Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2016
THE COMMERCE NEWS • THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 3A
BOC ... Cont. from Page 1A
lated areas, as well as
under-populated areas, the
recommendations present
a more uniform voting pro
cess for all voters in Jackson
County,” Wurtz said. “The
board of elections and voter
registration has not yet made
a decision on the recom
mendations but would like
feedback from the commis
sioners regarding this pro
cess. We feel like the dis
ruption and added financial
concerns to complete the
process will directly affect
the county. The board would
like the support of all the
commissioners, before pro
ceeding with the process.”
Other Discussions
Other items discussed at
the BOC “retreat” included
the following:
• Auditor Beth Grimes
gave an update on the audit
process and said the audit
will be presented at the July
18 BOC meeting.
•County manager Kevin
Poe gave a financial update,
and reported that the year
is “starting off better than
projected.” He added that
the number-one challenge
continues to be debt ser
vice, which is $8 million or
20 percent of the budget.
“That takes up a lot of our
budget and we build it from
there,” Poe said.
• GIS manager Joel Logan
gave a report on the pic-
tometry aerial photography
program, which the county
is considering implement
ing. Pictoemtry captures
“intelligent aerial oblique
imagery” which results in
a 360-degree view of every
property and parcel. The
cost for the first flight would
be $86,326 and the BOC,
Braselton, Commerce, Jef
ferson and the county indus
trial development authority
would share the cost with
each entity paying $17,265.
The images would be updat
ed every three years.
• Public development
director Gina Roy gave
up update on the unified
development code and
permitting/zoning statis
tics. “Mini-revisions” will be
made to the UDC in 2016-
2017 with a complete rewrite
and update planned in 2018-
2019. As for code enforce
ment, 447 cases were report
ed in 2015 and 236 cases
have been reported so far
this year. As for animal con
trol, 1,272 cases were report
ed in 2015 and 512 cases
have been reported so far
this year.
• Logan discussed the
change of some areas of the
county to an “urban system”
from a “rural system” due
to the increase in popula
tion recorded in the recent
census. The classification
affects funding for the coun
ty transit system.
• Poe presented a request
from the Court Appointed
Special Advocates (CASA)
program for funding to go
toward renovating a building
in Winder to house its offic
es. The space is in the for
mer Winder Barrow Middle
School and $34,365 is need
ed to complete the project.
• Poe presented a request
from Juvenile Court Judge
Kevin Guidry to fund a part-
time associate judge at a cost
of $32,000.
• Jim Shaw, president
of the Jackson County
Area Chamber of Com
merce, gave an economic
update, which included
the announcement made
last week that Amazon will
locate in Braselton. In 2015,
the county attracted $91
million in new investment
and 110 new jobs, including
expansions at Takeushi and
RB (formerly Reckitt Benck-
iser). In 2016, the county has
won two projects totaling
approximately $73 million
in investment and 297 jobs.
•Poe presented informa
tion on Freeport exemption
and the possibility of putting
this on the November bal
lot for a vote. Freeport is a
tool that supports economic
development by limiting ad
valorem taxation of invento
ry. New legislation expands
Level 1 Freeport by including
the stock of a fulfillment cen
ter. To add this new exemp
tion, the BOC must vote to
hold a local referendum and
voters must approve it.
• Poe presented a propos
al to locate a commercial
driver’s license (CDL) train
ing program, in cooperation
with Lanier Tech, at the coun
ty fire training center. If the
BOC approves this, it will be
in place by the fall.
•Poe gave an update of
the new overtime require
ments enacted by the U.S.
Dept, of Labor.
•A discussion was held
on the use and ownership of
the Braselton Gym, which is
located on Hwy. 53 and used
by the county recreation pro
gram for basketball games.
The BOC is considering
pursuing ownership of the
gym since the county school
system reportedly no longer
plans to use it. “If we were to
lose that facility, it would put
a lot of stress on our other
facilities,” Poe said.
Commerce Main Street program
earns national recertification
Main Street Commerce
has been designated as
an accredited Main Street
America program for meet
ing performance standards
set by the National Main
Street Center.
Each year, the Nation
al Main Street Center and
its Coordinating Program
partners announce the
list of accredited Main
Street America programs
in recognition of their
commitment to preser
vation-based economic
development and commu
nity revitalization through
the Main Street approach.
The organization’s perfor
mance is annually evaluated
by the Georgia Main Street
Program, which works in
partnership with the Nation
al Main Street Center to
identify the local programs
that meet 10 performance
standards. Evaluation crite
ria determines the commu
nities that are building com
prehensive and sustainable
revitalization efforts and
include standards such as
fostering strong public-pri
vate partnerships, securing
an operating budget, track
ing programmatic progress
and actively preserving his
toric buildings.
Mark McCannon, chair
man of the Downtown
Development Authority
stated, “We are proud that
our Main Street Program
continues to be a success
here in Commerce. Thanks
to Main Street manager
Natalie Thomas and all
of the efforts of our board
members, this accredita
tion will help us continue
to make progress in revital
izing our downtown. I truly
believe that the Commerce
Main Street and Downtown
Development Authority have
a much stronger footing to
overcome the challenges
that downtowns face.”
