Newspaper Page Text
4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, August 29,2018
City looks to crack down on late payments
'When we cut their water off at 3 o'clock and they walk in
the door at city hall to pay their bill at 4:15 or 4:25 (they)
want their water cut back on so we're having to pay
overtime for our staff to go out and take care of this. If
they paid at 4 o'clock say, we're trying to clean up the
tools, put everything up before 4:30, everybody gets off at
4:30. We can't go cut them on and be done in the evening,
it's going to take a little overtime.'
Gary Barr
Utilities Director
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
The City of Dawsonville is working to
update an ordinance in hopes of discour
aging water and sewer customers from
paying their bills late, resulting in an
abundance of requests for reconnection
every month.
City Attorney Dana Miles has drafted a
new version of an ordinance that updates
the fines the city will charge to reconnect
water and sewer service following discon
nection due to nonpayment or late pay
ment. The new ordinance is an attempt to
crack down on those who pay late or not
at all multiple times within a 24 month
period.
Currently, nonpayment of a bill by the
last day of the month in which the bill is
due results in the city disconnecting the
water, so long as the payment is greater
than $75.
The first reading of the updated ordi
nance was held Aug. 20 at the city coun
cil’s work session.
“We have had a lot of people who are
very, very late in paying their bills to the
tune of having a lot of cutoffs each month,
sometimes the same people almost every
month,” Mayor Mike Eason said. “So
what we’re trying to do is put some more
teeth in it so that they understand the
importance of what we’re trying to do
here with these ordinances and the regula
tions and things.”
According to the current ordinance, the
first time water and sewer service are
reconnected there is a $25 fine, the second
time a $50 fine and the third time a $100
fine.
The new reconnection fees would
charge $50 for the first reconnection dur
ing a 24 month period, $100 for the sec
ond time within a 24 month period and
$200 for the third time within a 24 month
period. Each subsequent violation beyond
the third reconnection within a 24 month
period would result in a reconnection fee
increase of $100 from the previous viola
tion, the proposed ordinance states.
All outstanding bills as well as the
reconnection fees must be paid in order
for reconnection to occur. In the current
ordinance, there is no designated time in
which the reconnection has to occur after
those fees are paid.
The new ordinance would make it so
that the city has until 4 p.m. of the next
business day to reconnect the services.
Utilities Director Gary Barr explained
that having until the next day to complete
the reconnections will keep his employees
from having to work overtime as well as
help make people pay on time.
“When we cut their water off at 3
o’clock and they walk in the door at city
hall to pay their bill at 4:15 or 4:25 (they)
want their water cut back on so we’re hav
ing to pay overtime for our staff to go out
and take care of this,” Barr said. “If they
paid at 4 o’clock say, we’re trying to clean
up the tools, put everything up before
4:30, everybody gets off at 4:30. We can’t
go cut them on and be done in the eve
ning, it’s going to take a little overtime.”
The proposed ordinance also tweaks the
appeal process, wherein anyone can
appeal the revocation of their sewerage
permit, water and sewer service, garbage
service or any combination of those ser
vices to the city council.
The proposed ordinance does not
address late fees, which are currently $25,
but the council asked Miles to address that
before the second reading. According to
Eason, around 250 out of the city’s 1,200
water and sewer customers were mailed
late notices in July.
“We send out a lot of late notices every
month...it’s a little overboard. A lot over
board,” Barr said. “We’ve got one custom
er that’s been late continuously for three
years. And there ain’t nothing I can do.”
The second reading of the ordinance
will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 10.
The city has also proposed an ordinance
update in order to set a new application
fee and annual business license fee for tat
too studios and the artists they employ.
The new license application fee for a
tattoo studio as well as for each tattoo art
ist would be reduced from $500 to $50,
and the annual fee would be reduced from
$500 to $100.
The tattoo ordinance was last amended
in 2000.
The city council will have two public
readings of the proposed ordinance
update, set for 7 p.m. Sept. 10 and Sept.
24.
All meetings of the city council are held
in the second floor assembly room at city
hall, located at 415 Hwy. 53 E in
Dawsonville.
Community
Clark MacAllister is the Dawson County extension agent. For more information,
call (706) 265-2442.
Oak tree pests strike quickly, cause lots of damage
The extension office has
received several calls in
the past week from people
concerned about insects
munching on their oak
trees. Most complain of
finding large parts of their
oak trees rapidly defoliat
ed, with nothing but the
midrib of the leaves
remaining. This time of
year, the damage is most
likely caused by the cater
pillar stage of an insect
called the orange-striped
oakworm.
