Newspaper Page Text
Serving the communities of Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Mill Creek, West Jackson and South Hall
Member of the
Georgia Press Association
250 copy
Wednesday, February 20,2008
Vol. 3 No. 44 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. BraseltonNews.com 24 pages, 3 sections
Inside
BOMB THREAT
•Teen to serve three
years for JCCHS bomb
threat
page 2A
ELECTION
•Donna Golden Sikes
annnounces run for DA’s
office
page 2A
Sports:
•Seven Panthers qualify
for state tournament
page IB
Opinion:
• ‘SB 391 is just a bait-
and-switch bill’
page 4A
Public safety:
• Road crew finds pot
on I-85 ramp in Braselton
page 5A
•Church events
page5B
•Obituaries
page 6A
Hoschton files lawsuit against former engineer
City claims design negligence for sewer plant
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Hoschton has filed a lawsuit against its
former city engineer claiming the city's multi
million dollar wastewater treatment plant was
negligently designed and didn’t work properly.
The city filed the lawsuit against Armentrout,
Roebuck and Matheny Consulting Group on
Feb. 6 in Jackson County Superior Court. The
firm's Charlie Armentrout is a former consul
tant for Hoschton.
The suit claims that Armentrout designed
a wastewater treatment plant for the city that
didn’t work properly and ultimately resulted in
Hoschton hiring another engineering firm to fix
the problems.
“These design deficiencies created delays,
substantial cost overruns and numerous viola
tions of state and federal effluent standards,
which resulted in citations and fines by the
Georgia Environmental Protection Agency,”
according to the suit.
In 2002, Hoschton entered a contract with
Armentrout in connection to expanding the
city’s wastewater treatment plant from handling
100,000 gallons of sewage per day to 500,000
gallons a day.
Armentrout later recommended a bid that
was much higher than initially anticipated, but
the project was also changed to reduce the con
struction cost, according to the lawsuit. The city
council approved the bid in January 2004.
The city contends that the project was
delayed beyond its initial completion date
in 2005, due to an improper design by
Armentrout.
In 2006, the city's attorney, Thomas
Mitchell, sent a letter to Armentrout’s Athens
firm outlining Hoschton’s concerns about the
plant and threatened a potential lawsuit.
In the letter, the city said it paid more than
$3 million for the expanded wastewater treat
ment plant and $384,075 to Armentrout’s
firm for “a plant that does not and will not
ever function in a manner that will allow the
City to meet its discharge permit limits.”
The 2006 letter further alleged that
Hoschton spent an additional $2 million to
fix the problems.
Hoschton is still working on its wastewater
treatment plant, which is expected to be sub
stantially complete around May.
Hoschton mayor Bill Copenhaver said the
city has spent a little over $3 million for the
latest round of improvements to the plant.
The improvements were initially budgeted
for $2.5 million, he added.
“We’re right in the $6 million range,”
Copenhaver said of the sewer plant.
City attorney Mitchell said the city filed the
lawsuit now because an agreement between
Hoschton and Armentrout expired on Dec.
31. Mitchell said on Monday that the parties
had not resolved their disagreements.
The lawsuit alleges several counts related
to negligence in design and administration.
Hoschton is seeking compensatory damages,
punitive damages and expenses for litiga
tion.
A message to Armentrout was not returned
by press deadline.
Barrow airport
grants access
for warehouse
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
The Barrow County Airport
Authority granted property access
for a mini-storage warehouse
planned next to the airport in
Winder.
FLT Properties, LLC asked the
authority to grant access to 1.87
acres located on Atlanta Highway,
across from Giles Road. The prop
erty is located near a 5,500-foot
runway of the Northeast Georgia
Regional Airport.
Monroe-based FLT Properties is
planning to build four mini-storage
warehouses totaling 18,000 square
feet. The Barrow County planning
and engineering departments have
already approved the plans.
Under a 2005 agreement with the
airport authority, FLT Properties
was granted an option to lease up
to five acres of additional property
across from Atlanta Highway from
its existing building. The company
had to notify the authority by July
2008 of its plans to use the option.
FLT Properties was just seeking
access to 1.87 acres of the five
acres.
The company also requested an
extension of the agreement for an
additional two years to lease up to
the five acres. The authority opted
on Tuesday to address the two-year
extension at a later date.
In granting access to the proper
ty, the authority also said it wanted
See AIRPORT on page 2A
Work halted at construction site
DISTRIBUTION CENTER
The Duke Realty Corporation stopped construction of a 632,500 square-foot building in Braselton on
Thursday, after a man fell and died at the scene, police said.
