About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2020)
8A Midweek Edition - September 2-3, 2020 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com LOCAL Flowery Branch considering stormwater utility to pay for system improvements Flowery Branch City Council What: Vote on stormwater utility study When: 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3 Where: City Hall, 5410 W. Pine St. 37MAIN ■ Continued from 1A Troy Covington, the plaintiffs’ attorney, did not return multiple messages seeking comment Tues day, Sept. 1. The lawsuit alleged 10 claims of “willful copyright infringement” and claimed BMI made more than 85 attempts by phone, mail and email to contact 37 Main and its owners. The infringement allegations are from Jan. 17,2019, and include songs such as “American Pie” by Don McLean, “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and “Old Time Rock and Roll” by George Jackson and Thomas E. Jones III. When the lawsuit was first filed, one of the restaurant’s owners, David White, said he believed there was a misunderstanding. He told The Times in August 2019 there was a service rented from a California company for playing music videos. Story ordered the clerk to close the case while “retaining jurisdic tion to enforce the terms of the par ties’ settlement agreement.” No details of the settlement agree ment were available through the online court record database. BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com With a history of blown cul verts in the downtown area due to storms, Flowery Branch is looking at whether it could or should set up a new util ity to address stormwater improvements. City Council is set to vote Thursday, Sept. 3, on whether to pay an engineering firm, Clark Patterson Lee, $34,850 for a study on whether the city “would benefit from a storm water utility to help cover these costs.” “How we would do the billing, what the billing would entail, the amounts, what the budget would be and how that would be over time is everything the study would be considering,” City Manager Bill Andrew said Tuesday, Sept. 1. “This study will help us under stand all of the city’s stormwa ter needs and the timing of each project, as well as associated costs,” according to a city docu ment about the study. “Perform ing this study and the possibility of a stormwater utility could assist the city to become more proactive with mainte nance and repairs rather than reactive.” Downtown Flowery Branch, or what many residents refer to as “Old Town,” sits largely on a hillside, with Gaines ville Street serving as the ridgeline. “There was never a storm water system put in that made any sense,” Andrew said. “It was just done with open ditches that didn’t necessarily make sense and weren’t built to the standards that were needed to handle the flow.” And heavy rains have brought flooding and damage over the years. In June 2018, the culvert at Cantrell Road Bridge near Vic toria Drive washed out after an overnight storm. The collapse didn’t strand any residents, but Cantrell Road serves as a connector between Atlanta Highway/Ga. 13 and Thurmon Tanner Parkway. The good news was the city had planned anyway to replace the culvert using special pur pose local option sales tax money and other funds, with the project costing about $450,000. The city replaced the culvert and reopened the road in Octo ber 2018. One of the worst episodes in recent times occurred May 19, 2013, when 7 inches fell over night, causing havoc throughout Hall County, washing out cul verts and flooding offices. A culvert on Spring Street in Flowery Branch, repaired after a 2009 collapse, fell again in the 2013 storm — just months after a hydrological study of the Flow ery Branch Creek basin was done — and was later replaced with a bridge. “What’s happening now is we’re having to fund this pell- mell (of repairs) with sewer money, general fund money ... and then the state is asking for more and more criteria to be met, for studies to be done for water quality issues and all that,” Andrew said. “And so, the state is pushing for (local) governments to find a way to (handle stormwater issues) properly.” Spout Springs Library reopens after brief closure due to staff COVID-19 case The Spout Springs branch of the Hall County Library System has reopened Tuesday, Sept. 1 after closing Monday for cleaning due to a COVID-19 case with a staff member. Libraries reopened Aug. 24. Several library resources, including ebooks, are available online. The Gaines ville branch is closed as staff prepare to reopen in the newly renovated space, but the county’s other branches remain open. The library system also offers a curbside pickup service for patrons who do not want to go inside the building. WiFi is available from library parking lots. Gainesville rezones 25 midtown properties Several properties in midtown Gaines ville, most of which are owned by the city, were approved for rezoning by the Gaines ville City Council Tuesday, Sept. 