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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. NOW OPEN Ama Kishi Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar r \ Dinner: 5:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m. Now Open For Lunch -11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. w 706-423-0040 228 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. • Commerce, GA 30529 Across From Home Depot GOOD NEWS THRIFT STORE 12 Madison Street Look for Coke sign on building Store Hours: Thurs. & Fri. 10 a.m. ■ 5 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Mission of Calvary Baptist Church Donations accepted. FORTSON Well Drilling & Environmental Services, Inc. Residential & Commercial Services • 6” Drilled Wells • Water Filtration and Purification • Water Conditioning Systems • Irrigation Systems • Monitoring Wells • Remediation Wells Customer Satisfaction Is Important To Us. We Invite You To Check Us Out. PHONE 795-2717 FAX 795-3713 Located 5 Miles North Of Danielsville On Hwy. 281 Danielsville, Georgia Howell Orthodontics Emily F. Howell, DMD, PC (706) 387-0606 Orthodontics for children and adults www.howellortho.com 2614 Hwy 129 North Jefferson, GA 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. CLASSIFIED ADS 26,500 READERS S10 PER WEEK 706-335-2927 706-367-5233 MasterCard • VISA Save $3 by placing ads online at classified@mainstreetnews.com On average, drivers who switched to Allstate saved $338 a year. Call me today. JOEL A HARBIN. CIC (706) 387-5030 38 SYCAMORE ST JEFFERSON JoelHarbin@allstate.com /instate You’re in good hands. Based on information reported by 5,291 new customers who purchased directly from an Allstate Customer Information Center. 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