About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2020)
OUR REGION (TheSStncs gainesvilletimes.com Weekend Edition - July 18-19, 2020 Nate McCullough News Editor | 770-718-3431 | news@gainesvilletimes.com TAD could boost 2 midtown projects City council to vote on funding for townhome community expansion, new commercial space I Gainesville City Council When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21 Where: Public Safety Complex, 701 Queen City Parkway BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Two projects in midtown Gainesville — an expansion of a townhome community and a new commercial space — could soon get a boost from a city tax incen tive program. The Gainesville City Council will vote Tuesday, July 21, on whether the developments will join the Mid town Tax Allocation District. Properties that are approved for the TAD are taxed at the rate established in the TAD’s base year, which is 2006 for midtown. When a property is developed, its value will increase, and so will its taxes. The higher amount paid in property taxes instead goes into the TAD fund for the agreed time. Developers or property owners can use money from the TAD fund to pay for improvements to the property. The Enclave, a townhome com munity first completed in 2017, includes 45 townhomes but will soon have a second phase. Devel oper Steve McKibbon hopes to add an additional seven homes on Wills Street. The second phase is a $1.1 mil lion project, and the city’s TAD committee approved a request of about $93,000 in a June meet ing. The funds will help pay for several parts of the development, including demolition and grading, fencing and sidewalks, according to the request approved by the committee. If approved, $25,000 of the fund ing will be given upfront for demo lition and grading. The remaining $68,000 would be paid in incre ments annually over a maximum of 15 years. The second project would turn an empty building in midtown to a new home for a local business, according to a presentation given to the TAD committee June 9. Lamb, Britt, Gilmer and Associ ates, a local sales and market ing company, wants more space and has plans to relocate within Gainesville and renovate a brick building at 743 Main St. The com pany employs 20 people at its Gainesville office. The total project cost is nearly $1.5 million, and applicant Tim Gilmer requested about $284,000 in TAD funding to pay for several components of the project, includ ing demolition, grading, paving, lighting and relocating power lines. However, the project is not esti mated to generate that amount over 15 years, city staff said at the TAD committee meeting. It is expected to generate about $150,000, and city staff recom mended that $75,000 be paid upfront. Once that $75,000 has been replenished by the TAD incre ments generated, the applicant can then keep the extra dollars generated above the base value, according to the request approved by the committee. The project can remain in the TAD for a maximum of 15 years. Mule Camp Tavern to close Owner plans to open noodle shop in new location BY KELSEY P0D0 kpodo@gainesvilletimes.com After more than seven years of gracing the square in Gainesville with live music, cocktails and food, Mule Camp Tavern is closing permanently Monday, Aug. 24. Ronnie DiOrio, the bar’s owner, said his lease’s approaching expiration and the building’s change in landlords cata lyzed his decision to shut the doors to his business. He said now felt like the right time to seek out other endeavors. “Honestly it’s stressful running a bar,” DiOrio said. “It’s hard, it’s run its course. I’m ready to work on my career sunset.” DiOrio said the historic building has been a staple of downtown Gainesville, having harbored bars from different owners for decades. He said it is one of few buildings that survived the 1936 Gainesville tornado outbreak. DiOrio said he is excited to move on but will miss the bar’s live entertainment. “We’ve had the best music in North east Georgia for the longest time,” he said. Instead of retiring from the food ser vice industry, DiOrio has set his sights on starting a Japanese-style noodle shop called Ronnie’s Ramen. He plans to open the business around mid-September in the former Midtown location of The Colored Egg, which relocated in July to Limestone Place y It s always been a in Gainesville. DiOrio said he recently discov ered a passion for cooking ramen at home. He makes all his noodles from scratch and enjoys concoct ing a range of broths and meat combinations. After testing his ramen out a couple of times at Mule Camp Tav ern and receiving positive feedback from customers, DiO rio said he felt inspired to open his own ramen shop. “We’ll have a couple of staples and have ‘bowls of the day’ and rotate them,” he said. “I’ll also do other Japa nese dishes. I make fresh home-ground gyoza.” Ronnie’s Ramen will partner up with John Bouasy’s Wok N Roll food truck, which has built a reputation around Gainesville since it opened in February 2019. staple. It will feel weird when it’s gone.’ John Bouasy food truck owner, Wok N Roll Bouasy said he plans to work as a chef at the upcoming restaurant, as well as park his food truck outside of the build ing. His menu includes eggrolls with an American-style twist. For example, his barbecue rolls are filled with pulled pork, brisket and collard greens. “They’re Asian on the outside, Ameri can on the inside,” Bouasy, who has fam ily ties to Laos, said. “Kind of like me.” Growing up in Habersham, Bouasy said he has always regarded Mule Camp Tavern as the place to go during the evening to listen to music and drink. Although he feels sad to see it go, he said he is looking forward to the new opportu nity ahead. “Say what you want about the place, it’s there for you when you need it,” Bouasy said while reminiscing about Mule Camp Tavern. “It’s always been a staple. It will feel weird when it’s gone.” Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Mule Camp Tavern owner Ronnie DiOrio stands outside his downtown Gainesville restaurant Friday, July 17, which is closing permanently on Aug. 24. He plans to open a ramen shop on Grove Street in September called Ronnie’s Ramen. After testing his ramen out a couple of times at Mule Camp Tavern and receiving positive feedback from customers, DiOrio said he felt inspired to open his own ramen shop. Alto motorcyclist killed in Ga. 365 wreck BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com An Alto motorcyclist was killed in a Thursday, July 16, wreck on Ga. 365, according to authorities. Michael Phillip Harbold, 66, was transported to Northeast Georgia Medi cal Center where he succumbed to his injuries. Georgia State Patrol assistant post commander Joshua Hedden said Jef fery Allen Garmon, 55, of Lula was driving a Chevrolet Silverado around 5:45 p.m. Thursday and was turning left from Mud Creek Road onto Ga. 365 southbound. Hedden said Garmon allegedly “failed to yield while crossing the northbound lanes of Ga. 365 and struck” Harbold’s northbound motorcycle. Garmon was not injured. “Charges are pending upon comple tion of the crash investigation by the Specialized Collision Reconstruc tion Team,” Hedden wrote in an email. ‘High-quality’ apartments proposed in Oakwood BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Jonathan Ritchie lived in Flowery Branch for five years before moving back to Utah three years ago, but he didn’t forget South Hall. His company, Salt Lake City-based The Ritchie Group, is proposing to build a 172-unit apartment complex at 4309 Mundy Mill Road near the massive Mundy Mill subdivision. “Through local contacts and friends we have there, we identified the property and came up with this site plan and location,” Ritchie said in a phone interview Friday, July 17. “Most of our work is on the western side of the country.” The Ritchie Company submitted “concept” renderings in its application for the project showing a pool and clubhouse, but no amenities have been nailed down yet, he said. “It’s kind of early still. It’s hard to say exactly what’s going to be in the plan,” Ritchie said. “Generally speaking, we plan on building a high-quality product, something the city can be proud of.” ■ Please see OAKWOOD, 3B DNR body cameras to run via smartphones BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com More than a decade ago, the game wardens in Georgia’s woodlands and waterways started wearing body cameras. “We felt like it was important that we get into the 21st century and be able to store (foot age) easily, almost effortlessly by the officers, and be able to manage the videos without a lot of effort either,” said Department of Natural Resources Maj. Stephen Adams Adams said the department, which has 212 game wardens, has recently moved to a more reliable system run through the officer’s smartphone. The law enforcement division purchased Kyocera DuraForce PRO 2 rugge- dized smartphones, which are used in conjunc tion with the cloud-based camera application, Visual Labs. Roughly 20 minutes after a recording, Adams said the footage is available to the credentialed members of the department to examine. “Once the officer stops recording, there’s no way for them to stop that process for it go into the cloud. The security of the video is important to us as well,” Adams said. Officers previously carried both a state-issued cellphone and a body-worn cam era, so the move has eliminated one piece of equipment to carry, Adams said. Rather than purchasing camera equipment from an agency, DNR is paying for the video software. “If an officer drops one of the other cameras into the lake ... and it goes to the bottom of the ■ Please see CAMERAS, 4B Photo courtesy Mark McKinnon Department of Natural Resources Game Warden First Class Shane Brown wears the new smartphone-based body camera. The law enforcement division of the department switched this year to a new system.
