a step forward for Hall County today,” said
Bobby Banks, commissioner for District 1, which
largely serves South Hall.
Banks said the Spout Springs Reuse Facility will
complement the county’s Mulberry Creek Wastewater
Treatment project.
That project — with an estimated $30 million price
tag — will bring sewer service to South Hall from
Gainesville’s Flat Creek treatment plant along Ga.
Hwy. 53 to Ga. Hwy. 211. Officials say the projects
will keep more water in Hall County’s basin by
returning water to Lake Lanier.
And with sewer service available, Hall County offi
cials expect the local economy to benefit.
Phil Sutton, assistant county administrator, said
the availability of sewer service will guide the kind
of projects that will be developed in the area. Hall
County officials prefer commercial development that
See SEWER on page 8A
Barrow BOC approves funds for runway project
BY KRISTI REED
he Barrow County Board
of Commissioners voted
unanimously Tuesday
night to approve the expenditure
of $144,000 in matching funds for
the rehabilitation of the secondary
runway at the Northeast Georgia
Regional Airport.
Glen Boyd, Director of the
Northeast Georgia Regional
Airport, told commissioners the
Barrow County Airport Authority
requested aid from the Georgia
Department of Transportation
(GDOT) several years ago.
Since the runway is used as a
secondary runway, the project is
not eligible for Federal Aviation
Administration funds. GDOT has
awarded the authority a $575,000
grant for pavement maintenance.
The terms of the grant require that
Barrow County contribute 25 per
cent of the project costs.
Boyd said the Airport Authority
has agreed to pay non-reimburs-
able engineering costs of $46,000.
Barrow County’s portion of the
grant will be paid from SPLOST
funds.
Commissioners also voted to
accept a contract for mitigation
services for county open space
property located near Hwy. 81 and
Hwy. 316. The adjacent property
is scheduled to be developed as a
retail center.
In order to build on the property,
developer FDC Inc. must remove
a wetlands area from the targeted
construction site. The Corps of
Engineers (COE) requires that the
wetlands be reestablished and an
existing stream be restored. As
part of the project, FDC Inc. will
construct a one-mile walking trail,
five foot bridges and create areas
for use as outdoor classrooms on
25 acres currently owned by the
county.
Due to COE requirements, the
county must be listed as a co
permittee with the developer. The
county must also adopt conser
vation covenants and restrictions
along with a stream enhancement
and mitigation agreement.
Commissioners voted unani
mously to accept the contract
which will facilitate the construc
tion of a Target, Publix and Belk in
the new retail center. The develop
er is also pursuing additional ten
ants including Staples, Best Buy
and PetSmart.
Planners estimate the new retail
center will generate $150 million
in annual sales, $4.5 million of
which could go the county and
See BARROW on page 8A
Police (ine amounts may
be increased in Hoschton
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Don’t get caught being a litter
bug in Hoschton — tossing away
trash unlawfully in the city could
cost you $214.
And driving over a
fire hose? That offense
will set you back $415,
compared to the previ
ous $156.
The Hoschton City
Council is consider
ing changes to a list of
fine amounts charged
by the city’s munici
pal court. The proposal
was put on “first read”
on Monday and the
council is expected to vote on the
request during February’s council
meeting (see related story on page
3A).
The offenses include those for
traffic violations, city ordinance
violations and other misdemeanor
criminal charges.
Hoschton police chief Dave Hill
said the new fines are based on
the amounts charged
by other area cities
for the same offenses.
His department looked
at the fine amounts
charged by Pendergrass,
Arcade, Maysville and
Gainesville.
“What we like to do is
keep the standards of the
area,” Hill said, while
adding that Hoschton
was charging too little
for some offenses.
Speeding violations are one of
the top offenses cited by the police
department, according to a review
of municipal court activity.
See FINES on page 5A
HILL
DOT planning to install
cable barriers along 1-85
Project may be awarded next month
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
It was a gruesome accident on
Interstate 85 that state transporta
tion officials admit could have
been avoided.
Four children from two separate
vehicles were killed in an accident
on 1-85 in Jackson County in July
2007, when a southbound vehicle
crossed the median and stuck a
northbound car. The drivers and
other passengers of both cars sur
vived the wreck.
“That accident could have been
prevented, if a cable barrier was
installed,” said Georgia Department
of Transportation spokesperson
David Spear on Thursday.
Jackson County is now one of
several area counties slated to see
cable barriers installed by the end
of the year, according to Spear.
Cable barrier systems use
woven, tension cables attached to
steel posts and are installed in the
open median of major highways.
The cable barriers have prevent
ed cross-over accidents in which
vehicles traveling in one direc
tion become out of control, cross
the median and strike vehicles
traveling in the opposite direction
— often causing head-on colli
sions resulting in fatalities and
Road Work
The Georgia Department of
Transportation says to expect
delays this week on 1-85 from
1-985 to S.R. 20 in Buford.
See page 5A
serious injuries, according to the
DOT
The DOT will seek bids this
month for a cable barrier system
stretching from S.R. 20 in Buford
in Gwinnett County, through
Barrow, Jackson and Banks coun
ties. That cable barrier project will
be 41 miles and will end at the
Franklin County line.
The DOT anticipates award
ing a contract for the project in
February, with construction start
ing in the spring and ending in the
fall of 2008, Spear said.
Last week, the DOT announced
plans to install 22.3 miles of cable
barrier on 1-985 between 1-85
and U.S. Hwy. 129 (Jesse Jewel
Parkway) at a cost of $3.8 mil
lion. That project spans Hall and
Gwinnett counties.
See CABLE on page 5A
