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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 1 4 5 4 1