1. The 25 properties include the city’s Public Safety Complex, the new skate park and a water resources building. Of those properties, 22 are owned by the city of Gainesville, and the private owners for the other three have given permission to rezone, according to the staff recommendation report for the request. The city was the applicant for the rezoning. There is no proposed change in use for the properties, which were all rezoned to office- institutional to better reflect current uses. Tuesday’s Council vote was unanimous, and the city’s planning and appeals board had previously recommended approval of the rezoning. Megan Reed New WeGo transit service may roll out in December Gainesville Connection What: Virtual public hearing on proposed changes to the fixed-route public transportation system When/how: 8 a.m. Sept. 8. To join the Zoom meeting, visit us02web.zoom.us/j/87992553721 and type in the meeting ID number, 87992553721. Note: Comments can also be mailed to Phillippa Lewis Moss at Hall Area Transit Gainesville Connection, 687 Main St., Gainesville, GA 30501, or emailed to her at pmoss@gainesvillega.gov. BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvillestimes.com Hall Area Transit’s new WeGo service may now launch two months later than expected, because of delays in vehicle manufac turing, according to Phil lippa Lewis Moss, director of Gainesville-Hall County Community Services. WeGo is a shuttle-like microtransit system that will operate like Uber or Lyft, with users digitally schedul ing pick-up times or calling Hall Area Transit office to set up a ride. The service was originally expected to begin in October, but may now be delayed until December. Moss said Monday, Aug. 31, that although she’s dis appointed the service can’t start sooner, the delay will give staff more time to get the word out about the mon umental change. “Honestly, we need the time to do proper market ing,” she said. “The last thing you want to do is do a significant service change like this and have people confused or upset.” As part of the roll-out, Hall Area Transit also is planning to make changes to Gainesville Connection, its fixed route bus system. It is considering eliminating two of five routes because of low ridership and reducing operating hours for routes 10, 40 and 50 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. WeGo will begin in the Gainesville area and then expand to other parts of Hall County by summer 2021, Moss said. The move outward would spell the end of Hall Area Transit’s Dial- A-Ride, a countywide curb- side transportation service that requires reservations at least 48 hours before pickup. Hall Area Transit is also asking for public input on the changes. In-person public hearings Monday morning at the Gainesville Connec tion Administration Build ing only drew a few people, but Moss said she otherwise has been talking with people about the changes. A virtual meeting is set for 8 a.m. Sept. 8. To join the Zoom meet ing, visit us02web.zoom. us/j/87992553721 and type in the meeting ID number, 87992553721. Comments can also be mailed to Moss at Hall Area Transit Gainesville Connec tion, 687 Main St., Gaines ville, GA 30501, or emailed to her at pmoss@gainesvil- lega.gov. Sponsored by Northeast Georgia Health System HEALTHY AGING VIRTUAL EXPO To register to attend go to gainesvilletimes.com/healthyaging. UUe look forward to “seeing" everyone! Format Each Week: • LUelcome/Introduction of this meek's Speakers • 3 Presentations • Question & Ansmer Period, Attendees mill be able to send in questions via the chat feature on Zoom through out the presentations to be ansmered during this time • Prize Draming for Attendees • Previem of next meek’s Speakers Schedule for presentations: September 2nd 10AM TO I I AM • Dr. Nitya Sthalekar, The Heart Center, Cardiologist • Robin Templeton, Medicare Man/Insurance Source- Information about Open Enrollment • Lisbeth Fabiny, Five Seasons Health- Horn to manage sugar cravings during stressful times This year’s Healthy Aging Expo is going virtual! Every LUednesday in September from 10am to I lam you mill hear from 3 different Speakers, they mill be talking about everything from health and fitness, Insurance, and even preplanning. After hearing from our speaker’s attendees mill be able to have questions ansmered for them, me mill also have meekly prize giveamays for those mho attend. September 9th 10AM TO I I AM • Dr. Shan Sharif-NGPG Orthopedics • Bayli Fields, Kimbrough Lam-Estate Planning • Meredith Pippen, Allergy Asthma and Sinus September 16th 10AM TO 11AM • Dr. James Kruer, NGMC Internal Medicine • Claire Dittrich, Caption Call • Abigail Carr, NGHS-Bariatrics (The STmcs gainesvilletimes.com September 23rd 10AM TO 11AM • Dr. Monica Nemton, NGPG Family Medicine • Little and Davenport • Northeast Georgia Diagnostic Clinic September 30th 10AM TO 11AM • Lauren Ayala, DNP-NGPG Family Medicine • Drs. 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