Orange-striped oak-
worms mainly feed on oak
species, but may also
infest other species, such
as hickory and birch. They
normally show up in
Georgia between August
and September. The larval
caterpillar stage is what
causes the defoliation on
oak trees.
Caterpillars are fairly
easy to spot and identify.
They are normally 1.5 to 2
inches long, and have
ft
CLARK MACALLISTER
Columnist
black bodies with several
orange/yellow stripes run
ning down their backs.
They also have a pair of
black spines behind their
heads and several pairs of
smaller spines on their
other body segments.
Orange-striped oak-
worm damage is usually
limited to a short time
during the late summer.
They normally only have
one generation per year.
After much feeding, the
caterpillars change into
the pupal stage, which
overwinters in the soil
underneath trees. Adult
moths emerge the follow
ing summer, and are red
dish-brown with a single
white dot on each wing.
Adults mate shortly there
after, and females deposit
their eggs on the under
sides of oak leaves.
Caterpillars emerge and
begin the defoliation cycle
again.
Although most home-
owners are shocked when
they first see the damage,
orange-stripe oakworms
are a native pest and usu
ally do not cause long
term damage. The oaks
and the oakworms have
lived together for a long
time, and even if a severe
defoliation occurs, a
mature oak tree can usual
ly survive an infestation
just fine.
If you have young oak
trees that you would like
to protect from orange-
striped oakworm defolia
tion, and you can reach
them with a wand sprayer,
then there are some con
trol options. Products
made from the bacteria
Come dine at Zaxby s
from 5pm-8pm on
ZAXBY'S
244 S 400 Center Lane,
Da wso nvi I le G A 30534
August 29 th
Come join us this
Wednesday at Zaxby's.
10% of the dining
proceeds will be going to
Dawson County Humane
Society. We would love to
see you out there! Who
knows, you might be able
to find your new FurBaby!
Come out and see us!
Bring your friends and family!
F ~AT tion Dawson County Humane Society
706-265-9160 | 633 Martin Road, Dawsonville
adjacent to the Rock Creek Sports Complex
Visit our RESALE SHOP & BOUTIQUE benefits the
Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | 54 S. Lumpkin Campground Rd. Humane Society
ANH Collision
Bradley M. Maple
^Dawsonville
Specialists
CPA, PC
(<L) Veterinary
706-216-0992
706-216-2362
Hospital
103 Industrial Park Road,
Dawsonville
2390 Thompson Road
Suite 100 Dawsonville
706-265-8381
www.dawsonnews.com
Bacillus thuriengensis
(abbreviated “B.t.”) can be
applied to intact foliage,
and are a good biological
control option. These
products, which can be
found under brand names
such as Thuricide and
Dipel, are only harmful to
caterpillars, and will not
harm other insects or
predators.
Synthetic insecticides,
such as cyfluthrin or car-
baryl, can also be used to
control large caterpillar
populations.
Don’t be too concerned
about larger oak trees, as
the oakworm infestation
time will be relatively
short, and there might be
enough time for the trees
to grow some new leaves
before cold weather sets
in.
For more information,
please contact the Dawson
County Extension office at
(706) 265-2442.
ARTHRITIS &
TOTAL JOINT
SPECIALISTS
GEORGIA'S LEADER
IN JOINT REPLACEMENT
At Arthritis & Total Joint Specialists, we deliver treatment for
those suffering from chronic joint pain due to arthritis or other
conditions. Our physicians are board-certified experts and
leaders in joint replacement, and offer the latest in minimally-
invasive surgery, including anterior hip replacement and robotic
knee surgery to return you to activity.
The industry leaders in rapid recovery, we strive to get you home
within hours of your surgery, and with less pain.
• Same-day total joint replacement
• Non-surgical evaluation & treatment of arthritis
• Primary & revision hip & knee replacement
• Robotic surgery
Call or visit for an appointment:
ArthritisandTotalJoint.com
3 CONVENIENT
LOCATIONS
PHONE: 770-292-6500
3400-C Old Milton Pkwy
Suite 290
Alpharetta, GA 30005
1505 Northside Blvd
Suite 3500
Cumming, GA 30041
460 Northside Cherokee Blvd
Suite 430
Canton, GA 30115
Dr. Charles A. DeCook
Dr. Jeffrey P. Garrett
Dr. Kenneth J. Kress
Dr. Jon E. Minter