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About The Commerce news. (Commerce, Ga.) 1???-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2016)
PAGE 2A THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS • THE COMMERCE NEWS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016 Elton Collins ready to retire from a 'complicated' issue BY RON BRIDGEMAN If would be fair to say Elton Collins takes a long view of an issue. He attended meetings and served on the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority for 15 years before water was pumped to cus tomers. Now, he’s planning to retire from the UOBWA - and from its Resource Manage ment Commission - but that may take an act of the legislature. Collins suggested, and the UOBWA agreed, the agency should seek legislation that would change the agreement for the four-county agency. The change would abolish the RMC and alter the voting structure of the water author ity- And Collins would give up his spot. He explained the RMC, which was an advisory group with representatives from all affected local governments, has fallen through. “We (the RMC) never had any authority and I think that’s why it never held together,” Collins said. “I’m the last original mem ber (of the UOBWA),” he said in a recent interview. He is the only finance chairman the group has had. The water authority was legally created in 1994, and it took another eight years to plan and create a reservoir, build a water treatment plant and start pumping water. Collins said he has been on the authority for 22 years, but he has been working on water issues and getting the authority established for 29 years. He said he started attending meetings of an ad hoc group to discuss water issues in 1987. Collins also served on the Jackson County Water & Sewerage Authority. He was a charter member there, too, and also was chairman. He said he was a member of that body Stepping down Having served on the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority for 15 years, Elton Collins is calling it quits on Dec. 31. for 14 years. The UOBWA is a creation of Jackson, Barrow, Clark and Oconee counties. Col lins said the “biggest sticking point” was how to structure the group so that one or two counties - Clark and Oconee, he singled out - could not dominate it. Collins said the negotia tions “almost fell apart” over that question. Getting the four counties to agree was diffi cult, he said. Collins praised the rep resentatives from Clarke County. “They have worked hard. They have done everything right,” he said. The four-county arrange ment has some odd quirks. Athens-Clarke County owns about 48 percent of the reservoir, but it does not par ticipate in the water treatment plant. Jackson County owns 25 percent of the reservoir. The authority operates the Bear Creek Reservoir in southwestern Jackson County and an adjacent water treatment plant. Most of the water for the reservoir is pumped into it from the Middle Oconee River. The authority has three pumps in the river. Each can pump 20 million gallons of water a day. The UOBWA has a dif ferent kind of structure. It includes members with full votes and members with pro portional votes. “That was the only way we could get it done,” Collins said. The proposed legislation will reduce the vote on the authority from seven full votes to six. The four chairmen of the county commissions in the counties each have a vote. The representative of the RMC, which has been Collins, has a vote. Four peo ple - one from each county - have the proportional votes for a total of one. Then the nine members of the author ity agree on a 10th member, who has a full vote. The total of seven will go down by one - Collins’ posi tion - if the state legislature approves it. UOBWA continues to function. It meets every other month. Collins admitted the meet ings aren’t as “much fun” as they once were. He said he’s ready to give up the job. Before that, Collins, a retired banker, served on the Commerce Board of Educa tion. He also is a former pres ident of the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce and the Commerce Kiwanis Club. His last public job, he said, is his current position on the Jackson County Board of Equalization. The original water group that started meeting in 1987 reviewed an Army Corps of Engineers study about water in northeast Georgia, he said. He said the group looked at water needs and asked each county to project its needs for the next 40 years. Those projections won’t last 40 years, Collins said. A reason for the initial meetings was the “growth up the (Interstate) 85 corridor,” Collins explained. Even with the recession that stopped growth in its tracks, the projections are likely to be surpassed before 40 years are up. At its November meeting, the authority agreed to ask for up-tCHjate water usage numbers as part of its ongo ing monitoring of drought conditions. But Collins noted projections of future water use also need to be revisited. “Water is complicated,” he said. SCORE starts in Jackson, Clarke counties BY RON BRIDGEMAN Charles Schrauth attended a meeting about SCORE in Gainesville in April because he was invited. Now he is a mentor for about a dozen companies. “I didn’t know what role I would play” he said. “I had no idea, really what SCORE was. SCORE was created as “Ser vice Corps of Retired Execu tives” in the 1960s, but it now uses just the acronym because many of its mentors, such as Schrauth, are not retired. The organization is just starting in Jackson and Clarke counties. It is part of the Gainesville chapter. That group held its first meeting in April, the one Schrauth attend ed. Eight months later, three of which were required to become “certified,” Schrauth is a SCORE mentor. SCORE mentors typically work with four to six compa nies. “I’m a headhunter,” Schr auth said about his own busi ness. He looks for employees for clients, primarily in the engineering field, he said. Most of his clients are out of town, he said. “I use the email for the ini tial contact,” he said. “I rarely meet my candidates in per son.” Scharuth lives in Nichol son, where he has been since 2005. He said his wife wanted to have a horse and the couple found a house and land. They moved from Dunwoody he said. He said business activity is bustling in Clarke