Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Braselton News
Page 3A
Hoschton
Hoschton
Mayor’s absence at meeting delays vote on issues
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
What happens in Hoschton if
one council member is absent for a
voting session? It could potentially
delay action on requests before the
council, as the council learned this
week.
Mayor Bill Copenhaver was
unable to attend Monday’s meet
ing, due a death in his family.
All of the council, however, was
present for Thursday’s non-voting
work session.
Council member Richard
Green, mayor pro tern, served in
Copenhaver’s role.
City attorney Thomas Mitchell
explained that Hoschton’s charter
states that if the entire council isn’t
present for a voting session — and
a new item is on the agenda for the
first time — that requested item
must be placed on “first reading”
for the council to decide at the fol
lowing regularly-scheduled meet
ing. Items that have been on the
agenda previously can be decided
by the council, even if a council
member is absent.
Copenhaver’s absence meant
that several items on Monday’s
agenda couldn’t be approved by
the council.
“Man, it’s like we shouldn’t have
had a meeting tonight,” newly -
elected council member Theresa
Kenerly joked at the end of the
session.
One of those items to be decided
later by the council included a
request by Shannon Sell to rezone
lot 7 on Oak Street from Office-
Residential (O-R) to C-2 (highway
commercial).
Sell told the council that over
the past 15 years, he has purchased
lots in the area of Oak Street and
Ga. Hwy. 332.
Sell said he has no plans to
develop the property, although the
commercial zoning
designation makes it
more marketable. “I
don’t have any current
plans to start construc
tion soon,” he said on
Thursday.
Sell said any devel
opment on the prop
erty would have to
follow the city’s
ordinance that desig
nate which uses are
allowed in the C-2 zoning district.
Other properties in the area are
zoned O-R and C-2.
However, several council mem
bers expressed reservations about
approving the rezoning request
without specific plans.
Mitchell said the council was
entitled to ask Sell for addition
al plans since his proposal was
against Hoschton’s future land use
plan, which was adopted when the
council included the O-R district
last year.
A motion to deny the rezoning
request failed. The Hoschton City
Council held the “first reading” of
the request and is expected to vote
on the issue next month.
Monday’s meeting qualified
as the advertised public hear
ing before the council on Sell’s
request, Mitchell said.
The Hoschton Planning
Commission had recommended
approval of the request.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the Hoschton
City Council:
•reaffirmed the appointment of
all city employees.
•heard from council member
Tom Walden about amending
nine city ordinances. The ordi
nances relate to council members
abstaining from casting a vote,
the mayor requesting a committee
report, appointments
to standing com
mittees, employee
employment issues,
investigations, dele
gation by the mayor,
appointments to the
planning commission
and making amend
ments to the city’s
budget. Council
member Jim Jester
said he disagreed
with a proposal that abstaining
from a vote would be counted as a
vote in favor of the request. Jester
also said he wanted to ensure that
Walden’s proposals were consis
tent with the city’s charter. City
attorney Mitchell advised that
Walden’s proposals do follow the
charter, but may create some con
fusion. Council member Richard
Green said Walden’s proposals
also give too much power to the
mayor. Walden said his proposal
would allow the mayor to ask a
committee to review any concerns
of the city. Walden added that the
city can’t be operated by too many
committees and that the mayor
should serve like a corporate CEO,
with the authority to take immedi
ate action to operate the city. The
amendment requests were put on
“first reading” on Monday and will
be discussed at February’s council
meeting.
•approved a depot rental agree
ment with the Hoschton Women’s
Civic Club. The agreement allows
the civic club to rent the depot for
$1 year, with free use of the facil
ity for the group’s regular monthly
meetings, political forums and a
Christmas event. The civic club
will pay the usual fees to rent the
depot for other events. The civic
club also agreed to donate items in
the depot to the city.
COPENHAVER
Water conservation efforts making progress
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Water conservation measures are con
tinuing to work in Hoschton, according
to one council member.
Richard Green, chairperson of the
city’s water, waste and environmen
tal services committee, said Hoschton
used 2.4 million gallons of water in
November. That amount includes water
pumped from the city well and water
purchased from the Jackson County
Water and Sewerage Authority.
November’s water usage in the city
was a 21.19 percent drop from the base period usage
of 3 million gallons a month, according to Green.
“Everyone, please keep up your conservation,
because that’s what is doing it,” Green said at
Thursday’s council meeting.
Hoschton officials still didn’t have figures avail
able from the JCWSA on December water usage,
but the city well pumpage was down 22.75 percent
last month from November.
In October, the city well began supplying all of
Hoschton’s water supply. But in an effort to ensure
an adequate water supply for the future, pump
ing from the well was later reduced to two days a
week.
Gov. Sonny Perdue directed the Georgia
Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to require
that permit holders reduce their water withdraw
als by 10 percent, compared to the permit holder’s
water usage of the last winter season — Dec. 2006
through March 2007.
Effective Nov. 1, public water providers in 61
North Georgia counties under the Level 4 drought
restrictions were required to reduce their overall
water usage by 10 percent. All of those providers
must provide water conservation reports to the EPD
each month.
Hoschton plans to install a second
city well, which will require approval
by the EPD, Green said. The city is
expected to start seeking bids for the
project.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the Hoschton City
Council:
•heard from Green, who said the EPD
recently issued a favorable report of its
inspection of the city’s wastewater treat
ment plant project. Green said previous
issues addressed by the EPD, such as
road access to the plant, have been improved. The
wastewater treatment plant may be handling sewer
age in May, Green reported.
•heard from Green, who said the EPD is review
ing plans for the Jefferson Street interceptor. Bids
on the project were accepted through Monday. The
EPD is also reviewing plans to install sewer lines
to the city’s industrial area. The project will have
two phases, with the first phase — the Jopena Blvd.
segment — being reviewed by the EPD. Bidding
closed on Monday. Survey work has begun on the
second “south” phase. Green said the city will need
to acquire rights-of-way for that segment of the
project.
•heard from Green about a public notice in the
newspaper about Hoschton exceeding its coliform
bacteria limit in the city’s water system. The notice
states that Hoschton had two or more water samples
in November and December that exceeded the coli
form bacteria limit in the town’s drinking water
supply. Green said the city believes the test results
were sampling errors. Hoschton gets its drinking
water from the JCWSA and a city well. Green said it
is unlikely the coliform bacteria originated from the
city well, because of its depth. “I would not worry
about it,” he said on Monday.
Braselton
Zoning board of appeals to meet Thursday night
The Braselton Zoning Board of
Appeals will meet on Thursday, Jan.
10, at 7 p.m.
Mary and Marvin Stover are seek
ing a variance for property located at
5257 Ga. Hwy. 53. The purpose of
the variance request is to seek relief
from the minimum rear yard require
ments of the Braselton Development
Code. The property is zoned R-l.
The Braselton Zoning Board of
Appeals meets at the Braselton
Police and Municipal Court
Building, located at 5040 Ga. Hwy.
53, Braselton.
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.
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