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BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
Rezoning request for solar farm approved
By Scott Thompson
News-Journal Reporter
After a couple of attempts, an applicant
requesting to rezone property in Winder
for a solar farm finally gained approval
from the Barrow County Board of Com
missioners on Tuesday.
The commission approved 4-0 — with
commissioners Joe Goodman and Kenny
Shook absent — to OK the request by
Cedar Creek Corners, LLC, to rezone 25
acres of vacant land near the corner of
Cedar Creek and Rockwell Church Road.
The solar panels will cover 731,000
square feet and 17 acres of the rezoned
property and will be used to transmit
power to Jackson EMC for eventual use by
Barrow County residents.
The approval included conditions rec
ommended by the county planning com
mission and staff. They included:
•A 10-foot landscape buffer of two rows
of Leyland Cypress trees will be installed
along all residential use properties.
•The solar array will not be taller than
10 feet.
•The array will be fenced in with an
eight-foot-tall fence and privacy panels.
•The rezoned property will include 50
feett of road frontage along Rockwell
Church Road.
•A decommissioning agreement,
approved by the county attorney and staff,
will be required prior to any building per
mits being issued for the property.
The site was initially intended for a
residential development that never mate
rialized.
The rezoning request initially came
before the commission on Aug. 9. but
commissioners failed to take action over
concerns that a solar farm would not be
consistent with the county's future land
use map. The request appeared before the
commission again on Aug. 23, but a vote
was tabled because the proposed site plan
at the time lacked adequate frontage road
space to allow for a rezoning, according to
county attorney Angela Davis.
Hearing set for controversial apartments
By Alex Pace
Neivs-Journal Reporter
A rescheduled public hearing on a con
troversial plan to add an apartment commu
nity in Braselton is approaching.
The Braselton Planning Commission will
consider a zoning change for 28 acres off
Hwy. 211 to include a 367-unit multi-fam
ily community. The town council will hold
a public hearing on the item Nov. 10, with
a possible vote on Nov. 14.
Wilwat Properties is requesting rezoning
a portion of a large planned development
behind Publix on Hwy. 211. The property
was originally slated to be fully commer
cial.
The group wants to develop a 367-unit
garden style multi-family community “to
fill the void of apartment units in the town.”
The average size of the units would be
between 960-965 square feet.
Most units would have either one or two
bedrooms. Approximately 3 percent would
have three bedrooms.
The development would also have sev
eral amenities, including a gated entrance,
swimming pool, dog park, bocce ball court,
“valet” waste service and indoor exercise
units.
The rezoning was initially scheduled
for the planning commission’s September
meeting. But the request apparently caused
some concern by residents in the area and
Wilwat asked it to be delayed.
“This deferment will allow us to properly
address any and all concerns from resi
dents, town officials and planning commis
sioners regarding this project,” Wilwat vice
president Lee Freeman wrote in a letter to
the town.
In an e-mail apparently sent to residents
opposing the Thompson Mill Road aban
donment (see related story), mayor Bill
Orr said the apartment complex is anoth
er “very important” item that “deserves
focused input from the community.
“Specifically, I am referring to a pro
posed apartment complex across from Cha
teau Elan Resort Gates,” he wrote. “I have
my own thoughts on this based on reports
that I have received but would like to hear
from our citizens on the planned high den
sity facility.”
Orr outlined his considerations and
thoughts on the issue. They include:
•Traffic impacts.
•Could it damage the resort atmosphere
that draws tax dollars from all over the
world and funds a large portion of the town
budget?
•Will the owners invest in Braselton not
only dollars but time and energy toward
making Braselton better as the Northeast
Georgia Hospital Braselton, Chateau Elan,
Mayfield Dairy and many merchants with
businesses here do?
WAREHOUSE REQUEST
Another warehouse may soon be con
structed in Braselton. CHI/Acquisitions,
LLC, is requesting annexation and rezon
ing 31.7 acres of property owned by Jack-
son Office Park, LLC.
The group plans to develop the property
to site a 483,000 square foot industrial
building.
The planning commission will consider
on Oct. 24 rezoning the property from
Jackson County’s General Industrial to the
Town of Braselton’s Manufacturing-Distri
bution. The town council will decide on the
annexation and rezoning.
Braselton Antique and Artisan Festival set
The Braselton Antique and Artisan Fes
tival is set for Oct. 21-23.
There will be over 150 vendors lin
ing the streets of Braselton for the 13th
semi-annual festival.
Vendors will have vintage items,
antiques, repurposed, farmhouse, collect
ibles, handmade, old junk, architectural
salvage, boutique, local artwork, home
decor, rustic pieces and more.
There will also be 13 food trucks at the
event.
Parking is free and a shuttle service is
available. Admission is free to the event
and no tickets are required.
There will also be live music.
The festival will be held in downtown
Braselton.
For more information, call 706-824-
7204.
Memorial planned for AHS student
A memorial service for
Apalachee High School
student Benjamin Kall-
strom, 15, will be Satur
day, Oct. 22, at River Hills
Church with Pastor Chip
Wheeler officiating.
AHS is planning to have
support for all students,
faculty and staff the week
school resumes after fall
break. In addition, support
will be specifically avail
able for classmates shared
by the AHS student, school
officials said.
Kallstrom was preceded
in death by his parents,
Paul Robert and Kristina
Grace Marshall Kallstrom.
