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20 Pages, 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Early voting ends Friday with elections set for next week
In-person advance voting in
the municipal elections around
Barrow County and on the
countywide SPLOST renewal
referendum ends Friday. Oct. 29.
with Election Day set for Tues
day, Nov. 2.
Voters in Winder are deciding
in three city council races — be
tween three candidates in Ward
1, two in Ward 3 and three for a
citywide at-large seat — while
voters in Statham will be elect
ing three new city council candi
dates among a five-person field
and Auburn voters will decide
between three candidates for two
seats.
County wide, voters will decide
whether to continue, for another
six years, the county wide 1-cent
special-purpose local-option
sales tax that helps fund vari
ous capital-improvement proj
ects around the county. SPLOST
2023 collections would begin as
soon as SPLOST 2018 collec
tions hit their limit. The SPLOST
is currently projected to generate
more than $120 million over a
six-year period.
All in-person early voting for
the Auburn, Statham and Wind
er city council elections and the
referendum is taking place at the
county elections office, 233 East
Broad St.. Winder. Hours are
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with voting
ending at 5 p.m. Friday.
Election Day polling hours are
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Auburn voters
will vote at Hmong New Hope
Alliance Church. 1622 Union
Grove Church Rd. Statham vot
ers will vote at Barrow County
Emergency Services Fire Station
1. 1625 Bethlehem Rd. Winder
voters and all others will vote at
their county precinct. Your pre
cinct location can be found on the
Georgia Secretary of State’s My
Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
Absentee ballots are due at the
elections office by 7 p.m. Tues
day.
Barrow’s
91%
grad rate
for 2021
tops state
average
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjoumal.com
The Barrow County
School System recorded
its highest-ever graduation
rate in 2021 — 91% —
since statewide measuring
of rates began in 2000, the
school district announced
Oct. 21.
Barrow's rate, which
jumped from 85.1% in
2020, outpaced the state
wide rate of 83.7%. ac
cording to figures from
the Georgia Department of
Education. State officials
attributed the slight state
wide decline from 83.8%
to learning and accessibility
challenges brought on by
the coronavirus pandemic.
Graduation rates in Geor
gia are measured by the
“cohort method,” which
tracks the percentage of
students at a school who
graduate within four years
of entering high school. It
was the third time in the
last four years Barrow's
rate has increased — the
exception being 2020, when
the district dropped from
87.7 to 85.1%. Apalachee
High School’s 2021 gradu
ation rate was 92.1%, while
See Grad, page 3A
Index:
Public safety
6-7A
Social/school
8, 12A
Classifieds
4B
Legals
5-7B
Obituaries
9-11A
Opinion
4A
Sports
1-3B
MAILING LABEL
Google Maps image/
The Barrow County Planning Commission has recommended denial of
requested changes to conditions that were placed on a 2008 rezoning of
land to the west of Highway 53 along both sides of Rockwell Church Road,
where a subdivision of more than 300 single-family homes is planned.
County panel against change
in conditions for planned
development off Hwy. 53
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjournal.com
Developers' proposals for changes
to a long-planned, but still unbuilt res
idential subdivision in northern Bar-
row County failed to gain the blessing
of the county planning commission
last week, as home sizes and wheth
er or not a portion of the development
would be required to be age-restricted
left most panel members in opposi
tion.
During its monthly meeting Oct.
21, the planning commission voted
4-0 to recommend denial of a request
by developer D.R. Horton and co-ap
plicant the J. Daniel Blitch Family
Partnership to change or be relieved
of roughly half of the conditions at
tached in 2008 when the county board
of commissioners (BOC) approved
the rezoning of 144.7 acres along both
sides of Rockwell Church Road to
the west of Highway 53 to allow for
a subdivision of more than 300 sin
gle-family homes.
The request and the planning com
mission’s recommendation will now
go before the BOC next month for a
public hearing and vote.
D.R. Horton, which plans to scrap a
commercial component of the devel
opment included in the 2008 rezoning,
has proposed to build up to 321 homes
in the subdivision — an increase from
the originally approved 305-maxi
mum, though company representative
Tiffany Hogan said developers were
willing to cap it at 313, adding that
“we fully anticipate units will be lost”
once full site engineering is complet
ed.