Man dies after fall from roof of Braselton building
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A man working on a new distribution center in
Braselton fell 40 feet to his death on Thursday, accord
ing to police.
Alfredo Gutierrez-de la Fuente was working on a
deck on the roof of a 632,500 square-foot building on
Jesse Cronic Road when he fell.
The Jackson County coroner determined that
Gutierrez-de la Fuente died of blunt force trauma to
the head, according to Braselton assistant police chief
Lou Solis. He broke his neck when he fell from the
building, Solis added.
Gutierrez-de la Fuente had just unhooked a safety
harness when he began walking to an area across the
building for a break period. He stopped to check on a
deck, when he slipped and fell, Solis said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) began its investigation into the incident this
week, Solis said.
The building is being developed by Duke Realty
Corporation, as part of its “Park 85 at Braselton”
distribution center project in Jackson County. Solis
said the company stopped construction on the site last
week after Gutierrez-de la Fuente's death.
Gutierrez-de la Fuente was a subcontractor with JB
Steel Erectors, according to Solis.
He was from San Luis, Mexico, but lived in Austell.
Gutierrez-de la Fuente was single, although he had
an uncle who lived in Austell and worked at the same
construction site, Solis said.
At the time of the incident, there were an estimated
15 workers on the site, Solis said.
Shushhh!
Certain topics
off-limits at
town planning
meetings
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
The state of the housing mar
ket, the impact of a project on
schools and the price of proposed
houses are just some of the top
ics that shouldn’t be discussed at
meetings of the Braselton Planning
Commission, according to Braselton
attorney Gregory Jay.
The Braselton Planning
Commission held a two-hour
“retreat” at the town’s planning and
public utilities building Monday
at which the five-member board
learned about its legal boundar
ies when it comes to public hear
ings, discussions with developers
or neighbors and ethics. Braselton
planning director Kevin Keller and
town attorney Jay also attended the
meeting.
When considering requests, plan
ning commission members have to
follow certain criteria for determin
ing its recommendation to the town
council. Jay said.
Among the topics inappropriate
for planning commissions to con
sider is the housing market.
“It’s not our job to judge the mar
ket,” Jay said.
See PLANNING on page 2A
Lt. Gov. Cagle announces plan to seek TAD solution for communities
Braselton TAD still moving forward
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has estab
lished a Senate working group to
address the decision by the Georgia
Supreme Court to remove school
property taxes from funding Tax
Allocation Districts (TADs).
Braselton is one of several com
munities across Georgia that plans
to use a TAD to help revitalize its
downtown area. In November 2007,
voters approved development pow
ers for Braselton to create a TAD in
its historical downtown area.
Mayor Pat Graham said despite
the supreme court’s ruling.
Braselton’s plans for a TAD won’t
stop — although the project may be
done in phases.
“I'm glad they’re looking into
it,” Graham said this week about
Cagle's proposal.
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled
last week that communities can’t use
school property tax funds to finance
TADs. Without using school taxes,
a number of TAD projects across
the state are potentially jeopardized
from becoming a reality.
Graham said last week that with
out school property tax funds,
Braselton’s TAD will be limited
from an estimated $5 mil
lion bond to a $2.5 mil
lion bond.
However, she assured
that Braselton’s TAD will
continue to move for
ward, unlike other TAD
projects across Georgia
that may be stopped.
“We're not in that situ
ation,” Graham said on
Monday. “Our (TAD) is still doable.
We just have to scale it back.”
Cagle named Sen. Dan Weber as
leader of a Senate working group
to address the supreme court’s deci
sion.
“The Georgia Supreme Court’s
decision has serious ramifications
for economic development
in our state and I think we
need to take a hard look
at the effects of the ruling
and what we can do in
response,” Sen. Weber said
in a statement.
Graham said last week
that a constitutional
amendment may be need
ed to address TAD fund
ing. However, the clock is ticking as
the General Assembly marked the
half-way point for its 40-day session
on Wednesday.
Braselton’s plan for its TAD
include the re-aligning of Ga. Hwy.
124 at the intersection of Ga. Hwy.
53, creating a “town green,” build
ing an amphitheater and making
additional improvements through a
streetscape project.
TADs provide a mechanism to
freeze tax revenue in a blighted
or economically under-utilitized
area, where incentives are needed to
attract or enhance private investment,
according to the Georgia Municipal
Association. Atlantic Station is one
of the most-widely known uses of a
TAD in Georgia.
Braselton needed the approval
of the Jackson County Board of
Commissioners and the Jackson
County Board of Education to estab
lish its TAD. But after the supreme
court's ruling, the town will just
work with the BOC.
CAGLE
