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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018
Jefferson re-instates decibel limit
Apartment project slammed
Citizens say development l doesn’t fit the area ’
By Ben Munro
The Jefferson City Council has amended
the city’s noise ordinances, but re-instated
a night-time decibel-level limit — a stipula
tion left out of its original revisions.
The council unanimously approved the
city's noise ordinance amendments Monday
after much discussion of the changes during
last week’s work session.
The night time or quiet hours (10 p.m.
to 7 a.m.) decibel-level restriction is now
at 70 decibels, but there is no decibel-level
restriction during the day (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.).
The amendments include new restrictions on
noise nuisances presented last week.
A decibel-level limit was left out of the
city’s original changes to its noise ordi
nances, which were presented at the Jeffer-
son-Talmo Planning Commission last month
and again last week at Jefferson’s work ses
sion. The city had previously operated under
a quiet-hours decibel limit of 55.
In place of decibel-level restrictions, the
city staff drafted a noise nuisance ordinance
to target offending noises (such as alarms,
gunshots, fireworks, party noise, construc
tion and industrial operations including load
ing and unpackaging) and limit them during
quiet hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The staff drafted the change after review
ing a six-page legal opinion from the law
firm, Carothers and Mitchell, that said vio
lations based on decibel levels may be hard
to enforce as sound meters do not indicate a
source. There were also concerns that read
ings over the 55-decibel limit might be the
result of ambient noise.
But the omission of a decibel-level limit
was met with criticism from some citizens
at last week’s meeting and also prompted
some on the council to ask for an objective
measurement of noise.
City manager Priscilla Murphy announced
Monday that the 70-decibel limit, “after
much discussion,’’ had been added. She also
said an exemption for industrial sites where
berms or other methods of noise mitigation
had been constructed was removed.
Other changes in the city’s noise reg
ulations include unanimous approval of
an amendment to remove a time-limit for
industries seeking a variance to the noise
ordinances during construction. Originally,
an industry could apply for a 90-day vari
ance to construction-hour restrictions. Now,
the exemption can last for a “specified peri
od,” if approved by the city manager.
In other business, the council:
•approved a request from IDI Logistics
Services Group LLC to rezone 6.86 acres on
Hwy. 82 and Logistics Center Parkway from
light industrial to highway commercial for a
gas station and retail.
•approved requests from the city to rezone
two parking lots at Old Jefferson Cotton
Mill. A lot on Lynn Avenue and Cobb Street
will switch to a highway commercial zoning
and a lot on Lynn Avenue and Hoschton
Street will now carry an office-institutional
zoning.
•voted to expand the Jefferson Historic
Preservation Commission from five mem
bers to seven members. The original propos
al was to increase to six members but during
discussion at last week’s meeting, it was
suggested the board expand to seven mem
bers as it was originally during its inception
in the late 1980s.
•approved a resolution amending the city’s
urban redevelopment plan.
•voted for city employees to begin work
on a new ordinance for traffic studies con
cerning projects that might be high-traffic
generators.
By Mike Buffington
Developers of a proposed apartment
complex on Thompson Mill Rd. near
Spout Springs Rd. faced a lot of citizen
pushback at a community meeting held
to discuss the plans last week.
The Braselton Planning Commission
is slated to consider the proposed project
for an annexation and rezoning at its
meeting June 25 at the Braselton Police
and Municipal Court Building. The Bra
selton Town Council could take final
action on the request at its July meeting.
Last week, George Tullos outlined
plans by MVH Partners Affordable
Housing for the 240-apartments project
on 30 acres. He said the development
would have 1-3 bedroom units, a pool,
a clubhouse and a walking trail. Tullos
said the project is targeted toward “lower
middle class” families with household
incomes of $31,000-$52,000. The proj
ect is not public housing or Section 8
apartments he said. MVH does, however,
make use of the low-income housing tax
credit to finance the project in return for
offering lower rental rates. Rental rates
for this project are projected to be $700-
$1,000, Tullos said.
CITIZENS OPPOSED
While the impact of the proposed
project on traffic and schools got some
discussion, most of the pushback came
from those opposed to low income apart
ments in an area dominated by expensive
houses.
“We want owners, not leeches,” said
one woman. “We want people invested
in the community.”
When Tullos replied that not everyone
can afford to buy, she said, “So? I can’t
live in Beverly Hills.”
Other audience members made similar
comments.
“It doesn’t fit the other neighborhoods
in the area.” one man said.
Another man said the community had
nearby homes approaching $500,000.
“There’s such a huge gap between
what you want and what we have,” he
said.
Tullos said that market studies for
the area show a need for lower-priced
housing. But some audience members
weren’t convinced. “Where are they?”
one woman asked.
Several audience members suggested
the apartment project should be moved
“north” to exits at Hwy. 53 or Hwy. 129
(Jefferson).
Another woman said the community
around the area is “really conservative.”
“You’re probably going to have a real
ly hard uphill battle selling that bleed
ing-heart thing,” she said about the need
for lower-priced housing in the area.
“Your target is not those who get up go
to work and bust their tail to get what
they need or want — they (apartment
renters) find other means.”
Tullos replied, “Wow, I don’t know
how to respond to that.”
Loose lid raises a ruckus
Independence Day events coming up
Independence Day celebrations are
coming up in Commerce and Jefferson.
