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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 3A
Hoschton still facing shortfall for 2010 budget
Movie theater included
in plans for retail complex
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A 16-SCREEN movie theater
is among the amenities planned
in a major retail center across
from Chateau Elan.
Halversen Development
Corporation is seeking annexation
into Braselton for an additional
21.2 acre site at 2151 Ga. Hwy.
211, near an existing office park.
The property is currently zoned
agricultural in Barrow County
and the Florida-based company
wants it to be zoned Planned
Unit Development (PUD) in the
town.
If annexed into Braselton, it
would become a part of a 216.68-
acre tract south of the property
whose PUD master plan revi
sions were approved by the coun
cil in November.
Overall, Halversen is planning
to develop 1.4 square million
square feet of retail and office
SEVERAL CURRENT or for
mer law enforcement officers with
ties to departments in Jackson
County were given “Pioneer
Awards’’ on Friday as “trailblaz-
ers in their respective profession
or community service efforts.’’
The awards were presented dur
ing the 20th Annual Emancipation
Proclamation Observance and
Pioneer Awards, held at Bethel
Baptist Church, Watkinsville.
For Jackson County, awards
were presented to James
Thurmond Rucker (deceased),
Lovett Law and John Ward.
Rucker, Commerce, was the
first black police officer for the
city. He had four siblings and
was active at Mt. Calvary Baptist
Church under the Rev. Frank
Earls.
Rucker retired as assistant chief
of police for Commerce.
Law, Commerce, is the son of
Bud and Maggie Colbert Law.
He attended Commerce Junior
High School and graduated from
Stillman Industrial High School
in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He spent more
than 10 years in the military.
He married Lucille Law, a for
mer Pioneer Awards honoree, in
1953. They have five children
and seven grandchildren. He is
a member of Sardis Presbyterian
Church, Jefferson.
space on the property located
behind Publix and along 1-85.
The company purchased the
property in November.
A Development of Regional
Impact submitted by the town
last week shows that those plans
include a 16-screen movie the
ater, two restaurants totaling
17,600 square feet of space,
two 76-room hotels, 322,000
square feet of future office space,
832,000 square feet of retail
space and 10 outlots totaling
about 80,000 square feet.
Halversen president Thomas
W. Vincent declined last month
to say which retailers have been
eyeing the Braselton develop
ment, but it would be 18-24
months before ground was bro
ken for the project.
The DRI says the first phase of
the project would be completed
in 2014.
Law has worked with the
Jefferson Police Department and
retired from the Jackson County
Sheriff’s Office. He currently
serves as bailiff for the Jackson
County State and Superior
Courts.
Law said his outlook on fife is:
“Do good and help all I can while
I can.’’
Ward, a native of Oconee
County, graduated from Ed
Stroud High School in 1959. He
attended Albany State College,
the University of Georgia and
Kennesaw State University.
He married Sharon S. Ward in
2004. He has six children and 14
grandchildren. Ward is a member
of Brown Chapel Baptist Church,
Bishop.
Ward has worked in law
enforcement for more than 35
years with the Athens Police
Department, Clarke County
Sheriff’s Department, Oconee
County Sheriff’s Department,
the Jefferson Police Department
and now with Jackson County
Comprehensive High School.
He enjoys mentoring and
working with students at the high
school. He is also a former little
league athletic coach.
Ward said his outlook on life
is: “Continue living and enjoy
ing life.’’
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE GOAL for the Hoschton
City Council over the next
month: Tackle a $165,900
shortfall in the city’s 2010 gen
eral fund budget.
That may not be easy for
the new mayor and council,
which says it has been spend
ing its first few weeks in office
reviewing the 2010 budget
line-by-line.
So far, the council anticipates
that revenue will top $486,384
in 2010, while expenses will
total $652,373 for the general
fund budget, which is similar
to actual expenses and revenue
in the 2009 budget. The council
discussed its water and sewer
fund budget on Monday.
“This is the first step in
facing reality,’’ Mayor Erma
Denney said at last Tuesday’s
work session.
However, the fact is
Hoschton is spending at least
$10,000 more a month than it’s
earning in revenue, said coun
cil member Scott Butler. After
city officials spend the next
few weeks reviewing the bud
get more closely, he expects
to announce by the city’s work
session on Thursday, Feb. 4
which services will be cut or
transferred.
“If we don’t start the process
Feb. 1 — every month that
we wait, it’s just one month
quicker to death for the city, if
we don’t do it,” Butler said.
