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About The Commerce news. (Commerce, Ga.) 1???-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2016)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 THE COMMERCE NEWS • THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PAGE 3A Deadline is Oct. 11 to register to vote in Nov. 8 general election BY ANGELA GARY Jackson County residents who aren’t registered to vote and want to cast a ballot in the Nov. 8 election have until Oct. 11 to register. County residents can reg ister to vote at the Jackson County Board of Elections and Voter Registration Office, located at 44 Gordon Street in Jefferson. The only local races on the ballot will be the sheriffs race where incumbent Janis Mangum will face challeng er Randy Moore and several fire board seats. There will also be a special election on changes to the Freeport Exemption for property taxes. Voters will also cast a ballot in the presidential race, as well as other party, state and federal races and questions. “I want to encourage everyone to come out and vote,” elections supervisor Lori Wurtz stated. “When there is opposition on the local ballot, sometimes one vote can be the deciding vote. This is your chance to be heard, to have a voice in choosing your local elect ed officials. We hope to see everyone at the polls exercis ing their right to vote.” Early Voting Early voting will be held at the Jackson County Elec tions and Voter Registration Office on the following dates: •8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon- day-Friday, Oct. 17-Oct. 21 •8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon- day-Friday, Oct. 24-28 • 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 •7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mon- day-Friday, Oct. 31-Nov. 4 Commerce Early voting will be held at the Commerce Parks and Recreation Center, located at 204 Carson Street, Com merce, on the following dates: •7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mon- day-Friday, Oct. 31-Nov. 4 Braselton Early voting will be held at the Braselton Police and Municipal Court Building, located at 5040 Hwy. 53, Braselton, on the following dates: •7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mon- day-Friday, Oct. 31-Nov. 4 “We have extended the voting hours for the last week of early voting in Jefferson, which will include Braselton and Commerce,” Wurtz said. “The Board of Elections and Voter Registration approved the extended hours in an effort to reduce congestion at polling places on Election Day.” Election Day On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The precinct locations are as fol lows: • North Minish: Com merce Parks and Recreation Center, 204 Carson Street, Commerce • South Minish: Com merce Public Safety Build ing, 1491 South Elm Street, Commerce • Newtown: Nicholson Community Center, 129 Lakeview Drive, Nicholson •Wilson: Maysville Unit ed Methodist Church, 8482 Maysville Road, Maysville •Center: Center Baptist Church, 9368 Commerce Road, Athens • Harrisburg: Harrisburg Fire Department, 52 Thyatira Community Church Road, Jefferson • North Jefferson: Faith Baptist Church, 2081 High way 129 North, Jefferson •South Jefferson: Jeffer son Civic Center, 65 Kissam Street, Jefferson • Randolph: Center United Methodist Church, 7641 Jack- son Trail Road, Hoschton • Hoschton: Hoschton Depot, 4272 Highway 53, Hoschton • Cunningham: Pender grass Depot, 22 Smith Bridg es Road, Pendergrass • Miller: Plainview Fire Department, 4346 Plainview Road, Maysville • Porter: Police and Municipal Court Building, 5040 Highway 53, Braselton • Attica: South Jackson Fire Department #2, 1136 Highway 330, Athens •Talmo: Talmo City Hall, 45 AJ Irvin Road, Talmo •Redstone: The Church at Southside, 8144 Jefferson Road, Athens Testing Under Way The elections office began last week performing logic and accuracy testing on the voting machines. Poll worker training began last week as well. “We are processing hun dreds of voter registration applications, displaying vote early signs in local business es throughout the county, and assisting in voter regis tration drives,” Wurtz said. “We expect record turnout for this election; our prepa ration began early this year, even before the primary.” Provisional Ballots Wurtz provided informa tion on provisional ballots, which have changed the out come of races in the state. During the last election, the winner of a race in Banks County changed to the other candidate after the provision al ballots were counted. Wurtz said that paper pro visional ballots will be offered under the following circum stances: •voter is in the wrong pre cinct without time to travel to their own precinct. •voter did not bring an approved photo ID. •voter is not found on the voter list but believes he/she registered before the dead line. •all machines are down due to loss of power. •court ordered extended hours. “I have heard many people say that