and Jackson counties. If SCORE promoted itself more, it could “have 50 clients within a relatively short period of time” in Clarke, he said. Schrauth is a typical SCORE mentor, a business profession al. The organization provides advice, “real world” advice, he, and the group’s website, emphasizes. It does not provide loans or financing for business, he said. “Most of these (his clients) are startups,” Schrauth said, “and many just involve a dream in somebody’s brain.” Mentors seeks to help move those dreams to financially sta ble businesses. He said he meets with clients monthly ideally but added that changes with the needs of the business. It’s sometimes more frequently. “Most small companies, including my company have a difficult time planning,” he said. “We (mentors) can encour age. We can advise, but they (SCORE) don’t encourage us to do any of the real work.” He said he hopes to have three or four mentors work ing with companies soon. He expects one to start on or about the first of 2017 The new SCORE chapter has not started a marketing effort in either Jackson or Clarke counties, Schrauth said. The organization is more than 50 years old. Its website says SCORE is the country’s “premier source of free, con fidential business education and mentoring.” Its website is www.score.org and includes information about business, mentors and workshops. Courage to Quit BOC ends year with appointments, actions In its year-end meeting on Dec. 19, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners finished appointing members to various county committees and approved a slew of zoning and other actions. In appointments, James Scott was reappointed to the county’s board of adjustment for three years; Jack Legg was reappointed to a two-year term to the county’s historic courthouse committee; and Josh Huskins was reappoint ed to a one-year term to the county’s recreation advisory board. In other actions, the BOC: • adopted a new county animal control ordinance. •amended the county’s alcohol ordinance to allow temporary permits for special events. • approved Magnolia Veterinary Hospital as the primary provider of vet services to the county’s new animal control shelter. • approved an agreement with the county school system for the use of the old West Jackson Primary School gym. • approved an agreement with UGA for the use of Center Park for 4-H programs. • approved the creation of a chief deputy tax commis sioner position. • approved an agreement for S&ME to perform environ mental investigations on property owned by the county. • renewed a lease with American Tower Corporation for the McMullan tower site. • approved a list of roads for repaving using state and local funds. • approved a contract with Tyler Technologies to buy new software for E911 and other county law enforcement agencies. • approved the rezoning of 219 Ruby Lane, Commerce from A-l to R-l. • approved amendments to the county’s Unified Devel opment Code. • approved rezoning of 3281 Old State Road from A-2 to M-H. • approved the rezoning of 10 acres on Hwy. 124 W. from A-2 to R-3 along with the approval of private roadways for development. Controversial map amendment OK'd A tentative first step was taken last week to develop 89 acres for industrial use at the intersection of Hog Mountain Road and Storey Lane. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners approved a Future Land Use Map amendment change for the tract from “commercial and industrial” to “industrial.” The request was made by Inland Holdings LLC. The change affects only a small part of the tract that was initially designated commercial. The majority of the tract is already designated industrial on the FLU map. The map change does not affect the property’s zoning, which is cur rently A2. The owners stated in their application that they intend to sell the tract for a manufacturing or distribution cen ter and would seek a rezoning following the map amendment change. That would bring the matter back to the BOC. A concept map for the property shows two large ware house buildings totaling over 1 million square feet of space. While much of the property in the area is inside Jefferson, this tract is not, so its land use is determined by the BOC, not the Jefferson City Council. Opposition Voiced While the map amendment was approved, a number of nearby residents oppose the property being developed for industrial use. Heritage Subdivision sits across from the proposed project and a number of homeowners wrote in opposition to the project. “We have a great neighborhood with lots of children and I am very concerned about the additional traffic to our commu nity” wrote Selina Cash. Todd Comes also voiced opposition to the plan. “There are not enough bodies to supply the industries that are here now,” he said. Christopher Vegas said the property would be “seriously encroaching on residential property of many longstanding Jefferson residents along this road and area. Road Of Development Hog Mountain Road runs parallel to 1-85 and has seen other development in recent years. The former Tiger Direct ware house anchors the south end of the road while two new large spec warehouses have been built further north near the Pos sum Creek Road intersection. On the north end, which has been renamed McClure Industrial Blvd., Kubota has a major manufacturing facility, which it is in the process of expanding. WANTED! NEW CUSTOMERS We have money to lend. Installment loans from $238 to $1,516 SECURITY FINANCE Your Friend When You Need $S$ 1816 l\f Broad St Commerce, GA 30529 (706) 335-3551 www.security-finance.com *AII loans are subject to credit limitations and our underwriting policies. Actual loan proceeds may vary based upon loan terms and any ancillary products selected. Dollar amounts are rounded to the lowest whole dollar. New Year. New Time. New You! Courage to Quit is a 4-session program designed to help you quit using tobacco products. Each class covers a new topic. Participants create a quit plan and learn tools for getting through withdrawal, avoiding triggers and handling stress. Tuesdays, January 10,17, 24 & 31 7-8 a.m. $30 deposit/participant* Call 706.475.1029 to register or visit AthensHealth.org/calendar Due upon registration. Refunded if all four classes are attended. [T Piedmont w ATHENS REGIONAL
