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Page 4A The Braselton News Wednesday, December 30, 2020 Lookback continued from 3A Photo by Wesleigh Sagon OCTOBER Hoschton celebrated its fall festival on Friday, Oc tober 16, through Sunday, October 18. Now in its 47th year the annual festival is still going strong, bringing thousands to the downtown area for shop ping, food, games and fun. The first few years, the festival was called the Hoschton Fall Harvest Days which was founded by the Hoschton Women’s Civ ic Club. OCTOBER •Kolter sues over impact fees — Kolter filed a lawsuit against the City of Hoschton and its officials in a bid to halt NOVEMBER Santa Claus made an appearance in Braselton’s virtual tree lighting ceremony in November. NOVEMBER •Most Braselton counties support Trump re-election — Most Braselton area counties — with the exception of Gwin nett County — supported the re-election of President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election. •Jackson BOE looks to add new westside elementary school — Needing to ease crowding issues at Gum Springs, West Jackson and North Jackson elementary schools, the Jackson County Board of Education is looking at adding an other elementary school on the westside of the county, it was announced. •Trucking hub slated for Braselton — A new trucking hub was slated for development along Hwy. 53 in Braselton. The project is on 62 acres at 6275 Hwy. 53, which is at the intersection with Braselton Parkway. •NGMC, Longstreet Clinic break ground on cancer cen ter — Physicians and leaders with Longstreet Clinic, North east Georgia Medical Center and Northeast Georgia Physi cians Group joined together to break ground on the expanded Cancer Center, located at Medical Plaza 1 in Braselton. •Gwinnett firefighters free resident after tree crashes on house — Gwinnett County firefighters freed a resident from a Hoschton home after a tree fell on the house. The incident occurred as Tropical Storm Zeta moved its way through the area, leaving downed trees and power outages in its path. •Hoschton may build new city hall — The City of Hoschton could get a new city hall building. Mayor Shannon Sell told the city council on Nov. 9 that he wants to start work ing on ideas for a new city hall building. •Biden wins presidency — A divided nation has spoken and Democrat Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States. The race was called around noon on Saturday. Nov. 7, as the results in Pennsylvania became clear with Biden taking that battleground state. •Hoschton OKs Twin Lakes plat — The City of Hoschton agreed Nov. 16 to approve the preliminary plat for Twin Lakes subdivision Phase 4 after several months of controversy and delay. •No immediate property tax for Braselton — It’s likely that Braselton won’t have a town property tax any time soon, but city leaders didn’t rule out the possibility that someday, it may become necessary. During a day-long retreat meeting on Nov. 18, the Braselton Town Council discussed a number of items facing the town, including its financial standing. •Townhome project near Publix gets denial — Efforts to revive a residential project near Publix in West Jackson received a blow Nov. 19 when the Jackson County Planning Commission vote 3-0 in favor of denial. DECEMBER •Hwy. 211 multi-modal bridge could go to bid soon — A multi-modal bridge planned in Braselton is almost ready to go out to bid, it was announced. Town manager Jennifer Scott updated the Braselton Town Council on plans for the multi-modal bridge over Hwy. 211 during its planning ses sion in November. Scott said the bridge would begin between where The Falls subdivision ends and the Mulberry Walk shopping center. •Schools to call for SPLOST renewal — Jackson Coun ty’s three school systems plan to call for a March 16, 2021, referendum to extend their education special local option sales tax in the county, it was announced. •Braselton’s historic grammar school receives renova tion — Braselton’s historic grammar school building was renovated for the first time since it was built in 1933 when the school served the growing population as the Braselton Broth ers Enterprise grew and more families called Braselton home, •New Hoschton park being planned — Plans for a new historical-focused park in Hoschton were reported to be in the works, but hit a bump on Dec. 7 when the town’s planning board tabled a variance request related for the deal. •Elections board tables action on school referendum plans — Plans for a March referendum to continue the ES- PLOST in Jackson County’s three school districts got put on hold Dec. 2 when the county’s board of elections refused to call for the March voting. The Jackson County Board of Elec tions voted 4-1, with board member James White dissenting, to table action until January on calling for the referendum. •Local health leaders urge caution during holidays — Local health leaders urged the community to use caution during the Christmas holidays as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in the area. •Braselton approves drive-thru for proposed smoothie chain project — Braselton leaders gave the nod for a request to allow a drive-thru in the Riverstone Braselton development. •Hoschton council looking at hefty pay hike — Members of the Hoschton City Council could