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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017
Commerce
employees
may get raise
By Ron Bridgeman
The Commerce City Council would very slightly
increase the property tax rate if it takes the recommenda
tion of City Manager James Wascher.
Wascher explained the city’s tax digest at Monday’s
work session and said the “rollback” rate, that level which
would generate the same revenue as the current millage
rate.
The rollback rate is 4.035 mills, which is .015 higher
than the current 4.02 mills. Wascher said he would recom
mend the slight increase to help offset, for example, the
city’s increased costs for the collection of property taxes.
The city will pay more during 2017 for its tax collec
tion. It just approved a three-year agreement which will
require a payment of two percent of the taxes collected
plus $1 per tax parcel.
The council also will consider a salary increase for city
employees, deeding the Oxford building to the Downtown
Development Authority and potential streets for repaving
at its meeting Aug. 21.
Wascher told council the city’s tax digest increased
about 2.2 percent overall, but he also said the city had
“negative inflationary growth.”
The city’s net digest is about $174.3 million. For 2016.
it was about $170.3 million.
He said property assessments were up and down in dif
ferent categories. Residential values were up about four
percent, but commercial assessments “were down a little”
and motor vehicle values were down nearly 23 percent.
Wascher noted the state’s change in the law about prop
erty taxes on vehicles is decreasing the total each year.
The city manager also said the city has about $200,000
it could use for employee raises. He said each 2.5 percent
across-the-board increase costs about $100,000.
Mayor Clark Hill suggested some combination of raises
for everyone and merit pay increases.
Wascher said he would propose a budget amendment for
the 2.5 percent and a merit increase of about one percent
could be planned for about mid-year. Council members said
annual reviews should be part of the routine for employees
and should be done before merit pay increases are approved.
OTHER BUSINESS
The Oxford building belongs to the city, Wascher said,
not to the Downtown Development Authority.
He said that ownership came to light when the city tried
to negotiate a contract for marketing services with the Geor
gia Trust Investment Group, a nonprofit organization for the
preservation of historic property.
Wascher said a purchase price for the building was
reached, but the trust also requires a brief ownership of the
structure when it is sold so that it can include a provision
allowing it to inspect the exterior of the building annually.
Wascher said the city could request proposals for the
building, or it could deed it to the DDA. He said an RFP
process could be used to see what kind of interest there
might be.
Hill, Keith Burchett and Johnny Eubanks said they would
prefer deeding the building to the DDA because that would
allow for a quicker process. Other council members nodded
agreement.
PAVING
The city manager also passed out a list of potential streets
for repaving, compiled by city employees. No priorities
have been set, he said. The list includes 15 streets and Leigh
Street was added because of expected water line work.
The streets are Cherry Street from State to View streets:
Sunnycrest Street from Forest to Brookwood avenues;
Cotton Street from Spring Street to Shankle Road: Oak
Street from Little to Clayton streets: McArthur Street from
Williford to Victoria streets: Barber Street from Spring to
Shankle streets; Ivie Street from Jefferson Road to Atlanta
Avenue; Atlanta Avenue from Little to Clayton streets;
Dogwood Trail from Jefferson Road to Lakeview Drive;
Paula Street from Hospital Road to dead end; Orchard
Drive from Carson Street o Orchard Circle; Andrew Jack-
son from Hwy. 98 to Roosevelt Boulevard: Hazel Street
from Jefferson Road to Roosevelt Boulevard; Louise Drive
to Lewis Circle on both ends; and Charleston Avenue from
Northwood Drive to Grandview Drive.
Council also:
•heard a report about a rezoning request on Cotton Street
from R-2 to R-3. The planning commission and city man
ager recommended against the rezoning because it would
be a spot zoning.
•heard a recommendation to approve a rezoning and an
annexation on Allen Road for a car recycling station. The
city manager recommended the request be approved with a
limit of four cars on the site. The planning commission had
recommended 20 cars, which would remain for up to 30
days. Council member Bobby Redmon asked that examples
of what other locations of the company look like be sought
and checked before the council votes.
•heard a request for approval of new administrative fees
for services offered through the police department. Fees are
included for open records request, incident reports, accident
reports and background checks, among others.
•agreed to hold the council’s September work session on
Tuesday, Sept. 5, because of the Labor Day holiday.
•heard a request to close Little, Oak and Pine streets
during the annual Tigers on the Town pep rally, set for
Thursday, Aug. 24.
JAMES (JIM)
HAROLD STOWE
Born Sept. 16,1955.
Passed away Aug. 5, 2001
Precious memories treasured ever
of times when we were all together.
Tho' memories fade and life departs
you live forever in our hearts.
In loving memory,
Dad, Mum, Cindy and Family
Hoschton council O.K.s subdivision
By Alex Pace
A preliminary plat for a 39-lot subdivision in
Hoschton got the green light on Monday.
The Hoschton City Council approved the Winterset
Plat for 18.51 acres on West Jefferson Street at Jeffer
son Avenue.