provisional ballots do not count, but that is not true,” Wurtz said. “The board of elections and voter registra tion will have a public meeting to make individual determi nations on each ballot. If it is determined that the bal lot is not valid, it will remain sealed throughout its entire retention period before being destroyed. An example of an invalid ballot would be one in which no ID was presented at the polls when voting, and no ID was presented before the election is certified. Also, if you believe you have been given the wrong ballot, do not cast your ballot. Raise your hand and a poll worker will assist you. Casting your ballot, even if blank, is final. And please thank your poll work er! They are hard to find.” Cell phone use, cameras, discussing the ballot and campaign clothing/materials, are not allowed in the polling place. For more information, call the elections office at 706-367- 6377. Chamber to focus on retail Jackson County leaders are reportedly beginning to devel op strategies for attracting retail business to the county direc tors of the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce learned last Friday. Reporting on a recent meet ing of the “Jackson County Roundtable” (comprising a handful of mayors, the three school superintendents, a rep resentative of the county water and sewerage authority, the board of commissioners and others), chamber chairman Bill Cornell said the group’s primary focus was what mem bers consider a shortage of retail businesses in the county. He said the group discussed setting “guidelines for early-on incentives” so the county’s various governments and offi cials who deal with econom ic development “know what they are.” “It was a great group with great participation,” added president/CEO/economic development director Jim Shaw. “It was interesting to see how closely all the members of that group (have) vision for Jackson County.” Retail sales are important to every government and school system in the county because they generate three cents of sales taxes on the dollar. The local option sales tax (LOST) and special pur pose local option sales tax (SPLOST) generate millions of dollars annually used by the cities and the county for spe cial projects. The education local option sales tax (ELOST) does the same things for the school systems. Project Report Shaw told the group that Jackson County continues to have six “open” economic development prospects, half of them manufacturing and half distribution. Thus far in 2016, the county has been suc cessful with six projects, Shaw said, while 10 others have either selected other sites or ruled out a local site. Three expansions of exist ing industries are in the works. Shaw also reported that the county had one site visit during the week. ‘Clean’ Audit Melanie Chandler of Bates Carter and Co. gave a brief presentation on the chamber’s audit for 2015, noting that it was “a good, clean opinion,” that the chamber staff does “a very good job” with book keeping and record keeping, and that both revenues and expenditures were similar to the previous year. One recommendation she offered was that the cham ber increase its “unrestricted assets” that were at about $8,800 to an amount equal to three months’ operating rev enue. Financial Report Treasurer Andy Garrison told the board that through August, the chamber “is about $6,000 ahead” of its budget, although expenditures were $10,000 over budget in August, which Shaw explained occurred because the cham ber’s golf tournament expens es were budgeted for Septem ber but actually paid in August. New Staff Duties Shaw outlined some chang es in staff titles and responsi bilities. Melissa Britt’s title changes to vice president of opera tions. Her new duties will be to write and update policies, oversee communications and development of a reten tion plan, which will include a membership drive. Susan Tuggle’s new title is manager of administrative affairs. Leigh Carroll, who recently moved from part-time to full-time, has the title of membership rep resentative and is taking on duties related to Women In Business, the Woman of the Year event and the Spring Jam. Project manager Brianna Bur gess’ duties are expanded to include working with the Edu cation Committee’s programs. Facility Repairs At the request of Shaw, the board accepted low bids for resolving three issues at its building on Athens Street in Jefferson. The first was a bid of $5,800 from Peach State Property Solutions to paint and pressure wash windows, repair siding, soffits and fascia boards, and install new gutters, down spouts and gutter guards. The second bid, $8,000 from New Vision Group, covers repaving of the front parking lot, and the third bid went to AKA Tree Removal to remove trees limbs over the parking lot, at a cost of $825. The board authorized spending up to $20,000 on the work, noting that the first proj ect could encounter unfore seen problems that will run its cost