Commerce Main Street will hold its
Independence Day celebration from 6
p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, June 29. There
will be fireworks, music, vendors, food
and inflatables.
For more information, call 706-335-
2954.
The annual Jefferson Freedom Festival
will be held Saturday, June 30, from 5
p.m. to 10 p.m. on the square in down
town Jefferson.
There will be live music from “The
Grains of Sand,” a fireworks show, free
concert, food, retail vendors, games and
more.
The event is hosted by the City of Jef
ferson and Main Street Jefferson.
For more information, visit www.
mainstreetjefferson.com or call 706-
367-5714.
County BOE sets tentative budget
The budget for the Jackson County School
System next year is expected to be six per
cent higher than the current year. The board
of education approved a tentative $74.5 mil
lion FY2019 general fund budget last week.
The system’s millage rate won’t be set
until September after the tax digest has
been finished. At that time, the system will
approve the final shape of the budget.
In income, the tentative budget calls for
leaving the system’s tax rate at 19.131 mills
with the digest expected to go up by 6.75
percent. That is expected to generate an
additional $2 million for the system if the tax
rate isn’t rolled back. The system also antic
ipates a $2.1 million bump in state funding
next year.
On the expense side, most of the increased
costs is in instruction at $2.6 million fol
lowed by an increase in student transporta
tion expenses of $520,000.
The tentative budget calls for nearly 30
new positions in the system with most of
those teaching positions. Two new school
counselors and seven new bus drivers are
also being added to the system’s employ
ment roster.
Among the largest line-item increase in
the system’s expense next year will be a
$2 million hike in the amount the system is
required to put into the state’s teacher retire
ment system.
NEW HIGH SCHOOL
Among other financial items coming up
for the school system in FY2019 is the
construction of a new high school in the
Braselton-Hoschton area on Hwy. 332. That
school will take the place of the current Jack-
son County Comprehensive High School
facility, which will be converted into a col
lege and career academy in 2020.
To build the new high school the system
plans to call for a vote in March 2019 for
a $50 million bond referendum. Some of
the system’s ESPLOST could be used to
pay toward part of that debt. Without using
SPLOST, the system’s bond millage rate
would be between 4.2 and 4.7 mills.
OTHER ACTION
In other action at last week’s BOE meet
ing, the board approved:
• a list of surplus items to be disposed of.
• the solid waste bid for the system to be
awarded to Waste Management.
• the general liability insurance bid be
awarded to Auto Owners.
• the worker’s compensation insurance bid
be awarded to Liberty Mutual.
• a list of revised job descriptions.
• a bid to sell property the system owns on
Martin Street in Jefferson.
• the purchase of two activity school buses
and the purchase of additional Chromebooks
for the system.
Headmaster’s
Corner
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BY CHARLES PHELPS
A heated discussion took place over dam
aged lawn mower blades at last week’s
Nicholson Water Authority meeting.
Nicholson resident Walter Hedrick asked
the authority to pay for the replacement of
his lawn mower blades after they were dam
aged due to the water meter lid not being
completely secured during a meter check
and his blades hitting the lid.
Water authority chairman Walter Barnett
said the authority would replace the lid, but
it wasn’t going to pay for the replacement
blades.
“In the first place, you don’t run over a
meter base,” Barnett said. “If you do that,
you compress the weight of the mower
down on the box and you’ll break your
lines.”
Hedrick responded: “In the first place, it
caught the edge of the blade. The mower
deck fits outside the wheel frame. You know
that as well as I do and you can’t come up
to them.”
Hedrick put a flower pot over the water
meter and dirt on top to fill the hole so no
one could step in it.
After more back and forth, the water
authority’s attorney, Tom McCormack,
addressed Hedrick.
“I would chalk it up to the fact that you
had a new mower, you had your deck set
too low,” McCormick said. “Heck, I’ve
done the same thing, made the same mis
take. You lost a set a blades out of it. You
got new blades. You learned a lesson. Let’s
move on.”
Hedrick responded: “I didn’t say it was
the first time I cut my lawn with the mower.
I said it was the first time I made a payment.
I’ve cut my lawn three times prior to this
and then (the employee) came out and read
the meter, left (the lid) up. Is it my responsi
bility to go behind her and check her job?”
McCormack replied that it was Hedrick’s
responsibility to not ran over something that
may have been on “crossways.”
Barnett added that 405 meters are having
to be checked manually right now due to
bad software in some of the town’s water
meters.
“I’m not taking up for anybody, but we’re
all human and we’re going to make a mis
take.” Barnett said.
In other action last week, the authority:
• heard from Mike Bledsoe, engineer
for the water authority, announcing bids
will be taken on July 12 for the Staghorn
project. No customer’s water will be cut
off during the project, Bledsoe said. The
project entails that a section of Staghorn
homes has a main water line running
through the woods and over the dam, once
the project is complete everything will be
in the right of way.
• learned the authority is in the process
of getting replacement meters with soft
ware that works.
• learned that the authority is in talks
with the City of Nicholson to take over
the current building the water authority
resides in. The city recently moved from
the Lakeview Drive building to the former
Benton Elementary School.
Arcade allows transfer of business license
BY CHARLES PHELPS
The Arcade City Council unanimously
approved the transfer of the Arcade Food
Mart business license to Youssef Faridian at
Monday night’s city council meeting.
In other action Monday:
•Councilman Tom Hays announced Wil
liamson Street has been paved.
The
Jackson Herald
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