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The Braselton News Page 2A Wednesday, December 30, 2020 Planners continued from 1A Lookback continued from 1A Tr. was previously approved for a senior living develop ment, but developers say that market is fairly saturated in the area. “The market for senior housing has become saturated with a number of senior communities in the southern part of the county,” according to the letter of intent. “Efforts to market the property as a senior development have not been successful because of this market saturation.” BRASELTON COMMERCIAL PROJECT Also at its Dec. 21 meeting, the board approved a re zoning request in the West Jackson area. Braselton Circuit, LLC, requested a rezoning of 7.5 acres at 6275 Hwy. 53, Braselton, from general industri al to highway retail commercial district. Developers plan two commercial lots on the section of the property that fronts Hwy. 53. OTHER ZONING MATTERS In other zoning business, the board: •tabled a map amendment request from Genuine Map ping and Design for 113 acres on County Farm Rd. at Daves Farm Rd., Jefferson. Applicant Ben Drerup is re questing a character area change from ag to rural and a future land use change from ag/forestry to residential. Drerup plans a 79-lot subdivision on the property. The vote was tabled until Feb. 15 to allow more time to re search a reported garbage dump site on the property. •approved a rezoning request for Omar Ramirez for 5.6 acres at 625 Curk Roberts Rd., Braselton. Ramirez wants to divide the property, tear down one mobile home and build a stick-built home on the site. •approved a map amendment for New Liberty Church for 6.4 acres at 17 Thompson Mill Rd., Braselton. The church wanted a land use change from public institution al and residential to commercial. The church wants to replace its current sign with an LED sign and may only do so under a commercial zoning. Budget continued from 1A development. But develop ers of that project. Kolter, has sued the city over how impact fees were created and aimed at their proj ect. The move would add $2,500 to $3,000 to the cost of a home in the de velopment. • The city is outsourcing its planning and zoning to a consultant, a move that cut the city P&Z budget from $629,700 to $91,300. In addition, the city is set ting up a separate build ings inspection department at a cost of $130,600. • The city's largest sin gle source of general fund revenue is projected to come from building per mits at $716,000, followed by local option sales taxes at $352,800 and planning and development fees at $250,000. • The city’s largest finan cial area is its water and sewerage systems which together are expected to generate $5.6 million in revenues in 2021. Those areas also have a lot of expenses slated for 2021, including a number of cap ital projects, including two new water tanks and an ex pansion of its wastewater treatment facilities. COVID continued from 1A a decision no physician should have to make, and a sit uation no one in our community should have to face.” On November 24, two days before Thanksgiving, NGMC hospitals and long-term care locations were treating 133 COVID-positive patients. That total has more than doubled in the following month and the av erage percentage of tests NGHS administer that come back positive has risen sharply. “Early in the pandemic, we learned that limiting some services and expanding others can create addi tional space to care for patients - which we've contin ued to do - but we’re still faced with the challenge of maintaining enough qualified physicians and nurses to provide high-quality care,” says John Delzell, MD, COVID-19 Incident Commander for NGHS. “We're extremely thankful for the staffing support the state has supplied, and we will continue to request additional help, but hospitals across the state all need those same resources.” BRASELTON AREA Hall and Jackson counties continue to be some of the hardest hit counties in the state when looking at new cases over the past two weeks. Hall County has had 2,301 new cases in the past two weeks (or 1,115 new cases per 100,000 residents), while Jackson County has had 894 new cases (1,197 per 100,000 residents). Both are far above the state average, which shows 628 new cases in the last two weeks per 100,000 residents. Details for Braselton's four-county area include: •Barrow: 4,604 cases; 65 deaths; 760 new cases in the last two weeks (880 per 100,000 residents) •Gwinnett: 49,389 cases; 554 confirmed deaths; 37 probable deaths; 6,648 new cases in the last two weeks (685 per 100.000 residents) •Hall: 16,850 cases; 213 confirmed deaths; 10 prob able deaths; 2,301 new cases in the last two weeks (1,115 per 100,000 residents) •Jackson: 4,842 cases; 61 confirmed deaths; 10 prob able deaths; 894 new cases in the last two weeks (1,197 per 100.000 residents) •State: 546,859 cases: 9,719 confirmed deaths; 977 probable deaths; 67,997 new cases in the last two weeks (628 per 100,000 residents) Photo by Ben Munro FEBRUARY James Lawson, who had qualified to run for a va cated seat on the Hoschton City Council, reviews documents submitted to the Jackson County Board of Elections Feb. 12 that challenged his residency status in Hoschton. With a 3-1 vote, the elections board ruled that Lawson did not meet residency re quirements to run for office. •Elections board says Hoschton candidate is not a resident — The Jackson County Board of Elections voted 3-1 at a Feb. 12 hearing to uphold a challenge alleging that James Lawson, a funeral home director in Hoschton. does not live in the city and cannot run for office. •County becomes 2nd Amendment Sanctuary — Jackson County leaders declared the county is now a “Sec ond Amendment Sanctuary,” but the move is more symbol ic than enforceable. •Carswell, Thompson qualify for Hoschton election — Tracy Carswell and Jared Thompson qualified to run in the election for the at-large Hoschton City Council seat during qualifying. •Mayberry takes office in Hoschton — Raphael May berry was sworn-in as a new Hoschton City Council mem ber. The move follows action by the Jackson County Board of Elections that disqualified James Lawson from the March 24 race. Lawson was set to face Mayberry in that election. But Mayberry’s swearing in may have been done prematurely. Lawson filed an appeal in the Superior Court of Jackson County, challenging the election board’s move to disqualify him from the race. •New voting machines — Jackson County’s new state-mandated voting machines were being prepared for the upcoming March Presidential Primary balloting. The new state voting system is different than the old voting ma chines and requires voters to print out their ballot and scan it into the