Newspaper Page Text
Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Vol. 15 No. 15 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 12 pages
Goal!
Photo by Ben Munro
Members of the Jackson County High School girls’ soccer team celebrate Friday night after a goal
from Kassidy Gross (No. 13) in the Panthers’ 4-1 region win over Clarke Central. See story on 8A.
INSIDE
See the
spring edition
of Braselton
TODAY
Braselton
Riverwalk to close for
at least 18 months as
Mulberry project begins
By Ben Munro
Braselton’s Mulberry Riverwalk trail
has closed to accommodate the town's
Mulberry River streambank project and
will remain closed for a year-and-a-half to
two years.
The trail was off limits to the public
starting on Monday (March 21).
“It's going to be even better when we’re
done.” town manager Jennifer Scott said
of the trail’s projected hiatus.
The near-$2.3 million Mulberry project
will restore and stabilize a one-mile por
tion of the riverbank, as well as improve
the riverwalk trail, following years of ero
sion that put the town's water and sewer
infrastructure and wells in that area at risk.
The erosion has also eaten away sections
of the walking trail where it ran close to
the river’s edge.
Following completion of the river sta-
See Riverwalk, page 3A
Braselton’s Riverwalk will be
closed to accommodate a proj
ect to restore a section of Mul
berry River bank.
Hoschton
Townhome development
approved in Hoschton
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Hoschton will add over 100
more townhomes following a
rezoning approval.
The city council on Monday
(March 21) granted a multi
ple family residential district
zoning for 22.13 acres on the
northside of Josh Pirkle Rd.,
west of Panther Ct., for a pro
posed 108-unit townhome de
velopment.
The property was previously
zoned light industrial.
The approval came with an
added condition that the City
of Hoschton provide water to
the development. The city has
applied to the Town of Bra
selton for sewer service for the
development.
Other conditions require a
one-vehicle garage and a min
imum of 1,800 square feet of
heated floorspace. Vinyl siding
will not be allowed.
The rezoning passed 5-1
with Mayor Lauren O’Leary
voting in opposition.
O’Leary said this addition
would increase Hoschton to
approximately 700 approved
townhomes, further necessitat
ing the need for an additional
police offer — a salary that
could not be covered through
impact fees owed to the city for
the development.
“So that would come out of
our pocket — or the citizens'
See Townhomes, page 3A
Hoschton councilman’s
resignation accepted after
moving out of city limits
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The Hoschton City Coun
cil has accepted the resigna
tion of councilman Shant-
won Astin, who moved out
of the city limits according
to councilman Adam Led
better.
The council accepted
Astin's resignation at its
Monday (March 21) voting
session.
Astin did not attend the
meeting.
“He basically doesn't
live in the city anymore,”
Ledbetter told the council,
“and he did, correctly, what
someone should do when
they leave the city, which is
resign.”
The city is in contact with
the board of elections to de
termine a special election
date to fill Astin's council
seat.
With Astin’s departure,
the council now has six
members. Hoschton ex
panded to seven-member
council at the start of 2022
with the addition of two
seats.
Resident says original
Hosch plantation site, slave
cemetery possibly found
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
A Hoschton resident said de
velopers may have uncovered
some substantial local history.
Addressing the Hoschton
City Council Monday (March
21), Ross Billingsley, who
lives in Hoschton's Cress-
wind development, said Kolter
Homes — which is developing
both the Cresswind and Twin
Lakes subdivisions on the
south end of town — exposed
two historic home sites while
clearing more land.
“We think that they may be
the two original Hosch planta
tion sites.” Billingsley said.
The Hosch family, for which
Hoschton is named, founded
the city over 140 years ago.
Billingsley said Kolter al
ready has plans to save a his
toric cemetery site on the prop
erty. He said the site has been
scanned, revealing “numer
ous graves.” Given that these
graves were found on land
that was once an antebellum
plantation, Billingsley said the
site “very well could be a slave
See History, page 3A
MAILING LABEL
O
Hoschton
Hoschton DDA mulling use of park space
Photo by Ben Munro
Hoschton downtown leaders are considering
how best to use an approximate three-acre tract
fronting East Broad St., Oak St., New St. and Hwy.
332.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The Hoschton Downtown
Development Authority (DDA)
is still considering how to best
utilize a downtown green space.
Downtown leaders originally
intended to use the three-acre
tract — located on a block be
tween New St., Oak St., East
Broad St. and Hwy. 332 — for
a community garden but are
now pondering other uses af
ter meeting with a professional
landscaper.
According to DDA member
Marsha Hunter, a landscaper
will present 20 different options
and ask the DDA to choose its
top 5.
Possibilities discussed in
cluded “casual park” options
— a park with a pavilion and
grills or a park with a small pic
nic area and a children’s park. A
dog park has been considered,
too, though city clerk Jennifer
Kidd-Harrison said residents
with adjoining property have
been against the idea due to po
tential noise.
Kidd-Harrison suggested the
DDA host a meeting with the
adjoining property owners to
discuss potential uses for the
land and gather their input.
Hunter said parking and
handling draining issues are
two of the biggest expenses re
garding the property. The city
has already made electricity
available property, according
to Kidd-Harrison, who said the
city had once planned to install
a pavilion there.
Any project on the three-acre
lot likely wouldn’t start until
next year.
The area had been designat
ed for a community garden but
Hunter said the space wasn’t
conducive for one.
“The property over there that
we had been considering is real
ly not a place to grow anything,”
Hunter said during a March 14
DDA meeting.
Hunter suggested locating the
community garden on a sepa
rate seven-acre tract of green
space within the city. She said
the DDA isn’t ready yet to ap
ply for grant funding for the
community garden project.
“We just have to be very de-
See Park, page 3A
