Newspaper Page Text
The Braselton News
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Page 5A
Clerici named
Jackson County
BOE chair for 2021
Don Clerici was elected chairman of the Jackson
County Board of Education at the board's Dec. 14
meeting.
Clerici was elected to the BOE in 2018 and has
served since January 2019.
He represents a district on the west side of Jackson
County where the school system is being slammed
with growth and where a new high school will open
next fall.
The BOE has a tradition of rotating its board chair
manships among members every couple of years.
Clerici replaces Lynn Wheeler, who was elected
vice-chairman of the BOE for 2021.
The board also honored outgoing BOE member Mi
chael Cronic at its Dec. 14 meeting. Cronic is retiring
from the board after 13 years of service. He will be
replaced Jan. 1 by Rob Johnson who was elected to the
post earlier this year.
In the coming years, the system's board districts will
likely undergo a significant change as the 2020 census
data become available. The board districts will have to
be redrawn, a move that will shift the balance of power
on the board from the East Jackson area to West Jack-
son where the population has exploded since 2010.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at its Dec. 14 meeting, the BOE:
• approved a clean-up of its SPLOST resolution,
which will now go back before the county’s board of
elections to call for a March 16 referendum. The elec
tions board tabled action on the resolution due to a
typo. One elections board member also voiced opposi
tion to the SPLOST vote in general.
• reviewed a job description for a system public rela
tions officer for final action slated at its January board
meeting.
• approved technology equipment for the system’s
new high school from 1 Accord Technologies.
• moved its annual superintendent evaluation to the
board's January meeting.
NGMC earns three
new ‘excellence’
designations
Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC)
Gainesville is the first hospital in Georgia to re
ceive accreditation as a Center of Excellence in
Colorectal Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery
and Minimally Invasive Gynecology.
Surgical Review Corporation (SRC), an inter
nationally recognized patient safety organization,
recognized NGMC for “its dedication to delivering
safe, effective and evidence-based patient care in
these three designated areas through its indepen
dent, external process of evaluation.”
These new designations are in addition to NG
MC’s Robotic Surgery and Hernia Surgery Center
of Excellence accreditations, which NGMC was
also the first in the state to earn.
“These designations speak volumes to the dedi
cation and commitment of our surgeons and clin
ical staff at Northeast Georgia Medical Center to
provide the highest-quality surgical care - close
to home - for our community,” says Carol Burrell,
president and CEO of Northeast Georgia Health
System.
Healthcare organizations and surgeons seek
ing accreditation by SRC undergo a rigorous site
inspection and self-assessment. This process in
cludes physicians, nurses and administrators who
are actively involved in the accredited program.
The inspection is consultative and educational,
presenting best practices to help an organization or
surgeon improve its care and services.
“This designation helps our patients throughout
the region and state identify specific providers who
have met SRC’s nationally recognized standards
for top quality care,” says Andrew Green, MD,
medical director of the Robotic Surgical Program
at NGMC. “I’m thankful for the leadership of Dr.
Fernando Aycinena, our Colorectal Surgery pro
gram director, and co-directors of NGMC's Min
imally Invasive Gynecology program - Drs. Jason
Bailey and Keshma Saujani - all of whom have
been instrumental in helping us become the first in
the State to earn these accreditations.”
Additionally. SRC recognized the following
NGMC physicians as Surgeons of Excellence in
the following areas:
•Colorectal Surgery: Fernando Aycinena, MD,
Longstreet Clinic
•Minimally Invasive Gynecology: Jason Bailey,
MD, Northeast Georgia Physicians Group OB/
GYN; Keshma Saujani, MD, Longstreet Clinic
•Minimally Invasive Surgery: Fernando Aycine
na, MD, Longstreet Clinic; Jason Bailey, MD,
Northeast Georgia Physicians Group OB/GYN;
Geary Bush, MD, Longstreet Clinic; Chad Cop
per, MD. Longstreet Clinic; Andrew Green, MD,
Northeast Georgia Physicians Group Gynecologic
Oncology; Ronald Lewis, MD, Northeast Geor
gia Physicians Group Surgical Associates; Daniel
Mullis, MD. Longstreet Clinic; Alex Nguyen, MD,
Northeast Georgia Physicians Group Surgical As
sociates; Robert Richard, MD. Longstreet Clinic;
and Keshma Saujani, MD. Longstreet Clinic
To learn more about surgical options at NGMC,
visit nghs.com/surgery. For more information
about SRC and the accreditation process, visit sur-
gicalreview.org.
