Newspaper Page Text
16 Pages, 2 Sections
A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Touch a truck event held in Auburn
Credit: City of Auburn
The Auburn Public Library hosted a Touch-A-Truck event last week, where Auburn Police Department, Barrow
County Sheriff’s Department, Statham Police Department, Miles Trucking, Barrow County Emergency Services
and Georgia Emergency Spill Response brought firetrucks, police cars, construction equipment, rescue vehicles
and more for kids and families to learn about and explore.
New sanitation ratespending
in Winder amid service changes
SERVICE
CHANGE
TIMELINE
Week of June 19, 2023:
New BLUE CART distribution
begins, continuing through
June 30. 2023.
Week of June 26, 2023:
Final collection of garbage
and recycling using your old
GREEN CARTS. Remember to
leave empty GREEN CARTS at
the curb for pickup.
Week of June 26, 2023:
Pickup and removal of GREEN
CARTS begins, continuing
through week of July 3, 2023.
Week of July 3, 2023:
First garbage collection using
your new BLUE CARTS.
Winder’s upcoming sanitation service change timeline
Credit: City of Winder
By Morgan Ervin
As Winder prepares to
transition to a new sani
tation service provider on
July 1, the monthly cus
tomer rate remains in ques
tion.
Over the last ten years,
garbage, recycling and bulk
pick-up services have been
provided to Winder’s cus
tomers through a contract
with Waste Management.
In addition to weekly,
routed, year-round garbage
and recycling provided by
Waste Management, the
city’s current sanitation
package offers weekly bulk
and waste pick up (leaves
and limbs) and street
sweeping services for $29
per customer per month.
With its 10-year contract
with the city set to expire
on June 30, representatives
from Waste Management
sent a letter informing the
city that it would not re-ne-
gotiate to serve the city af
ter the service agreement
ends.
At the council retreat in
early January, the council
was presented with four
responses to a request for
proposals concerning san
itation services. City staff
said recycling costs ranged
from $28-30 in addition to
the base cost across all four
bids it received.
In March 2023, the city
mailed 5,632 postcards
with a recycling survey
link to current sanitation
customers. The online sur
vey asked if customers
would pay to support a
subscription-based service
to continue recycling. Over
half of the 195 respondents
said no, they would not pay
an additional rate. As a re
sult of the survey, recycling
services were removed
from consideration to keep
monthly rates more afford
able.
Dining the city council’s
April 4 voting session, the
council approved entering
into a professional services
agreement with WastePro
as the city’s new garbage
and bulk services provid
er and authorized the city
administrator to negotiate
final terms.
In May, the council post
poned the decision unan
imously following Coun-
cilwoman Kobi Kilgore’s
request to have staff con
sider a discounted rate for
customers 65 and older.
Most recently, during the
council’s June 6 voting ses
sion, Councilman Sonny
Morris motioned to approve
the FY24 budget to include
setting the FY24 sanitation
rate at $39.17, as recom
mended by staff. Morris’s
motion was seconded by
Councilwoman Shannon
Hammond, but it failed 4-2
with councilmembers Jim
my Terrell, Stephanie Brit,
Kobi Kilgore and Travis
Singley opposed.
For now, the customer
sanitation rate will remain
at $29 for garbage, bulk,
leaf and limb pick-up and
street sweeping.
Meanwhile, the city’s
See Winder, page 2A
BOC DONATES TO BARROW COMMUNITY
FOUNDATION’S PARK PROJECT AT CFIT
'0 4879 14541
o
The Barrow County Board of Commissioners presented Barrow Community Foundation
(BCF) with a $500,000 donation to help fund BCF’s Building Our Future community park
project underway at the Center for Innovative Teaching (CFIT) campus in Winder. Pictured
with the board are campaign leaders Doug Mitchell (Mitchell & Crunk), Brad Akins (Akins
Ford) and David Bleth (Harrison Poultry).
