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PAGE 10A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. OCTOBER 7. 2021
After city planning board says no, plans for
apartment complex tabled by developer
Noting the negative connotation of the word, "apart
ments, " Johnnie Hastings stressed that his company's de
velopment would be a good fit and also help this town
attract some of the retail and commercial growth that has
thus far skipped Jasper.
[Editor s Note: At the re
quest of the developer, the
city council tabled discussion
of this proposed development
at their work session last
Thursday.
The city planning director
and mayor both said based
on later discussions, the de
veloper has heard the will of
the community and they ex
pect to see re vised plans re
submitted in the future.]
By Larry Cavender
Contributing Writer
"It is important to ask,
'What kind of apartments are
we building?'" said Integrity
Development Group’s John
nie Hastings at the Septem
ber 28th meeting of the
Jasper Planning and Zoning
Board. He answered his own
question by saying, "We are
building 'high-end' apart
ments."
Hastings, a development
company spokesman, was
making the case for a rezon
ing request which would
pave the way for a 270 unit
apartment complex at the in
tersection of Highway 515
and Philadelphia Road. He
added, that these would be
$150,000 apartments" in a
"gated community."
Coincidentally, a rezoning
request was approved just
two months ago for another
270 unit complex in the same
area. The previously ap
proved development con
sisted of townhomes whereas
this change would be for 270
apartments. This request also
came in the wake of a six
month moratorium on "new"
residential zoning requests,
but Development Manager
Lonnie Waters explained that
this request was already mak
ing its way through the
process before last month's
moratorium.
Saying, we know "Jasper
is a wonderful community,"
Hastings said the project was
a "good fit for the commu
nity." He also said the
project not only consisted of
apartments, but that over half
of the fifty acres would be
dedicated to commercial use,
including retail/office space,
restaurants, and more. It
would be "a good fit" be
cause, he noted, commercial
development often seems "to
leap over Jasper" to settle in
Ellijay.
Unlike the previous July
public hearings when the
council chamber was virtu
ally empty, the latest meeting
saw a room filled and more
than a half dozen residents
expressing objections.
Among the concerns dis
cussed were traffic conges
tion, infrastructure strains,
and negative aesthetic as
pects, but the problems re
lated to "urban sprawl"
seemed to predominate.
One resident, who moved
from Gwinnett County to
Jasper with his wife just last
December, said that this is
exactly what they were trying
to escape from with their
move and added that he
feared "Pickens County
would become another
Gwinnett" in a few years. An
other man, who has lived in
Jasper for three years said,
"We like Jasper because it's
tiny. We don't want the city to
turn into Canton."
Jeremy Daniels, who
moved to Jasper in 2006, said
that no guarantees could be
made by the developer of
what might become of the
270 unit apartment complex
and it was "bad timing," cit
ing the uncertainty of
"today's political climate."
Lifelong Pickens resident
Jim Moore was concerned
with increasing crime as well
as traffic problems. He said,
"Look at Atlanta. We don't
want crime here. We can't
even get out on the Interstate.
I'm really appalled."
Following the several
statements of opposition,
only one person voiced her
support of the project, Janet
Mueller, whose family owns
the property in question. A
lifelong resident, she said,
"We're not trying to change
Jasper." Mueller added that
there is "a lot of misinforma
tion out there" and she urged
The Sheriff’s
Beat
From the Pickens
Sheriff’s Office
During this past week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office responded to or ini-
tiated 1,762 calls for service.
These numbers are taken from the report
provided directly from the 911 Center where all calls are logged as they
are performed. Below is a breakdown of all dispatched calls by the call
type for each incident.
Accidents
19
Suicide Threats / Attempts
2
Domestics
12
Theft / Burglary Related
9
Forgery / Fraud
3
Traffic Stops
80
Citations Issued
5
Animal Investigations
5
Suspicious Persons/Activity
25
Alarm Calls
9
Stranded Motorists
11
Street Hazards
10
Vandalism
6
Abandoned Vehicles
2
Extra Patrol - neighborhoods, businesses, residences 1,321. In addi
tion to these, other calls include search warrants, civil service, 911 hang
up calls, assaults, disorderly persons, missing persons, assistance with
medical calls, natural death investigations, demented persons, funeral
escorts, harassment, trespassing, and many more.
