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20 Pages, 2 Sections
A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Winder files suit against Barrow County
Water and Sewerage Authority over encroaching
On March 14, the City of Winder filed suit against the Barrow County Water and Sewerage
Authority, claiming the authority is illegally duplicating water systems.
By Morgan Ervin
morgan@barro wnewsj our nal. com
The City of Winder filed a petition with the Bar-
row County Superior Court against the Barrow
County Water and Sewerage Authority on March
14.
According to a Winder press release, the city's
complaint is a “proactive effort that defends the
financial interest of Winder water customers who
live outside of the City limits.”
In its complaint for declaratory judgment and
injunctive relief, the city argues Barrow County,
acting through the BCWSA, is breaking the law
by through encroachment of areas where Wind
er’s water infrastructure is already in the ground.
Thus, “duplicating water systems, adding layers
of government and costing millions of taxpayer
SPLOST dollars to put new pipes over existing
pipes.”
For decades. Winder’s water distribution sys
tem has served areas within its city limits as well
as in the unincorporated areas of the county. Ac
cording to the city, the BCWSA has obtained no
express written consent from the city to construct
water lines in areas where the city’s water distri
bution system already exists.
“This lawsuit is our effort to once again stand
up for our ratepayers in the unincorporated areas,
as they are City of Winder water customers, and
they are being forced to pay for another water sys
tem. The county is literally installing new pipes
over existing pipes,” said Winder’s Mayor David
Maynard.
The city’s complaint also argued that BCWSA
actions threaten harm to the city and all water ser
vice consumers in areas it already serves.
According to county attorney Angela Davis, the
city’s allegations are false.
“The lawsuit falsely claims that the Barrow
County Water and Sewerage Authority has begun
constructing water lines for the distribution of wa
ter directly to customers in areas currently served
by the City [of Winder].”
“This lawsuit is patently frivolous. Winder
knows, or should have known, that the Barrow
County Water and Sewerage Authority has not
constructed, and has no plans to construct, water
lines in or near the City of Winder or its custom
ers,” said Davis, who added the BCWSA meets
March 28 to decide the appropriate course of
action.
oXLSa
ESPLOST
FOR EDUCATION
Barrow
voters opt
to continue
E-SPLOST
Barrow County voters
opted to continue the Edu
cation Special Local Option
Sales Tax (E-SPLOST) with
an overwhelming 82.15% of
voters in favor of the refer
endum in Tuesday’s special
election.
A total of 913 ballots
were cast in the March 21
E-SPLOST election, with
517 votes cast on election
day, 381 votes cast during
advance voting and 15 votes
by mail. Out of the 913 votes,
750 were in favor of continu
ing E-SPLOST and 163, or
17.85%, were opposed.
Fundraisers
organized for victims
of house explosion
Fundraisers have been cre
ated through GoFundMe for
victims of the house explo
sion on Hidden Acres Road
March 11. which took the
lives of three women and in
jured four others.
Linda Gable Martin, 54, is
one of the women who died
in the home explosion. Mar
tin’s loved ones have turned
to the community, family
and friends for support in
covering the expenses of her
funeral and other end-of-life
costs. To view Martin’s the
GoFundMe, visit: https://
gf.me/v/c/vt9h/linda-ga-
ble-martin-funeral-expenses
Fundraisers have also been
created for survivors Kristi
Singleton and Billy Chest
nut, who are still hospitalized
after the explosion left them
with severe bums.
Singleton suffered third-de
gree bums and lost two dogs
in the fire. Her loved ones
have reached out to the com
munity for support in helping
Singleton with medical ex
penses. hospital stays, surger
ies, ongoing treatments and
in helping her heal from the
loss of her beloved pets. To
view Singleton’s GoFundMe,
visit: https ://www.gofundme.
com/f/kristi-singletons-re-
covery-from-house-fire
Billy Chestnut also re
mains in an area hospital ICU
bum unit after the explosion.
He faces a tough road ahead
with the loss of his home and
MAILING LABEL
Credit: GoFundMe
Linda Gable Martin is one
of the three women killed
in the house explosion.
Kristi Singleton with one
of her two dogs killed in
the explosion.
Billy Chestnut
Remains of the home after
the explosion March 11.
all of possessions. His loved
ones are asking for donations
to help towards providing
him with a new home, as well
as help with medical bills
and other accommodations
he will need for his recovery.