get a pretty big pay hike in 2022 if a proposal from Mayor Shannon Sell moves forward. Sell proposed that the council’s pay be increased to $500 per month for each council member and $1,000 per month for the mayor. In addition, he suggested that all council members be eligible for city group health insurance and retirement pro grams offered to other city employees. •Jackson schools planning for phased-in return after holidays — The Jackson County School System is making plans to “phase-in” middle and high school students to in-per- son classes following the Christmas break, it was announced. •Hall middle, high schools transition to blended learn ing — Hall County middle and high school students transi tioned to blended learning on Wednesday, Dec. 16. through Friday. Dec. 18. •First vaccines arrive — COVID-19 vaccines arrived in the Braselton area. Northeast Georgia Health System began vaccinating its first employees on Thursday, Dec. 17. •Court rejects Kolter injunction against Hoschton — The Jackson County Superior Court rejected an effort by the developers of Twin Lakes to stop impact fees imposed by the City of Hoschton. •Hoschton budget calls for police department — Hoschton plans to start up a police department in 2021 and also build a new multi-use facility and city hall. Those were some of the highlights in the proposed 2021 city budget. •Hoschton approves townhomes plat — Work could soon begin on 300 new townhomes in Hoschton following ac tion by the Hoschton City Council on Dec. 21. The coun cil approved the preliminary plat for Cambridge at Towne Center, a move that should allow Rockhaven Homes to be gin work on the project. Zoning and other approvals were given in 2019. The Braselton News Mike Buffington Co-Publisher Scott Buffington Co-Publisher & Advertising Manager Alex Buffington Editor Ben Munro Sports Editor Wesleigh Sagon Photographer/Features MEMBER • Georgia Press Association • National Newspaper Association • International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors Postmaster: Send Address Changes To: MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. PO Box 908 Jefferson, Georgia 30549-0908 Web Site: www.BraseltonNewsToday.com Email: alex@mainstreetnews.com Voice: 706.367.5233 Published weekly by The Braselton News 33 Lee St. Jefferson, GA 30549 Periodical Postage Paid at Jefferson, GA 30549 (SCED 23390) Yearly Subscriptions: $20 •Denney resigns from elections board — Erma Denney resigned from the Jackson County Board of Elections. Jeff Hughes later took her place on the board. •Commissioner injured in horse-riding accident — Jackson County Commissioner Ralph Richardson Jr. was injured after being thrown from a horse in Colorado. •Jackson County running out of building lots — Jack- son County has been booming with new homes over the past couple years. But that could slow due to a lack of approved building lots, officials said. In a presentation to the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce, assis tant county manager Gina Roy and GIS director Joel Lo gan said the county had used up just about all its approved building lots. •Large PUD request withdrawn — Developers of a proposed large planned unit development project withdrew their application in Braselton. FJH, LLC, had requested an nexation and rezoning of 72 acres off Hwy. 53 at New Cut Rd. Plans for the site included 220 detached and attached rental residential units and 104,500 sq. ft. of retail/com mercial/ office space. •Amid lawsuit, town holds second round of hearings on large development — Braselton leaders approved a town-initiated rezoning and annexation in an attempt to remedy an alleged procedural error during a previous round of hearings. The Braselton Town Council held a sec ond round of public hearings at its work session Thursday, Sept. 10, for a planned unit development on 141 acres off Duncan Creek Rd. Meritage Homes of Georgia plans to construct 318 detached single-family homes on that prop erty. The request was approved earlier in the year, but three residents filed a lawsuit against the town, citing both proce dural and substantive errors in the town’s decision. •Hoschton mayor says property taxes needed if town has police department — Hoschton Mayor Shannon Sell said that property taxes would likely be needed if the town creates a city police department. •Planners delay vote on Kolter request — Hoschton planners delayed a vote on a preliminary plat for a section of the Twin Lakes development. The commission request ed additional information on the pending city impact fees program before making a decision. •Barrow tables vote on large subdivision — A pro posed single-family subdivision of nearly 300 homes in the Braselton-Hoschton area of Barrow County still had some kinks to be ironed out. The Barrow County board of com missioners voted to table a requested change in conditions for the development of 92.23 acres just west of the inter section of highways 211 and 124 and south of Interstate 85 until its voting session scheduled for Oct. 13. The ap plicant, Manor Restorations, requested the item be tabled. •Hoschton to face lawsuit over impact fees — The Hoschton City Council will likely soon face a lawsuit from its biggest developer over its Sept. 21 decision to impose impact fees on new residential construction, it