One thing not likely to hap
pen in Hoschton is imposing a
city property tax. Several coun
cil members campaigned on a
no-tax platform and Denney
said officials plan to avoid a
city property tax “at all costs.”
While Hoschton isn’t in a
financial hole, if the city had
to pay all of its bills right now,
it would be in the red, Denney
said.
“So, right now, we’re focus
ing on literally everyday get
ting by,” she said.
Butler said the city’s water
and sewer budget would avoid
a deficit in 2010 if Hoschton
doesn’t need to do a planned
$485,000 water tank conver
sion project at the sewer treat
ment plant, and spend an esti
mated $100,000 to revamp an
electronic monitoring system
for water and sewer services.
Denney said Tuesday that
a second opinion on the pro
posed water tank conversion
project said that work may not
be needed. Jackson County has
also estimated that the elec
tronic monitoring system will
cost half what was previously
quoted.
But if those two projects take
place in 2010 at the previously-
mentioned costs, they would
financially sink Hoschton’s
water and sewer fund budget,
Butler said.
City officials are also wres
tling with how to fund expens
es in the 2011 water and sewer
budget - which wouldn’t ben
efit from more than $500,000
in revenue in the 2010 bud
get. That revenue includes
$480,000 from a legal settle
ment with the city’s former
engineer and $47,000 from the
sale of unnecessary equipment
at the wastewater treatment
plant.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business on Dec. 29,
the Hoschton City Council:
•met in a closed-door ses
sion for 35 minutes to discuss
personnel and litigation. The
council took no action when
the meeting was opened to the
public.
•discussed revisions to the
city charter. One of the chang
es will include the removal of
previously-annexed property
that later became the center of
a lawsuit with Braselton over
water and sewer service. The
revised charter will also include
the provision to allow the city to
impose “special assessments”
to those who may be able to
connect to the city’s sewer sys
tem. That includes properties
within access to an existing
city sewer line, even if they
are using septic tanks. There is
no sewer line along Peachtree
Road to several subdivisions.
Council member Butler said
the provision would allow the
city to impose the assessments
on an estimated 800 vacant
residential lots. The council is
expected to vote on the city
charter changes on Monday
and then give it to state Rep.
Tommy Benton, who will
introduce it as local legislation
to the General Assembly.
•discussed a request by Greg
Reidling for a building permit
for a proposed three-story self
storage building in the city’s
downtown overlay district on
Ga. Hwy. 53. Reidling wasn’t
present to answer questions
about the proposal. Council
member Jim Cleveland
said he’d make a motion on
Monday to table the request
until Reidling attends a council
meeting to discuss the pro
posal.
•discussed patching West
Jefferson Street from Ga. Hwy.
53 to Walnut Street before
the Georgia Department of
Transportation paves the small
portion of the roadway in April.
Hoschton will use sales tax
funds to pay for the required
pre-work before paving starts.
Nicholson to meet on comp plan update, budget
BY SHARON HOGAN
A RESOLUTION supporting a par
tial update of the City of Nicholson’s
comprehensive plan update was tabled
Monday night in order to give two new
council members time to review the
proposal.
The plan, along with the budget, will
be on the agenda for a council meeting
set for noon on Tuesday, Jan. 12, at city
hall.
At this week’s meeting, new city
council member Chuck Wheeler stat
ed he did not feel like council mem
ber Bobby Crawford or himself knew
enough about the plan to vote on the
resolution. Both of them had just been
sworn in to serve on the council prior
to the presentation on the plan by Jerry
Weitz, consulting city planner.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business:
•the council approved spending
$40,000 towards the installation of 1.2
miles of eight feet wide walking trails
at the East Jackson Park. Commissioner
Dwain Smith and county parks and
recreation director Ricky Sanders pre
sented the trail plans to the council.
The walking trails will be a joint proj
ect with the city and the county. Most
of the 1.2 miles of walking trails will
be on city property, Sanders reported.
Smith advised the county would use
Special Purpose Local Option Sales
Tax (SPLOST) revenue to fund the
project. “We are asking the city to pay
a maximum of $40,000 to help pay for
the concrete,” Smith said. Smith told
the council plans call for work on the
project to start in the spring.
•Mayor Ronnie Maxwell asked each
council member to submit the names
of two Nicholson residents to serve on
a steering committee to have input into
the comprehensive plan. Maxwell asked
the council members to submit the
names at the meeting on Tuesday.
•Weitz advised the council to consider
rewriting some of the city’s zoning and
land use regulations. Weitz said, “They
were hastily written without much pub
lic input. I understand why this was
done, but some of the regulations are
probably not the best fit for Nicholson.”
