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BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2023
Candidate questionnaires
Mayor of Winder
Shannon Hammond
Shannon Hammond
1. What qualifies you to
serve on the city council/
mayor in Winder?
I have lived in the City of
Winder almost all of my life
and I love this City. I was
appointed to a vacant seat on
the City Council in 2021 and
have learned so much more
about the inner workings of
the City. While my time in lo
cal government has been rel
atively short, I have served in
other leadership roles in the
past that I feel have prepared
me well to serve as Mayor. I
think that my style of lead
ership — positive, encourag
ing, collaborative — is what
Winder needs at this time. I
am a Christian, and believe
that I have been called “for
a time such as this” (Esther
4:14).
2. What impact do you
think the Planned Unit De
velopment (PUD) zoning
district has had on the city?
I think that Planned Unit
Development zoning is large
ly misunderstood. For start
ers, PUD zoning is not a new
phenomenon — the earliest
known PUDs date back to the
1940s in Maryland. The City
of Winder began consider
ing PUD zoning much more
recently, as a way to allow
more flexibility with types of
developments that can be ap
proved in Winder. Traditional
zones are very rigid and do
not allow for much deviation
or thinking outside of the box.
One of the biggest differences
between standard zoning op
tions and PUD is that a PUD
requires that developers pres
ent upfront their entire project
plan. The Council only ap
proves a PUD once every sin
gle detail is fully addressed
in the zoning application.
And once a PUD is approved,
there can be no changes made
by the developer. City staff
— including professional en
gineers, utilities, public safe
ty, and more — meet with
a developer seeking a PUD
zoning to work through these
details before the application
is presented to Council. Quite
often, in exchange for flex
ibility, the developer offers
additional amenities such as
green space or greater varia
tion in the exterior design of
homes within a community.
3. Are there specific ar
eas of the budget where you
believe resources should be
increased or decreased?
The City Council works
extremely hard to develop a
budget each year. We work
as a group to set priorities for
our City and allocate funds
accordingly. Personally, I
believe that we must contin
ue to fully fund our public
safety departments. I also
am a strong proponent of
moving as many services
in-house (and moving away
from contracting services)
as we can, as I believe this
is a much more responsible
use of funds. Over the last
few years, the City Coun
cil heard loud and clear that
citizens wanted more events,
specifically at Jug Tavern
Park. I am very proud that
we have been able to hire a
top-notch Events Coordina
tor who has brought amazing
Thank Goodness Its First Fri
day events to Winder. This is
something that I believe it is
extremely important for us to
continue.
4. What would you do to
improve the city’s relation
ship with the county?
The relationship between
the City of Winder and Bar-
row County most certainly
needs to improve. There is
quite a bit of history of ar
guing back and forth, which
is frustrating for us all. As I
mentioned in an earlier re
sponse, my leadership style
can help us overcome this.
Specifically, I believe in col
laboration, which will require
that the City be brought into
conversations earlier, instead
of having the County make
unilateral decisions and then
just telling us what we are
going to do. All residents of
Winder are also residents of
Barrow County. We all need
to work together.
5. How would you pro
mote economic develop
ment in the city to help
diversify the tax base and
bring jobs into the city?
Do we need to stimulate
growth? What I have heard
most often from residents is
that we are growing too fast!
Property values in the City of
Winder and throughout the
county have gone up expo
nentially, which, even though
millage rates have been rolled
back, makes property tax
bills go up. No one is happy
about that! Tax incentives
have been offered to attract
large industrial investments
to Barrow County, and it is
working. Some recent exam
ples are Spring Mountain and
US Lumber. These invest
ments will help lessen the tax
burden on residents and cre
ate jobs at the same time. We
have to find the right balance
between growth and main
taining the quality and pace
of life that we enjoy here in
Winder.
Jimmy Terrell
Jimmy Terrell
1. What qualifies you
to serve on the city coun
cil/mayor in Winder?
I am the only candidate
with proven experience in
both our city and county
governments. I under
stand how important it is
to listen to, and to respond
to, our citizens and con
stituents, as well as our
local businesses.
