Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 132 NO. 44 52 PAGES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 50« COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•Thompson to seek
second term on BOC
page 2A
•Commissioners to offer
deals for rights-of-way
page 2A
Op/Ed:
• 'State should leave home
schooling alone'. . . page 4A
Sports:
•Panthers throw two shut
out games
page 1B
Features:
•Jefferson man prepares for
150-mile Gobi Desert race
page 1C
Other News:
•School News
pages 8-11A
•Public Safety
pages 8-9A
•Legals
pages 7-19C
•Church News
pages 6-7B
•Obituaries
pages 10-11A
Building permits drop 60 percent
Fewer lots also platted
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE NUMBER of new residential building permits
in Jackson County issued during the first quarter of
2008 dropped more than 60 percent, compared to the
same time last year.
An analysis of building permits issued in the county
and its nine cities shows that the new residential mar
ket in Jackson County is slowing down.
In the first three months of 2007, there were 337
new residential permits issued; for the same time
period in 2008, that figure fell to 132 — accounting
for a 60 percent drop.
In Jackson County, cities issue their own building
permits while the county approves permits for unin
corporated areas.
The three largest government agencies that issue
building permits — Jackson County, Braselton and
Jefferson — also reflect a sharp decline in new resi
dential growth.
In the first quarter of 2008, Jefferson issued 10 new
residential permits, compared to 63 during the same
time period in 2007, marking an 84 percent drop.
Unincorporated Jackson County’s permits declined
by 56 percent, from 134 issued in the first quarter of
2007 to 58 in the first quarter of 2008.
Braselton issued 102 building permits in the first
quarter of 2007, and 48 in the first quarter of 2008,
a 52 percent decline. Braselton’s numbers reflect the
building permits issued in its four-county town limits
of Jackson, Barrow, Hall and Gwinnett.
By the end of 2007, there were 989 new residential
continued on page 3A
First Quarter Building Permits
Area/Town
Unincorp. Jackson Co.
Braselton
Jefferson
Pendergrass
Commerce
Maysville
Hoschton
Arcade
Talmo
Nicholson
2007
134
102
63
18
9
5
4
1
0
1
2008
58
48
10
0
4
6
2
0
0
4
FEWER NEW HOUSES
It’s a scene apparently fading in Jackson County for the time being — construction crews working on
new houses. An analysis of building permits issued in the county and its nine cities shows that few
new residential permits are being issued. This new house is located in the Fountainhead subdivision
in Jefferson. Photo by Brandon Reed
Bell probe over; DA
says no case to pursue
BY ANGELA GARY
GEORGIA Bureau of
Investigation probe into
allegations of miscon
duct by former Arcade police chief
Dennis Bell has ended and the dis
trict attorney says there is “no legal
basis” to pursue prosecution.
“The results of this investiga
tion show that there is no legal
basis for presentation of this mat
ter to the grand jury,” DA Richard
Bridgeman wrote in a letter to the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
“Therefore, this file will be admin
istratively closed with no further
action anticipated by this office in
connection with this case...Many
of the allegations contained in the
original complaints made in this
matter, while troubling, would not
Dennis Bell
resigned in 2007 as
chief of the Arcade
Police Department
after 11 years of
service. He was
given a $25,701
settlement from
the city.
constitute prosecutable criminal
conduct.”
Allegations of ticket fixing,
gambling, corruption, and falsifi
cation of work hours were made
against Bell in anonymous letters
sent to the City of Arcade and
the state attorney general’s office
in October. Several weeks later,
continued on page 3A
JCWSA plans to lower water rate to entice Braselton as customer
BY REDUCING its wholesale water rate,
the Jackson County Water and Sewerage
Authority hopes to entice Braselton to buy
water from it instead of from Gwinnett
County.
The authority is expected to act Thursday,
April 17, on a proposal by its chairman,
Hunter Bicknell, to reduce its wholesale
rate to a flat $3 per 1,000 gallons.