Jackson County moves to upgrade
public safety radio system
Jackson County is mov
ing to modernize its public
safety communications sys
tem.
The Jackson County
Board of Commissioners
voted Monday, Dec. 21, to
approve a communications
system and services agree
ment with Motorola Solu
tions, Inc., upgrading the
county’s public safety radio
system.
Those upgrades come
with a hefty price tag total
ing $21 million with $12.3
million in maintenance and
support for years 4-15. The
vote Monday also includes
an authorization to move
forward with issuing up to
$21 million in bonds via the
Jefferson Public Building
Authority.
The Project 25 Public
Safety Grade Trunked Ra
dio System is expected to
serve the county for at least
15 years and provide more
reliable coverage than the
current system.
County manager Kev
in Poe said it will take two
years to get the new system
built-out and operational.
BACKGROUND
The county previous hired
TUSA Consulting Services
to study the county’s radio
system needs.
In a presentation to the
board last year, TUSA cited
a number of problems with
the counties current system:
• The county’s current
system is reaching the end
of its life cycle and will
soon need to be replaced.
The current system is also
outdated compared to other
systems now available,
• The current system has
inadequate radio coverage
in some areas of the coun
ty, including some spots
along 1-85 and around the
fast-growing Braselton area.
That is especially true with
the county's portable radios,
the report said.
• The current system is
unable to easily talk with
surrounding counties or
state emergency agencies
because it isn’t compati
ble with other area com
munities. TUSA said that
although Braselton covers
four counties, “Commu
nicating with neighbors
is nearly non-existent.”
Gwinnett, Hall, Barrow and
Athens-Clarke counties all
have modern 800 Mhz P25
systems while Banks and
Madison use proprietary
systems, all incompatible
with Jackson County’s ex
isting system.
• The current county radi
os were designed for com
mercial markets, not public
safety agencies which need
more durable and robust
units.
• Many of the county’s
nine communications link
sites are lacking. Most have
obsolete cooling and back
up power systems and many
are too small to expand to
house a modem system.
Some of the sites had not
been well-maintained by
the county. “Almost all of
the existing buildings, and
the compounds they reside
in, cannot support the space
needed for a modem public
safety radio system without
substantial cost....” the re
port said.
PRIORITIES
The county’s radio com
munications network in
cludes all public safety
agencies, along with public
schools.
TUSA consulted with
county staff, the Jackson
County Sheriff’s Office,
Jackson County Correc
tional Institute, city police
departments, volunteer fire
departments and the school
systems, when considering
the public's needs.
A few priorities were con
sidered when picking a pro
vider, including:
•better coverage to elimi
nate dead spots
•improved inoperability
within the county and sur
rounding counties
•reliable, high-quality
public grade equipment
•a system that would last
a minimum of 15 years
The county will also tie-in
with Hall County's master
switch. Leaders from both
counties will have to work
on an agreement to allow
Jackson County to tie-in to
the Hall County system.
FUNDING
The $21 million price tag
is more than originally esti
mated, partly to help create
a robust system that elimi
nates current dead spots and
considers future growth.
The county’s share will
total a little over $19 mil
lion, with the remainder
coming from the various
other public safety entities
and school systems.
Poe proposed using rev
enues from SPLOST VI
(along with a handful of
CARES Act funds) to cov
er the debt service through
2026. From 2027-2031,
funds could come from the
General Fund or a future
SPLOST.
EMPLOYEE
POLICY APPROVED
In other business, the
BOC approved revisions
and updates to the county's
HR policy book.
The move includes a new
section on employee use of
social media.
The move comes follow
ing the bring of former EMS
employee John Pethel for a
post he made on Facebook
in June where he said “shoot
them all” in reference to
protesters in Gainesville.
Pethel has appealed his
bring, which was recent
ly heard before an outside
hearing officer. During
that hearing, officials were
asked about the county's
policy on social media.