over the original bid. All bid winners were cham ber members, but there were multiple bids on each project, Matt Benson pointed out. Other Business In other matters: •Britt reported that the chamber added 11 new members in August and that the year-todate membership retention rate is 82.9 percent. •Shaw said the Execu tive Committee is looking at adjusting the succession plan for officer positions and will bring a recommendation to the board. •Shaw and Britt report ed that the chamber will net approximately $20,000 from its annual golf tournament, and participants in the tournament offered favorable feedback. Wascher ... Cont. from Page 1A gia College and State University. He and his wife Tabitha, have two sons, Thomas 7, and William, 4. “The biggest challenge right now is getting the right lead ership in the police department,” Wascher said Monday night. “We have a good police department and I want them to have good leadership.” Council ... Cont. from Page 1A end Scott Street at Sam Brown Boulevard so all vehicle traf fic going from Waterworks Road to Scott Street or from Scott Street to Waterworks Road will have to turn onto Sam Brown Boulevard, come to a stop sign and then make another turn. None of the residents on Scott Street have voiced objec tions to the plan, Mayor Clark Hill said. “I think people are really excited about that,” Hill said. Other Business In other matter’s during the council’s meeting, the coun cil: •amended its zoning ordinance so that any mobile home constructed before 1976 cannot be used as a res idence — but the 10 pre-1976 mobile homes currently in town are “grandfathered in” and considered conditional uses. They may remain in use — until they are vacant for six months or their utility service is cut off. •amended its ordinance relating to the distribution of pamphlets and handbills to remove a requirement that the documents contain a name and address of the responsible party. Distribution of pamphlets and handbills sill requires a permit, though the permit is free. • amended its gas supply contract with the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia. • amended its requirements for special events permits that allow alcohol sales. The new version expands the areas in which alcohol sales and consumption can occur in city-sponsored events. The vote was 5-1 with Councilman Donald Wilson casting a dissenting vote. • approved the closing of Little, Oak, Sycamore and Pine streets the evening of Oct. 1 for the Cruisin’ Commerce event. • learned that as of Aug. 31, the city’s General Fund was $50,478 in the red, its Water & Sewerage Fund was $361,252 in the black, its Electric Fund was $256,333 to the good and its Gas Fund was $177,135 in the red. • heard city manager James Wascher report that the city is taking applications for a position on the Commerce Hous ing Authority made vacant by the resignation of Joel Benton. Wascher indicated that the council will likely fill that position at its November meeting. • heard Wascher report that downtown merchants and the Downtown Development Authority will not hold trick- or-treat at Halloween. He pointed out that the Commerce Public Library’s “Boofest” Oct. 20 will feature a costume contest and said merchants who want to distribute candy can do so at that event. Safety and declining participation among businesses were cited as reasons for the change. • learned from Wascher that Commerce High School will hold pep rallies on Wednesdays, Sept. 21, Sept. 28 and Oct. 26 in the new parking lot off Cherry Street. BOC ... Cont. from Page 1A Poole. “What we try to do in Gillsville is maintain a presence so that we can better represent our citizens.” But Poole noted the city does offer some services to resi dents, including garbage pickup. Still, some county officials are concerned about adding a 10th municipality to the county. No official part of Gillsville is currently in Jackson County and the county does not have any public facilities in the area. Conversations between the two entities likely won’t cease here, though. The BOC was on a time limit and was ultimately forced to oppose the plan. But negotiations could continue on the annexations. Gills ville may also file a petition in superior court. Other Business Also at its meeting, the BOC: • accepted roadways in the Holly Ridge subdivision. • reappointed Jarrard & Davis LLP as the county attorney with no changes to last year’s contract. • approved staffing changes totaling $46,000 at the Jackson County Correctional Institute. The staffing changes include a new correctional officer and reclassifying a sergeant to a lieutenant position. • approved a $51,000 purchase of a fuel upgrade system at the county fuel station. • approved abandoning two portions of Jesse Cronic Road. The BOC also approved deeding the abandoned roads to adjacent property owners, Jack Frost (Memorial Park Funeral Homes owner) and Braselton Township LLC. Please recycle this newspaper
