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PAGE 10A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MARCH 4. 2021
Continued From 1A
EV
can fully charge a 250e in
three hours,” according to in
formation about the product
on the ClipperCreek website.
It will take about an hour
to charge a vehicle at the EV
station in front of ACC, and
Keller hopes that people will
enjoy the downtown area
restaurants, shops, and brew
ery while they wait. He
added that a stop in Jasper
makes sense for motorists
travelling north from the
metro area.
“That RaceTrac on [Hwy.]
515 stays extremely busy,”
he said. “With the distance
from the Atlanta area, we are
a good spot to stop and take
a break. Maybe we can pull
in some of that traffic as
well.”
The Jasper station is listed
on PlugShare.com, which has
an EV charging map/data-
base that helps motorists plan
their trips. There are a few
listed in Gilmer County and a
few in Cherokee County, but
none other than Keller’s in
Pickens. [Note: There is an
EV station at a local business,
installed in 2015, but it has
primarily been used for the
owner’s personal use.]
Keller agreed electric cars
aren’t prevalent here yet, but
believes they will continue to
gain momentum in the com
ing years. He pointed to gov
ernment agencies that have
committed to convert their
fleets to all-electric, as well
as a commitment by the
country’s new top leadership
to combat climate change.
Car companies are ramping
up their EV offerings, too,
and charging network infra
structure is being expanded
around the globe. In January,
for example, GM announced
it would go all-electric by
2035 and phase out gas and
diesel engines. They also an
nounced they would triple
the size of their electronic ve
hicle charging network and
add over 2,700 new chargers
in the next five years.
“We’re in land conserva
tion and there is a new push
to address climate change,”
Keller said. “This is some
thing I wanted to do and I
think it looks good for us to
show that we’ve got 21st
century technology here. Ten
years ago the only reliable
option was Tesla. Now
everyone has an electric op
tion and I think there will
continue to be a rise in popu
larity.”
Continued From 1A
School
tomey but in her opinion it is
resolved. She said that in
terim-superintendent Tony
Young should be there for the
foreseeable future.
In a phone interview,
board member Tucker Green,
who had voted in the minor
ity opposition against remov
ing Townsend, also said it is
time to move on for the
school district.
Making clear his minority
status on the board, Green
said he hasn’t been told what
the three-member majority
plans now for the superin
tendent position, but he felt
sticking with Young as super
intendent is clearly the best
course.
“The best interest of the
school district is to let things
settle down,” he said. “Tony
Young knows what’s going
on. I have heard no com
plaints since he became in
terim.” He added the board
needs to put this “little deba
cle” behind us.
Board member Steve
Smith called the Progress ed
itor to say he was very frus
trated with the way the whole
thing has been presented and
wanted to discuss the matter
and set the record straight,
but Smith did not appear for
the meeting. When texted he
rescheduled, but then didn’t
come to the second meeting
and didn’t respond to text
messages about it.
In an phone interview
Monday evening March 1st,
Rick Townsend said he also
considers the matter re
solved. He said that he was
“satisfied but not happy”
with the final outcome.
In a Facebook post,
Townsend wrote, “Yes, I’m
disappointed I’m not able to
complete some of the goals
that I had, but am glad I had
the opportunity to lay the
groundwork for future
change in Pickens. There was
no wrongdoing on my part
and I fell victim to politics,
but knew that was a possibil
ity when I agreed to accept
the position. It’s time to
move on and continue to
make a positive difference in
the community and spend
more time with my family.”
Townsend said he hadn’t
originally intended the social
media post to be a public
statement, but after it was
widely-shared he said it
pretty well sums up his view.
Townsend wanted to reit
erate two conditions with the
separation negotiations. First,
the board “honor the terms of
his contract,” which they did
by paying him the remaining
28 months. Second, “they
honor my name.” Townsend
said he has had some con
cerns over this and will con
tinue to watch for any
statements where anyone
tries to later blame him for
something. He wanted it
clear and publicly maintained
that this was a no cause ter
mination.
Townsend also wanted to
point out some of the ground
work he had laid including:
•College and Career
Academy initiative, which he
said he would still like to be
involved in if they want his
input;
•New Ag facilities;
•Expanded post-sec
ondary class options at Chat
tahoochee Tech;
•Helped special needs
population be “as main
stream as possible;”
•Benefit package review
for all teachers and staff
Finally, Townsend said, “I
am really impressed with the
teachers and staff. It was nice
to see them so engaged in the
pandemic and the parents
have been really supportive.
