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PAGE 6A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 13. 2008
Tackson County Chamber Breakfast
In Spite Of Economy, Norton Stays Upbeat
Frank Norton is an optimist. In
spite of an economic slowdown
and a nationwide housing slump,
the president of the Norton
Agency presented a glass-half-full
economic forecast for Jackson
County for the coming year last
Wednesday morning.
Speaking to the Jackson County
Area Chamber of Commerce
in what has become an annual
February event, Norton, who
tracks real estate and econom
ic data and trends in 30 North
Georgia counties, stressed not the
obstacles of an economy mired in
recession, but the opportunities
for those in a position to grab
them.
'There is profit in confusion,”
said Norton, quoting a Tony
Curtis’ line from a 1956 war
movie. “There is profit in Jackson
County.”
Norton spoke about opportuni
ties to make money in a market
where foreclosures are soaring,
land prices are falling and build
ing is stagnant. Those who are
able can buy houses for rental
property or build rental property
to take advantage of a growing
demand from people who’ve lost
their homes, developers can get
a break on prices for raw land,
and the market remains strong,
he says, for retail and industrial
growth.
Frank Norton Jr. spoke to the
members of the chamber of
Commerce at their Wednesday
breakfast.
“Opportunities are everywhere,”
was one of his five talking points.
Among them, he said is the
opportunity to “look forward to
multiple-price-point housing” to
provide affordable housing for
employees of Jackson County
business and industry. The coun
ty has more than 11,000 acres
zoned for industry, and Norton
repeatedly stressed that “afford
able housing” is an overlooked
segment of the Jackson County
market and is needed to accom
modate those workers.
“Where are our teachers going
to live?” he asked. “We want them
to live next door to us and not
commute in to us.
“The deepest part of the housing
pool today is under $200,000, but
we have been building at $200,000,
$300,000 and $400,000 houses
and patting ourselves on the back
that we have all these expensive
houses,” Norton said. “But they’re
all sitting there unsold.”
The affordable houses, he said,
will appeal to many of those who
land the 59,000 new jobs Georgia
State University has projected to
be created in the Metro Atlanta
area this year — mostly “worker
bees” — middle or lower level jobs.
Those jobs, he said, will be on the
north side of Atlanta, in Gwinnett
and Cherokee counties, but the
people who hold them will have
to look to Barrow and Jackson for
places they can afford to live.
Norton insists that the “market
fundamentals remain strong,” in
spite of the housing slump. And
while area counties have many
months’ inventory of lots and
houses, that inventory is already
being reduced, he alleged.
As for the housing downturn,
Norton seemed to suggest it was
due.
“Too many people were able
Chamber Directors
To Meet Monday
The date for the February
board of directors for the
Jackson County Area
Chamber of Commerce has
been changed to 8:00 a.m.
Monday, Feb. 18.
Breakfast will be available
beginning at 7:45.
The directors normally
meet on the third Friday of
each month at noon.
to buy houses,” he said, adding
that it was easier from a credit
and down-payment standpoint to
buy a house than it was to rent an
apartment.
The worst is over, he suggested,
for the housing slump. Houses
continue to sell, while new con
struction lags, reducing the inven
tory, he said. Meanwhile, Atlanta
will continue its “push through
Jackson County.”
In fact, he predicted lot shortag
es in Jackson County — for hous
ing in the $175,000 to $200,000
range.
“We have too many high-priced
houses on too many high-priced
lots when we are solidly middle
class, or lower,” Norton said.
Commerce Board Of Education
BOE Mulls Hiring Energy Consultant
By Ben Munro
The Commerce Board of
Education is considering entering
a contract with Line Mechanical
to help it conserve the money it
spends in energy costs, but the
process is on hold for right now.
The school board still has some
lingering questions before giving
the energy consulting company
the OK to perform a final engi
neering study on the school build
ings.
“I told them that we still had
some questions that we needed
to answer before we moved for
ward,” superintendent Dr. Mac
McCoy said.
Line representatives met with
the school board at Thursday’s
work session, presenting num
bers that projected savings of
$2.5 million over a 15-year span if
Commerce schools went with the
Line plan.
The school system would pay
$258,000 a year for Line’s ser
vices.
Commerce school leaders
were told they’d see a projected
$274,500 in savings in the first
year — or $16,500 in positive cash
flow after the cost of the program
is factored in.
Line guarantees the savings it
projects, or it will make up the
difference.
Currently, Commerce spends
$632,000 a year for energy and
other associated costs like main
tenance and operation and equip
ment expenses. Those costs are
expected to add up to $4 million
over 10 years.