He was active in The
Drama and The Interna
tional Clubs. He enjoyed
acting and was about to be
inducted into the Thespian
Society.
Kallstrom was dedicated
to his school work and it
reflected in his academic
achievements. AHS offi
cials said.
See Kallstrom’s com
plete obituary on page 15 A
in today’s edition.
THE BARROW COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY
INVITES THE PUBLIC TO ATTEND
Monday, OCTOBER 17, 2016 at 7:30 pm
Winder Woman’s Club • 15 W. Midland Ave.
FORMER U.S. REP. JACK KINGSTON
DEE TOLIVER, COME ALIVE MINISTRIES
CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS NOW OPEN
20 N. Broad St., Winder, GA 30680
www.barrowgop.org
PUBLIX MYSTERY COUPON
See What 1$ Gets!
Bring this coupon to Publix on October 12, 2016, and find out what
one penny gets you! Good with your purchase of $10 or more.
Limit one coupon per household per day. Excluding all alcohol,
tobacco, lottery items, money services, postage stamps, gift cards,
and prescriptions. Customer is responsible for all applicable taxes.
Reproduction or transfer of this coupon is strictly prohibited.
Effective October 12, 2016 at participating stores in Ga., Ala., and Tenn.
BROWN RECEIVES CERTIFICATION
Auburn City Clerk Joyce Brown (C) recently became a Georgia Certified
Clerk. Brown completed the clerk certification at the University of Georgia
Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Shown with Brown are: (L-R) Stacy
Jones, Carl Vinson Institute of Government; and Linda Blechinger, Auburn
mayor. Jones presented Brown with the award at the Oct. 6 Auburn City
Council meeting. Photo by Sharon Hogan
AUBURN SUBWAY RECOGNIZED AS BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
The Auburn Downtown Development Authority recently recognized Auburn
Subway as the Business of the Year. Auburn Subway manager Heather
Harvey (second from right), accepted the award at the Oct. 6 Auburn City
Council meeting. Also shown are: (L-R) Alex Mitchem, city planner; Katelyn
Funk, DDA member; Connie Ross, DDA member; Vikki Antle, DDA member;
and Linda Blechinger, mayor. Photo by Sharon Hogan
Auburn keeps Barrow tax rate the same
By Sharon Hog'an
News-Journal Reporter
The Auburn City Council
approved keeping the Bar-
row County portion of the
city’s millage rate at 4.931
mills, the same as it has
been since 2008.
The council unanimously
approved the millage rate
at the monthly meeting on
Oct. 6.
A public hearing on the
rate was held before the
council meeting, but no one
spoke for or against the pro
posed millage rate.
OTHER ITEMS
DISCUSSED
Other items approved at
council meeting included:
•a new contract with
Elbert D. Blackstock, inde
pendent contractor, to serve
as Water Quality Assessor
for the City of Auburn at
an hourly rate of $20 for a
period of one year begin
ning Oct. 1, 2016 and end
ing on Sept. 1, 2017.
This is the same fee as
in the previous two years.
The city is required by the
State of Georgia to have
a licensed operator to per
form numerous tests for
water quality and to submit
the reports to the Environ
mental Protection Division
(EPD) to be eligible to pro-
Considering
buying or
selling?
770-867-9026
www.maynardrealty.com
vide water to the public.
•the purchase of Anix-
ter-Sentry 360 body camera
system, 12 cameras, for
the police department for
$7,612 and the purchase of
a CDW computer server for
the storage and manage
ment of video/audio data
from the camera system at
a cost of $10,999.
•a 12-month usage con
tract with LeadsOnline for
an investigation system ser
vice package to assist the
police department's Crim
inal Investigation Division
(CID) in tracking stolen
property and identifying
those associated.
The cost of the “Total-
Track” service package is
$1,758.
•a 12-month usage agree
ment with ID Pursuit for
full access to ID Pursuit’s
data resources at a cost of
$637. This data will also be
used by the police depart-
Mowing
Leaf Clean-Up
Gutter Cleaning
Pressure Washing
ment’s CID.
•the lease/purchase of
eight vehicles - one Ford
Explorer for city hall, one
Ford F-150 truck for parks
and leisure services, one
8-10 passenger prisoner
transport van for the water
department, two Ford F-150
trucks for the water depart
ment, two Ford police inter
ceptors and one Ford Tau
rus for the police depart
ment - at a total cost of
$211,034 financed for five
years through First Capital
Equipment Leasing Corpo
ration, payable at $45,795
per year for principal and
interest. The city plans to
sell six vehicles on the gov
deals website once the new
vehicles are in use.
•spending an amount not
to exceed $3,500 for addi
tional parking along the
south side of Water Works
for the Whistlestop Shops
and Community Garden.
• Pine Straw & Mulch
• Seasonal Flowers
• Shrub Trimming
• Aeration
Annual Contracts Available
Call Chris 678-910-9946
...for all your lawn care needs!
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LET’S FINISH THE JOB!
VOTE FOR REAL CHANGE
From the White House to the State House
to the Court House to the School Board
VOTE REPUBLICAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8
Your Vote and Support is Deeply Appreciated!
Publix
Paid for by the Barrow County Republican Party, Ken Young, Chairman, Clay Kelley, Treasurer,
P. O. Box 1054, Winder 30680-1054, www.barrowgop.org
WHERE SHOPPING IS A PLEASURE*
LU# 15511