Breakdown of Charges for those Arrested:
12 individuals were booked into the Adult Detention Center on charges
from the Pickens Sheriff’s Office. Out of these, the following charges
were taken by PSO deputies (note: some
charges):
individuals have multiple
Burglary — 2nd Degree
i
Burglary — 1st Degree
i
Theft by Taking
i
Theft by Deception
i
Aggravated Stalking
i
Failure to Register as Sex Offender
i
Financial Transaction Card Theft
i
Financial Transaction Card Fraud
i
Criminal Trespass
2
Striking Fixed Object
1
Possession of Controlled Substance
2
Drug Related Object
1
Possession of a Weapon During Crime
1
Driving with Invalid License
2
No Proof of Insurance
1
Unregistered Vehicle
1
Giving False Name
1
Use of Tag to Conceal Identity of Vehicle
2
Probation Violation
1
Fugitive from Justice
1
Films kids can enjoy
this Halloween
Scary movies are a must-
see for many Halloween en
thusiasts each October.
Classic characters like
Freddy Krueger, Michael
Myers and Jigsaw make their
way into millions of people’s
living rooms each year and
serve as testaments to the
staying power of scary
movies.
A scare might be what
many people want on Hal
loween night, but such
movies are best left to
teenagers and adults. When it
comes to more kid-friendly
films this Halloween, parents
can give these classics a try.
• “It’s the Great Pumpkin,
Charlie Brown” (1966): Par
ents can take a stroll down
Memory Lane and enjoy this
classic that has been enter
taining kids for more than
half a century. The costumes
for the Peanuts gang, most
notably Charlie Brown’s,
elicit a few laughs, while kids
will no doubt be in awe as
Linus speaks of the Great
Pumpkin.
• “Monsters, Inc.” (2001):
Halloween wouldn’t be the
same without monsters, but
the monsters in this beloved
Pixar classic are decidedly
more kid-friendly and signif
icantly funnier than Franken
stein.
• “Wallace & Gromit: The
Curse of the Were-Rabbit”
(2005): This film based on
the British stop motion com
edy franchise gave the fea
ture film treatment to Wal
lace and his dog, Gromit. The
film’s action is centered
around Tottington Hall’s an
nual giant vegetable compe
tition and features enough
silliness to keep kids laugh
ing throughout its 85-minute
run time.
• “Scooby-Doo on Zombie
Island” (1998): Youngsters
who love Scooby-Doo and
his mystery-solving pals are
no doubt accustomed to a
few lightly scary moments,
so this story that unfolds
when the gang heads to
Louisiana to investigate a
haunted mansion is sure to
please.
• “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”
(1982): Produced and di
rected by Hollywood legend
Steven Spielberg, this tells
the story of a young boy
named Elliott who befriends
a charismatic extraterrestrial.
The film is loaded with mem
orable scenes and dialogue,
and parents who watched it
as children will no doubt love
the chance to watch their own
youngsters’ eyes light up at
the sight of E.T.
In addition to the boxed
activity from the Uniform
Patrol Division, Court Serv
ice Deputies reported the fol
lowing statistics for the past
week:
Persons Scanned at
Front Door: 609
Weapons Found: 2
Courts Held: 7
Arrests Made in
the Courthouse: 0
Civil Papers Received : 51
Civil Papers Served: 62
In the Adult Detention
Center:
Total Jail population: 87
Total male inmates: 73
Total female inmates: 14
Sex Offenders:
There are currently 70 sex of
fenders registered with the
Pickens Sheriff’s Office.
