About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2018)
Kroger shoppers stuff the bus for students LOCAL, 6A Tigers make an impact with trip to Haiti SPORTS, IB DawsonCountyNews WEDNESDAY I AUGUST 1,2018 DaWSOflNeWS ^com DAWSONVULE, GEORGIA $1.00 Board sets hearings on impact fees Funds would be collected on new developments By Allie Dean adean@dawsonnews.com The Dawson County Board of Commissioners has scheduled two public hearings for August for citizens to weigh in on pro posed impact fees before they are adopted. Impact fees are collected on new developments and help off set the cost of capital improve ments and services as the county develops, including parks and recreation, roads, libraries and public safety. One document required for the collection of impact fees is called the Capital Improvements Element, which is adopted as a chapter of the county’s compre hensive plan. According to Dawson County Planning Director Jason Streetman, the Capital Improvements Element, or CIE, is a “wishlist of projects and how the impact fees would be ear marked and utilized to pay for those capital improvements.” “Since the county is looking to restart an impact fee program, the county had to revise its Capital Improvement Element,” Streetman said. To do that the county hired Bill Ross of Ross & Associates in June 2017 to update the county’s impact fee ordinance and sched ule as well as the CIE. The board enacted impact fees in 2006 and voted in May 2009 to suspend the fees so that develop ers who were deterred by the high cost would build in the county. Since then, no impact fees have been collected. The cost to the county for the update is around $50,000. Of the amount of impact fees collected by the county, $1,651,000 between 2006 and 2009, some was set aside to cover the cost of Ross’ work. Ross researched the projected growth of the county (50,000 county residents by 2040, com pared to 24,000 currently) and how much new demand the growth will place on services. The cost of capital projects that county staff have determined nec essary to fit that demand is used to create the impact fee schedule. See Impact 12A Gaines set to retire this Sunday Allie Dean Dawson County News Jim Gaines, senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Dawsonville, is retiring Sunday after 20 years at the church. New school year begins Thursday Superintendent discusses technology, safety upgrades By Jessica Brown jbrown@dawsonnews.com The school year starts tomorrow and it’s an exciting year for Dawson County Schools. Construction will begin on the new College and Career Academy after Sept. 1, with an expected com pletion date of August 2019. The third and final phase of the 1:1 initiative will be implemented at the high school, giving access to iPads to grades 10-12. And safety upgrades that were discussed during a March 8 school safety workshop and approved by the board of education in April have been put in place to make Dawson County schools a safer environment for all. 1:1 implemented at DCHS Phase three of the 1:1 technology initiative has begun at Dawson County High School, signifying that the last group of students in the county has received access to See School 14A Pastor is First Baptist of Dawsonvilles longest-serving Director of Economic Forthe Dawson County News The building that used to house First Baptist Church of Dawsonville, which now houses Grace Presbyterian Church. By Allie Dean adean@dawsonnews.com Senior Pastor Jim Gaines, First Baptist Church of Dawsonville’s lon gest serving pastor, is set to retire on Sunday from the pulpit where he has spent the past 20 years. Gaines, 67, came to Dawsonville in 1998, leaving a job as executive director of missions for the Georgia Baptist Convention. It was the fine finagling of four local men that brought Gaines to the church originally. “Don Gordon, Billy Wallace, Herbert Robinson came to me and asked me to come and be their pastor here,” he said. “I had this big conven tion job and was working all over the state, so they asked me to pray about it. I came and talked to Gordon Pirkle, and I felt like at home.” In 1998 the congregation of First Baptist numbered 40 people. Under his ministry, the congregation has blossomed to a strong 500. “We grew really fast, the church has just grown by leaps and bounds since I’ve been here,” Gaines said. First Baptist is one of the oldest churches in the county, established in 1854. The church gathered in a one- room building for decades before constructing a new facility in 1943 at the comer of Hwy. 9 and Hwy. 53, where Grace Presbyterian sits now. The church was remodeled and See Gaines 17A Development hired By Allie Dean adean@dawsonnews.com The Dawson County Chamber of Commerce has hired a director of economic development, chamber President Christie Moore announced on Monday. Betsy McGriff is stepping into the new role that is a product of the cham ber’s multi-year partnership with the Development Authority of Dawson County, which went into effect in May of this year. The two groups officially joined forc es to help the authority manage day-to- day tasks after former executive director of the authority, Charlie Auvermann, resigned in September 2017. The new director of economic development is an employee of the chamber of commerce, but the devel opment authority board still has an active role in decid ing who serves in the position. See Hired 17A McGriff 0 9 0 9 9 Inside Volume 3, Number 44 © 2018, Dawson County News Dawsonville, Georgia Church Events 3B Classifieds 7B Dear Abby 6B Deaths 2A Legals 8B Opinion 9A Sports 1B 2A Board set to hold open budget hearings 3A City council discusses public comment policy MORE CANCER SURGERIES PERFORMED THAN ■ ANY HOSPITAL IN GEORGIA Taking on cancer requires an elite clinical team. That's why Northside Hospital Cancer Institute has the most board- certified medical oncologists in Georgia. We diagnose and treat more new cancer cases than any other hospital in the state—providing care at 48 cancer centers. Backed by expertise and experience, we're built to beat cancer. Learn more at builttobeatcancer.com ■BUILT to BEAT CANCER m NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL CANCER INSTITUTE
