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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017
Jefferson annexes part of subdivision
By Ben Munro
A portion of a 68-lot neighborhood north of Jefferson
has been added to the city.
The city council voted 3-2 on Monday to annex 56
homes and nearly 71 acres in Storey Meadows into the
city limits. Malcolm Gramley and Mark Mobley voted
against the annexation, which the Jefferson-Talmo Plan
ning Commission denied at its June 20 meeting.
The council OK'd the annexation in a called meeting at
the conclusion of Monday's work session.
Mark Rudolph, who spoke on behalf of the residents,
said the annexation should have minimal effect on the city
school system. Only 13 school-aged children reside in the
annexed homes and about half attend Jefferson Schools
already.
Rudolph also said the subdivision is already on city
water, while the city is providing trash collection on
several houses. He also said the subdivision has received
some emergency services from the city.
“You’re basically supplying the services; you’re not
getting the tax bases.’' Rudolph said.
NOISE ORDINANCE AMMENDMENT
A proposed amendment to Jefferson's noise ordinance
includes revisions since it was first presented to the city
council. The Jefferson-Talmo Planning Commission did
not approve the original noise ordinance amendment last
month.
The proposal — aimed at mitigating noise levels in
industrial zones that border residential areas — would
now apply to industries within 1,750 feet of residential
or agricultural development, not 2,500 feet as originally
proposed.
The city would also now require any new industry occu
pying a building to construct a fence, berm, wall or buffer
to mitigate noise if it can’t orient its loading bays away
from noise sensitive areas.
Construction quiet hours would also be implemented,
though the city manager could grant a variance for after-
hours construction for a limited time. This would be
imposed city-wide.
The nighttime maximum decibel level, however, will
increase from 45 to 55. City planner Jerry Weitz told the
council in April that 45 was an unrealistically low level
based on a recent noise study.
Weitz mentioned the possible purchase of sound-mon
itoring equipment by the city to help with ordinance
enforcement. City manager Jon Herschell said he felt the
city would commit to hiring a full-time code enforcement
officer next year.
Dan Ferris, with Kubota, expressed his concerns with
the ordinance amendment.
“It might be noise today, but will light from our opera
tion at nighttime become a concern at some point in time?
... If this amendment passes, does it set a precedent for
changes like this that we’re going to have to continue to
come back, as existing industry and even future indus
try, to look at and be assured that this remains a busi
ness-friendly city?”
‘CLEAN OPINION’ OF CITY AUDIT ISSUED
Doug Moses of Mauldin and Jenkins, which handled
Jefferson's recent audit, said the firm issued an “unmodi
fied opinion” of the city’s financial statements.
“Which is a clean opinion, which is what you hope to
get from the audit,” Moses said.
Moses did, however, go over multiple audit adjustments
during his presentation to the council.
“Nothing, in my opinion, (that’s) major but we’re
required to have to report that,” Moses said.
In other business, the council:
•approved a $57,500 budget adjustment to apply
SPLOST money to road repairs on South Shore Drive,
Siding Lane and Burnt Oak Court.
•heard a request from Galilee Partners, LLC. that 54
acres on Galilee Church Road be annexed and rezoned to
develop a 102-home subdivision.
•reviewed a land use management code amendment that
regulates subdivision platting procedures.
•heard that the city collected over $150,000 in LOST
money in June based on May sales, marking a $33,000
increase over June 2016.
•was presented a low bid of $570,464 from Pittman
Construction for improvements to Peachtree Road, Oak
Lane and the city's waste water treatment facility access
drive roadway.
•reviewed an intergovernmental agreement between the
city and Jackson County for the widening of a section of
Hog Mountain Road.
•reviewed a new tax collection agreement between
Jefferson and Jackson County which calls for the city
to pay a two-percent commission on all municipal taxes
collected and distributed on behalf of the city and a dollar
per parcel for the tax commissioner.
