Vol. 139
No. 48
20 Pages
2 Sections
The
Commerce New
Wednesday
JANUARY 6, 2016
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Red Cross
blood drive
set Tuesday
The American Red
Cross will hold a blood
drive Tuesday, Jan. 12,
from noon
to 6 p.m. in
the family
fellowship
center of the
First Baptist
Church of Commerce.
The church is located
at 1345 South Broad
Street, Commerce.
The Red Cross pro
vides blood services to
local hospitals, includ
ing Northridge Medical
Center and the Athens,
Gainesville and Atlanta
area hospitals.
A unit of blood can
help treat up to three
people. Blood donations
are processed into three
primary components,
red blood cells to treat
trauma, platelets for can
cer patients and plasma
for burn victims. Whole
blood is also used in
surgery. Red blood cells
have a 42-day shelf life.
Participants on
Tuesday will receive a
coupon for a free Chick
fil-A sandwich at the
Banks Crossing restau
rant.
To schedule an
appointment, go to
www.redcrossblood .org
and use the sponsor
code coco. Walk-ins are
welcome.
Donors should drink
plenty of non-caffeinat-
ed fluids and eat iron-
rich foods.
Chamber sets
banquet
for Jan. 21
The Jackson County Area
Chamber of Commerce will
hold its annual awards ban
quet at 6 p.m. on Thursday,
Jan. 21, at the Jefferson Civic
Center.
For ticket information, call
the chamber office at 706-
387-0300.
INDEX
Church News ....10A
Classified Ads 5B
Crime News 6-7A
Obituaries 4B
Opinion 4A
School 8A
Sports 1-3B
Social News 9A
MAILING LABEL BELOW
Thinking BIG
The Commerce Downtown Development Authority has decid- by two University of Georgia graduate students for the long-va
ed that finding a developer to build a “boutique hotel” designed cant Oxford building site will be a top priority for 2016.
2016 DDA priority: Hotel,
condos on old Oxford site
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
Imagine a hotel in downtown Commerce.
The Commerce Downtown Development
Authority is making the transformation of the
former Oxford building on State Street into a “bou
tique hotel” complex one of its top priorities for
2016.
The DDA has a conceptual plan drafted by
University of Georgia graduate students, and the
city is apparently willing to give the property (for
$1) to a developer who would put a hotel/restau-
rant complex right across from the Commerce
Civic Center.
The issue came up in a joint meeting of the DDA
and the Commerce Civic Center & Tourism Author
ity last Tuesday by John Whitten of Chapman Hall
Realtors, who chairs the civic center authority.
Whitten is in the process of renovating the former
tattoo parlor on Cherry Street.
“If we could take on the project of finding a buyer
for that (Oxford) building to do that, that would be
an amazing accomplishment,” Whitten said.
Whitten said he had contacted “a couple of
hotel owners on Interstate 85” and offered the
building at $1, suggesting that business from the
civic center would help make the project success
ful. He has also shown the building to potential
developers three times.
“We just want somebody who’s going to take
that vision and make it a reality” Whitten told the
group.
The hotel scenario includes some “high-end
condos and a restaurant in front,” Whitten said,
adding that city incentives could aid the process.
“I think we can do it guys... The civic center is
what’s making it happen with all the business we
have there,” Whitten said. “Never give up, you guys,
because it will happen.”
The DDA agreed to make the hotel the 2016
focus of its Economic Revitalization Committee.
The concept, created by UGA design students
Arwen Chen and Bryan Hardman for a class proj
ect, envisions 14 hotel rooms, two 1,350-square-foot
galleries, six 1,350-square-foot condominiums, one
retail terrace, outdoor dining and a new parking
area.
Also on Tuesday the DDA board decided on
areas of focus for its other committees during 2016.
The Design Committee will focus on solidifying
its faqade grant pregram and installing “gateway”
entrance markers similar but smaller in scale than
the marker at the intersection of Homer Road
and the U.S. 441 bypass. Interim director Natalie
Thomas reported that the DDA has $4,300 in its
faqade grant account, but that Pinnacle Bank has
already agreed to contribute funding in 2016. Local
financial institutions are the source of funding for
the program, though the DDA has expressed inter
est in supplementing that with other donations or
fundraisers.
The major effort of the Promotions Committee
will be to “rebrand” Commerce, part of which will
be done with a new DDA/city logo.
The Operations Committee will be tasked with
running or coordinating the DDA’s events, ranging
from the Folk to Fine Arts Festival & Expo, to the
Independence Day celebration, Commerce Crui
sin’, the annual beautification day Easter parade
and Christmas events.
New mayor, council
installed in Nicholson
Town hall
meetings set to
discuss SPLOST
New mayor sworn in
New Nicholson Mayor Jan Webster takes the oath of
office administered by Magistrate Judge Billy Chandler.
A large crowd gathered
at Nicholson City Hall on
Monday night to meet and
greet their newest local
leaders.
Mayor Jan Webster and
council members Lamar
Watkins and Mike Barfield
were sworn into their
elected positions prior to
Nicholson’s first regular
City Council meeting of
2016.
Webster’s first meeting
as mayor was brief, but
the freshly-sworn-in offi
cial made efforts to be
up-close-and-personal with
her constituents. Webster
invited all in attendance for
refreshments and a meet-
and-greet following the con
clusion of Monday’s busi
ness. Webster said she was
excited to see “so many
members of the commu
nity” in attendance, and
hopes to see that trend con
tinue.
“We are humbled that
you all came out on a cold
night,” said Webster. “I hope
this is the beginning of a
whole lot of meetings you
are going to attend.”
Webster also urged
Nicholson residents to
attend an “open retreat
See “Nicholson” on 5A
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners
will hold two “town hall meetings” to provide
information on the March 1 vote on the one-cent
special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST).
The meetings will be held at 5 p.m. on Monday
Jan. 11, and at 9 a.m. on Saturday Jan. 16, in the
Jury Assembly Room of the Jackson County
Courthouse.
If approved by voters, the BOC will get 70
percent of the SPLOST, estimated to total $55.5
million over six years. The county’s nine cities
will divide the remaining 30 percent.
Of the $38.8 million the BOC will receive, $21
million will be used to pay off county debt. A
little over $9 million will be used for county water
projects, $3 million for county road projects, $2.5
million for public safety equipment including 30
new patrol vehicles, and $2.5 million for parks
and recreation. The bulk of the parks and rec
funds will go toward building a recreation park at
Gum Springs.
In addition to the March 1 SPLOST referen
dum, citizens will also vote on extending the
education local option sales tax (ELOST) for
the county’s three school districts, which divide
the revenue according to an enrollment based
formula.
The presidential preference primaries will
also be on the March 1 ballot.
