About Pickens County progress. (Jasper, Ga.) 1899-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 2019)
PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. OCTOBER 10. 2019 Jasper Council discusses millage, roads, water By Larry Cavender Contributing writer In addressing a rather lengthy agenda, the Jasper City Council considered a number of items of interest at their meeting held Monday, Oct. 7th. A main point of interest was the millage rate adop tion. City Manager Brandon Douglas recommended the current rate of 4.655 mils be continued and the council voted unanimously to ap prove the continuation. Of other items of interest concerned roads and streets in the city. Local residents will be glad to know that the resurfacing Jasper city streets is almost complete. After the council gave approval for ap proximately $312,000 in SPLOST hinds for this phase of repaving, Jasper employee Lonnie Waters announced that this latest round of resur facing will complete all the repaving projects started a few years ago. All resurfac ing was completed with SPLOST funding. The streets scheduled for resurfacing are mostly lo cated outside of the immedi ate city and includes Interstate South Drive behind the RaceTrac and Shelby Lane, among others. The low bid for the three-and-a-half miles of resurfacing was sub mitted by Johnson Paving. Waters added that when this phase is completed, 53 total miles of streets will have been resurfaced and every street within the city limits will have been repaved. To ensure the project will be completed as soon as possi ble, Jasper City Manager Brandon Douglas asked council to approve extra funding to cover any unfore seen expenses. Council mem bers voted to approve an extra $38,000 for a total of $350,000 for the final round of resurfacing. The council also approved $22,000 for re striping of some streets. However, local motorists in the not-to-distant future may still experience some of the headaches and delays caused by resurfacing. Wa ters reported the city has been notified by the Georgia De partment of Transportation of their intentions to repave Highway 515. Although the present surface is concrete, Waters said GDOT plans to repave the four-lane with as phalt. He also said GDOT had informed the city of plans to raise the speed limit from 55 mph to 65 mph on Highway 515 from just south of Jasper past the Worley Crossroads intersection. City Manager Douglas also said GDOT is looking into solu tions to safety concerns and traffic congestion at the Highway 515 to Worley Crossroads intersection. There were also a number of alcohol related issues ad dressed. Council approved the wording of a resolution to appear on the ballot in No vember. If approved by the voters, the city of Jasper would allow the sale of alco hol on Sunday as early as 11 a.m. instead of the current 12 p.m. In a recent session of the state legislature, a measure was passed that gives munic ipalities the option of earlier Sunday sales if approved by voters. Another alcohol related issue was the possible modi fication of the city brewery ordinance. A winery has ex pressed interest in locating RENAS ANT MORTGAGE LENDING Get A Home Loan From THE BEST BANK IN THE SOUTH There's something to be said for developing a relationship with a bank whose people live and work in your community. We get to know you. We understand your individual needs. Whetheryou're building, buying, renovating, or refinancing your home, Donna can help. DONNA TORRES 678.895.7599 dtorres@renasant.com www.donnatorres-renasant.com NMLS#: 1204791 Ask about our single-close construction-permanent options for new construction or renovation! ©2019 Renasant Bank. All loans or offers of credit are subject to creditand underwriting approval. Otherfees, conditions, and restrictions may apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Please contact a loan officerfor details and questions. Bank NMLS: 402669 I Effective Date 04/11/2019 04112019-ACT-1 Forest Glen Apartments 504 Indian Forest Rd. Jasper, GA 30143 706-692-5355 TDD 1-800-255-0056 2 Bedroom Apartments $555 - $655 a month Deposit same as rent Taking applications for waiting list Please call for details Office Hours Mon - Fri 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM FOREST GLEN IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER within the city, and the cur rent ordinance does not ad dress some of the issues concerned with wine distill ing. City Attorney Bill Pick ett feels the best way to address the issue is by a mod ification of the current ordi nance. The council agreed to look into the possible modi fications. The council also agreed to a blanket approval of alcohol license renewal requests from almost a dozen businesses who currently hold those li censes, provided all neces sary requirements have been met. Also, a special one-day alcohol permit was granted for March 14th at the