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PAGE 6A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. MARCH 19, 2008
Bikes To Be Used To Promote Good Habits
The Commerce unit of the Boys and Girls Club of Jackson Christmas Parade, will be given to club members ages 11-18 for
County accepted the donation of 10 bicycles and 10 helmets outstanding academic performance and club program participa-
from Regions Bank’s Commerce branch Thursday afternoon, tion under criteria to be determined by Mike Maxwell, unit direc-
The bicycles, ridden by staff members in the 2007 Commerce tor. Sandra Haggard, second from right, made the presentation.
Commissioners Reject Plan To
Study Impact of Impact Fees
By Angela Gary
Jackson County Commissioner
Tom Crow continued to push his
fellow commissioners to study
impact fees Monday night, but
his motion on the subject failed
in a 3-2 vote.
Commissioner Dwain Smith
voted with Crow to do an impact
fee study. But commissioners
Jody Thompson and Bruce Yates
and Chairman Pat Bell voted not
to fund the idea.
“I feel like the timing is not
right,” Bell said. “I’m concerned
about the cost. It would totally
wipe out our contingency fund ...
I’m against spending money that
is not in the budget.”
Thompson suggested the BOC
consider making the study a bud
get item next year instead of
taking the money from the con
tingency fund.
But Crow said it would take
time to get a study completed.
“We need to do the study,” he
said. “If the study shows we don’t
need impact fees, so be it... I feel
like we need to do the study ... It
takes about one year to do it (the
study).”
Yates said he “understands the
importance of impact fees,” but
doesn’t believe it is the time to
do a study.
In other business, two votes
were taken on selecting a bond
underwriter before any action
was taken. The first vote, which
failed 3-2, was to name Merchant
Capital as the underwriter. The
next vote, which passed 3-2, was
to name Miller & Martin as the
underwriter.
The first motion to name
Merchant Capital was made by
Smith. Bell seconded this motion,
but the other three commission
ers voted against it.
The second motion, to name
Miller & Martin, was made by
Thompson. Crow and Bell voted
in favor of this motion, while
Smith and Yates voted against it.
Other Business
In other business at Monday’s
three-hour meeting, the BOC:
•named Charles Herrington to
serve on the county dangerous
dog committee.
•approved a $348,370 con
tract with Moreland Altobelli
Associates for engineering and
design of Zion Church Road.
Funds will come from the 2004
bond project.
• approved a $ 1.9 million paving
contract to Pittman Construction
for 2008 road projects.
•approved a $266,000 con
tract with Heath and Lineback
Engineers for preliminary engi
neering and design for the State
Route 53/Hoschton-Braselton
Bypass project. Thompson voted
against this, while the other com
missioners voted in favor of it.
• postponed closing the bridge
over Possum Creek Road after
hearing from a property owner
who said he uses the bridge to
travel to and from his property.
• approved a request from
Ricky Dale Maddox to locate
an additional residence at 1023
Murphy Road in order to care for
a family member with medical
problems.
•postponed a request from
Ninragon for an alcohol license
for a restaurant in Traditions
Way, Jefferson. The request was
postponed because the applicant
wasn’t present.
•approved an alcohol license
for Braselton Golf Club due to a
change in ownership.
• approved a request from
Ricky Raymond and Associates
for a map amendment to change
Athens Stonecasting, located on
Hwy. 441, from gateway corridor
to rural places.
•Jim Scott of Commerce asked
the BOC to consider taking bids
for large projects, such as profes
sional services. Professional ser
vices include attorneys, survey
ors, engineers and accountants.
Consultant Don Clerici, who
oversees large capital improve
ment projects for the county,
said the county selects the “most
qualified firm” and then “negoti
ates the price.”
County BOE Moves Meetings To Gordon Street Center
By Kerri Testement
The Jackson County Board of
Education will meet in a new loca
tion, starting next month.
The board will hold its meetings
in room B-16 at the Gordon Street
Center, located in downtown
Jefferson. The group currently
holds its monthly meetings at the
board of education office, near
Jackson County Comprehensive
High School.
