Newspaper Page Text
Fast start sets tone
in Dawson victory
SPORTS, IB
Children get Christmas early
during ‘Shop with a Cop’
LOCAL, 2A
DawsonCountyNews
WEDNESDAY I DECEMBER 26, 2018 DaWSOflNeWS ’COITI DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA $1.00
City considering impact fees
Fees wont slow down growth, consultant says
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
The Dawsonville city council
is considering moving forward
with a study to determine if
they want to implement impact
fees, or fees charged to new
development in order to pay for
services demanded by that new
growth.
The council on Dec. 17 heard
a presentation from Bill Ross
of Ross and Associates, the
same consulting company that
created a study and impact fee
schedule that was adopted by
the county board of commis
sioners earlier this year.
The board of commissioners
passed impact fees at the maxi
mum allowable amount on
Aug. 16, and have since col
lected over $380,000.
Ross said that if engaged by
the city, his company would
create a methodology report, or
a study that forecasts future
growth up to 2040 and selects
the capital improvement proj
ects that would be needed to
support that growth, as well as
details how much those proj
ects would cost.
Ross presented growth pro
jections based on the city’s
growth between 2000 and
2017, wherein the city grew
from fewer than 1,000 people
to almost 2,800 in 2017. Based
off that growth, Ross said the
city could have between 5,000
and 10,000 people by 2040.
With the future growth in
See Impact 18A
Chamber president debunks
Dawson County growth myths
Nominations for
Best of Dawson
end Dec. 31
Photos by Jessica Taylor Dawson County News
Several hundred homes have gone up in Dawson County and the city of Dawsonville over the past few years,
but the population of Dawson County has only grown by 2,291 people in the past eight years.
Population of 26,743 predicted by 2023, current number is 24,521
Apartments recently built behind the Publix shopping center off Dawson Forest
Road are one of very few higher density housing developments in the county.
By Allie Dean
adean@dawsonnews.com
With all of the growth in
the Ga. 400 corridor, new
neighborhoods popping up
all over the city and county
and traffic that often rivals
its metropolitan neighbors,
it’s easy to assume that
Dawson County is in the
middle of a population
boom.
But that is not quite the
case, according to a recent
presentation by Dawson
County Chamber of
Commerce President
Christie Moore.
Moore spoke to the
Rotary Club of Dawson
County earlier this month,
debunking three myths
about the county’s demo
graphics and growth trajec
tory. The numbers may sur
prise you.
Myth: Dawson County’s
population has exploded.
Truth: Dawson County’s
population has grown by
2,291 people since 2010.
Dawson County’s current
population is 24,521,
Moore said, with a predict
ed population of 26,743 by
2023.
“We’re looking at a 1.67
percent annual growth rate,
that is very sustainable,”
Moore said. “That is not
putting an extra burden on
any of our systems.”
In the same period of
time, from 2010 to the pres
ent, Forsyth County has
grown by 52,356 people,
more than two times the
entire population of
Dawson County.
“One of the myths that I
hear a lot is ‘oh my gosh
we’re going to be just like
Forsyth County,”’ Moore
said. “I’m here to tell y’all,
it is physically impossible
for us to be just like Forsyth
County. We cannot build
homes fast enough; if today
we tried, we will never
catch up.”
Moore said that doesn’t
mean Dawson County
won’t grow, just that the
growth will look different
from other counties. And
outside of Ga. 400 and the
city, where most of the new
homes are going up,
Dawson County is still very
rural.
“One great thing about
our community is how
many protected acres we
have,” Moore said. “I’m
going to guess that some of
you live next to Dawson
Forest, or some of you live
on the lake. So between
Dawson Forest, between the
Chattahoochee National
Forest, we’ve also got
Corps property. The amaz
ing thing about those pieces
of property is they cannot
be touched, they are pro
tected.”
Myth: Dawson County’s
population is not very
diverse.
Truth: Dawson County’s
population is very diverse
socioeconomically.
See Growth 16A
From staff reports
There is less than a week left to get nom
inations in for the 2019 Best of Dawson
contest.
Nearly 10,000 nominations have been
submitted so far in the annual reader’s
choice awards contest. Nominate your
favorite business, organization, workplace,
restaurant or person in each of our over
200 categories and give them a chance to
show the world that they are the best that
Dawson County has to offer.
Readers can nominate a person or busi-
ness at www.bestofdawson.com.
Nominations will not immediately appear
as they are moderated to ensure a business
or person is in the correct category and that
they are inside Dawson County.
Nominations will close at midnight Dec.
31. Any businesses not nominated by 11:59
p.m. Dec. 31 will not be eligible for the
voting period, which will begin Jan. 7 and
run through Feb. 3.
Winners will be announced in a special
publication magazine that will insert into
the Dawson County News on March 27.
For information on marketing opportuni
ties in this year’s contest, contact Brenda
Bohn, general manager, at 706-2650-3384
or bbohn@dawsonnews.com.
School safety a top
priority for state
legislators in 2019
By Joshua Silavent
DCN Regional Staff
With new federal and state reports on
school security now public, Georgia law
makers are looking to spotlight measures
in 2019 to address the safety of students
and faculty on campuses.
“School safety will be a very high priori
ty, and rightfully so,” Sen.
Butch Miller,
R-Gainesville, said.
“We’ve seen violence and
death and destruction in
school settings as a nation
al trend.”
President Donald
Trump’s school safety
commission on Tuesday
made recommendations in a report that
lays out dozens of suggestions to improve
safety in America’s schools.
Trump created the commission in March
following a Parkland, Fla., school shooting
that killed 17 students and staff members.
The report covers areas ranging from
mental health and cyberbullying to the reg
ulation of guns and violent video games.
On the question of whether schools should
arm teachers and other employees, the
panel said it should be left to states and
schools to decide, but the panel noted that
schools can use certain federal grants for
firearms training.
“Our conclusions in this report do not
impose one-size-fits-all solutions for every
one everywhere,” Education Secretary Betsy
DeVos said in a call with reporters. “Local
problems need local solutions. This report
See Safety 17A
Miller
9 0 9 9
Inside
Volume 4, Number 14
© 2018, Dawson County News
Dawsonville, Georgia
Church Events
3B
Classifieds
8B
Dear Abby
7B
Deaths
2B
Legals
8B
Opinion
9A
Sports
1B
4A Dawson
Development
Authority
presents
2018 update
5A Emergency
personnel
recognized at
banquet