Part of the problem is that the
HVAC systems at the elementary
and primary schools are well over
30 years old.
Under the Line plan, the compa
ny would replace all equipment.
Line has already performed a
preliminary engineering study of
Commerce’s facilities and was
ready to go forth with the final
engineering study, but needed a
letter of intent from the school
board.
McCoy said the issue would be
revisited next month.
Mentoring Program
The school board learned that
13 Commerce students are being
mentored in the first year the
school system has participated
in the countywide “Lindsay’s
Legacy” program.
Lisa Stephenson of Jackson
County Family Connection,
which sponsors the program,
addressed the BOE Monday and
said that the number of students
with mentors should grow.
“Our growth in the rest of the
county is an indicator of what the
Commerce area can expect in
just a few short years,” she said.
“We’re really expecting as we get
the community awareness more
visible, you’ll have the tremen
dous growth as well.”
Started in Jackson County in
2005, the program now has 130
mentors. Lindsay’s Legacy has
seen an influx of volunteers with
90 mentors joining since August
2007.
County-wide, 160 students are
being mentored.
These mentors, who vary in age,
provide guidance for students
in their academic and personal
lives.
In other business conducted
Monday night, the school board:
•heard that the system col
lected $117,316 during November.
Including interest, Commerce
schools have taken in $1.04 mil
lion in SPLOST money for the
year. McCoy notes that the next
payment will reflect the Christmas
sales from December. SPLOST
receipts always lag two months
behind.
“Right now, collections are going
well,” McCoy said.
•heard from McCoy that state
rep. Tommy Benton is proposing
a tax relief plan for the elder
ly and discussed how it would
affect schools. The exemption
would be $40,000 for ages 62-65
at an income of $18,000. The
Commerce school system would
collect $35,000 less if the $40,000
plan passes. It would collect
$40,000 less if a $50,000 exemp
tion passed.
“This could have been proposed
in many ways that could have
hurt schools systems a lot more,”
McCoy said.
•approved the administrative
staff for next year with no chang
es. The BOE also approved Julie
Rafferty and Beverly Stephenson
as substitute teachers.
No Explanation
Given For Firing Of
Planning Director
By Angela Gary
Jackson County planning and
zoning director Scott Carpenter
was fired last week, but the rea
sons for his dismissal have not
been disclosed.
County Manager Darrell
Hampton said Thursday that he
does not respond to questions
about county personnel mat
ters. He has also not responded
to an open records request to
review Carpenter’s personnel
file. The open records request
was sent to Hampton Friday
and a follow up e-mail was sent
Monday. He had not responded
as of press time.
Jackson County Planning
Commission chairman Tim
Cornelison said Tuesday that
he doesn’t know why Carpenter
was fired, but that he believes
the director was doing a good
job.
“I was not privy to the rea
sons for the action taken,” he
said. “There had been some
complaints about some things
with the planning department.
But there are always com
plaints. People are either happy
or unhappy with the actions
taken. I will say the work from
the planning department over
the past year has been better
than it has been ... I wrote to
the commissioners before this
happened and let them know
I thought they (the planning
department) were doing a good
job.”
Nicholson Water
Panel Votes To
Clean Storage Tank
By Brandon Reed
The Nicholson Water Author
ity voted unanimously last
week to approve an inspection
and cleaning of the authority’s
500,000-gallon water tank.
Chairman Doug Ayers said
the tank has to be cleaned
every 24 months. Ayers said
that the process would be
done by shutting the tank
and pumps down two days in
advance. The existing water in
the tank would be used to fill
the lines in the system, then
shut the tank down and drain
it. The cleaning process, which
includes steam cleaning, sani
tizing and photographing, is
expected to take one day. The
work will be done by Tank Pro
of Alabama.
The NWA also approved plac
ing a blow-off valve at the end
of Wilbanks Circle. The need
for the valve came to light after
a recent line break in the area.
The authority approved $700
for the placement of the valve.
The NWA also approved a
water meter change out pro
gram. Ayers said that according
to industry members, after 10 to
15 years, a meter becomes less
accurate. Ayers said he thought
some of the meters in the sys
tem were probably around
30 years old. The authority
approved the replacement of
five older meters a month at
$40 each, with the process to
be re-evaluated after 12 months.
The vote was unanimous.
In other business:
• The NWA approved a change
in office hours from 8 a.m. to 2
p.m. Mondays through Fridays,
reflecting the same hours as the
Nicholson City Hall.
•Ayers informed author
ity members that the EPD con
ducted their sanitary survey of
the system, and the paperwork
went well. They are asking the
NWA to create a new flushing
program.
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