Last month, Redd Howe, a par
ent, asked the BOE to move its
meetings to a larger facility after
67 people packed a meeting in
January.
Room B-16 at the Gordon Street
Center is used for some profes
sional development classes for the
county school system. The 1,300
square-foot room can accommo
date 70 chairs, with space for a
total of 85 people.
The Jackson County BOE will
begin meeting at the Gordon
Street Center in April, when the
board will hold a joint work ses
sion and regular meeting Monday,
April 14, at 6 p.m. Spring Break
for the county school system will
be held the previous week, when
the BOE would have held its work
session meeting.
The Jackson County BOE holds
its work sessions on the Thursday
prior to the second Monday of
each month at 6 p.m. Regular
meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the
second Monday of each month.
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Water Authority
Changes Meeting Time
The Jackson County Water
and Sewerage Authority moved
its meeting time forward an
hour.
Trying to get an earlier start,
the authority voted unanimously
last Thursday night to amend its
bylaws so that its regular meet
ings start at 6:00 p.m. instead
of 7:00.
The authority’s regular meet
ings are on the second Thursday
of each month at its headquar
ters on Martin Luther King Jr.
Ave. in Jefferson.
It also holds a work session at
5:30 p.m. on the first Thursday
of each month to go over items
that will be on the regular meet
ing agenda, but all voting is
done at the regular meetings.
All meetings are open to the
public.
In other business, the author
ity:
•following a closed session
for the evaluation of manager
Eric Klerk, voted to contrib
ute $2,000 to Klerk’s “senior
management plan,” a 401-SM
account that is part of his salary
package.
•approved a $104,500 change
order in the contract of Prime
Engineering to cover construc
tion management services dur
ing the upgrade of the Middle
Oconee Water Reclamation
Facility.
•approved a contract with
Prime Engineering for $9,600
for construction management
services for a $100,000 proj
ect that will add two re-chlori
nation stations to key author
ity pump stations on Galilee
Church Road and South Apple
Valley Road. Those stations
will help the authority reduce
waste, particularly during times
of drought, by keeping chlorine
levels adequate. It is a response
to being forced to waste sub
stantial amounts of water dur
ing the peak of the drought
by flushing lines when chlorine
levels got too low. “We had to
dump a lot of water last year, a
lot,” noted Klerk. “Then we’d get
a lot of calls that we’re stupid.”
•authorized Klerk to adver
tise for bids on the construction
of the re-chlorination stations.
•approved a work order for
$12,600 for Prime Engineering
to design and manage the con
struction of the relocation of
water lines at the intersection
of Apple Valley Road and Hwy.
15-A where Jackson County is
rebuilding the intersection.
•authorized a $19,300 work
order for Prime Engineering to
evaluate and design changes to
the Doster Creek sewage pump
station, which Klerk said was
improperly designed. “It’s just
a matter of time before some
thing goes drastically wrong
and there’s a spill of sewage
into the creek,” he warned.
Prime will try to determine
what parts of the pump station
can be salvaged, how to rebuild
it or, as a worst-case scenario,
whether it needs to be com
pletely replaced.
• saw a presentation by Prime
Engineering on a county waste-
water master plan, a document
used to project future demand
for sewage treatment based on
population growth in various
drainage basins.
•authorized Klerk to begin
negotiations with Prime
Engineering in regard to a new
master contract.
• changed the position of
“accounting administrator” to
finance director. Judy Davis, a
certified financial officer, holds
that position.
• learned from Klerk that work
will begin in two weeks on an
interconnection with Gainesville
that will allow the purchase
from or sale of up to 1.5 mil
lion gallons a day of water. It is
anticipated that Jackson County
would mostly be the buyer, but
that it could also sell water to
Gainesville in the event of an
emergency.
Chamber Chili
Cook-Off Set For
Saturday, April 19
The Jackson County Area
Chamber of Commerce will
hold its annual chili cook-off
Saturday, April 19, from 3-6 p.m.
in Braselton.
The event will be held at
YearOne, which is also holding
a car show that day from 3-9 p.m.
Samples of chili will be for sale.
Quantities are limited. A kids
play area will be available.
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