I have the leadership
skills necessary to lead
Winder. While in the mil
itary, I led small 12 man
teams of Green Berets and
while in the private sec
tor I managed a division
of 400 plus employees.
Working within both the
City and County, has pro
vided me with numerous
opportunities to lead and
manage.
My background in
cludes hundreds of hours
of managerial classes and
training to complement
the various roles in which
I have had the opportuni
ties to serve.
2. What impact do you
think the Planned Unit
Development (PUD)
zoning district has had
on the city?
There is a proper place
for Planned Unit Develop
ments (PUDs). But, I feel
we are at a point where
we need to pause the high
density PUD zonings.
Let’s inventory our infra
structure and take a seri
ous, critical look at what
we have and where we are
going, even with the cur
rent plans to share the new
reservoir with Auburn
when it goes on line. We
are about to spend nearly
$20 million to expand our
water plant which says we
are approaching a critical
point in water production,
especially if we face a se
vere drought.
3. Are there specific ar
eas of the budget where
you believe resources
should be increased or
decreased?
There are always bud
getary areas that need ad
justing. It will be critical
to take a very close look
at the budget and elimi
nate waste. I want the new
2025 budget in the hands
of the staff and depart
ment heads in early May.
I’m opposed to presenting
a budget of any size to a
group with only a week
or two to read and make
changes. December is six
months into the current
budget. That provides us
with an opportunity to
look at each bottom line
and the contents that cre
ated that bottom line.
4. What would you do
to improve the city’s re
lationship with the coun
ty?
The best thing we can
do is return to the ne
gotiating table. We both
want to look after and do
what’s best for our con
stituents. However, we
have to come to some
agreements, and proba
bly consider some give
and takes. We are not only
hurting each other but our
disagreements have cost
the other municipalities
in the county financially
as well. They still have
to come to the table with
their attorneys to look
after their citizens. The
public would be shocked
to see the total expens
es paid out over the past
4-5 years for litigation. I
suspect we are well over
a million dollars with no
solution on the table.
5. How would you pro
mote economic develop
ment in the city to help
diversify the tax base
and bring jobs into the
city?
The City should par
ticipate in the Georgia
Mainstreet program, co
ordinated through the GA
Department of Communi
ty Affairs, which focus
es on proven ways to in
crease economic activity
in traditional downtown
areas. The City of Madi
son has been successfully
using this approach and
Winder can be success
ful using the program as
well. We should also look
at ways to make Winder
more supportive of busi
nesses and entrepreneurs.
We can start by making
sure fees and assessments
the city charges are fair.
We also need to keep our
property taxes low. In
addition, the City should
support the activities of
the Downtown Develop
ment Authority.
Mayor of Statham
Joe Piper
Joe Piper
1. What qualifies you
to serve as mayor in
Statham?
A. Four (4) years as May
or with an understanding of
what it takes so I can com
plete the next 4 years with
no need for training.
B. 7 delinquent Annual
Audits completed in 3.5
years.
C. Full understanding of
the Budget and the Finan
cial obligations.
D. NEW Police Depart
ment with state-of-the-art
equipment.
E. I cut costs in multiple
areas with improved tech
nology, eliminated dupli
cate Services, discontinued
obsolete equipment, and
streamlined Departments.
2. What do you see
the biggest issues facing
Statham, and how do you
plan to address them if
elected?
The 3 biggest issues fac
ing Statham:
A) Antiquated water and
sewage lines.
Solution is to use ARPA
Funds for rehabilitation.
B) Road surfaces
Solution is to prioritize
city roads according to need
and severity utilizing the
LMIG Funds. IF TSPOST
is passed, then larger road
projects will happen more
quickly.
C) The 316 Corridor will
bring increased traffic until
completion.
Solution is to work close
ly with GDOT to identify
problem areas and work
together for resolutions to
those issues.
3. Are there specific ar
eas of the budget where
you believe resources
should be increased or de
creased?
Decreases in Budget
Items are being accom
plished as wasteful spend
ing is discovered.