Developers plan to construct a single-family subdi
vision with open space.
Discussion was minimal at the council’s Monday
meeting.
The council discussed a condition requiring devel
opers to grade, level and sod both of its greens. It also
discussed eliminating extra pedestrian lighting around
the green space since that area will already be lit by
street lights.
OTHER BUSINESS
Also at its meeting, the council:
•discussed lowering the depot rates back to what they
were before the council raised them after a dip in rentals.
The council also approved allowing city council members
and staff one free annual event at the depot.
•approved allowing the Angel Ride to use the depot free
of charge for its event Oct. 14. This is the seventh year of
the event for the nonprofit. This year’s proceeds will benefit
a veteran and firefighter who has throat cancer. Last year’s
event raised almost $11,000 for a community member,
•approved several mid-year budget amendments,
•following a 20-minute closed session, approved a
$1,200 pay increase for Karen Buder due to “extended
work duties.”
Two call police for industrial noise
Two people recently complained to the Jefferson
Police Department about noise at local industries, one at
Freightliner and the other at Cardinal DSC.
A woman on Jett Roberts Road complained about
“beeping tones” from a large truck backing up at
Freightliner. She wanted an officer “to tell them to stop.”
An officer said he “could only vaguely hear” the
backing tone with his windows down and in front of the
Freightliner business.
“In no way did any sound that I heard sound obnox
ious or excessively loud,” the officer wrote.
The second call was from a man on Shoreline Drive
who said he had talked to the city manager about noise
levels behind his house at the distribution centers.
He said new equipment that was to be installed to limit
dock noise at Cardinal DSC had not been installed.
Jefferson City Council passed a noise ordinance
amendment in July that added stipulations to mitigate
noise levels in industrial zones that border residential
areas.
The council also approved an ordinance to impose
construction quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. How
ever, the ordinance allows the city manager to grant a
variance from it for up to 90 days.
Sheep a baaad
Some kinds of animals aren’t welcome in the City of
Arcade.
The Arcade City Council turned down two conditional
use requests Monday night from residents who were seek
ing to have some farm animals on their property.
Juan Tirado was denied a request to have nine sheep on
2.6 acres at 339 Azalea Drive. Tirado already has some of
the animals on the property and is subject to city enforce
ment procedures to remove the sheep.
Jazmin Gonzalez was also denied approval to have
a pony and seven chickens on her 3.5 acres at 613
idea in Arcade
Davis Road.
In other action Monday night, the council approved:
• to allow Andrew and Brandi Pieplow to annex into the
city of Arcade. Formerly agricultural in the county, the 2.3-
acre property will now be zoned residential in the city. The
property is located west of Rambler Inn Road.
• a rezoning and variance request for William Rocky
Ochle for a fence company.
• a business license to operate Giles Cleaning & Janitorial
located at Rock Forge Road.
•giving $300 to Jackson County Community Outreach.
Nicholson well work topic at meeting
By Charles Phelps
Work on the Cabin Creek well brought with it some
confusion between board member John Ring and
chairman Walter Barnett at last Tuesday’s meeting of
the Nicholson Water Authority.
Ring asked if plans had been made for the work and
about the funds for the project.
Engineer Mike Bledsoe said the effort will “sur
gically” take the well house apart and put it back
together.
“We didn’t have a real choice what direction to go
in,” Barnett said. “It was the only choice we had, was
to take it down because the next thing you know, it
was going to explode and the well was going to be
dead completely.”
Ring said he interpreted the Georgia Environmen
tal Protection Divisions standards of public water
systems as needing a plan if modification work was
being done on a well and needing approval to do
RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER.
the work.
Bledsoe stated nothing is being modified and it was
on the verge of an emergency to get the well fixed.
NONDISCRIMINATION NOTICE
The Commerce City School System does not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, nation
al origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs
and activities and provides equal access to the
Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.
The following person(s) has been designated to
handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination
policies:
Dr. Joy Tolbert Title IX Coordinator
270 Lakeview Drive
Commerce, Georgia 30529
706-335-5500
joy.tolbert@commercecityschools.org
Meet Dr. Walpert
Dr. Walpert is a fellow of the American Association of Neurosurgery
and a member of the Neurosurgical Society of America. She holds
an appointment to the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards
and is an assistant clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University
of Georgia Health Sciences Campus. She has a special interest in
minimally invasive, microscopic treatment of spine disorders, head
injury and radiosurgery and image-guidance in surgery for brain tumors.
Medical Degree: Tulane University School of Medicine
Internship and Residency: University of Tennessee College of
Medicine
Learn more about Dr. Walpert by visiting
piedmont.org/DrWalpert
Kimberly Walpert, M.D.
Neurosurgery
242 King Avenue
Medical Services Building
2nd Floor
Athens, Georgia 30606
P: 706.475.1870
F: 706.475.1879
f T Piedmont
9 PHYSICIANS