was an nounced. Attorney Paul Mitchell, who represents Kolter Acquisitions, the developer of a huge 1.400-acre planned community in the town, said Sept. 22 that a lawsuit would be forthcoming. •Barrow planners reject Hoschton mixed-use project — A proposed large mixed-use development in Hoschton was rejected Thursday, Sept. 17, by the Barrow County Planning Commission after strong public backlash against the project. The panel voted to recommend denial of Rid geline Land Planning and Holt Persinger’s request to re zone 53.2 acres at 1308 Lee Stone Rd. in order to. accord ing to a revised site plan, build 280 apartments units, 158 townhomes and roughly 8.5 acres set aside for commercial space (with about 37,500 square feet of that taken up by three buildings). •Over 100 homes sold in Cresswind — Kolter Homes announced more than 100 new homes were sold during the first 90 days of sales at Cresswind Georgia at Twin Lakes. •Hearing delayed on massive Braselton project — A public hearing was delayed on a massive mixed use project in the Town of Braselton. The Braselton Planning Commis sion was set to hear the rezoning request from Braselton 38, LLC, at its Sept. 28 meeting. The applicant requested a deferral just hours before the planning commission was set to meet. Developers are seeking a rezoning of 39 acres on Jesse Cronic Rd. from manufacturing- distribution to planned unit development. The request has been deferred in recent months as well. •Four resident deaths reported at Oaks — Four res idents died from COVID-19 at The Oaks at Braselton, a local personal care home. •Planning board gives nod for new subdivision — A 94-lot master planned subdivision in West Jackson got the green light from the Jackson County Planning Commis sion. The board approved a rezoning and special use appli cation for Ray Vaughn of 44.5 acres on Jackson Trail Rd. for the development. •Hoschton delays move on overlay revamp — The Hoschton City Council decided to delay action related to its Hwy. 53 overlay district and go back to the drawing board on the matter. the town’s recent vote to implement impact fees. •Hoschton planners recommend denial of Twin Lakes plat — The City of Hoschton ramped up its dispute with the town’s largest landowner and developer with a recom mendation to deny a routine approval of preliminary plat. The Hoschton Planning and Zoning Commission recom mended denying Phase 4 of the Twin Lakes. •Two more resident deaths reported at The Oaks — Two more residents of The Oaks at Braselton, a Bra- selton-area personal care home, died from COVID-19. •Braselton rejects townhomes — Braselton leaders re jected a request for a townhomes project in an industrial section of town. The Braselton Town Council voted Oct. 12 to deny a rezoning request for Johnnie Hastings for 21.5 acres off Broadway Ave. at the intersection of Josh Pirkle Rd. Hastings had requested a change from manufac turing-distribution to multi-family. Developers proposed a project consisting of 161 for-rent townhomes. •Kolter tensions continue — The Hoschton City Coun cil was mum Oct. 19 about its intentions on approving, or disapproving, a preliminary plat for Phase 4 at the Twin Lakes development in the city. The massive 2,600-home development is being done by The Kolter Group, but in recent months, the relationship between the city and Kolter has soured. When the issue of the plat approval came up at the council’s Oct. 19 meeting, the board heard a brief report from its planner Jerry Weitz and then went into ex ecutive session to discuss litigation. •Barrow denies rezoning request for Hoschton proj ect —A local developer’s plans to build a large mixed-use, high-density residential development in Hoschton were re jected by the Barrow County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, Oct. 13, following a contentious public hearing. Commissioners voted 5-2 to deny Ridgeline Land Plan ning and Holt Persinger’s request to rezone 53.2 acres at 1308 Lee Stone Rd. to R-3 in order to build 280 apartment units, 158 townhomes and commercial space on roughly 8.5 acres of the property. •West Jackson residential project gets green light — Plans to develop a residential project in West Jackson got the green light. The Jackson County Board of Commis sioners voted Monday. Oct. 19, to approve a rezoning and special use request for Ray Vaughn for 44.5 acres off Jack- son Trail Rd. near the intersection of Marshall Clark Rd. Approximately 94 lots are planned on the property. •Hoschton delays action on Kolter plat — The City of Hoschton delayed action Oct. 26 to give what is usually a routine approval for a preliminary plat for Phase 4 in the Twin Lakes development. •Hoschton mayor: City growth will generate need for police department — The City of Hoschton is mulling the addition of a police department, but if population pro jections come to fruition one might be inevitable, it was announced. DECEMBER Diane Donaldson submitted this photo of a large Christmas display at 5434 Old Winder Hwy., Bra selton. Diane’s husband, Joe, created the setup. This walk-thru Christmas lights display is open from dark until 10 p.m. (weather permitting). Night ly viewings are open through Dec. 30. The display features over 35,000 lights and holiday decorations, along with a a 24-foot synchronized light tree.