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About The Commerce news. (Commerce, Ga.) 1???-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2016)
Vol. 140 No. 16 24 Pages 2 Sections Wednesday rpl VVEDNE5I | Up JUNE 8,2016 Commerce News www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 A party with a purpose Claire Gaus decided to mark her 85th birthday with a party to benefit the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. See Page 2A Farmers' market moves again For want of a place to go, the Commerce Farmers’ Mar ket will move back to its previ ous location for the rest of the summer. People seeking fresh Geor gia-grown produce and other items every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon should head to the trackside parking lot across South Elm Street from Spencer Park — the same location the market has used for years. Organizers of the market had decided to relocate it to the trackside parking lot on North Elm Street across from Pinnacle Bank, citing more space for vendors and cus tomers. But when the 2016 market opened Saturday, May 28, they found a problem with the new location. There are no bathrooms. See “Move” on 3A Contact Us •News: news@mainstreet- news.com, call 706-621-7238 Online B Follow us on Facebook by liking The Commerce News www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com INDEX Church News 6B Classified Ads 8-9B Crime News 6-8A Obituaries 7 B Opinion 4A Sports 1-4B Social News...9-11A MAILING LABEL BELOW How much is a mansion worth? Estimate for renovating Gov. Hardman House — $400,000 The Commerce City Council has a price tag for the potential renovation of the Gov. Hardman House. Reporting to the council at its Mon day night “work session” meeting, interim city manager James Wascher said the company hired to assess the former governor’s mansion conclud ed that the renovation cost would be “close to $400,000.” The city is considering acquisition of the property to preserve one of the few Georgia governor’s mansions still standing. To date, there has been no discussion — and Wascher says no negotiations — about the cost of the acquisition. “In general, it will have to be com pletely redone from grass to roof,” Wascher told the council. Renovation would include installation of a com mercial kitchen for hosting events, completely new electrical and plumb ing systems, major repairs to the roof, making bathrooms comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, removal of a small amount of asbes tos and mitigating a severe moisture problem emanating from below the house. The price would also include work on the grounds and on the car riage house. Wascher conceded that the city will probably never recoup its invest ment. “The objective is to get enough income from events to pay for mainte nance and operations after we do the initial repairs,” he said. He also noted that special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) funds will be available if the city moves on the building. Mayor Clark Hill told the group he would like more information on exactly what must be done — and the cost — to stabilize the building and See “Hardman” on Page 3A Dancer on pointe Megan Suber dances to “Mozart Divertissement” during the Commerce School of Dance’s “Dancing in the Moonlight” spring recital Saturday morning at the Commerce Cultural Center. Dancers performed in three recitals during the day. For more photos, see page 5B and The Commerce News’ Facebook page. Nicholson to focus on annexing 'islands' City planner Jerry Weitz updated the Nich olson City Council on the progress of its comprehensive plan on Monday. Weitz explained the steps that Nichol son must take to annex two unincorporat ed islands that were discussed during last month’s work session. State law allows the city council to annex islands without the consent of the property owner; however, the city is required to hold a public hearing on the annexation and zoning of the property Weitz said the planning commission would make a zoning recommendation to the annexed property owners and hear any objections they may have. There are approx imately five property owners that would be affected by the annexation. Property owners are allowed to speak in opposition at the public hearing, but ulti mately, the council has absolute authority to annex the islands. Weitz also noted that the annexation of the two unincorporated islands was an item that had been in the city’s comprehensive plan since 2010. Once the city legally confirms that the See “Nicholson” on Page 3A Only 1 speaks at budget hearing Only one person showed up to question Commerce’s proposed $26 million budget when the city council held its budget hearing Monday night. Tim Redmond, a frequent speaker at reg ular council meetings, questioned several aspects of the city budget. Regarding a $23,000 line item for travel for the mayor and council, Redmond asked, “What are your plans for travel this year?” Interim city manager James Wascher responded to Redmond’s questions. As for the travel, he pointed out