Hogan said the 75 planned homes
on the northern side of Rockwell
Church Road on the site plan would be
“age-targeted” and marketed toward
seniors. She requested that homes in
that section of the development be
allowed to have a minimum of 1,800
square feet rather than the 2,000
square-foot minimum recommended
by county staff — so that the compa
ny could build its ranch-style homes
it markets toward seniors — and that
the county lift a 2008 condition that
requires residents in that portion of the
development be 55 and older with lim
ited hardship exceptions for children.
“A lot of times that market requires
See Planning, page 2A
Statham council faces
some questions on
proposed millage increase
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjoumal.com
Statham’s mayor and the
city council faced ques
tions about a proposed
millage-rate increase from
a pair of residents at a pub
lic hearing last week as the
council prepares to set the
rate next month.
The council conduct
ed the second of three
required public hearings
Oct. 19 on a proposed in
crease from 4.003 mills to
4.345 mills that Mayor Joe
Piper has said would be
necessary to fully fund the
city’s adopted budget for
fiscal year 2022, according
to projections from Bar-
row County’s tax commis
sioner’s office.
A third and final public
hearing is scheduled for
the council’s Nov. 4 work
session, and a final vote is
slated to take place at the
Nov. 16 voting session.
A 4.345-mill rate would
mean a greater than 16%
increase over the state for
mula-recommended “roll
back” rate of 3.725 mills.
Piper has said at previ
ous meetings the state’s
recommendation is based
on the amount of residen
tial growth in the city but
doesn't take into account
the city's ineligibility for
most state grant money
until it gets fully caught
up on its financial audits or
the inclusion of major in
frastructure projects in the
budget.
After no comments from
residents at the first public
hearing earlier this month,
two questioned the need
and timing of the millage
increase at last week's
hearing. Piper said rolling
back to 3.725 mills would
likely mean steep cuts to
the budget, which he esti
mated would be upward of
$300,000.
“Wouldn't it have been
important to have stated
that and worked ( the pro
jected increase necessary
to fully fund the budget)
into the formulation of the
budget,” resident Kurt Bo-
genrieder asked. Piper not
ed the county did not come
out with its projections —
and the state did not come
out with its recommended
roll back rate — until after
the budget had been ap
proved and set.
Keeping the rate the
same would mean less cuts,
Piper said, but either way
the council would again
have to go through public
hearings and meetings on
amending the budget af
ter a contentious process
that went into adopting the
FY22 spending plan this
summer.
While budgets can be
amended at any point in
the year, the millage rate
can only be set once, city
attorney Jody Campbell
noted.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at its
Oct. 19 meeting, the coun
cil:
•approved renewal of an
agreement with Duplicat
ed Products for an upgrad
ed copy machine at city
hall. The five-year agree
ment calls for a payment
from the city of $279 per
month, a $130 per month
savings from the existing
agreement.
•heard from Piper that
the city's FY20 audit is
“currently between 70-
80% complete” and is on
track to be finished by or
before the end of this year,
at which point the city will
be caught up on its pri
or audits and will regain
eligibility for state grant
monies.
•heard from Piper that
water samples from the
potential future city water
well site at Hillman-Rain-
water Park were set to be
tested this week to indicate
whether the location would
be a viable well site for the
city as it aims to become
more water-independent in
See Statham, page 2A
Auburn council candidates answer questions during forum at library
By Morgan Ervin
For the Barrow News-Journal
Two of the three candidates running for two open
seats on the Auburn City Council answered questions
and met with residents in a public forum last week at
the Auburn Public Library.
Incumbent Bill Ackworth is currently in his second
term on the city council and previously served on the
zoning board for about eight years prior to serving on
the council. Challenger Taylor Sisk is a business own
er from Lula and said he decided to start his roots in
Auburn with his wife over a year ago. Sisk has no po
litical background, however decided to run for council
so, he said, he can “be a voice to represent the people
of Auburn.”
The Oct. 19 discussion was moderated by Power
Evans, who asked each candidate five questions be
fore allowing the audience to ask their own questions.
Citizen questions brought up concerns about the city’s
future comprehensive plan, connectivity throughout
the city for pedestrians, the candidate’s views on edu
cation and their future plans in politics.
Photo by Morgan Ervin/For the Barrow News-Journal/
Incumbent Auburn city councilman Bill Ackworth (right) answers a question from
moderator Power Evans (middle) as he and challenger Taylor Sisk listen during a
candidate forum held Oct. 19 at the Auburn Public Library. Incumbent councilman
Robert Vogel III did not attend the forum.
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