Newspaper Page Text
The Braselton News
Page 3A
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
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o
South Hall
Seven-acre South
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Hall County leaders gave
final approval to a proposed
seven-acre office park in
South Hall on Winder Hwy.
The Hall County Board
of Commissioners on May
25 voted 5-0 in favor of
applicant Maroun Aoun’s
request to amend the con
ditions of a planned office
development to allow for a
development of mixed of
fices at 4240 Winder Hwy.
near the intersection with
Martin Rd.
While initial plans call
for using two buildings,
totaling 2.700 square feet,
Hail office park approved by BOC
as office space, the project
could grow into more. Ac
cording to planning doc
uments, expansion plans
include the redevelopment
of the western portion of
the property, including two
existing structures total
ing 20,400 square feet, for
more office space.
The Hall County Plan
ning Commission recom
mended approval of Aoun's
request over a month ago.
Six conditions were in
cluded in the recommen
dation. The planning board
also modified a condition
to require the 50-foot un
disturbed buffer at the rear
property line.
A revised site plan sub
mitted to the BOC did not
include the required 50-
foot buffer but a represen
tative for Aoun said he had
“absolutely no problem”
with including the buffer.
The BOC’s approval in
cluded the six proposed
conditions with the stipula
tion that the 50-foot buffer
must appear on an updated
site plan.
This is the second plan
to be proposed for this site,
which was initially ap
proved as a daycare center
in 2021 before the property
user backed out of the deal.
Health care
Northeast Georgia Medical Center credited with contributing
more than $4.2 billion to local and state economy in 2021
Northeast Georgia Medical
Center (NGMC) had a finan
cial impact of an estimated
$4.2 billion on the local com
munity and state economy,
according to a recent report by
the Georgia Hospital Associa
tion (GHA).
The report found that, in
2021, NGMC generated
$4,274,218,473 in revenue for
the local and state economy:
provided more than $70 mil
lion in total estimated charity
care; and sustained nearly
15.000 full-time jobs through
out the region and state - in
addition to more than 9,000
people directly employed by
Northeast Georgia Health
System (NGHS). The more
than $70 million in total esti
mated charity care, which pro
vides financial assistance to
people who meet certain cri
teria and cannot afford to pay
all or portions of their medical
bills, doesn’t include unpaid
bills that are written off or
nearly $12 million NGMC
provided in community out
reach such as free screenings
and health education.
The report revealed that, in
2021, NGMC had direct ex
penditures of more than $1.8
billion. When combined with
an economic multiplier devel
oped by the United States De
partment of Commerce’s Bu
reau of Economic Analysis,
the total economic impact of
those expenditures was more
than $4.2 billion. This output
multiplier considers the “rip
ple” effect of direct hospital
expenditures on other sectors
of the economy such as med
ical supplies, durable medical
equipment and pharmaceu
ticals. Economic multipliers
South Hall
Construction begins for South Hall Fire station
A groundbreaking cere
mony was held May 23 as
construction on the new Hall
County Fire Station 17 official
ly began.
The new facility will be lo
cated at 5711 and 5719 Hol
iday Rd. in Buford, approxi
mately four miles from Lake
Lanier Islands.
“This new station will help
us to meet the needs of the
ever-growing South Hall area,
allowing for faster response
times for nearby citizens ex
periencing an emergency,
when precious seconds mat
ter,” said Hall County District
2 Commissioner Billy Powell
in a press release, ‘This station
will primarily serve an area
between the Gwinnett County
line and Hall County Fire Sta
tion 8 on Gaines Ferry Road,
allowing for a greater presence
of emergency personnel in this
growing area.”
The station is an integral
piece of the Hall County Fire
Rescue Master Plan, which
outlines the ways Hall Coun
ty can strategically manage its
public safety resources as the
County sees continued growth.
“This station will be
equipped with the latest tech
nology and equipment to en
sure that the men and women
of Hall County Fire Rescue can
serve the citizens to the best of
their abilities,” said Chris Arm
strong, Hall County Fire Chief.
“I’d like to thank the citizens of
Hall County and the Board of
Commissioners for their con
tinued support of Hall County
Fire Rescue and the great work
done in our community by our
men and women in uniform.”
Construction for the new sta
tion is expected to be complete
in March 2024, weather per
mitting. Funding for the $6.3
million project comes from
SPLOST vn. SPLOST VIII,
Impact Fees and the Capital
Projects Fund.
Photo: NGHS
A recent report by the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) revealed that Northeast Georgia Medical Center generated $4,274,218,473
for the local and state economy in 2021.
are used to model the impact
of a change in one industry on
the “circular flow” of spend
ing within an economy as a
whole.
“Even during the height
of the COVID-19 pandemic,
NGHS remained focused on
our mission of improving the
health of our community in
all we do.” said Carol Bur
rell, president and CEO of
NGHS. “We recognized the
need to keep our expansion
projects - like the new cam
pus in Lumpkin County, new
medical office buildings, the
new tower in Gainesville and
the acquisition of Habersham
Medical Center - on track to
support the healthcare needs
of communities across north
east Georgia. It’s a pleasant
surprise to look up from all
that work and see how that
focus creates ripples, strength
ening our local economy.”
This report does not include
the addition of Habersham
Medical Center, as the hospi
tal is not yet a part of NGMC.
The latest report from the
Georgia Hospital Association
estimates Habersham Med
ical Center’s local and state
economic impact at $117
million. Habersham Medical
Center (HMC) will officially
join Northeast Georgia Health
System (NGHS) on July 1.
2023. The figures in the GHA
study also only reflect the eco
nomic impact of hospital ex
penditures and do not include
the impact of other services,
such as physician offices and
long-term care facilities, pro
vided by NGHS.
Kpnnnhp/'l'iii/i hpn
Carrington Kelso
Reconnecting people £ food.
Artists continued from 1A
(designs) on either side. We
were thinking of something
more cohesive. So just time
to change it.”
The town isn’t seeking
any specific themes for the
space, originally painted in
2017.
“We feel like we’ve got
ten our best submissions
when we just kind of leave
it open, so that’s what we’re
doing —just leaving it open
for designs,” Payne said.
“Then we’ll go through the
submissions and see what
kind of fits then.”
The town will pay the
artist $750 upon project
completion but they must
provide their paint, supplies
and transportation.
Design applications are
due by June 17, with artist
selection on June 30. The
work must be completed be
tween July 12-31.
Candidates are asked to
submit a brief description of
the imagery and meaning of
their concept, along with a
full-color rendering of their
design.
To submit designs or seek
more information, contact
Payne at jpayne@braselton.
net. Designs can also be
mailed to PO. Box 306.
Braselton, 30517.
PARKING DECK
MURAL ADDITION
The DDA continues to re
view designs to extend the
existing parking deck mural
to the second floor. Payne
said the addition would
mimic the color and geo
metric theme used for the
first-floor mural. The DDA
hopes to have a mural on
each floor if funds allow.
Weekly Markets Fridays, 4-7 PM
May-September Braselton Town Green
June Musicians
June 2: Wade Newbury
June 9: Kelly Catlin
June 16: Corinne Wilkinson
June 23: Carrington Kelso
June 30: New Horizons
Concert Band
EXPLORE
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Dig in at ExploreBraselton.com/farmers-market