that the plans are the same as always — attending Mayor’s Day in Atlanta and Georgia Municipal Association events in Savannah. “When you’ve got seven or eight people traveling, it adds up fast,” Wascher said. Redmond questioned a $5,000 line item for “agenda software” and questioned whether it was needed. Wascher responded that the fee is for the city’s Minute Track soft ware, and city clerk Sandra Haggard pointed out that citizens track city activities via that software on the city’s web page, make com ments and use it for open records requests. “Considering the reams of paper we save and the ease of use, it’s a lot more efficient than what we used to do,” Wascher said. Redmond also questioned the cost for medical insurance for the elected officials, and Wascher explained that the coverage — identical to what city full-time employees can get — is part of the officials’ compensation package. The council is scheduled to approve the budget on Monday night, June 20, at 6 p.m. The budget will take effect July 1. Changes planned for Scott Street at Waterworks Road Commerce motorists who use Scott Street frequently can expect some major changes, probably before school starts. Scott Street runs from South Elm Street to Waterworks Road and is commonly used by people going to and from the city school complex. Interim city manager James Wascher reported to the city coun cil at its “work session” meeting Monday night plans to address continued problems with speeding as motorists veer off Water works Road onto Scott Street. “People come off Waterworks Road at full speed (55 miles per hour) and don’t slow down until the stop sign (at Clayton Street),” Wascher told the city council. The speed limit on Scott Street is 25 miles per hour. The options, he said, included a four-way stop sign at Sam Brown Boulevard, just yards from the intersection of Scott Street with Waterworks Road, a roundabout at the same intersection, or terminating Scott Street at Sam Brown Boulevard and forcing motorists to use the Sam Brown Boulevard intersection with Waterworks Road to go from Waterworks Road to Scott Street or vise versa. Councilman Mark Fitzpatrick suggested using a four-way stop to see if that would solve the problem, but Wascher expressed concern that motorists used to exiting Waterworks Road at full speed might cause an accident at the four-way stop. “For safety, I think it would be better to close it off,” Wascher said. That would require removing some of the pavement at the west end of Scott Street and installing landscaping. The pavement would continue to serve two or three driveways on the section of Scott Street between Sam Brown and Waterworks Road, however. “If the property owners are okay with it, it shouldn’t inconve nience anybody” offered Mayor Clark Hill. Wascher said the city will try to get the work done before school starts. When the work is completed, motorists coming down Scott Street will have to stop at Sam Brown Boulevard and turn right to access Waterworks Road. Motorists traveling east on Waterworks Road will have to turn right onto Sam Brown, then stop at the four way stop sign to get to Scott Street. “It’s definitely going to slow them down,” said mayor pro tern Keith Burchett. Is it too late for the Oxford building? Is it too late to save the Oxford building? While the Commerce Downtown Development Authority (DDA) wants to see it developed into a hotel, the Commerce City Council broached the possibility Monday night that the building could be razed. That would depend upon the results of an engineering study proposed by interim city manager James Wascher during the council’s “work session” meeting. “Is there any value there to keep us from tearing it down?” Wascher asked. “If there is no value, I really think we need to demolish the building.” Wascher said the fagade is cracked and a main support beam is bowed and splintered. “It’s just a matter of time before that building is going to come down.” Councilman Johnny Eubanks agreed with the concept of having an engineering study done, and Wascher said he would send out a request for proposals on the study and report back to the council. “This is really what we should have done three years ago,” Eubanks said. “We’ve let it hang out there long enough,” observed mayor pro tern Keith Burchett. “It’s time we do something about it.” Eubanks serves as the council’s liaison with the DDA. He recently reported to the DDA on a meeting with two officials of the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission who he said were “very excited” about the prospect of redeveloping the Oxford building and property. The DDA has made development of the property its top priority for 2016. One issue to be resolved if the decision is made to tear down the building is how to protect the front corner, an adjacent but separate building the city does not own. Years ago, the plan was to raze the building and create a park ing lot for the civic center in its place, but the DDA convinced the council to let it try to find someone to redevelop the property.
