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Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy Wednesday, August 23, 2023 Vol. 16 No. 37 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 12 pages Teen driving summit ahead A summit promoting safe driving for teens is scheduled for Aug. 30 in South Hail at Cherokee Bluff High School PAGE3A Panthers open with win, face Duluth Fri. The Jackson County Panthers, whose defense smoothered Dawson County in a 16-0 win in Coach Korey Mobbs debut last week, will face Duluth on the road this Friday PAGE7A Braselton Extended-stay hotel proposed in Braselton near I-85 By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com A developer is proposing an extended-stay Hilton hotel in Braselton abutting 1-85 behind Cracker Barrel on Hwy. 53. Applicant JVBraselton Hospitality, LLC, will pres ent its plan at an Aug. 28 (6 p.m.) public hearing be fore the Braselton Planning Commission and again on Sept. 7 (4:30 p.m.) before the Braselton Town Coun cil. JVBraselton seeks condi tional use approval for the proposed 102,000-square- foot hotel, which would be constructed on a 4.24-acre lot zoned general commer cial in the Hwy. 53 overlay COMING UP •Public hearing, Aug. 28,6 p.m, Braselton Planning Comission district. According to planning documents, plans for the four-story, 147-room ho tel will combine Home 2 Suites by Hilton units and TRU Hotel by Hilton units. Sixty-seven rooms will be designated for the “TRU” portion of the development, while 80 rooms will be ded icated for Home 2 Suites. The hotel would be ac cessed by a new drive aisle that extends to Exchange Way, behind the RaceTrac gas station. There will be no direct access to 1-85 or Hwy. 53. Shown is a sketch of a Hilton extended stay hotel proposed for a lot behind Cracker Barrel on Hwy. 53 abutting 1-85. Subscribe to The Braselton News Purchase a year’s subscrip- and e-edition access. The cost tion to The Braselton News is $30 for those 55-and-older. — 52 issues—for $35 a year. Subscribe at mainstreet- The price includes website news.com. INSIDE INDEX News,,, 1A-3A Opinion ,„ 4A Public safety... 5A Social 6A Sports,,, 7AJ2A Obituaries... 8A.9A Panther volleyball team improves Q a55 jf e[ j5 ]]/\ to 10-0 PAGE7A A grand entrance Photo by Ben Munro Skydiver Bruce Meinert parachuted into Panther Stadium on Friday (Aug. 18) as part of the pregame festivities for Jackson County High School’s football season opener against Dawson County. The Panthers won 16-0. See sports coverage on Pages 7Aand 12A. Hoschton Decision on Hoschton development tabled A decision on a contentious annexation and rezoning is sue in Hoschton will wait an other month. Hie Hoschton City Coun cil, on Monday (Aug. 21), tabled its vote on a proposed 334-home development and a related annexation request until September. “This is one of the tilings that's been on everybody’s mind, and what we’ve agreed to do at this time — because of some tilings are still out there that are not quite what we’re liking as a council and a mayor — is to table this to the next meeting,” acting Hoschton Mayor James I ,aw- son said. Fonner Mayor Shannon Sell seeks the annexation of approximately 33 acres into Hoschton and a planned unit development zoning for a Photo by Mike Buffington Janet Davis speaks against a proposed 334-home development in Hoschton during the Hoschton City Council’s Aug. 17 work session. proposed 110-acre gated de velopment of single-family residences and townhomes. The development would front Pendergrass and E.G. Barnett roads, East Jefferson St. and West Jackson Rd. Sell had previously part nered with Providence Group on this proposal, but the com pany recently backed out of the deal. The council held public hearings in May and June — one more public hear ing than required - over the rezoning and annexation requests but took no action. Although the city council didn’t hold a public hearing See Development, page 3A MAILING LABEL Qualifying Martin announces candidacy for Hoschton mayor’s race, resignation from council seat By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnnews. com Two days before the start of qualifying, the first candidate emerged for Hoschton’s may- oral seat. Councilmember Debbie Martin announced at the end of Monday’s (Aug. 21) city council meeting that she’s seeking die post vacated in July by Lauren O’Leary. Per state law, Martin must resign her city council seat once she qualifies for die mayor’s race. “It’s been a very hard de cision for me,” she said of re signing her council spot. Qualifying begins today (Wednesday, Aug. 23) for Hoschton’s November races. Martin, a Cresswind resi- Debbie Martin dent, has served on the coun cil since winning a November 2022 special election for the vacant seat of former coun cilmember Shantwon Astin. Martin recommended that former city council candidate Christina Brown be appoint ed to her city council post to serve die remainder of her term. Brown ran against Mar tin and Tammpy Sweat in the November 2022 special elec tion. HOSCHTON QUALIFYING Hie City of Hoschton’s qualifying wid run from Aug. 23-25 from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. at Hoschton City Hall. Hie mayor’s seat and five council seats wid be on die ballot. Hie city is holding reg ular elections for diree council seats whose terms expire in 2024. Up for grabs in diose races are die seats of Tracy Carswed, who said he won’t seek re-election; Martin; and the former seat of Adam Led better, who stepped down in February. Meanwhile, Hoschton’s special elections wid fill die seats of mayor and former councilman Scott Mims, who stepped down in March. Qualifying fees are $360 for mayor and $180 for die council seats. BRASELTON QUALIFYING Hie Town of Braselton’s qualifying wid mn from Aug. 23-25 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Braselton Town Had. On the ballot are the seats in Braselton Town Council District 1 (currently held by Becky Richardson) and Dis trict 3 (currently held by Jim Joedecke Jr.). Qualifying fees are $180.