As part of the comp plan update public
hearings will need to be held and the
zoning and land use maps will need
to be made available for residents to
review, Weitz advised.
•the council unanimously approved
the monthly financial statement. Council
members Wheeler and Crawford did not
vote on this as they had not yet been
sworn in as new council members.
•Maxwell appointed council member
Howard Wilbanks to serve as Mayor
Pro-Tern. Maxwell reported the city
charter allows for the mayor to appoint
the person to serve as mayor pro-tem
and it doesn’t require a vote by the
council.
Law enforcement officers
receive ‘Pioneer Awards’
McDonald to chair PSC
LAUREN “Bubba” McDonald
Jr., formerly of Commerce, has
begun a one-year term as chair
man of the Georgia Public Service
Commission (Commission).
McDonald is serving his
second tour on the commission,
having won election in November
2008 to a full six-year term. He
previously served on the commis
sion from 1998 to 2002.
McDonald announced that
Commissioner Stan Wise will
serve as vice chairman and made
the following committee assign
ments: Stan Wise will chair the
energy committee; Robert Baker
will chair the telecommunications
committee; Chuck Eaton will
chair the transportation commit
tee; Doug Everett will head the
facilities protection committee;
and McDonald, as chairman, will
head the administrative affairs
committee.
The five-member commission
is a constitutional body responsi
ble for the regulation of electric,
natural gas and telecommuni
cations utilities and transporta
tion companies operating inside
Georgia.
Clarification
In an article in last week’s issue on the top 10 stories of the
decade, it was incorrectly stated that the cost of the new East Jackson
Comprehensive High School was $70 million.
The cost of the new high school was $41.7 million for the main build
ings, $1.5 million for the wastewater treatment plant, $1.6 million for the
stadium and track, and a little over $750,000 for the field house.
The $70 million figure was the amount of the bond referendum that
funded the whole round of projects including renovations and major
additions at several existing elementary schools and the construction of
the new Gum Springs Elementary School.
Georgia’s ‘Super-speeders’ law now in effect
BUDGET-CHALLENGED
Georgia began tapping into a
new revenue source on the first
day of 2010.
That’s when the new “super
speeders” law took effect. It’s
a new fine to be levied on the
state’s worst speeders.
Anyone caught doing more
than 85 miles per hour on a four-
lane (or wider) road or more than
75 mph on a two-lane highway
will pay an extra $200 to the
state over and above whatever
local fines are levied.
The surcharge was added last
spring, presumably to fund the
state’s cash-strapped trauma care
centers. However, the legislation
authorizing the charge did not
specify how the money would
be spent, so it’s anyone’s guess
how the legislature will choose
to spend the money.
Offenders may not realize that
the charge applies when they get
the initial ticket.
They’ll be cited by local juris
dictions, subjected to the local
fines, local add-ons and state
add-ons as usual. Then, about
the time they’ve forgotten about
the ticket, they’ll get a letter from
the Department of Public Safety
advising them of the $200 sur
charge.
They’ll have 90 days to pony
up those funds; failure to do
so will result in a suspended
license.
Ginn withdraws from District 47 State Senate race
ANOTHER CANDIDATE for the
District 47 State Senate race has with
drawn from the race.
Frank Ginn, Comer, announced
Saturday that he is no longer running for
the District 47 State Senate seat, currently
held by Ralph Hudgens — who is run
ning for state insurance commissioner.
Ginn, who announced his candidacy
on July 26, was vying for the seat with
Pat Graham, Braselton; Shane Coley,
Winder; and Kelley Gary, Hoschton.
Kenny Weaver, Hull, withdrew from the
race in November.
Ginn’s 10-year-old son, Stephen, was
killed in an accident with a Kubota Mule
in August at the family’s Madison County
home.
“I’ve had the honor of spending most
of my adult life in public service and was
excited by the chance to have a stronger
voice in shaping Georgia’s future,” Ginn
said in a statement.
“However, on August 26 tragedy struck
my family and our world was turned
upside down,” he continued. “My fam
ily and I have been dealing with the loss
of our son as best we can. The support
we’ve received from friends, near and
far, has brought us great comfort. Words
cannot express our appreciation for the
thoughts and prayers from which we have
benefited.”
The 47th State Senate district includes
Barrow, Madison and Oglethorpe coun
ties, and parts of Jackson, Clarke and
Elbert counties.
Qualifying for the election is in April
with a primary set for July.
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