Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 11A
Small Braselton park planned around big tree
City to use
sales tax funds
for project
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A FORMER state cham
pion pecan tree — stand
ing in the center of one of
Braselton’s largest com
mercial and residential
points — will become the
focus of a new park.
The Georgia Forestry
Commission named the
pecan tree behind the
Mulberry Walk retail cen
ter and leading into the
adjacent Mulberry Park
subdivision one of its
champion trees in 2005.
It’s now the second-larg
est pecan tree in Georgia
— after another pecan tree
in Milledgeville was given
the honor in December
2009.
The towering pecan
tree was preserved when
development started on the
mixed-use Mulberry Park
project almost a decade
ago.
A traffic roundabout was
designed around the pecan
tree — taking drivers to
streets off Grand Hickory
Drive in the subdivision
and retail center.
Braselton now plans to
use its Gwinnett County
sales tax money earmarked
for parks and recreation to
create a new, small park
under the tree’s massive
branches.
“The tree should be high
lighted and maintained,
and I’d like for people to
be able to enjoy it,” said
town manager Jennifer
Dees on Thursday. “It
seems like an area that
gets high traffic and vis
ibility could be open to
TO BE CENTERPIECE FOR PARK
This pecan tree on Grand Hickory Drive behind the Mulberry Walk Shopping
Center, located off Ga. Hwy. 211, will become the center of a new, small park in
Braselton. A traffic roundabout circles the tree, which is the second-largest pecan
tree in Georgia.
businesses, as well as resi
dents to enjoy.”
An arborist and a land
scape architect have been
working with the town on
recommendations on how
to preserve the tree within
a park, Dees said.
A conceptual drawing of
the proposed park shows
a small, roped fence pro
tecting the base of the tree
with two covered areas for
sitting. Additional land
scaping is also featured.
Braselton has $195,760
of 2001 Gwinnett
County Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax
(SPLOST) funds available
only for parks and recre
ational uses. The town has
to use the money by the
end of the year.
For years, town offi
cials have considered
how to spend the sales
tax money for parks in the
Gwinnett County portion
of Braselton, Dees said.
The town also spans into
Jackson, Barrow and Hall
counties.
“It has to be in Gwinnett
County,” Dees said. “It has
to be open to the public.”
The money also wasn’t
enough to purchase land
for a public park in the
Gwinnett County por
tion of town, she added.
There’s only an estimated
50 feet of the Braselton
Mulberry RiverWalk in
Gwinnett County.
Braselton already owns
the pecan tree in Mulberry
Park.
That revelation came
to light when town offi
cials were reviewing land
records to ask the subdivi-
Nicholson Water Authority approves bore to complete project
BY BRANDON REED
THE NICHOLSON Water
Authority voted to approve
paying for a bore under
the railroad at Old Athens
Drive to complete work on
a project on Antioch Church
Road.
According to NWA chair
man Tully Westmoreland,
the bore saved the authority
money to go past the rail
road junction.
“We would have had to
dig a lot deeper, too, without
it,” Westmoreland said.
Westmoreland said the
bore was not part of the
original bid, which included
a first bore.
“I made that decision
myself to put that other bore
under the other road down
there,” he said. “It wasn’t
that they left it out or didn’t
want to put it in.”
Westmoreland confirmed
that the second bore had to
be made to complete the
project.
The authority members
voted unanimously to pay
for the extra bore. Authority
vice chairman Daniel Sailors
was absent from the meet
ing
The authority also was
presented with a letter signed
by 13 people on Harris Lord
Cemetery Road requesting
service.
“We don’t have any
thing planned in that area,”
Westmoreland said. “They
had requested one time
Jefferson Community Theatre
announces their upcoming production
J J j
July 22, 23 & 24
7:30 p.m.
July 25 - 2:30 p.m
a play tv Julia brownell
d'irectej tv Jennifer malone
William Duncan Martin Performing Arts Center
located at Jefferson High School
This show is about five middle schoolers who take on overzealous parents,
crazy coaches and nostalgic relatives as they prepare for the annual spelling
bee. With contestants that range from an unflappable cheerleader who
cheers all her words to the anxiety-prone daughter of a movie star, spelling
words correctly may be the least of these kids’ worries! This show is
perfect for all ages..8 to 80...SO bring the entire family.
Tickets - $10 General Admission * $7 Seniors
Tickets available at Main Street office, 28 College Street, Jefferson
(inside Crawford W. Long Museum)
Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. * Sat. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
For information or to reserve tickets,
call: 706-367*5714
Braselton council approves
tattoo parlor ordinance
Photo by Kerri Testement
sion’s homeowners asso
ciation to donate the tree
to Braselton for mainte
nance, Dees said.
