About The Braselton news. (Jefferson, Ga) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2022)
The Braselton News Page 3A Wednesday, March 9, 2022 Town development code Braselton Town Council to hold multiple public hearings March 10 The Braselton Town Council will consider a host of amendments to the town’s development code, as well as a pair of zoning requests, during multi ple public hearings set for Thursday (March 10), start ing at 4 p.m. The council will po tentially vote on all items during its March 14 (7 p.m.) meeting. Among the changes to consider is an amendment to the town's planned unit development (PUD) codes dealing with major and mi nor modifications to PUD proposals. But the Braselton Planning Commission, during its recent meeting, recommended clearer defi nitions of major and minor changes to PUD plans as the proposal moves to the coun cil. Other proposed code amendments call for new definitions for “automo tive service stations and gas stations” and “conve nience stores.” along with an amendment modifying the definition of the term “land use.” There’s also an amend ment proposal to create an “electronic sign” definition and another amendment proposal to prohibit elec tronic signs, except for spe cific uses at gas stations and charging stations. The council will con sider an amendment to the town’s general architectur al requirements, as well, to prohibit tube lights and strip lights but allow for string lights. Braselton’s planning commission recommended approval of all development code amendments in ad vance of Thursday’s hear ings. The town council, last month, passed a host of de velopment code changes. including an amendment prohibiting new gas stations, drive-through restaurants, car washes and auto service stations in the Hwy. 211 Overlay District. REZONING REQUESTS The council will also con sider two rezoning applica tions that gained the recom mendation of the planning board. The first is an annexation and rezoning request from VDC Development Group LLC for .084 acres on Thompson Mill Rd. (Gwin nett County Tax Parcel R3006-009A). The prop erty’s current zoning is O and I in Gwinnett County, but the applicant requests annexation and a rezoning to O-I (office-institutional). The applicant seeks to com bine this tract with adjacent incorporated property (5950 Thompson Mill Road) for a fire lane needed for an as sisted living and memory care facility under construc tion. The second rezoning re quest comes from Kevin Ringo for 0.85 acres owned by Bobbie L. Odom Kinney on 12510 Lewis Braselton Blvd. (Jackson County Tax Parcel B02 021C). The cur rent zoning of the property is R-l, but Ringo seeks an N-C (Neighborhood Commercial) zoning to use the property for an office. The planning board voted to recommend approval of this request with conditions attached by plan ning director Kevin Keller, one of which that stipulates that the property can only be used for a professional office to protect against other po tential uses for the property. The condition specifying the property operate only as a professional office space would stay with the property permanently, unless changed by a town council vote. Jackson Co. BOC Health care New Jackson Co. admin building could move forward soon Plans to build a new admin istration building for Jackson County government offices could begin moving forward later this month. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners is slated to vote March 21 on a proposal to hire Precision Planning to help create a design for a new facil ity at a cost of $76,000. The building is slated to be built on property across from the county courthouse on Jackson Parkway. The BOC heard about the plan at its March 8 work ses sion. In addition to the design phase, Precision Planning would also help the county se lect a Construction Manager at Risk to build the facility County administrative of fice are currently located in downtown Jefferson and house general county government officials (county manager, HR and payroll staff), the tax com missioner’s office, planning and zoning offices and other non-judicial agency officials. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at its March 8 meeting, the BOC: • appointed Chris Meadows of Hoschton to the Jackson County Planning Commis sion District 3 seat. Meadows had previously served on the Braselton Planning Commis sion and its Zoning Board of Appeals. He is owner of RTD Solutions, LLC. which pro vides software development services, including work for YearOne Muscle Cars in Bra selton. Meadows has lived in Jackson County for 17 years. Other applicants for the plan ning board seat were: Richard Mayberry, Gregg Griffin, Joe Vogt, Brodriche Jackson. Ja mie Mitchem and Gina McK inney. • reviewed a proposal to ex tend an agreement with &B Landfill through December 2022 to collect and dispose of waste from the Jackson Coun ty Transfer Station. The rate would increase to $39.19 per ton. • reviewed a bid from George Flanigan of $28,600 for a surplus piece of proper ty of .35 acres at Hwy. 53 and Lewis Braselton Pkwy. • reviewed an end-of-year budget resolution to amend the 2021 budget to reflect actual expenses in various categories as mandated by auditing stan dards. Health survey Area medical officials seek public input through online survey Northeast Georgia Medi cal Center (NGMC), District 2 Public Health. Stephens County Hospital. Habersham Medical Center and Good News Clinics are partnering together to better understand the health needs and issues that patients, families and neighbors throughout the northeast Georgia area face when making healthy life choices. The group seeks input through its latest Commu nity Health Needs Assess ment (CHNA) online survey. Conducted every three years, the CHNA helps provide a snapshot of the region’s latest health profile and healthcare barriers. This assessment is then used to help guide the focus and development of fu ture community benefit pro grams. The survey is available on line at www.nghs.com/com- munity-survey and will be open to anyone in the com munity until March 22. Responses are kept anon ymous with a composite re port. For those who want to be included (and are willing to provide their name and contact information), there will also be a drawing for a free one-year YMCA mem bership. For more information about the CHNA and to complete the survey, visitwww.nghs. com/community-survey. Sanders continued from 1A well as, the school system will philosophy, qualifications, or be an asset in helping our com- any other matter please contact munity move forward and face me at the email below. 