Main Street America has
been helping revitalize older
and historic commercial
districts for more than 35
years. Today, it is a network
of more than 1,000 neigh
borhoods and communi
ties, rural and urban, who
share both a commitment to
place and to building stron
ger communities through
preservation-based eco
nomic development.
Economic development
Separating recyclables
Employees at the Athens-Clarke Materials
Reclamation Center separate recyclable materi
als.
Recycle ••• Cont. from 1A
That left former exporters turning to U.S. buyers, creating
a glut of recyclables that sent prices tumbling.
Haulers like Waste Pro are feeling the difference.
“Just in the last two years, recycling has gone from paying
us — they (the recycling centers) used to give us $30 a ton,”
said Harris. “Now we’re paying them $36 a ton.”
In addition, lower fuel costs make it less costly to manu
facture some products with raw materials than with recycled
materials.
Harris said there are locations all over the country where
recycling programs are shutting down.
“In Atlanta even,” he said, “it’s getting to where it’s a big
topic. It’s all over the country. Florida is the biggest recycler
on the east coast. There’s counties down there stopping it.
Recycling now is just not sustainable. ...”It’s a whole differ
ent world, man, it’s a volatile market.”
Janssen said a lot of governments were enticed into
creating recycling centers by high prices from end users,
and many of those transferred the profits from recycling
to their general funds. With that revenue source dried up,
many of those governments have abandoned recycling.
Athens-Clarke, she said, did not make that mistake, which
means the MRF there had money in reserve to cover a
$100,000 operational shortfall last year.
“We’re in it for the long haul,” she said, adding that
she’s starting to see some increases in some commodities,
including plastic, paper and metal. “We’ve seen some glim
mers in market prices.”
Janssen also reported that the Georgia Recycling Coali
tion is organizing a gathering of recycling coordinators, pro
cessors and end users next month to discuss glass with the
idea of finding ways to promote more recycling and re-use.
Meanwhile, Waste Pro customers in the Athens district can
take comfort that their jars and bottles will continue to be
recycled instead of dumped in a landfill.
Blood drive set July 12
at First Baptist Church
Amazon to locate facility in Braselton
Amazon is coming
to Jackson County. The
company announced last
Wednesday morning, June
22, its plans for a new ful
fillment center in Braselton.
The company will cre
ate more than 500 new
jobs at the facility, adding
to its current 1,500 full-time
employees at existing facili
ties across the state.
“Braselton is delighted
to welcome Amazon to
the town,” said Braselton
Mayor Bill Orr. “We have
outstanding corporate cit
izenship and Amazon is a
great addition and fit for
our community. Our town
looks forward to partner
ing with Amazon and its
employees.”
Amazon employees at
the new 600,000 square-
foot fulfillment center will
pick, pack and ship large
items for customers like
household decor items,
sporting equipment and
gardening tools.
Governor Nathan Deal
recently spoke about the
announcement.
“Amazon’s decision to
expand in Jackson County
speaks to the strength and
vitality of Georgia’s busi
ness-friendly environment,”
said Deal. “Georgia has a
long-standing reputation for
attracting leading business
es, and this project further
bolsters Georgia as the
nation’s No. 1 state in which
to do business. We appreci
ate Amazon’s commitment
to creating jobs in Georgia
and wish them continued
success in our state.”
“We are excited that Ama
zon has chosen to locate in
Jackson County” said Jack-
son County Board of Com
missioners chairman Tom
Crow. “Amazon’s invest
ment in Jackson County
is not only an investment
in our workforce, but will
create a partnership with
our community, positively
impacting us for years to
come.”
To learn more about
working at an Amazon ful
fillment center, interested
candidates can visit www.
amazondelivers.com.
The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive
Tuesday, July 12, from noon to 6:00 p.m. in the family fel
lowship center of the First Baptist Church of Commerce.
The church is located at 1345 South Broad Street,
Commerce.
The Red Cross provides blood services to local hospi
tals, including 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 cancer
patients and plasma for burn victims. Whole blood is also
used in surgery. Red blood cells have a 42-day shelf life.
Participants on July 12 will receive a coupon for a free
Chick fil-A sandwich at the Banks Crossing restaurant.
To schedule, go to www.redcrossblood.org and use
the sponsor code coco. Walk-ins welcome
Donors should drink plenty of non-caffeinated fluids,
eat iron-rich foods and get plenty of rest before donating
blood.
Town of Homer
NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY
OF PROPOSED BUDGET FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2016-17 AND
PUBLIC HEARING
A proposed budget for the Town of
Homer has been submitted and is
available for public inspection at the
Homer Town Hall. A public hearing
regarding the budget will be held at
the Homer Town Hall at 6:00 p.m. on
July 12, 2016, at which time any per
sons wishing to appear and comment
on the budget proposal will be heard.
A meeting of the Homer Town Coun
cil to consider adoption of a budget
for 2016-2017 will be held at 6:00 p.m.
on July 12, 2016, at the Homer Town
Hall following the public hearing.
WASTE PRO
will MOT be working
on the
4th of
Please put your
trash 8 recycle
bins at the
curb on Tuesday,
July 5th, before
6 a.m. for pickup!
Thank you!
City of Commerce
City Hall will be closed
July 4, 2016!