Currently, the rates differ with virtually
every customer. The authority sells water
to both Braselton and Hoschton, as well as
to Jefferson at rates ranging from about $3
to $4.50 per 1,000 gallons.
Bicknell hopes the rate reduction will
allow the authority to supplant Gwinnett
County as a water supplier to Braselton,
a move that, he says, could bring in
$30,000 a month in additional revenue
based on the sale of about 11 million gal
lons per month (mgm).
To do that, however, the author
ity would have to beat Gwinnett’s
price, which Bicknell said is
$3.60 per 1,000 gallons.
Driving the proposal is the
authority’s cost for water from
the Bear Creek Reservoir, a cost
that declines (per 1,000 gallons)
as it takes more water. Selling
an extra 11 (mgm) to Braselton
would not only generate more
revenue for the authority, but it
would also lower the authority’s overall
cost per 1,000 gallons. During 2006, the
authority’s average cost per 1,000 gallons
was $1.50 as it sold an average of 61.8
mgm. But in 2007, with sales restricted by
the drought, the cost rose to $2 per 1,000
gallons for the year and peaked at $4.15
per 1,000 gallons in November
when water restrictions reduced
usage to 19.2 million gallons.
“We need to sell all the water
we can sell and drive down the
cost of water from Bear Creek,”
pointed out manager Eric Klerk.
According to Bicknell,
Braselton buys about 11 mgm
from Gwinnett County. It
also buys 700,000 gallons per
day from Barrow County at
$1.60/1,000 gallons — a price
the authority can’t match.
The authority has apparently made over
tures to Braselton about switching to Bear
Creek water.
“They have indicated a price they would
like to get it for — less than $3,” said
Bicknell, who suggested that the author
ity could probably do better. “If it is
cheaper from us, that 11 million gallons
a day would come from us, not Gwinnett
County,” he added.
Under its current tiered structure, the
more water a customer buys, the more it
costs per 1,000 gallons. Bicknell wants to
do away with that “conservation rate.”
“We shouldn’t have conservation pric
ing on our wholesale sales,” he said.
“Conservation pricing should be handled
at the retail level.”
While the change could benefit Braselton,
it would have little effect on Hoschton and
Jefferson, which also buy from the author
ity. Hoschton already pays about $3/1,000,
while Jefferson has a long-standing con
tract under which it can buy 200,000 to
250,000 gallons per day at well under
$3/1,000.
BICKNELL
Nicholson council OKs
city marshal’s office
TAKING A VOTE
The Nicholson City Council votes to approve establishing a Marshal’s office in the city. Pictured are,
left to right, council members Faye Seagraves, Howard Wilbanks, Nicholson Mayor Ronnie Maxwell,
city clerk Wendy Carter, and council member Paul Cartledge. Photo by Brandon Reed
BY BRANDON REED
THE CITY of Nicholson now
has a marshal’s office, and has
hired a marshal as well.
The city council voted unani
mously Monday to pass a reso
lution to establish the marshal’s
office and to hire Dan Crumley to
fill the marshal’s position.
Council member Lamar Watkins
was absent from the meeting.
Mayor Ronnie Maxwell stressed
that the intent of establishing the
office had nothing to do with want
ing to issue traffic citations.
“This is not for any traffic
arrests,” he said. “It’s to enforce
Dan Crumley
will serve as
Nicholson’s first
■ marshal. Mayor
Ronnie Maxwell
said the marshal’s
office will not issue
[ traffic citations.
the codes and our ordinances.”
Crumley told the council
members that he would take the
resolution to the Peace Officers
Standards and Training Council,
who will acknowledge the creation
of the agency, and give it credit
and authority as a law enforcement
agency. The GBI will issue an
agency identification number for
the office. Crumley said the office
is probably looking at a two-month
process.
Crumley said he has given the
mayor a proposed budget for the
office, which the council will take
up in the near future.
“It’s been a long time com
ing, but I’m glad you got here,”
Maxwell said.
In other business, the council;
•voted unanimously to approve
the building of a duplex on a two-
acre tract on Cedar Drive.
continued on page 3A