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NGMC-Braselton earns Dual Center of Excellence accreditations Northeast Georgia Med ical Center (NGMC) in Braselton recently earned accreditation as a Center of Excellence in minimally invasive gynecology and robotic surgery from the Surgical Review Corpora tion (SRC), a patient-safety organization. “Earning this accredi tation for both minimal ly invasive gynecology and robotic surgery truly demonstrates our team’s commitment to improving the health of our communi ty in all we do, as well as our passion for excellence.” says Anthony Williamson, president of NGMC Bra selton. “I’m proud of the surgical program we have built and the level of ex pertise our surgeons and operating room staff offer our patients close to home. Healthcare organizations seeking accreditation by SRC undergo a site inspec tion and self-assessment. “This is an extensive process that includes phy sicians, nurses and ad ministrators who are all actively involved in the accredited program.” says Courtney Emory, nurse manager of Surgical Ser vices for NGMC Bra selton. “The inspection is consultative and education al, presenting best practic es to help us continue to improve the quality of care and services we provide.” In addition to the dual Center of Excellence des ignations. two NGMC nurses were recognized as Care Specialists for their expertise — Claire Nich ols, RN, in Minimally In vasive Gynecology, and Leslie Evan, RN, in Ro botic Surgery. While NGMC-Gaines- ville is recognized as a Center of Excellence in five areas (robotic surgery, hernia surgery, colorectal surgery, minimally inva sive surgery and minimal ly invasive gynecology), these are the first Center of Excellence accreditations for NGMC’s Braselton campus. To learn more about surgery at NGMC, visit nghs.com/surgery. For more information about SRC and the accred itation process, visit surgi- calreview.org. Bridge continued from 1A town’s roads capital project budget. One lane of traffic will always remain open during repairs, and both lanes will re-open at the end of each day when crews finish. The bridge was construct ed by York Bridge Concepts, one of the most respected builders of wooden bridg es in the U.S., according to Scott. The town also consult ed with York when planning the repair project. “When it’s done, it will actually be better than when it was built because we’re having it built to current stan dards,” Scott said. The project, which had been delayed due to material shortages, is not expected to take longer than three weeks. Police continued from 1A forward with citations once a computer system and soft ware are installed at the sta tion. “As soon as we get the computers in here, we should be good to go,” he said. The chief also cleared up a misconception. “There’s a myth out there that I can’t arrest people.” Hill said. “Well, that’s false. I’m a sworn officer, and I go before the magistrate just like any other sworn officer, and I can take a warrant on them. Any time somebody breaks a state law, they can go to jail.” Hill said he has not been faced with that yet. “We have not — thank goodness,” Hill said. Hoschton went without a police force for 11 years before reinstating the de partment in 2021 and hiring Hill in July. Hill foresees big strides for his force over the next few months. “I definitely want to have at least one full-time officer and at least a couple of part-time officers and then, of course, have all of our court sys tem set up, the clerk running good,” Hill said. “I think we should be fully functioning by summer, early fall. We should be fully rolling.” While Hill said start-up of the department has taken longer than anticipated, he believes the wait will be “well worth it.” “I think the citizens will be pleased with it,” he said. “They already are pleased with me out patrolling. They like us going through the neighborhoods and checking on everybody’s houses during the day. So, it will be good.” Study continued from 1A “A bypass is never go ing to be built if they don’t determine where it’s going to go and then protect the route,” she said. “I think it’s always important to look at where the vehicles are going to go in the fu ture.” “Obviously, I don’t imagine anything will be built for quite some time,” Scott added, “but at least then we would know where it was planned to go.” Hoschton city manager Joe Hayes considers the $1 million investment from the DOT a positive sign. “I would think if the DOT is planning on put ting money in it, then it has legs,” he said. A bypass of Braselton and Hoschton has been a topic of discussion for years. Roy noted committee meetings 18 years ago be tween county leaders and Braselton and Hoschton officials to map out a po tential bypass route. But she said the idea was shelved and develop ments sprang up in those areas in the years that followed. “So, this just kind of got brought up again and needed to have some at tention,” Roy said. If a project were ap proved, the start of con- SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY Applications & Appeals We Do All The Hard Work! Hynes & Associates LLC Disability Advocates Call 678-935-3923 • SSIHelp.org struction would likely be years away. Roy noted that the Hwy. 129 bypass around Jeffer son took around a decade to complete from planning to construction. “I hope that this would not take that long for some of the smaller puzzle piec es to come together,” she said. 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