Newspaper Page Text
24 Pages, 2 Sections
A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Wimberly Roots broadens
outreach with shared kitchen
Pictured: Eben Palmer, sixth grader at Bethlehem Christian Academy, is
part of a youth group at Bethlehem Church, who spent Monday afternoon
working hard at the Wimberly Roots community farm.
The Winder Housing Authority
and Wimberly Roots now operate
a shared commercial kitchen at the
Wimberly Center. The Wimberly
Center was tasked with fostering
small business development as part
of the City of Winder’s Urban De
velopment plan and found a need
among food entrepreneurs for a
shared kitchen.
The shared kitchen concept al
lows small business owners, entre
preneurs and community members
the opportunity to grow or start a
business without the upfront invest
ment in large kitchen equipment
and renting or buying property.
“This is economic development
at its core,” said Winder Housing
Authority director Michelle Yawn.
Event caterers, wholesale bakers,
packaged food sellers and even food
truck vendors can all make use of
this type of space, which is ideal for
producers of baked goods, canned
foods, sauces, jams and jellies and
other products for retail sale.
With the new community kitch
en, Wimberly Roots’ farm-to-table
initiative comes full circle as the
nonprofit also offers the community
a range of educational opportunities
for all ages using its demonstration
kitchen, teaching garden and com
munity garden and farm.
Lessons in the demonstration
kitchen cover nutrition, prepar
ing fresh vegetables in the garden,
learning seasonal recipes and prac
ticing culinary techniques.
Wimberly Roots offers garden
programs that use the outdoors as a
classroom to reconnect students of
all ages with nature and the source
of their food.
Students can also learn valuable
gardening, agricultural and healthy
lifestyle skills.
SHARED KITCHEN RATES
The WHA and Wimberly Roots
have entered into an agreement that
establishes customer rental rates
and fees associated with the use
of either the shared or commercial
kitchens.
Hourly rates for the shared or
commercial kitchen are $15 per
hour during regular building horns,
Monday through Thursday from
7:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. The weekend rate
(Friday-Sunday from 7:30 a.m. —
6 p.m.) is $20 per hour.
Other hours will be considered on
a case-by-case basis.
See Wimberly, page 2A
County files formal objection to
latest annexation bid from Winder
By Morgan Ervin
morgan@barrownewsjournal.com
The B anow County
Board of Commissioners
filed a land use objec
tion under the Georgia
annexation statute in re
sponse to an annexation
request filed with the City
of Winder for a 144.67-
acre property owned by
J. Daniel Blitch Family
Partnership, LLC., locat
ed on Rockwell Church
Road and Highway 53.
The proposed project,
known as Maple Ridge,
was originally approved
by the county in Nov.
2008, when applicant
DR Horton requested to
rezone the property to
high-density residential
(R-3), which remains the
property’s current zoning
district.
On Nov. 9, 2021, the
project was updated with
revised conditions, lim-
MAILING LABEL
Credit: DR Horton
The conceptual rendering of Maple Ridge as proposed to the City of Winder by ap
plicant DR Horton The latest plan proposes three entrances on Rockwell Church
Road and no access to Hwy. 53, which is one of the county’s concerns cited in its
land use objection the Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday,
March 28.
iting the property to 305
lots. The conditions also
required a traffic study,
a minimum home size of
2,000 square feet (sq. ft.),
as well as various land
scaping and architectural
requirements.
Meanwhile, less than
10 days after the proper
ty’s update was approved
by the county, the City of
Winder passed an ordi
nance that requires prop
erty owners abutting the
city to annex in order to
use its water system.
The amendment pro
vides that the mayor and
council can waive the
annexation requirement,
which the Blitch family
attempted to take advan
tage of due to significant
sums of money spent by
the Blitch family and DR
Horton on the project
since it was approved over
a decade ago. However,
the request for relief from
the ordinance was denied
by the Winder City Coun
cil during its meeting on
Nov. 8, 2022.
The Blitch family and
DR Horton have since re
submitted an application
to annex and rezone with
the City of Winder. How
ever, the latest propos
al differs from what the
county approved in 2021.
The latest version pro
poses 399 lots, which is
95 more than the county
allowed in its 2021 condi
tions. It also adds a third
entrance on Rockwell
Church Road with no ac
cess to Hwy. 53. Since he
county approved the proj
ect with only two entranc
es, including one on Hwy.
53, the county asserts
in its objetion that this
change will increase traf
fic on Rockwell Church
Road by 1,900 hips per
day.
County transportation
manager Jessica Jackson
suggested a full traffic
study be completed to
consider the entirety of
the development and its
impact on nearby inter
sections.
Other issues the county
points out from the lat
est proposal include an
increase in density and
infrastructure burdens at
related intersections, in
cluding County Line El-
See Annexation, page 2A
Barrow County
Farmers Market’s
2023 Opening
Day set April 8
The Barrow County Farm
ers Market is having its
2023 Opening Day Satur
day, April 8 from 8 a.m.
to 12 p.m. at 15 Porter St.
in downtown Winder. The
market will return each Sat
urday at the same location
and time through Nov. 18
— rain or shine.
The Barrow County Farm
ers Market is funded in part
by a USDA Farmers Market
Promotion Program grant.
This grant provides fund
ing needed to fund a market
manager, purchase start up
supplied, advertise and offer
SNAP benefits.
The grant will also allow
the implementation of a
wide range of additional pro
grams, including piloting a
farm-to-institution purchas
ing program to reduce food
waste post market and de
crease farmer risk of losing
product not purchased at the
See Market, page 2A
Winder
approves new
solid waste
provider
The Winder City Coun
cil formalized the end of
the city’s current contract
with Waste Management
in a unanimous vote Tues
day evening.
After requesting pro
posals for continued sol
id waste services with
third-party contractors,
researching in-house costs
and exploring various
combinations of both in-
house and third-party ser
vices, the city has opted
to enter into an agreement
with Waste Pro, effective
July 1.
The decision comes after-
months of discussion and
evaluation by die council.
“We’ve heard multi
ple complaints from our
residents about Waste
Management and we’ve
discussed the multiple is
sues at length. Moving to
a different contractor will
improve the experience for
our city’s solid waste cus
tomers by providing more
efficient and reliable waste
collection services. It’s the
right thing to do for our
customers,” said Council-
woman Kobi Kilgore.
In March 2023 there
were over 20 missed gar
bage and recycling pick-
See Winder, page 2A
Credit: Lang Signs, Inc.
Scooter’s Coffee Drive-Thru is coming soon to Winder
as well as a number of other locations in the Atlanta
area.
Scooters Coffee
coming to Winder
Winder will soon be
home to a Scooter’s
Coffee Drive-Thru at
141 May Street, next to
Senor Tequila Mexican
restaurant.
Lang Signs applied
for a variance on behalf
of the property owner,
CMR Winder, LLC, re
questing the city allow
for two additional wall
signs in a neighborhood
commercial zone. Plan
ning staff found that a
hardship was created
due to the city’s zoning
ordinance’s failure to
regulate signage based
on the size of a parcel
or building.
The coffee shop an
ticipates a grand open
ing later this year.
OTHER BUSINESS
The Winder City
Council also approved
the following items
during its meeting April
See Scooters, page 2A
o
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