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Vol. 140 No. 44 24 Pages 2 Sections rpl WED [jg DECEMB Commerce News Wednesday DECEMBER 21,2016 www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 Hoping for a post-election industry boost Now that the presidential election is over, industrial proj ects that were on hold may move forward. That was the message Jack- son County Area Chamber of Commerce president/CEO and economic development direc tor Jim Shaw gave to his board of directors Friday morning. “We heard a lot of projects were waiting on the election,” Shaw said. “Some of those may surface soon.” One already has. News broke last week that Southeast Toyota Distributors is planning a major expansion/rezoning that will essentially move its facilities to 250 acres at the intersection of U.S. 441 and Hwy. 334. “This is a great thing for Jack- son County” Shaw exuded. “Southeast Toyota has been a terrific corporate citizen. I am very glad to see them expand where they are. “We’ve got another announcement we think will come pretty quick, and anoth er couple we’re just aware of that may or may not hit the open projects list. We’re aware that some other folks are look ing around in Jackson County, among other places, maybe among other states. There’s been a lot of activity.” The county has 12 open projects, mostly distribution but some manufacturing, Shaw said. There are also three expansions, seven projects “won” and 10 “lost” during 2016. 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 7B Classified Ads 8-9B Crime News 6-8A Obituaries 9A Opinion 4A School.... 1 OB & 12B Sports 1-2B Social News...9-11A MAILING LABEL BELOW Christmas in the park Commerce’s “official” Christmas tree is the centerpiece of the city’s lighted Christmas decorations. It can be found in Spencer Park, South Elm Street. The lights of Christmas Decorated, lit for Christmas This house at 165 Waterwheel Drive, Commerce (located off Old Hoods Mill Road) displays a traditional Christmas scene, featuring Santa, Rudolph and plenty of lights. A street of lights Several houses on Walnut Street feature a variety of lights and deco rations. Pretty on Paula Street This house on Paula Street uses a combination of inflatables and lights to celebrate the Christmas season. Planners give green light to SET expansion BOC expected to give final approval on Jan. 16 Developers got the initial approval last week for a reloca tion/expansion of Southeast Toyota Distributors at Commerce. The Jackson County Planning Commission approved Thursday a map amendment and four rezonings for over 250 acres at the intersection of U.S. 441 and Hwy. 334 across from Ingles. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners will con sider the request at its Jan. 16 meeting. Greenland Opportunities and Southeast Toyota Distributors plan to develop a vehicle processing plant at the site, which will double its current capacity. The increased space won’t create many more jobs though because of what Wayne Reece described as “efficiencies of the new facility.” Some new positions will be added for the new tmck main tenance division. More jobs would likely be added if another company purchases the current Toyota site, which the com pany plans to close. An entrance and median cut is planned on U.S. 441, with another possible entrance on Hwy. 334. Developers plan to request a traffic light on Hwy. 441. The $30 million SET project includes six buildings, See “Planners” on Page 3A Council okays low-cost financing for gas appliances Commerce residents who use natural gas will soon be able to get interest-free financing on new gas appliances through the city and the Municipal Gas Association of Georgia. The council voted Monday night to approve the city’s partic ipation in the Main Street Efficiency Financing Program offered through MGAG. The program allows natural gas customers to apply for financ ing to purchase gas water heaters, furnaces and heating and water heating systems. If MGAG approves the application, cus tomers will repay the loans over five years through their monthly utility bills. While the loans carry no interest, MGAG charges a $3 monthly “loan charge” in addition to the payment. That fee covers MGAG’s administrative costs and will cover defaults. The program is only for homeowners; it is not available for rental properties. 2 Reappointed To Recreation Board The council also reappointed two members of the Com merce Recreation Board to three-year terms. They are Jamie Peters and Jeff Straub. There is one vacancy on the board yet to be filled. City manager James Wascher said the city has yet to receive an application for that position. Other Business Also on Monday night the council: •approved the annexation and rezoning request from Jonathan Bishop on 1.5 acres at 484 Oconee Lane. The Com merce Planning Commission has recommended approval of rezoning the lot from A-R in Jackson County to R-1E in the city. Bishop seeks annexation so the Commerce City School System bus will pick up his children. The house on the lot is 4,492 square feet. • voted to purchase and equip seven vehicles for the police department at a total cost of $301,974. That includes sepa rate bids for the cars, equipping and outfitting them and the See “Council” on Page 3A Garbage, recycling pickup to run on sechedule Dec. 26 Commerce city offices (including City Hall, Planning and Utilities, the Main Street office, the recreation department and the library) will be dosed Monday Dec. 26. Anyone with a utilities emergency should call 706-335-3164 for after-hours personnel. For any other emergency call 911. Garbage Pickup Place garbage and recycling containers at curb on Monday Dec. 26. Waste Pro will run all routes on Monday. However, if the trash or recycling container is not picked up on Monday customers are asked to leave them until Tuesday as Waste Pro expects more garbage than usual on Monday and trucks may have to make extra routes. “Please remember to break cardboard boxes down for recy cling,” reminds city clerk Sandra Haggard.