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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