counting machine. MARCH The bath tissue aisle was vacant at Publix Super Market in Hoschton, as customers stock up during the start of the Coronavirus pandemic in March. MARCH •Braselton approves large housing project — Bra selton leaders gave the go-ahead for a large residential project near Chateau Elan. The Braselton Town Coun cil voted March 9 to approve annexation, rezoning and a master plan change for 141 acres off Duncan Creek Rd. (Only 30.63 acres of that was annexed.) Meritage Homes of Georgia planned to construct a large residential devel opment on the property. Developers initially planned 321 detached, single-family lots. •Hoschton political forum cancelled — A political fo rum for Hoschton council candidates was cancelled. The Hoschton Women's Civic Club forum was set for March 4. The cancellation came after Hope Weeks, Jared Thompson and Raphael Mayberry declined to participate. •Braselton area plans for COYID — Although there were no known local cases of COVID-19, plans for dealing with a possible epidemic spreading here were starting to take shape in the Braselton area. •Census info coming — Information was sent out to lo cal residents about participating in the 2020 Census. •COVID hits Braselton — Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton began treating two patients who test ed positive for COVID-19. The announcement was made March 15. •Voting suspended for March election — All voting was suspended for the March 24 election amid the Coro navirus crisis. •Spread of virus impacts area — In an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, many communities, including the Braselton area, shut down schools, sporting events and public gatherings. Starting on Thursday, March 12, a cascade of national and state events led to a number of quick decisions by officials to try and slow a potential virus epidemic. •Weeks withdraws from Hoschton mayoral race — Hope Weeks withdrew from the Hoschton mayor race, leaving Shannon Sell as the sole candidate. Sell was sworn in as mayor on March 23. •BOE says Lawson meets residency standard — In a reversal of its decision from the previous month, the Jack- son County Board of Elections and Registration voted 3-1 on March 16 to deny a challenge against James Lawson’s residency. The move allowed Lawson to continue running for the Hoschton City Council. The elections board meet ing came after a ruling in the Superior Court of Jackson County. Judge Joe Booth vacated the board's decision in February and remanded it back to the board to reconsider (which is what it did March 16). •Mobile unit operational at NGMC Braselton — Mo bile units were opened at Northeast Georgia Medical Cen ter Braselton to allow the hospital system to adapt to the changing needs during the COVID-19 crisis. APRIL Citizens for a Better Jackson County stepped up to assist during the Coronavirus crisis, donating face shields to local first responders. CFABJC was cre ated in 2018 and is comprised of Deer Creek Farms residents. APRIL •NGHS leaders encourage community to stay home for 14 days — As the number of positive cases of COVID-19 and associated deaths in Georgia continued to climb, Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) physi cians and board members - along with Hall County and City of Gainesville elected officials - collectively urged the community stay home for at least 14 days to slow the spread of the virus. •Stay home — Local governments began tightening re strictions, with many issuing stay-at-home orders, amid the continued fight against the spread of COVID-19 in the Braselton area. •Governor issues shelter-in-place order — Georgians and visitors to the state were supposed to shelter-in-place under an order from Gov. Brian Kemp. The order was set to go at least until April 13. •Judge grants temporary relief to allow Hoschton council to function — A Jackson County judge again granted temporary relief to the City of Hoschton to allow its council to continue to function. •Governor extends shelter-in-place — Georgia Gov ernor Brian Kemp extended a shelter-in-place executive order as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise across the state. The order was originally set to expire April 13, but was extended through April 30 at 11:59 p.m. Ad ditionally. Gov. Kemp extended the public health state of emergency through May 13. •Election postponed — Georgia’s general primary/ presidential preference primary election was postponed to June 9. •GOP squabble erupts over mail-in voting — A po litical squabble broke out within the Jackson County Re publican Party over a resolution approved by the county’s board of elections calling on the state to have a mail-in only election in the spring due to the Coronavirus. •Governor allows some businesses to reopen — Gov. Brian Kemp announced that some businesses would be al lowed to reopen starting Friday, April 24. Gyms, bowling alleys, hair salons, nail salons and some other similar busi nesses were set to be allowed to operate, but with some so cial distancing rules to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, Northeast Georgia Health System released in formation encouraging the community to continue follow ing shelter-in-place and isolation orders. •Unemployment claims reach record high — State La bor Commissioner Mark Butler announced that the number of initial unemployment claims reached an all-time high. March 2020 labor statistics also revealed that the over-the- month increase for the unemployment rate was the largest on record. •Hoschton meets again, hires attorney — For the first time in months, the Hoschton City Council held a voting meeting. The council’s first action was to hire a new city at torney, Abbott Hayes of Hulsey, Oliver & Mahar in Gaines ville. •NGHS expects virus peak in June — Northeast Geor gia Health System presented an update to the Greater Hall County Chamber of Commerce, and announced it estimat ed the system would reach its COVID peak in June. •Four staff members test positive at senior living fa cility — Four staff members tested positive for COVID-19 at The Oaks at Braselton, a personal care home on Thomp son Mill Rd. •Some area businesses reopen — After weeks of shut tered doors and takeout-only restaurants, some area busi nesses began returning to normal. The new normal, at least. MAY •Governor lets shelter-in-place order expire for some — Georgia's shelter-in-place order for those under age 65 and in good health expired at midnight April 30 as the state attempted to reopen business activity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. r $ 5 00 0FF Ticket Of‘2(7° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. 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