Increase Funds for water
exploration through drilling
wells to make the city more
self-sufficient. The city con
tinues to purchase water
from other entities.
4. How would you pro
mote economic develop
ment?
Establish an Economic
Development Committee to
lure more Businesses to our
city.
Continue to work with
existing Businesses to meet
their needs when possible.
5. How do you plan to
maintain ethical conduct
and accountability in your
role as mayor?
A) Transparency by con
tinuing to Live Streaming
all Meetings to YouTube.
B) I am a working Mayor
and have an open-door pol
icy. Citizens are encouraged
to reach out to me anytime,
including weekends.
C) Reinstate an Ethics
Committee this January to
hold all Council Members,
including the mayor, ac
countable to the Citizens.
Deborah Krause
Deborah Krause
1. What qualifies you
to serve as mayor of
Statham?
I have fully met the qual
ifications per the Statham
Charter. I have served on
the city council for the past
eighteen months and I am
familiar with our finances,
the budget process and or
dinances. My background
working for Barrow County
Chamber of Commerce and
serving as Board member
for Barrow County Schools,
has equipped me with the
knowledge to develop bud
gets, strategic plans, listen
ing skills, networking and
community development.
I also have a working rela
tionship with state, county
and city elected officials.
2. What do you see as
the biggest issues facing
Statham, and how do you
plan to address them if
elected?
Our biggest issue is our
aged infrastructure. Some
areas that need to be repaired
are over 100 years old. We
have funding available in
our utility fund to address
this issue. Our roads need
repair, and we have ARPA
and ELMIG money to repair
some of our major roads. If
the T-SPLOST passes, we
will be able to repair more
roads. To be water indepen
dent is also an issue that
needs to be addressed. Sta-
tegic planning will need to
be implemented with dif
ferent phases to bring our
water plant operations back
online. This project will take
time but with the right proj
ect manager we can become
water independent.
3. Are there specific areas
of the budget where you
believe resources should be
increased or decreased?
Our budget is set by the
mayor each year and ap
proved by the council. Safe
ty is the most important
issue and over half of our
budget goes to our police
department. They are staffed
to provide protection 24/7.
It has taken diligent work to
make this happen. We sup
port our police department
in the diligent work they do
for the protection of all our
citizens. There are certain
areas that I would like to see
increases made. Our down
town area needs repairs and
storefronts could use a fresh
coat of paint; our parks need
it as well. With the support
of city staff, we can submit
grants to help us address a
better quality of life for all
citizens of Statham.
4. How would you pro
mote economic develop
ment?
Economic development
begins with a team. Continu
ing to receive funding from
the state is key. Elmig funds
from the state help us to pro
vide roads and other specif
ic grants are available. Ben
McDaniel, our Economic
Director, is key to bringing
the right business to the 316
corridors. In turn, that will
provide good jobs and tax
revenue. Enlisting a down
town business alliance made
up of citizens and business
owners to enhance business
growth in the downtown
area will help promote busi
ness. All of this can be ac
complished without increas
ing taxes.
5. How do you plan to
maintain ethical conduct
and accountability in your
role as mayor?
Communication is key be
tween the staff, council and
citizens. Keeping everyone
well informed about issues
leads to happier people. Col
laboration with the council
and working together is what
I advocate for. Developing
plans with input from staff,
council and citizens is what
I plan to do. When everyone
is well informed you will see
less conflict. We also need
to develop communication
to meet the needs of our di
verse population.
SEX OFFENDER
SEX OFFENDER
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Dwayne
Williams
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Steven
Purgason
Age 58
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Age 45
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Height: 5'09”
Sex: Male Weight: 209
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Height: 5’08”
Sex: Male Weight: 172
Address: 641 Tanners Bridge Circle,
Address: 316 Carter Rd, Lot #117,
Bethlehem, GA 30620
Auburn, GA 30011
Crime of Conviction:
Crime of Conviction:
Child Molestation
Offense Jurisdiction: Jasper Co
Statutory Rape
Offense Jurisdiction: Gwinnett Co.
Risk Assessment: Not Leveled
Risk Assessment: Level One