About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2020)
4A Weekend Edition - July 18-19, 2020 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com LOCAL Second phase of Spout Springs project delayed by three years BY JEFF GILL Jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Right of way acquisi tion on the second phase of Spout Springs Road’s widen ing project is now projected to begin in the fall of 2023 -- or three years later than had been expected. That means if the right of way process takes the same amount of time as it did on phase one, construc tion might not start until two years later, or 2025. Hall County’s website on the project no longer shows a projected construction schedule. At one time, the county projected the work to start in summer or fall of 2022. The issue is Hall doesn’t have construction money for the second phase, which would run from Union Cir cle to the Gwinnett County line. The project “could start earlier if a funding source is identified sooner,” Hall County spokeswoman Katie Crumley said Wednesday, July 15. “Funding possi bilities do include a future SPLOST or working with the state to identify other funding options.” The special purpose local option sales tax approved in November 2019, or SPLOST VIII, called for $73.6 mil lion in road improvements, including $26.8 million for right of way acquisition and other preliminary work in Spout Springs’ second phase. Work, meanwhile, is well underway on the first phase, or between Hog Mountain Road and Union Circle, with heaving grad ing taking place and curb and gutter, new side streets and driveways being built. The first phase is expected to be completed in December 2021. The second phase of the project has become a waiting game for residents along the road. Paul and Veronica de Kozan have put off house Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Traffic moves along Spout Springs Road Wednesday, July 15, south of Union Circle. Right of way acquisition on the second phase of the Spout Spring Road widening is now set for fall 2023, instead of fall 2020, which means construction won’t start for probably a couple of years after right of way is done. repairs and lawn work, hav ing known since 2011 that a map shows their Sherwood Mill Drive house being taken as part of the project. “One thing we’ve been prevented from doing is putting our house on the market,” property Paul de Kozan told The Times in a September 2019 interview. “As responsible citizens, we cannot put our house on the market and not tell somebody what’s down the road.” In all, the second phase affects 91 parcels. Right of way acquisition on phase one affected 161 parcels. The project was broken into two phases in 2016 “in an effort to expedite the project’s overall timeline,” Crumley has said. At one point, the county projected right of way acquisition to begin on phase two in sum mer 2019. When she learned of the latest delay on Wednesday, Veronica de Kozan said, “Here we go again.” “We have already spent a lot of money on upkeep and in another three years, we are going to be forced to spend a lot more,” she said. “Besides your home, there are many personal changes that take place over 10 years that require a home- owner to move. “We were contemplating moving to Florida, but now because of health, we can not think about making such a move. How would county commissioners, engineers, mayors and others feel if this was happening to their parents?” Hall County officials sug gest that people shouldn’t put off needed repairs just because they’re not sure when right of way negotia tions may happen. “If your roof is leaking, by all means, please get it fixed,” Crumley has said. “Health and safety is taken into account when they’re performing apprais- als,” County Engineer Kevin Mclntuff has said. Homeowners should make sure to hold onto receipts, as they could be used as part of the negotia tions, he added. Microtransit service headed for big vote BY JEFF GILL Jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Hall Area Transit’s new microtransit service, which will be known as WeGo, is a vote away from being a reality in Gainesville this fall and later, other parts of Hall County. Gainesville City Council What: consideration of microtransit contract for Hall Area Transit When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21 Where: Public Safety Complex, 701 Queen City Parkway Gainesville City Coun cil is set to vote Tuesday, July 21, on a four-year contract with New York-based Via Inc. for software and techni cal support that would enable the service - and a major revamping of Hall Area Transit. “We’re very, very excited about it,” City Manager Bryan Lackey said in the council’s work ses sion on Thursday, July 16. The service, a public shuttle service that mirrors app-centered, pick-up services such as Uber and Lyft, could start up in October in Gainesville and by July 2021 in other parts of Hall County. “Unlike other things we’ve done - we’ve painted the buses, we’ve changed the logo - this is truly a system change,” said Phillippa Lewis Moss, director of Gaines- ville-Hall County Community Services, in a previous interview. “A big system change.” Hall Area Transit now operates a fixed-route system, Gainesville Connection, and Dial-A-Ride, a countywide curbside transportation service that requires phone reservations at least 48 hours before pickup. Microtransit will launch as a major service, taking over Dial-A-Ride as it expands into the county and chip ping away at Gainesville Connection, which would drop from six routes to three, Moss has said. “This is a service that, because it’s so new and uses technology, will attract younger people, so this is an opportunity to really expand our ridership like nothing else we’ve ever done before,” Moss said. Earlier this year, Hall Area Transit began receiving proposals from vendors specifically targeting the tech nology behind microtransit. “We’re not interested in having any (company’s) drivers,” Moss said. “We’re looking for the technology we can use in vehicles we purchase.” The city is paying for start-up and first-year costs through federal stimulus funding. The cost of the con tract will be $130,000 per year, Moss told the council. In the second through fourth years of Via’s contract, up to half of the expenses will be reimbursed through the Federal Transit Administration, and the remain ing expense will be split between Gainesville and Hall County Government based on the percentage of trips originating in the city and county, according to city documents. Also, vehicles will be smaller than Hall Area Tran sit’s buses and similar in size to the Ford Transit cargo van. “We want them to be swift and nimble,” Moss said. ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP/CORPORATION 5 V ZB *•> THU C/WVU&f GUARANTEED ^\li% I^ightChoice HOMES Energy Efficient Homes. Guaranteed. jacksonemc.com/rightchoice Jackson EMC is a company we trust... so the fact that the Right Choice program is Jackson EMC's, meant our home would be designed and built to very high standards. I tell anyone buying a home, if you have a choice, get a Right Choice home. 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