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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS —Thursday, December 18,2003
Forsyth land to be kept in natural state
By Kim Ash
Staff Writer
A Gwinnett County bank has
granted a conservation easement
for 30 acres of land off Hwy. 20 in
southeast Forsyth County to the
Georgia Land Trust allowing it
to be kept in its natural state to
help preserve the area’s natural
resources, says a Trust representa
tive.
Gwinnett County-based Brand
Banking Co. purchased the land
which sits on Chapel Hill Way off
Echols Road and Hwy. 20 —a
year ago for about $350,000 for
development of a subdivision,
according to bank CEO Bartow
Morgan.
The land, which sits beside the
Princeton Square subdivision, has a
stream running through it and sits
near Lake Lanier.
The company subsequently
changed its plans to develop a sub
division on the property, but decid
ed to keep the land natural and
grant an easement to the Georgia
Land Trust to keep it in its natural
state, Morgan said.
“We do a lot of business in the
county, and we always try to give
back to the county [in which we
develop],” Morgan said.
“We felt it was important to
preserve the’land for the benefit of
our county and those living in that
area,” Morgan said, in a prepared
statement.
The property will not be public
land. The company plans to donate
the land to a church by the end of
the year, Morgan said. The church
cannot develop on the land, nor can
any future owners of the property,
according to the guidelines of the
easement.
According to Al Brashier, a rep
resentative of the Georgia Land
Trust who helped organize the
easement, the land will not be
developed in the future by its cur
rent owner or future owners. The
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Last year, the toy drive col
lected about $30,000 in toy
donations, said Julie Keeton,
vice president of Technology
Park Inc.
According to Keeton, mem-
CFO from 1A
for a position where I could do
essentially some of the things
that I am doing now,” he said.
When he starts with the
county, he said he first plans to
orient himself and become
acquainted with department
heads.
“I want to spend a lot of
time with the different depart
ment heads," he said. “I need to
understand what direction the
county is going in. My goal is to
reduce costs and to keep costs
from rising so we don’t have to
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Photo/Kim Ash
Bartow Morgan, CEO of The Brand Banking Co., stands in front
of land which will be kept in its natural state after the bank grant
ed a conservation easement for the 30 acres to the Georgia
Land Trust, meaning no development can be done on the prop
erty as long as the easement is in effect.
easement lasts forever, he said.
“We were very happy that The
Brand Banking Co. was so gener
ous in donating an easement grant
to this property,” said Brashier, in a
prepared statement.
“Because of the land’s proximi
ty to Haw Creek, a tributary of the
Chattahoochee River, it will protect
almost 3,000 feet of riverfront. The
easement will help minimize ero
sion and flood problems stemming
from the Chattahoochee,” said
Brashier, in the statement.
In an interview, Brashier said
the church could benefit from the
land by enjoying the natural beauty
of the property, or sell the land in
bers of the Fulton County Fire
Department, clad in Santa hats
and armed with music and
sirens, pick up the toys and later
carry the goodies to Hands
Across Forsyth volunteers who
sort and bag the toys to prepare
pass on costs to taxpayers at a
later date."
He resides near Stone
Mountain with his wife of 26
years, Susan, and teen daughters
Cathrine and Christin.
Quesenberry said he does
not plan to relocate for at least a
year.
“[Forsyth County] is a great
county,” he said. “I just want to
make sure the position works
out.” “I don't think I’ve been as
excited about a job in a very
long time,” Quesenberry said.
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the future if it decides to do so.
Brashier said most donors, like
the bank, give the land away to
preserve the natural beauty and
keep the land from being devel
oped.
Morgan said he did not want to
disclose the name of the church.
“We wouldn’t keep the land in
our name,” said Morgan. “The gift
[to the church] is constituted by the
conservation easement.”
The easement is a signed docu
ment that is filed with the Forsyth
County Clerk of Courts. The ease
ment was declared official on Dec.
8, Brashier said. Forsyth County
Commissioner A.J. Pritchett said
them for pick-up by families.
“I feel like this is amazingly
successful,” said Keeton, who
helped organize the event.
