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Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Vol. 16 No. 13 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 12 pages
Panther perseverance
Faith brings Jackson County's Shea Zwemke through two back to
back injuries
PAGE 10A
Winner on the track
A Flowery Branch student picked up a win in the
Alabama #200 over the weekend
PAGE12A
Pickleball time
Photo by Ben Munro
Cassy Moore (right) returns a shot alongside pickleball teammate Donna Matra during the Peach
Open Saturday (March 4) at Cresswind in Hoschton. Moore and Matra defeated a pair of Clemson
students in this match.
Photo by Ben Munro
The Braselton Library, which has been closed since late De
cember due to water damage, reopened on Tuesday.
Braselton
Braselton Library reopens
after late-December closure
NGMC-GAINESVILLE
NGMC recognized for
cancer treatment
PAGE 3A
INDEX
News
1-3A
Opinion
4A
Public safety
5A
Social
6A
School
7A
Obituaries
8A-9A
Sports
10A-12A
Classifieds
11A
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
After an unexpected hiatus of
over two months, the Braselton
Library reopened its doors Tues
day (March 7).
The facility has been closed since
late December due to water damage
sustained when a pipe blew out of
its fitting, resulting in a significant
amount of water in the main portion of
the library.
See Library, page 2A
Districting
Hoschton to submit
modified council district
plan to state legislature
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The City of Hoschton will
move forward with plans to di
vide the town into city council
districts, albeit with a different
proposal than previously pre
sented.
Hoschton leaders look to split
the city into two voting districts
with two councilmembers elect
ed per district (they must reside
within their respective district)
and two other councilmembers
elected at-large. Hoschton cur
rently uses an at-large election
format exclusively that doesn’t
require geographical disburse
ment of its council members.
Under this new plan, District
1 would cover the far western
portion of the city and part of the
northern end. District 2 would
cover much of the southern and
central portions, all of the east
ern segment, and a portion of the
northern end.
The state’s general assembly
executive office drew the pro
posed city council districts based
on population density using data
from the 2020 census.
Hoschton leaders will now
send this plan to the state leg
islature for approval. The city,
via a public notice, announced
the introduction of a bill for this
year’s regular session of the state
general assembly to create a new
charter for Hoschton to allow for
city council districts.
The pursuit of council districts
comes as the southern portion of
the city, with the large Cresswind
and Twin Lakes subdivisions, is
projected to grow by 7,000 resi
dents before 2030.
Councilmember Tracy Car-
See Districting, page 3A
Draft- Hoschton City Council Districts- 2 district plan
Courtesy of the City of Hoschton
Here are the proposed Hoschton City Council districts as
drawn by the state’s general assembly executive office.
District 1 is shaded in blue. District 2 is shaded in pink.
MAILING LABEL
Restoration
Braselton seeking
bids for historic
mill renovation
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
The Town of Braselton
will pursue bids for a proj
ect that would bring one of
its most historic buildings
back to life.
The Braselton Visitors
Bureau Authority (BVBA)
sent a March 1 request for
bids from contractors to re
store and expand the histor
ic Grist Mill on Frances St.
The mill, built in the early
1900s, closed in the 1960s.
The project would ren
ovate a 1.150-square-foot
portion of the existing mill
for office space with a new
exterior steel staircase and
add a 3,854-square-foot
addition west of the exist
ing building. This addition
would include office space,
a lobby, restrooms and
stairs.
Bids are due March 31 at
11 a.m. If the town council
approves one of the bids,
work could possibly begin
late by late spring or early
summer. The estimated cost
See Mill, page 3A
Photo by Ben Munro
The Braselton Visitor’s Bureau Authority
sent out bid requests on March 1 to reno
vate and expand the town’s historic grist
mill.