With the parents here so
committed and engaged it
gives Pickens County a big
leg up over other school sys
tems. And this was not some
thing that Rick Townsend
did. It was something they
were already doing when I
got here.”
Financial plan to cover
payment of superintendent
payout:
The board, through their
attorney, released a statement
Friday, Feb. 26th showing
how they would make cuts to
balance the amount that had
to be paid to Townsend.
Here is the release in its
entirety:
“As you are aware we
hired Tony Young as our in
terim superintendent. We had
interviewed Mr. Young dur
ing our superintendent search
last year, and in that inter
view, Mr. Young presented a
plan to reorganize the front
office in a manner that would
increase its efficiency as well
as having the by-product of
decreasing the funding re
quired of the office. We have
asked Mr. Young to imple
ment that plan and he has
begun that process.
A major part of this reor
ganization will be the elimi
nation of the assistant
superintendent position and
chief accountability officer
position. The duties of these
positions will be redistributed
among existing staff and
those staff members are ex
cited to be a part of this new
plan.
The salary and benefits for
these two positions are
$565,604.88 over the next
two years. Although we had
to pay two years of salary to
Dr. Townsend in the amount
of $406,014.73, we are
pleased to see that Mr.
Young’s plan gives us the ca
pability to issue that check
without an impact to our
budget over the next two
years. In addition to the
amount paid to Dr. Townsend
($406,014.73), the district
was also liable for a FICA
payment in the amount of
$13,329.88 and a Workers
Compensation payment of
$2,354.89, for a total liability
of$421,699.50.
Mr. Young has adapted his
original plan to our current
needs. His original plan
called for an analysis of our
existing programs and the
elimination of those which
were not effectively serving
our needs. The program that
meets that definition more
than any other at this time is
our Pearson virtual program.
Many parents have expressed
frustration about the Pearson
program, and after our analy
sis of its efficacy, we have
decided to eliminate the pro
gram together with its costs.
The district spent
$301,940.00 on this program
this fiscal year.
The personnel actions de
scribed above will give our
budget a net gain of
$143,905.38 over the next
two years, and we look for
ward to exploring more ways
to improve efficiency and
lower costs within our district
while still providing a won
derful education for our chil
dren.”
Continued From 1A
The two ballfields at Jasper City Park could begin to be used by Pickens County’s gov
ernment’s sports programs. Jasper Council has approved an agreement that will now make
its way to county commissioners for final approval.
Council
“And in addition to what’s
underway, we’ve got more
that are being talked about
but not in those later stages of
development,” Waters said.
The development director
doesn’t recall this much
building activity at one time
in recent history. The last
large residential development
he remembers is Arbor Hills,
which was constructed in the
early 2000s.
At their meeting, council
looked over site plans for
Phase I of the Gateway at
Grandview project. Unlike
the phase currently under
construction, this phase will
be mixed-use and include a
62,000-63,000 sq. ft. assisted
living facility with approxi
mately 85 beds, commercial
outparcels, townhomes, and
more.
A proposed development
off North Main Street also
came closer to reality after
council approved a first read
ing to annex and rezone ap
proximately 16 acres into the
city as R-3. The developer in
tends to construct a cottage
home community. This ap
proval was made with condi
tions that site plans in
compliance with the R-3
standards be provided before
any land disturbance. Jasper
City Manager Brandon Dou
glas said in a later interview
that he would not know the
number of units until those
site plans are complete, but
that when using the 13,000
sq. ft. lot size requirement for
R-3 it appears there could be
at most 53 lots. This annexa
tion will not be finalized until
the second reading.
Council also approved
purchase of up to $65,000 for
materials and in-kind instal
lation of a lift station to make
wastewater service available
to the Worley Preserve devel
opment. Council accepted a
bid of $41,848 from Pro
Pump Solutions for materi
als.
The city manager told the
Progress this “cost-sharing”
arrangement was made be
tween developer Gary
Copeland and the city in
2019, and that the benefit to
the city would be additional
customers and the extended
lines.
“There was a request
made of council for the cost
sharing for this project to ex
tend services from around
RaceTrac to the Worley
Crossroads development,”
Douglas said.
The entire cost of the ex
tension was estimated to be
between $500,000 and
$600,000. Douglas added
that in 2019, city leadership
agreed to cover costs above
$300,000. Other than the cost
for the lift station there has
been little cost to the city be
yond engineering fees at this
point, Douglas said.