“The developer of the
subdivision actually went
ahead and deeded it over
to the town, but never told
us,” she said. “So, appar
ently we’ve owned it for
a couple of years, but we
never knew we did and the
HOA has been maintain
ing it.”
The property with the
tree was part of an overall
land transaction, not a spe
cific parcel, Dees added.
Several homeowners in
the Mulberry Park subdi
vision favor a park around
the tree, she said.
The Braselton Town
Council discussed possi
bly sponsoring a contest
to name the new park.
before, maybe a couple of
years ago.”
The authority decided to
respond with a letter inform
ing the petitioners that the
NWA is concerned about
their needs, and at some
given time, if the money is
in the budget, they will look
at getting water to them.
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
BRASELTON doesn’t have a
tattoo parlor — but if one were
proposed in the town, officials
can now point to an ordinance
regulating those businesses.
On Monday, the Braselton
Town Council approved a body
art ordinance - identical to one
in Buford — that outlines per
mitting a tattoo parlor, and its
operation and procedures.
“I’m proposing it because it
came up about a year ago,” said
town manager Jennifer Dees.
“It’s happening more in this
area. Obviously, if you’re going
to pass an ordinance like this,
you need to do it before we have
any in town who has opened
up an establishment or applied
for one.”
No one has applied for a pro
posed tattoo parlor, she added.
And should someone want to
open a tattoo parlor in Braselton,
the town can’t prohibit it.
Town attorney Gregory Jay
said while tattoo parlors could
be limited through a zoning pro
cess, they couldn’t be banned.
“Could we limit it in certain
places (or) utilize an overlay
(district) or things like that — we
possibly could,” he said.
Tattoo parlors could also be
controlled through regulatory
requirements — such as the
13-page ordinance adopted by
Braselton, Jay said.
“This would prohibit a fly-
by-night, non-reputable (person)
that just comes in and sets it up
— there’s a good bit of regula
tion here,” he said.
The Braselton Town Council
removed the proposed body art
ordinance from Monday’s con
sent agenda to discuss fees.
Dees said she sent an email
to more than 300 city clerks
in the state asking how much
their cities charge for body art
licenses — which are in addi
tion to a regular business license.
Only four clerks responded and
the fees ranged from $100 to
$1,000.
The Braselton council opted
to stick with Buford’s body art
permit fee of $500 and approved
the ordinance.
SPLOST AGREEMENT
GETS APPROVAL
The Braselton Town Council
also approved an intergovern
mental agreement with Jackson
County and its cities for the
SPLOST V (Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax).
Jackson County estimates its
Kelley
Gary
STATE SENATE '
six-year SPLOST will generate
$47.5 million, with the county
receiving an estimated $33.7
million and the cities dividing
$13.7 million based on a per
centage formula.
Braselton will get 2.38 percent
— or an estimated $1.1 million.
The town will use 50 percent
of its sales tax funds on parks
and recreation, and the other 50
percent on paving and repairs of
streets, curbs and sidewalks.
Voters will be asked to
approve the proposed SPLOST
in November. If approved, the
next round of SPLOST collec
tions will start in July 2011.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the Braselton
Town Council:
•met in a closed-door meeting
for 50 minutes to discuss per
sonnel. When the meeting was
opened to the public, the council
took no action.
•authorized the town to
file a pre-application to
the Appalachian Regional
Commission for the Mulberry
River Sewer Interceptor Phase 2,
which will include a new sewer
line to a proposed hospital on
Thompson Mill Road. The town
also recently asked for a federal
$2 million grant for the project,
which has an estimated total
price tag of $4 million.
•approved a conditional use
permit for Heritage Academy to
operate a school at Zion Baptist
Church, located at 2001 Cherry
Drive. The church’s prop
erty is zoned Manufacturing-
Distribution. Heritage Academy
will offer grades 1-12, with stu
dents also doing independent
study at home on specified days
of the week. The school is leas
ing the space from the church
and Heritage Academy is raising
money for a permanent facility,
according to headmaster Ken
Gossage.
•approved a service delivery
strategy agreement with Jackson
County.
•approved the Gwinnett
County hazard mitigation plan
resolution.
•approved a jail housing and
booking contract with Jackson
County. The updated contract
will charge Braselton $30 a day
to book its inmates. The fee
amount is remaining the same
as a previous contract. The town
mostly books its inmates at the
Gwinnett County Detention
Center, which has a cheaper rate,
Dees said.
I NEED YOUR VOTE JULY 20TH
- y
THE GARY PLAN:
^/Reduce Property Taxes
Cut Spending to Lower Taxes
^Attract New Jobs
Crack Down on Illegal Immigration
%/Protect our Conservative Values
PAID FOR BY KELLEY GARY FOR SENATE