•heard from councilman Steve Quinn, who said the
Silver Sneakers senior citizens program at the Jefferson
Recreation Department needs a clean exercise room and
adequate transportation for trips. Quinn noted that the city
promised the group a bus, but hasn’t delivered on that yet.
Commerce city to pay more for tax collections
By Ron Bridgeman
Commerce will pay about $10,000 more in 2018 for tax
collections despite grumbling from city council members.
Council members briefly discussed the new payments for
tax collections at its work session July 3. The council will
consider the agreement at its July 17 meeting.
The council met for 16 minutes in its work session.
“It's a one-pager, so, hopefully, it will go quickly,” City
Manager James Wascher said to open the session.
Wascher said the city will pay 2 percent of its tax digest
plus $1 per parcel that is billed.
He said the new arrangement will cost the city about
$12,000 for the 2 percent and nearly $3,800 for the per parcel
charge.
The city has been paying $1.50 per parcel billed, which
totaled a bit more than $5,600.
“They haven't been doing it since I've been here,”
Wascher said about the county charging the cities more for
tax collections.
He said the new arrangement is legal and is done routinely
in other places in the state.
The change resulted when Jackson County schools com
plained about the discrepancy in charges to the county and
city school systems last year.
Jackson County schools had been paying the higher fees
and complained the Commerce and Jefferson school systems
were not. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners
agreed all entities would pay the same fees.
Wascher and council members agreed the change will
cost Commerce more money “but not as much as doing it
ourselves.”
He said he would like to have the tax collection agreement
as part of the delivery service agreement between the city
and county. It is a separate agreement between the county,
tax commissioner and city. It would be a three-year agree
ment among the city, county and tax commissioner.
“I don’t like setting an agreement that I can't do anything
about.” Wascher said.
In other items, the council heard:
•a recommendation for Goforth Williamson Inc. to supply
three Ras-Was pumps for the wastewater treatment plant.
The contract is for $36,176, including installation. Wascher
said the pumps would be installed one at a time, leaving the
other two working. He said the pumps have been in since
2006.
•a brief report on a renewal with Banks County for the
sale of water. Wascher said the agreement expires in August.
“Pricing and most terms will stay the same,” a memo to
council says. Wascher said some language in the contract
likely will be changed before the July 17 session.
•two budget amendments, one for turnout gear paid for
through a $24,762 grant from the Federal Emergency Man
agement Agency and one for the city's internet fiber project
for $70,000. The city plans to extend the high-speed fiber to
Banks Crossing and the industrial park near there.
•recommendations to approve three mutual aid agree
ments with Banks County, Arcade and Maysville.
Jackson EMC to get power from new solar facilities
Jackson EMC is adding an additional 10 MW of solar to
its energy portfolio by participating in four new solar gener
ation sites in southern Georgia. These four sites are expected
to be in service by 2020 and will bring a total of an additional
200 MW of solar generation to the state,
“As northeast Georgia continues to grow, this is an invest
ment that makes good business sense for our members,” said
Chip Jakins, president and CEO of Jackson EMC. “Our par
ticipation in this project brings enough new solar energy to
our members to provide electricity to 1,400 average homes.”
Jackson EMC members see their power measured in kW
on their monthly bills, and 1,000 kW is the same as one MW.
With the addition of these 10 MW. Jackson EMC will have
a total of 20.7 MW of solar generation capacity. The ener
gy expected with this capacity is roughly 50,000,000 kW
or enough energy to help power 3,200 average residential
homes.
The impact that the four new solar sites bring to EMC
members across Georgia is even bigger. The sites total
capacity of 200 MW produces enough power to help supply
energy to more than 35,000 average households annually.
These new South Georgia sites are only the most recent
projects to be developed in ongoing strategic partnership
between Silicon Ranch and Green Power EMC. Through
this partnership Silicon Ranch will develop, own and main
tain the solar generation on the four new South Georgia sites.
