About The Braselton news. (Jefferson, Ga) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2023)
O O The Braselton News Page 3A Wednesday, February 22, 2023 Downtown planning Braselton residents’ downtown wishlist: high-end retail, connectivity Photo by Ben Munro Elliott Cook of Downtown Strategies addresses those who gathered for a Feb. 9 input meeting to discuss the future of downtown Braselton. By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews. com Braselton residents want high-end retail downtown — and more sidewalks to get there. Those were among the most-mentioned additions to the downtown district residents hope to see in the next five years when asked during a Feb. 9 input meeting. The Town of Braselton, in conjunction with Downtown Strategies out of Birmingham, hosted the hour-and-a-half meeting at the Braselton Civic Center as the town begins work on its five-year downtown plan. Braselton recently fin ished implementing a 20-year downtown plan. Local business owner Larry Monroe was among those in terested in high-end retail for downtown. “I would want downtown Braselton to be a destination,” Monroe said at the meeting. “I want people from Duluth, I want people from Cornelia, I want people from Gainesville, I want people from Athens to come here to go shopping, to eat and for entertainment.” As for connectivity, resi dents said they want to reach and navigate downtown more safely by foot or bike, noting the dangers of walking along Hwy. 53. “That's what I want to see is the walkability,” one woman said. Similarly, residents asked for golf cart paths leading to downtown to increase connec tivity. More high-end housing — be it single-family homes or townhomes — around down town was also mentioned. “If there were something available in Braselton — a townhouse of sorts or a car riage house — then we would gladly purchase one,” said Braselton business owner Jack Ansley. Ansley added that if down town offered more residences, “that’s where your real walk- ability comes from,” he said. Other downtown desires in cluded more child-friendly at tractions, more outdoor events and an expanded park. A push to bring a charter school down town to the old West Jackson Primary School building to al low a closer school option was also mentioned (A national charter school organization has made a lease proposal to the town). Residents mentioned mul tiple times the need to move truck traffic off of Hwy. 53, a state route that runs through downtown. But a town bypass — which has been discussed for years — is in the hands of the DOT, which controls Hwy. 53. The DOT is conducting a feasibility study of a bypass of Braselton and Hoschton. Downtown Strategies pre sented its own list of options for downtown based on a study of the businesses that residents leave the town to frequent. That list included stores for clothing, general merchandise, sporting goods, book, hobby supplies, shoes, electronic devices and home furnishings, as well as limit ed-service eating places and full-service restaurants. “There are proven numbers here to show that there is the opportunity for those types of businesses,” said Elliott Cook of Downtown Strategies. The gathering of public input, part of the five-year planning process, will contin ue. An online survey remains open and is available at www. surveymonkey.com/r/Down- townBraseltonGA. Hoschton Hoschton DDA adds new member The Hoschton Down town Development Author ity (DDA) has added a new member, welcoming Mariya Bentz to what's currently a five-member board. Bentz, who has worked with the DDA in helping co ordinate the city’s framers market, was sworn in Mon day (Friday). She joins as other mem bers have recently moved off the board. Shawn Mana- her resigned in October, followed by Jeff Parkinson in December and Shawn Adams in January. Former councilman Adam Ledbet ter was nominated to join in February but resigned his positions with the city be fore being sworn in on the DDA. In other business conduct ed Monday, the DDA: •approved small changes to its by-laws to bring them up-to-date. •heard from member Mar sha Hunter that the board continues to seek historical mural designs and quotes for the north and south ends of City Square. •heard an update about its multipurpose path grant which will help fund a path along the city hall side of Hwy. 53. It will run from the border with Braselton to Twin Lakes. Project plan ning has already started. Federal grant money will pay for $576,000 of the cost with a local match from the city of 20% ($144,000). •briefly discussed the city’s history harvest on March 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The city, in coopera tion with the DDA and the Hoschton Historic Preserva tion Committee will collect photos, documents and ar tifact’s from the city’s past. Those donating items are asked to schedule a 30-min ute time slot to do so. •heard from Bentz that preliminary planning for beautification of City Square has started. Potential land scaping of the city’s green space next to the gazebo has been discussed. Bentz said she’s also seeking volun teers for beautification days. She said she hopes to secure sponsors for each section of the City Square beautifi cation process. Bentz proj ects to start work during the spring or summer. •announced city event updates for year: Egg-Strav- aganza, April 8; Farmers Market preview day, April 29: Spring Festival (May 20), Fall Festival (Oct. 6-8), Truck or Treat (Oct. 27) and Jingle Mingle (Dec. 1). •announced that its re treat is Feb. 28 at 9 a.m. at the LaQuinta on Hwy. 53 in Braselton. The six-hour meeting is open to the pub lic. Downtown Braselton Braselton DDA looking at repainting planters on Frances St. The planters featured on Frances St. in Braselton will receive an update, Braselton Downtown De velopment Authority (DDA) Member Cheri Winham Huff told the board during its Feb. 9 meeting that the design com mittee is looking to repaint the planters and will put out a call to artists for the project. “We’ll kind of figure out what type of design we'd like for that.” she said. Installing and maintain ing more planters throughout downtown was also men tioned. “A lot of the downtowns that we love, that we kind of like to model after, have extensive planters,” Huff said. In other business, the DDA: •announced it will hold downtown cleanup days April 29 and Nov. 4. •announced that the sec ond-annual ArtRageous Fes tival is scheduled for Sept. 9. The DDA will potentially hold the event both in the civic cen ter and on the town green. •heard that several residents have signed up for volunteer orientation as the town begins its volunteer program. •heard that 250 people at tended the town’s Feb. 5 Choc olate Walk. Fifteen businesses participated. •continues to seek sponsors and silent auction items for its May 4 Toast to Braselton fund raiser. •announced that the town's farmers market with open Feb. 17. The market will be situated closer to the town green and Braselton Appointments to Braselton boards and commissions made The Braselton Town Coun cil made appointments to multiple boards and commis sions during its Feb. 13 voting session. It voted unanimously to place Robert Woolridge, Caryn McGarity and Jon Wayne on the visitor’s bureau authority and Indria Bashley, Spencer Thomas and Keith Howell on the urban redevel opment authority. Appointments to the Bra selton Downtown Develop ment Authority are on hold as the council tabled its decision for a second-straight month. Meanwhile, positions re quiring only a council mem ber appointment and no vote included: •planning commission — Tom Logan (at-large), Stephanie Braselton Williams (District 1), Shawn Grein er (District 2), Marc Carson (District 3) and Keith Kloiber FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Brenau University Learning & Leisure Institute 2022-2023 Remote Lecture Series Presents Living with Faith and a Dixie Mafia Hitman 7 P.M. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023 Phil Hudgins Ruby Nell Birt, from the time she was just shy of 12 years old, until 1986, was married to Billy Sunday Birt, a gangster from Winder, Georgia, who is believed to have murdered more than 50 people. Ruby Nell kept herself and her five children clothed and fed, sometimes working five jobs, after her husband went to prison for the last time in 1974. Phil Hudgins, who worked more than half a century in the newspaper business, shares the riveting story of Ruby Nell and her life with Billy Sunday Birt. Pi Brenau UNIVERSITY Learning & Leisure Institute Register at brenau.edu/dixie-mafia to receive the Zoom link for this program. INFORMATION: Heather Brand I hbrand@brenau.edu I 770.531.3175 (District 4). 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