request of Dale Morrisey for Rein hardt University's Shamrock Stroll .5K. The road closure for Main Street for that event was also approved. In other matters, the city will enter into an extended water line agreement/partner ship with private citizens for a 2,000-foot water line exten sion from Highway 108 along Bethany Road. The pri vate group, who wishes their property to be serviced by city water, will construct the water line at their own ex pense, and agrees the city may charge fees for anyone who "taps in" to the water line in the future. Jasper Mayor John Weaver ex pressed some concerns with the process outlined in the proposal for the "tap ins" and whether or not it was consis tent with current guidelines. However, the council unani mously approved the agree ment/partnership. Also, upon the request of the Pickens County Library Board, the council appointed Marcia McDaniel to replace Bobbie Edge who recently resigned. From the commissioner s’ meeting City park project, new Development Authority position, park rules By Angela Reinhardt Staff writer areinhardt@pickensprogress.com The Pickens Board of Commissioners held a brief work session, and subsequent called meeting, on Thursday, Oct. 3. The bulk of the meet ing consisted of department head updates. Among items discussed: •While no formal action was made, county attorney Phil Landrum III spoke about a multi-phase city park proj ect that would enhance the comer of Main Street and Spring Street in Jasper (the green space across from the 61 Main restaurant) if com plete. According to a render ing of the project, which is in early and preliminary plan ning phases, it would include an amphitheater, event lawn, market trellis, multi-use trail and more. Landrum said Dr. Robert Keller of the Atlantic Coast Conservancy is work ing on a grant to help fund the park, and noted that Dr. Keller has spent a great deal of time in the design phase. Landrum said the county and city of Jasper will likely be involved with the grant, which can be between $3 and $4 million and would require matching funds they hope can be fulfilled with in-kind labor from the city and county. “It seems like such a great opportunity to help im prove Main Street and the city of Jasper,” Landrum said. •Commissioners voted to expand the Development Au thority of Pickens County from seven members to eight members, and appointed Jasper City Manager Bran don Douglas to the eighth po sition. Commission Chair Rob Jones said this gives the county and city an opportu nity to work together. “I think this will be a great asset and help us start to work towards that,” he said. Jasper City Council member Sonny Proctor, who was in atten- A rendering of the proposed city park in downtown Jasper, still in formative stages of development. The draw ing is displayed in the Pickens Administration Building. Marine Corps League meeting The N. Ga. Mtn. Det. 1280 Marine Corps League invites all Marines and Navy FMF corpsmen to become in volved with us. We support our active Marines and their families as they are deployed around the globe to defend our way of life. We meet the third Saturday of each month at the Woodbridge Inn for breakfast at 0800 with the meeting beginning at 0900 to 1000. Contact Wayne Poore at 706-692-2836. Semper Fi. If You Aren’t at Your Last Job ... Why Is Your 401(k)? At Edward Jones, we can explain options for your 401(k), including leaving the money in your former employer’s plan, moving it to your new employer’s plan, rolling it over to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or cashing out the account subject to tax consequences. To learn more, call today. Clyde L Cody Financial Advisor 744 Noah Dr Suite 103 Jasper, GA 30143-8705 706-692-0793 edwardjones.com Member SIPC Edwardjones MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING dance, applauded after com missioners approved the po sition. •Public Works Director Kim Quinton reported all re pairs on Grandview Road have been complete. “There were some pretty bad areas we had to resurface there,” he said. •Pickens Parks & Recre ation Director Brian Jones said the department has had issues with parents dropping children “12 and 13 years old and just letting them roam the park. We’ve had to call the sheriff’s office to come out.” Jones said parents tell author ities they don’t see rides about trespassing or age re quirements in writing, so the department has plans to post park rides on signs around Roper Park. The rales were submitted to commissioners for review. •Planning & Zoning Di rector Rodney Buckingham has confirmed all but 85 of the 285 new addresses (from building permits issued in the last year and a half) in the county in anticipation of the upcoming 2020 Census count. The U.S. Census Bu reau hopes most people will take the Census online, which is a new feature this count. 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