GRISHAM, POOLE
& CARLILE, PC
Criminal Defense I Family Law
"You can't go back and change the beginning,
but you can start where you are and change
the ending." ~ C.S. Lewis
21 COURT STREET
JASPER, GEORGIA
678.880.9360
Experienced. Established. Effective.
In other zoning matters
• Three other zoning requests were on the planning and
zoning agenda. The commission recommended all for ap
proval. There were no public objections.
• A 3.85 acre lot at the comer of Noah Drive and West
Church Street was recommended for annexation and re
zoning from County Highway Business to C-2 General
Commercial. The owners of the property have been ap
proached by a buyer interested in building an undisclosed
business on the comer which is a prime business location.
• Off of Gennett Drive, a 17.28 acre plot near Grand
view Manor Nursing Home was approved for change to
R-2 Residential from County RR. A possible future resi
dential complex is planned for the area, and the developer
was ready to present his proposal for the project when
Chairman Sneve reminded him of the moratorium on new
residential requests and stated that they could only grant
the zoning change at this point and nothing else.
• Finally, a variance was recommended for the owners
of multiple properties off of West Sellers and Mineral
Springs Road. The variance was requested to enable the
property owners to make needed renovations and upgrades
to the currently zoned R-3 lots.
At their Oct. 4 meeting, city council approved the first
request and tabled the second and third.
the board to "keep an open
mind."
However, this time the
planning and zoning board
voted unanimously to deny
the zoning change. Board
Chairman John Sneve again
reiterated that the board
serves only in an advisory ca
pacity and the ultimate deci
sion would rest with the city
council.
Board of Commissioners
Work Session
Agenda for Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021
at 4:30 p.m. in the Commission
Conference Room, Ste. 168
Items for Discussion:
1. General Discussion
2. Tate Depot Update
3. Employee Benefits - Health Insurance
Renewal
4. Adjourn
Board of Commissioners
Agenda for Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021
at 5:30 p.m. in the Commission
Conference Room, Ste. 168
I. Call to order
II. Prayer
III. Pledge of Allegiance
IV. Amendments to Agenda
V. Employee Recognitions
VI. Consent Agenda
A. Dysautonomia Awareness Proclamation
VII. Old Business
VIII. New Business
A. Resolution to Execute Agreement Governing
Expenditures for State & Local Government
Costs
B. Agreement to Conduct Municipal Elections
C. City of Talking Rock Annexation - Parcel
020A 026 (114.62 acres)
IX. Action Items
A. Approve Minutes
* Regular Meeting - September 16, 2021
* Work Session - September 16, 2021
B. GEFA Loan Modification (#DW2017012)
C. Employee Benefits - Health Insurance
Renewal
X. Guests/Comments
XI. Adjourn
Public Hearing Notice
Comprehensive Plan
Broadband Amendment
Pickens Board of Commissioners and the
Municipalities of Jasper and Talking Rock
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Immediately following the Board of Commission
ers Work Session which begins at 4:30 PM Com
mission Conference Room - Suite 168
Pickens County and the Municipalities of Jasper
and Talking Rock have prepared an amendment to
add a Broadband Element to the Pickens County,
Georgia 2018 Joint Comprehensive Plan. The draft
Broadband Element was prepared according to
the 2018 Minimum Planning Standards set by the
Georgia Department of Community Affairs and the
Georgia Planning Act of 1989. The draft Broadband
Element includes an Action Plan comprised of a
narrative and map of unserved areas, goals,
needs/opportunities and Community Work Program
items.
Accordingly, a joint public hearing is scheduled
for Pickens County and Municipalities to accept
comments on the Comprehensive Plan Amend
ment. After the public hearing and receipt of public
comment, the draft amendment will be transmitted
for review by the Northwest Georgia Regional Com
mission and the Georgia Department of Community
Affairs.
The public hearing on the draft amendment will
be held on Thursday, October 21, 2021 immedi
ately following the Board of Commissioners Work
Session which begins at 4:30 PM at the Pickens
County Administrative Building, 1266 East Church
Street, Jasper, Georgia, in the Commission
Conference Room - Suite 168.