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PAGE 6A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. JULY 23. 2008
Vaughn's Wing Slingers Celebrates Opening
Vaughn’s Wing Slingers Restaurant, located on South Broad city officials, representatives of the Downtown Development
Street in Commerce, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Authority, the Commerce Area Business Association and others
Friday to celebrate its opening in Commerce. The owners, staff, turned out for the event.
County To Offer Fuel Sales To Cities
By Angela Gary
Jackson municipalities will soon
be given the opportunity to pur
chase fuel from the county gov
ernment.
Commissioner Jody Thompson
had earlier asked county staff to
look into the idea in an effort to
get a better fuel rate for the gov
ernments.
County attorney Julius Hulsey
said at Monday’s BOC meeting
that reselling fuel to city govern
ments is allowed.
The BOC unanimously agreed
for Hulsey to create an intergov
ernmental agreement and move
forward with the option.
“This is another step in showing
this board is willing to work with
the municipalities," Thompson
said.
Plans are to have the program in
place by Aug. 1.
On another fuel related issue,
the BOC discussed adding a
gas surcharge to moving viola
tions issued by the sheriff’s office.
County staff members will get
more information on the idea for
action at the Aug. 4 BOC meet
ing.
County manager Darrell
Hampton said he and assistant
county manager Jane Range
talked about the surcharge
with the Association of County
Commissioners of Georgia.
“We have also had an opportu
nity to speak briefly with Judge
(Billy) Chandler (magistrate judge),
but we need more time to speak
with him, as well as with Sheriff
(Stan) Evans," Hampton said. “We
also need to get more information
from the ACCG to make sure that
we can recommend this and that it
is enforceable."
The county is looking at an add
on fine to help offset some of the
increasing costs of fuel.
Other Business
In other business at the meeting
Monday night, the BOC:
•heard from Hampton that the
county has asked for inmate assis
tance for several projects, includ
ing the transfer station, fire train
ing center and a fencing project.
•heard a report from commis
sioner Dwain Smith that the new
East Jackson recreation fields in
Nicholson will be open by the fall
for soccer.
Airport Authority May Be Clearing Financing Hurdle
Owners Of Land
Around Potential
Reservoirs Get Notice
Letters Sent Seeking Access For
Gathering Site Selection Data
By Mark Beardsley
Owners of property being con
sidered for a new county reser
voir got the news last week.
The Jackson County Board of
Commissioners and the county
water and sewerage authority
mailed letters to owners of land
around three potential reser
voirs. The documents are the
first step toward getting on the
land to ascertain the feasibil
ity of building a drinking water
reservoir.
Two of the sites are on
Hardman Creek southeast of
Commerce. The third is on Little
Curry Creek below Jefferson.
The county and the author
ity have narrowed 13 potential
sites down to three and are
in the process of finalizing the
selection.
All three would be pump-stor
age reservoirs, which means
most of their water would come
from a nearby stream or river
— Sandy Creek at the first two
sites and the Middle Oconee
River at the third.
The two Hardman Creek
sites could produce 10 to 20
million gallons per day (mgd),
according to Rob MacPherson
of Prime Engineering, the com
pany conducting the $294,000
analysis. The Curry Creek site
could potentially produce 40
mgd.
Among the considerations in
selecting the final site are yield,
water quality, cost, wetlands
mitigation and soil suitability.
Property owners will be asked
to allow surveyors on the prop
erty as well as other workers
who will do soil bores and other
tests necessary to gather the
data needed to make the selec
tion.
At a called meeting last
Thursday morning, the Jackson
County Water and Sewerage
Authority voted to adopt both
a master contract with Prime
to cover all of its engineering
work, and a task order for the
second phase of the reservoir
study.
The county hopes to complete
the study by an Aug. 26 dead
line for application for some of
the $40 million in grant money
being made available by the
General Assembly to assist in
building reservoirs.
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By Mark Beardsley
The Jackson County Airport
Authority may have cleared a
major hurdle toward starting a
$19.5 million, five-year capital
improvement project.
Speaking to the Commerce
Kiwanis Club last Thursday as a
guest of Harvey Chandler, airport
manager Bob Stapleton said local
companies with an interest in the
airport have proven receptive to
helping it make debt service pay
ments on the project until state
and federal reimbursements come
in.
All of the project qualifies for 95
percent reimbursement from the
Federal Aviation Administration
and 2.5 percent from the Georgia
Department of Transportation.
That means that a Jackson
County’s cash investment in the
$19 million project will cost just
$1 million.
The catch is the timeline for FAA
reimbursement. It could begin this
year if the county’s funding appli
cation is approved Oct. 1 in whole
or in part. But if it is not, the air
port authority plans to proceed
just the same.
The airport authority last week
asked the board of commissioners
for a $7 million line of credit. On
a 3-2 vote, the BOC refused on
the grounds that the FAA would
not provide a letter guaranteeing
reimbursement.
According to Stapleton, two
of three companies interested in
signing 30-year ground leases so
they can build hangars to house
corporate aircraft gave “positive
responses" to request that they
pay 10 years’ worth of the leases
up front. That would cover the
interest, Stapleton said, on the
line of credit.
The project would include a new
taxiway on the west side, a cor
porate ramp on the south side,
additional hangars and a terminal.
It does not include the ongoing
runway extension project that will
enable corporate jets to use the
airport.
A committee has been formed
of airport authority members and
representatives of the Industrial
Development Authority, Jackson
County Water and Sewerage
Authority and chamber of com-
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merce, whose role will be to dis
cuss with local industries what
they need in order to be able to
use the airport.
The authority voted last
Wednesday night to hire a firm to
help it acquire 53 acres between
the airport and Hwy. 82 for the
project.
LANDSCAPING SPECIALS!
Mulches & Bark
Red Dyed Mulch $25/scoop
Brown Mulch $25/scoop
Double Ground Hd $25/scoop
Cypress Mulch $28/scoop
Straw Matting for Slopes 7 l/2’xl20’
Reasonably Priced $40/Roll
Tractor Trailer Load discounts available
Delivery on 10 scoops or more free
up to 10 miles from lot,
then $1 per mile both ways thereafter
Straw
Wheat Straw/Mulch Hay $4/bale
Long Needle Pinestraw $3.50/bale
100 Bales or more picked up $3.25/bale
Delivery on 100 bales or more free
up to 10 miles from lot,
then $1 per mile both ways thereafter
Coastal Bermuda Feed Hay
(Great for cows and horses)
Square Bales $7/Bale
Top Soil & Fill Dirt Available
Call for details.
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