County manager Kevin Poe
said the county had not yet
adopted a specibc policy
regarding employee use of
social media.
Among other proposed
changes in the county’s
HR manual, a new section
would be created that spe-
cihcally addresses the so
cial media issue. One of the
items appears to address sit
uations similar to the Pethel
incident:
“Users shall not engage
in any blogging or social
media posting that may
harm or tarnish the image,
reputation and/or goodwill
of the County and /or any
of its Users. Users are also
prohibited from making any
discriminatory, disparaging,
defamatory or harassing
comments when blogging or
otherwise engaging in any
conduct prohibited by the
Jackson County Non-Dis
crimination and Anti-Ha
rassment policy.”
OTHER BUSINESS
Also at its meeting, the
BOC approved:
•reappointing Joe Holt to
the board of adjustment for
a four-year term.
•reappointing Greg
Laughinghouse, Gina McK
inney, Cecil Tatum, Susan
Russell and Yvette Wise to
Keep Jackson County Beau
tiful for a three-year term.
•reappointing Linda Kirk
to the Northeast Georgia
Area Agency on Aging for a
two-year term.
•reappointing Roger
Brock to the parks and rec
reation advisory board for a
one-year term.
•appointing Carson Sav-
ille to the county's planning
commission to bll the unex
pired term of Nick Bledsoe.
The term expired Dec. 31,
2021.
•a speed zone ordinance/
radar list with the Georgia
Department of Transporta
tion.
•a bid for wood grinding
at the county transfer sta
tion. The bid was award
ed to Roll Off Systems of
Statham for $96,000.
•a resolution of road own
ership for the GDOT LMIG
program.
•accepting roadways in
the Briar Rose Subdivision,
including Briar Rose Blvd.
and Petal Creek Ln.
•an amendment to the
Northeast Georgia Regional
Commission FY21 Trans
portation Agreement. The
change aligns the agreement
with the county’s holiday
schedule, operating house
and non-core rate.
•raising tipping fees by
$1.50 at the transfer station.
The approved tipping fee
changes include: 0-500 tons,
$51.50 per ton (up from
$50); 501-,1000 tons, $50
per ton (up from $48.50);
and over 1,000 tons. $48.50
per ton (up from $47). The
move comes after Waste
Management, the company
that hauls waste from the
landhll, announced it will
increase the rate-per-ton it
charges the county.
PSC action could help rural broadband
Efforts to expand broad
band internet service in
underserved areas of rural
Georgia got a boost last
week when the Georgia
Public Service Commission
voted to lower the fees on
access to some power poles.
The PSC lowered the rate
the state’s EMCs can charge
internet companies to have
access to put an internet line
on their poles to $1 per pole
in underserved areas. The
usual rate is over $27 per
pole.
The savings from that are
designed to incentive inter
net companies to run broad
band into underserved, less
populated rural areas.
But the move falls short
of what internet companies
wanted, which was for ac
cess to all power poles even
in dense areas to be lowered
to $1 per pole per year. The
PSC vote was to grant the
lower price for six years.
To be eligible for the
lower pole access price, an
internet provider will have
to offer a minimum of 25/3
Mbps.
A lack of access to broad
band has long been a com
plaint in rural areas. That
became even more clear
this year as many schools
and businesses moved on
line due to the Covid pan
demic. Many rural families,
however, found they didn’t
have enough bandwidth to
do school work or business
work online. And as tele
medicine has also grown
during the pandemic, some
rural citizens find they don't
have the speed to support on
line visits with their doctors.
While the lower price for
pole access might help spur
greater internet access, there
are other barriers in rural
areas beyond just stringing
lines on poles.
The lack of housing and
business density in many
rural areas means that inter
net firms have less financial
return per mile than they do
in more densely-populated
areas. Geography in some
areas is also a problem, espe
cially in mountains.
Some local startups have
attempted to fill the gaps in
rural service across the coun
try and the move to lower the
access cost to a pole might
help those firms more than
Comcast, Windstream and
other large firms that domi
nate the broadband market.
Many rural areas in North
east Georgia do have some
internet access, but it is of
ten slower than the 25 Mbps
rate.
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