Deputies negotiate
with suicidal man
holding pipe bomb
at City Pond Park
Deputies with the Winder
Police Department and the
Barrow County Sheriff’s
Office responded to a report
of a suicidal man at City
Pond Park on Wednesday
just before 3 p.m.
A security officer at La
nier Tech told WPD that
faculty was shown a note
written by the suspect say
ing he had “a black powder
bomb” and was going to kill
himself at City Pond Park.
The note was given to his
ex-girlfriend who had re
cently ended their relation
ship.
The Winder Police De
partment located the sus
pect hiding in the woods
at City Pond Park with an
explosive device. The sus
pect’s brother showed up at
the scene and showed offi
cers a video of a homemade
“pipe bomb” and incendiary
powder with the suspect
demonstrating that he could
light the powder on fire.
With the assistance of the
Barrow County Sheriff’s
Office, police successfully
built rapport with the sus
pect. After about an hour
of negotiations, the suspect
peacefully surrendered. He
was transported to North
east Georgia Barrow to be
evaluated by doctors in lieu
of charges for terroristic
threats and acts.
The suspect’s vehicle was
searched and no contraband
was found.
The University of Geor
gia Police Bomb Unit lat
er responded to the scene
and assessed the explosive
device. They determined
it would be too dangerous
to move, and decided to
dispose of it where it was
located. The method used
to dispose of the device
created a loud explosion,
but no injuries were report
ed.
The WPD and BCSO
said the public’s safety was
never in jeopardy once offi
cers arrived on the scene.
Two subdivisions
coming to Elder
and Hardigree Roads
By Morgan Ervin
A request to rezone 34
acres from agricultural to
low-density residential (Rl)
for properties located at 537
Elder Road and 1467 Hardi
gree Road was approved by
the Barrow County Board
of Commissioners during its
meeting on June 13.
The Elder Road property,
known as the Ira Lewis Elder
Estate, is 12.52 acres and will
be developed into a minor
subdivision consisting of four
lots of single-family homes.
The Hardigree Road prop
erty, known as the Sam Har
digree Estate, is 20.55 acres
and will be developed into a
major subdivision consisting
of 27 lots.
Each lot will have at least
two parking spaces.
The area is within the “rural
reserve” character area of the
county’s future land use map,
which supports the proposed
Rl zoning and is consistent
with adjoining properties.
The approved plan shows
3.95 acres of open space and
a detention pond, an active
play area and a basketball
court.
Conditions of the county’s
approval include a 100-foot
minimum setback on all lots
with frontage along Elder
Road, a required minimum
of 2,000 square feet of floor
area and architectural and
landscaping requirements.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the
Board of Commissioners ap
proved the following agenda
items during its voting ses
sion June 13:
• A professional services
agreement (PSA) with Mercer
to begin the executive search
for Barrow County Manager.
The executive search will be
gin in July 2023. The county
will compensate Mercer for
its services with a base fee of
See BOC, page 2A
BOG releases
proposed
FY24 budget
The county’s total
funds as proposed in fis
cal year 2024 (FY24) is
$155,868,057, up by over
$32 million as compared to
the FY23 original budget of
$123,403,850.
□ The county’s proposed
fiscal year 2024 (FY24)
general fund expenditure
budget totals $58,110,833,
which represents a 10.13%
increase as compared to the
FY23 original budget, and
a 9.07% increase as com
pared to the FY23 revised
budget.
Major drivers of the gen
eral fund expense increase
are general insurance lia
bility, pay raises and capital
improvements.
General insurance liabil
ity is estimated to increase
by about 25% ($337,898)
from $1,341,285 to
$1,679,183, out of which
$1,406,478 is in the general
fund.
Pay raises for employees
will consist of a 3% cost of
living adjustment (COLA)
and a 3.7% increase for per
formance to all employees
except for the employees in
the sheriff’s office, deten
tion and constitutional of
ficers and elected officials.
Pay raises in the sheriff’s
Office and detention center
consist of a 4.7% COLA
and a 2% merit increase.
The proposed budget
accounts for 19 new full
time positions and one new
See Budget, page 2A