According to Jasper Water
Superintendent David Hall,
the Worley Crossroads devel
opment will use about 50
percent of the lift station’s ca
pacity and the other 50 per
cent will be able to service
other areas. The expansion
will also allow water to be
available farther south, and
the city will retain rights to
the expanded water and
sewer infrastructure when the
project is completed.
Funding for this project
will come from 2020 bond
proceeds, not the 2021 gen
eral budget.
More batters up at city park?
The two ball fields at
Jasper’s City Park could see
much more activity after
council approved an agree
ment that will let the county
use the fields in exchange for
upkeep and maintenance.
City manager Douglas
told council the county has a
much more “robust” ball pro
gram and can make better use
of the fields, which are cur
rently underutilized. He also
told council, the city does not
have the budget and re
sources to properly maintain
the fields at this time. He
feels like the arrangement
will be a win-win.
Per details of the Intergov
ernmental Agreement, Pick
ens County will be
responsible for any lighting
and electricity/water bills,
waste removal, maintenance,
and program scheduling, and
will rent the fields from the
city for $ 1 a year.
“I could not see a down
side to this,” Douglas said,
who added that when the
fields are not being used by
the county’s program they
are still open to the public.
The agreement would be re
newable every year up to 10
years, which would allow the
city to maintain ownership
and review the arrangement
before renewing.
In a later interview Dou
glas said he would be thrilled
to have those fields in regular
use, and have players and
their families visit Main
Street and patronize the busi
nesses and restaurants before
or after a game.
The IGA, which has not
been signed by county com
missioners, will be discussed
at a called meeting Thursday,
March 4.
In other news from
Jasper Council:
•The city approved a re
quest from the Boys & Girls
Club to hold a one-time event
at Lee Newton Park’s Park N’
Ride area on May 14 from 4
p.m. to 8 p.m. The event will
be a Jeep show/fundraiser
that will feature classic and
new “souped-up” Jeeps, as
well as a Jeep ride.
Cassie Rasco of the Boys
& Girls Club told council
they are arranging the event
with a local Jeep club, and
would like to spread vehicles
between the two lots to keep
people separate in light of on
going COVID-19 concerns.
Rasco has discussed the
event with Sheriff Donnie
Craig, who hosts the JeepFest
in September, and got the
thumbs up, she said. The city
manager anticipates more
event requests will come in,
and advised they would need
to work with organizers to be
sure events are being held in
compliance with the gover
nor’s current restrictions re
garding COVID-19.
•Council approved up to
$150,000 in a joint project
with the county to replace ap
proximately two miles of wa
terline near Gilmer County.
This project, in the Jones
Mountain/Yukon Road area,
will allow the city to pur
chase water from Gilmer
County and allow the county
to continue purchasing water
from them. The county has
“taken the lead,” city officials
said, by arranging engineer
ing and securing supplies.
The city will cut the county a
check for their portion of the
project.
The city manager hopes to
cap their costs at $100,000,
but requested up to $150,000
for unforeseen issues/sup-
plies that are needed. The city
hopes to purchase around
200,000 gallons a day from
Gilmer. Douglas said with
the anticipated volume of
water that will come through
the lines, upgrades are
needed to allow for more wa-
terflow.
•Council accepted a bid of
$86,098 from Nelson Tractor
to purchase two track hoes
and a trailer for the
water/wastewater depart
ments, up to $90,000. The
equipment will be purchased
with 2020 SPLOST funds
and Georgia Environmental
Finance Authority deferral
proceeds.
Warmer weather is fast approaching,
and you want to hit the trails!
Appalachia Georgia has 850 miles of recreational trails and approximately 3,000 Black
Bears. The Appalachia Georgia Friends of the Bears expect an unprecedented number of
hikers in the mountains as the weather warms!
We urge you to help reduce Human-Bear conflict by:
Do not surprise, approach or feed Bears
Leave them an escape route
Leash and maintain control of your dog
Hike in groups and stay together
Keep your kids within sight
Lock your car doors
Leave no trace! Take your trash back home with you
Carry Bear spray and know how and when to use it
Appalachia Georgia
frieH&of
THE BEARS
w
Hagg Lake, Oregon, Euthanized
Thursday, June 13, 2019. This Black
Bear became habituated to humans
because so many humans were feeding
it to pose with it. Officials had seen
numerous Humans with “Selfies” with
the Bear on Social Media!
A fed Bear is a dead Bear!
For more information, visit
AGFriendsofBears.com or
e-mail questions to
AGFriendsoftheBears@gmail.com.
f m