To view Chestnut’s
GoFundMe, visit:
https://www.gofundme.
com/f/please-help-assist-bil-
ly-chestnut.
Shamrockin
Winder’s inaugural
Dublin on Athens
in Barrow. gfo
Statham’s inaugural St.
Patrick’s Day Parade
ts
Winder’s inaugural Dublin on Athens event was held
at Jug Tavern Park on St. Patrick’s Day and featured
green beer, bouncy houses, jugglers, stilt-walkers and
a dancing leprechaun.
Statham held its inaugural St. Patrick’s Day Parade
on Saturday, March 18 in downtown Statham. Pa
rade participants decked out in St. Patrick’s Day at
tire greeted onlookers, handed out candy, prizes and
coupons for shaved ice.
See St. Patrick’s Day, page 12A
County to install new
sewer lines in Auburn
The City of Auburn and
Barrow County entered
into an agreement to pro
vide for construction im
provements and services
related to sanitary sewer
service provided by the
county to customers near
or within the City of Au
burn.
The county will con
struct sanitary sewer im
provements from a new
pump located at the Ingles
on Atlanta Highway in Au
burn to the county’s Tan
ner’s Bridge treatment fa
cility. The City of Auburn
will provide the county
access to Autry Road and
Lyle Road for installation
of the sanitary sewer lines.
It will also be Auburn’s
responsibility to notify
the property owners abut
ting Autry Road and Lyle
Road within the project
area. Auburn will also be
responsible for resolving
any property ownership
or access claims that may
arise by the property own
ers abutting Autry Road
and/or Lyle Road within
the its jurisdiction.
The County will install
the new sewer lines within
the paved roadway in a lo
cation that does not disturb
the city’s existing water
line or the existing county
sewer line.
The agreement between
the city and county aims
to improve certain infra
structure for the benefit of
county and city residents
by avoiding duplication
of services and promoting
cooperation and provision
of certain necessary public
services.
LEADERSHIP BARROW’S
PUBLIC SAFETY DAY
County Commissioner Alex Ward was tased by Lt.
Barry Chandler during Leadership Barrow’s First Re
sponders Day March 14. “I volunteered to be tased be
cause I wanted to personally understand what our men
and women have gone through in order to be able to
carry a taser themselves. Leadership Barrow’s public
safety day provided the perfect opportunity because it
allowed our class to witness someone getting tased in
person while spending time with the Barrow County
Sheriff’s Office learning about the range of less than
lethal options they are able to employ.”
See Leadership Barrow, page 8B
'0 4879 14541
o
Winder tables two large PUD proposals
By Morgan Ervin
morgan@barrownewsjournal.com
The Winder City Council tabled
two applications seeking to annex and
rezone into the city’s Planned Unit
Development (PUD) zoning district
during its March voting session.
Both applications have been previ
ously presented to council and post
poned upon the applicant’s request.
The first application is requesting
to annex and rezone 146.87 acres,
owned by Robinson John W III Trust
and The Margaret Robinson Martin
Trust, located at 982 City Pond Rd.,
from Barrow County’s medium-den
sity residential (R2) to City of Wind
er’s PUD.
The proposed development con
sists of 340 lots with 14 house plans,
ranging from three to five bedrooms,
and would be of two single-family de
tached housing types.
The applicant proposed 162 units
of the first housing type, which is
proposed with a minimum lot area of
7,500 square feet (sq. ft.) and a mini
mum lot width of 60 feet. The second
housing type proposed consists of 178
units with a minimum lot width of 50
feet and a minimum lot area of 6,250
sq. ft.
The proposed site plan includes
two entry/exit points along City Pond
Road.
The applicant submitted a traffic
study for the project, however staff
found that it didn’t reflect the most
current design revisions, including
points of entry/exit.
The applicant asked for a number
of variances from the minimum stan
dards of the city’s zoning ordinance
for a medium-density single-family
residential zone including: A mini
mum lot width of 50-feet, rather than
the required 100-foot minimum; a
minimum lot area of 6,250 sq. ft.,
rather than the required 15,000 sq. ft.
minimum, a 40-foot maximum build
ing height, rather than the required
35-foot maximum; and a minimum of
1,343 sq. ft. of heated floor area, rather
than the 1,800 sq. ft. minimum.
The city’s staff recommended ap-
See Winder, page 2A
