Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current, April 24, 2019, Image 1
UGA alumni wants football field named after legendary coach LOCAL, 5A Dawson County High senior signs to play soccer at Brenau SPORTS, 1B DawsonCountyNews WEDNESDAY I APRIL 24, 2019 DaWSOflNeWS ^com DAWSONVULE, GEORGIA $1.00 ETOWAH VILLAGE Rezoning denial recommended Residents at April 16 Planning Commission meeting voiced concerns about project By Joshua Demarest jdemarest@dawsonnews.com Representatives of Dawson Village Partners went before the Dawson County Planning Commission April 16 to request rezoning of the proposed location for the Etowah Village mixed use development project in a meeting lasting well over three hours. After hearing arguments and opinions from both sides, the planning commission voted 3-2 to recommend denial of the rezoning to the Board of Commissioners. The majority of residents who stood up to speak at the meeting voiced their concerns with the project, which ranged from increased traffic to the environmental impact to the nearby Etowah River. “I heard this is the same guy that did Avalon and Battery Park,” Dawson County resident Patrick Urutia said. “Those are beautiful places. But I can take my car and be there in 30 minutes or an hour. I can go take advantage of that and then come back home and have peace and quiet in my back yard.” After the meeting, Urutia spoke with the Dawson County News. “I’m not opposed to the develop ment,” he explained. “I don’t want it in my back yard, and I don’t think we need 1,000 acres.” “I’m for smart development, not greed-driven development,” added Dawson County resident John Bianchini. See Rezoning 14A Phase 1 of Main Street Park resumes after months of rain Jessica Taylor Dawson County News Paving begins March 28 on the Main Street Park project in Dawsonville. Months of rain has delayed the com pletion of phase one of the project. City hopes to have playground, walking trails open this summer By Jessica Taylor jtaylor@dawsonnews.com After months of constant rain, dirt finally began to move once more at the site of the Main Street Park in downtown Dawsonville earlier this month. Because of soggy ground condi tions, paving of roads, parking lots and walking trails within the park has been delayed since the fall of 2018, according to Bob Bolz, Dawsonville city manager. “Week before last we had five days without rain and that’s the first time we had that happen since October,” he said. In late March, a few sunny days allowed the ground to dry enough for paving to begin. “That was exciting. We’ve been waiting to see some paving forever because they moved in paving equip ment probably in the fall and it just hadn’t quit raining,” Bolz said. “The problem with paving is the soil’s got to be dry. If it freezes and ruptures, your paving is gone.” Pavement of the roads, parking lots and walking trails is part of the first phase of the much anticipated city park, and now that weather conditions have allowed for the concrete to be poured, installation of the playground, the creation of a dog park, landscap ing and fencing are on the agenda for this year. On March 4, the Dawsonville city council approved the design of the playground that will be installed in the next six or seven weeks. Great Southern Recreation’s design, which includes a zipline, multiple slides, climbing elements and inclu sive swings and wheelchair accessible equipment, will be installed on the Allen Street side of the park. “It’s going to be a destination play ground,” Dawsonville Mayor Mike Eason said. “It’s not going to be just a place with some swings.” There will be elements of the park for older children as well as children with special needs and disabilities. See Park 14A Etowah Water and Sewer Authority hold 1st reservoir project meeting By Jessica Taylor jtaylor@dawsonnews.com The Etowah Water and Sewer Authority conducted an informational meeting recently to update the community on the design and construction of the Russell Creek Reservoir that is set to be built out by the first quarter of 2023. The reservoir will span 137 acres off Etowah River and Seed Tick roads and will accommodate 126,000 people, the project ed population of Dawson County in 50 years. It will cost about $40 million. The authority began the project in 2006 but did not get the necessary 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed until July 2017. At the April 11 meeting, EWSA general manager Brooke Anderson informed the public that the authority has brought in Canadian-based Golder Associates, a glob al consulting, design and construction company, to design and build the project. The authority was originally permitted to construct an intake pump station out in the Etowah River to pull water out and pump through a 24-inch water line to fill the res ervoir, but since then the engineers were See Reservoir 16A Ga. House Speaker faces pressure to resign post By Joshua Demarest jdemarest@dawsonnews.com Ga. Speaker of the House David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, is facing mounting criticism from both sides of the aisle over his use of legislative leave to delay court cases. At an April 17 press conference in Atlanta, State Rep. David Clark, R-Buford, and former FBI agent Derek Somerville presented research in which Somerville documented 1,091 separate legislative leave continuances across 279 cases. A legislative leave continuance is a court order that a lawyer who also serves in the legislature can apply for when his or her legislative duties conflict with scheduled See Ralston 18A 0 9 0 9 9 Inside Volume 4, Number 31 © 2019, Dawson County News Dawsonville, Georgia Church Events 3B Classifieds 7B Dear Abby 6B Deaths 2A Legals 7B Opinion 9A Sports 1B 3A Annual Relay for Life set for Friday Dawsonville moonshiner discusses his craft at library THE MOST IWERFUL CANCER FIGHTING NETWORK 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 NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL CANCER INSTITUTE