“I am always astounded by
the responsiveness and large
outpouring.”
GDOT from 1A
lie, will be a general business
meeting for the board but also
include board discussions con
cerning Ga. 400 and Forsyth
County.
Ga. 400 most likely will be
a major topic of discussion,
the spokesman said.
Board members will meet
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he thinks the conservation ease
ment will be good for the fast
growing area.
“I don’t think we’ve got enough
green space in the county, especial
ly in the south end,” he said. “Any
opportunity we have to get more
acreage [set aside for green space],
we want to take that. We want to
preserve what we have left.”
According to Brashier, the ease
ment benefits the public because
nondevelopment of the land will
help preserve the stream, which is
a tributary of the Chattahoochee
River, and the natural beauty of the
property.
The Georgia Land Trust, which
was originally known as The
Chattowah Open Land Trust,
works to preserve water quality,
natural habitation and recreational
activities. It also controls flood and
soil erosion damage and makes
other efforts to preserve the envi
ronment, according to a press
release announcing the easement.
According to Brashier, the 30
acres is not a large area, but big
enough to make a positive differ
ence on the environment of neigh
boring areas and the whole county.
“It’s just a little speck on the
map,” he said, noting even the
small preservation is good for the
county.
According to Morgan, the land
would have been worth at least
$1.5 million if developed.
The Brand Banking Co. pur
chased the land from Atlanta-based
developers Doug Cotter and David
Moss, business associates of the
bank, Morgan said.
According to the press release,
“The Brand Banking Company is
the oldest locally owned bank in
the Gwinnett and Hall County area.
“Founded in 1905, the bank’s
goal is to combine old-fashioned
personal service with modem tech
nological conveniences,” the
release said.
Hand Across Forsyth, a pro
gram that operates only from
Oct. through Dec., is organized
by The Place to help Forsyth
County families during the
Thanksgiving and Christmas
holidays.
in committees the day before
the meeting in Forsyth County
to discuss the next day’s meet
ing and upcoming transporta
tion issues, said Brantley.
The board always meets
the day before the meetings to
hold discussions between the
committees, he said.
FEUD from 1A
350,000 of which was designated to be used in
the Bethelview area. The location of use for
the remaining 150,000 gallons was not speci
fied in the agreement.
Currently, the 150,000 gallons is being
used at Hammond’s Crossing, a business com
plex near the intersection of Hwy. 369 and
Hwy. 306. On Nov. 18 at the regular city coun
cil meeting, the city initiated its investigation
into the usage of this 150,000 gallons of unal
located sewer capacity.
The county has in place agreements for
both purchasing fresh water from the city and
using sewer capacity. The county hopes to bro
ker an arrangement between the city and
Dawson County for 500,000 gallons of water
for Dawson.
According to the existing agreements
between the city and county, Forsyth County
cannot sell city water to another county.
“Dawson [County] wants to buy water
from Forsyth County, which is prohibited
under the contract with the city,” the mayor
said.
The mayor said that major improvements
on the Sawnee Creek pump will be needed
before additional usage can be added. The city
will look at providing water to Dawson County
on an interim basis.
Gravitt said the county has failed to realize
that SPLOST is not the only thing affected by
city-county relations.
“There are a lot of things that affect city
and county governments. I think they need to
realize that before they start withholding
SPLOST money like they did last month,”
Gravitt said.
The issue of county water and sewer allo
cations will be tabled until the “problems are
worked out” with the city-county intergovern
mental agreements, Gravitt said.
“Basically the mayor wants a meeting with
the county commissioners and the mayor and
council to discuss what’s going to happen and
what needs to happen,” city administrator
Gerald Blackbum said.
In other business, Capt. Gene Sams was
appointed by the mayor and council to the
position of assistant police chief. Cumming
Police Chief Buck Jones recommended Sams,
who has been with the department 22 years.
The position had been vacant since 1997,
when Jones was promoted to chief after serv
ing as assistant chief for 10 years.
The Place has been provid
ing services to the needy in the
county for 27 years, according
to Rosewall.
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The Hands Across Forsyth
program has been in existence
in the county since 1991,
according to Rosewall.