Green Power EMC will then purchase the generated energy
and environmental attributes on behalf of its members, like
Jackson EMC.
The two organizations have previously worked together to
develop a 20 MW solar site in Jeff Davis County, near Hazle-
hurst in 2015 and a recently dedicated 52 MW site, also near
Hazlehurst. More than 30 EMCs, including Jackson EMC,
benefit from the power generated at those two sites.
“Georgia’s EMCs deserve enormous credit for their vision
to provide competitively-priced, renewable power to their
members,” said Green Power EMC President Jeff Pratt.
“Continued improvements in solar cost and technology will
help our EMCs meet their members’ interest in solar energy
and maintain competitive energy costs. We are proud to part
ner again with Silicon Ranch to provide solar energy to them
at such an affordable cost.”
Braselton council member recognized at state meeting
Braselton town councilmember Becky Richardson
received the certificate of recognition from the Harold
F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute during the Georgia
Municipal Association’s (GMA) Annual Convention in
Savannah on Sunday, June 25.
The Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute, a coop
erative effort of GMA and the University of Georgia's Carl
Vinson Institute of Government, provides a nationally rec
ognized series of training opportunities for city officials. To
receive a Certificate of Recognition, a city official must
complete a minimum of 42 units of credit, including at least
18 hours from a list of required classes. The training program
consists of a series of more than 60 courses.
“This is an outstanding achievement,” said GMA Exec
utive Director Lamar Norton. “We commend Councilmem
ber Richardson for this accomplishment and for the dedica
tion she's shown in using this valuable resource to become a
more effective city official.”
People of Commerce
Please remove the Mayor,
Councilmen and
City Manager from office!
They are unqualified.
Hoard plans reading,
signing of new book
G. Richard “Dickey” Hoard will host a book
reading and signing for his new book, “The Missing
Boys.”
The event, which will be held Aug. 7 at 7 p.m.
at the historic courthouse, is hosted by the Jackson
County Historic Courthouse and Historic Archives.
It is the 50th anniversary of the death of Hoard’s
father, solicitor Floyd Hoard.
D. Hoard will be reading a selection from his
newly-published book “The Missing Boys, a story
of murder in a small town, and also from his previ
ous book “Alone Among the Living: A Memoir of
the Floyd Hoard Murder.”
Light refreshments will follow the readings.
Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Admission is free, but reservations are required
due to limited seating.
To make a reservation, call 706-387-7683.
BOE continued from 1A
In other business, the Commerce school board:
•heard that the ELOST, which ended in May, has
a balance of $1.09 million. The new ELOST, which
has had two payments, has $230,000 in it.
•heard that Northridge Medical Center made a
donation of $55,000, the amount the facility would
have paid in taxes. The hospital is now a nonprofit
and does not have to pay property taxes.
•approved the district’s five-year strategic plan
and its balanced scorecard, which includes test
scores. Supt. Joy Tolbert said the district has
received its 2017 CCRPI scores, but she is waiting
for all of the re-testing results that students took.
•approved the district’s “class size resolution.”
which outlines the maximum class sizes the sys
tem can have. Tolbert said the numbers have not
changed “probably, in three years.” The class sizes
range from 10 for some special education classes to
as many as 38 for some high school classes. Com
merce's class sizes are generally smaller than the
maximum allowed.
•approved hiring a new special education director,
Ellaine Gunter, who will work 49 percent. She just
retired from the same position in Jackson County
schools.
•approved hiring Carol Ann Knight as counsel
or at Commerce Middle School, replacing Russ
Brown, who recently resigned.
•hired Arlon Beadles as assistant girls’ basketball
coach for the high school.
•also hired Joe Costyn, who just retired, as a
substitute teacher; Belinda Warnell, who also is a
retired teacher, as a substitute; and Misty Fountain
as a substitute.
•hired Marlene Wilkerson as a bus driver.
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