Newspaper Page Text
Sports: IB
Leopards continue
subregion battles
Community: 5A
~ TV
a
New cafe opens in Lula
January 23,2008
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The Banks County News
504^ Homer, Banks County, Georgia 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • mainstreetnews.com • 22 Pages, 3 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 39 No. 24
— Lula —
Lula development
topic for council
Hearing planned Thurs. on request
BY SHARON HOGAN
Lula City Council members heard an
updated request at a work session on
Thursday night for a development to
be located on 43.126 acres on Railroad
Avenue.
Billy Gresham presented updated
plans on the proposed Highland Lakes
development and rezoning request.
The owners are seeking a zoning of a
planned unit development.
The first reading on the annexation
and rezoning request will be held at the
council meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday,
Jan. 24. A public hearing on this matter
will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday,
Feb. 18.
At last week’s meeting, Gresham told
the council that the proposed devel
opment will have 105 craftsman-style
homes located on one-third acre lots.
The proposal has 20 percent in open
land and an amenity area. The new
plans have a divided entrance to make
entering and exiting the development
safer, Gresham said.
Gresham told the council that a buffer
is proposed around the entire develop
ment with a 75-foot buffer along the
back that borders other residences.
The council raised the question as to
the price of the homes in this develop
ment Gresham said, “I think it is a crazy
statement to put a value on a home.”
Gresham did say one house plan has
a total of 1,600 square feet at a cost of
$110 per square foot, which would total
$176,000 for the house price.
City Manager Dennis Bergin told
Gresham that the city has the same issue
as before on the lift station on McLeod
Street. Bergin said the lift station would
have to be upgraded and the city would
be asking the developers to contribute to
the cost of the upgrades.
Gresham said, “I am hearing the same
issues as I did several months ago about
this development. We have done a lot of
work on this project.”
Gresham also told the council that
105 homes buying sewer and water and
paying taxes would bring money into
the city.
continued on page 3A
Baldwin chief seeks new patrol cars
BY SHARON HOGAN
Baldwin City Council mem
bers heard from Police Chief
Daren Osborn at a recent work
session that his department is in
need of some new vehicles.
“We have some that are just
worn out,” he said.
Osborn said the majority of
the money spent on maintenance is
spent on items other than oil, brakes,
tires and batteries.
Osborn presented the council with
a bid of $63,190 for two 2008 Dodge
Chargers fully equipped for the police
department. A bid of $21,348 was sub
mitted for the cars alone.
Osborn said he is working with a
local dealer to get a better price on
the equipment for the cars. He said he
believes the city can save a great deal of
money dealing with a local company on
the equipment.
Osborn also submitted information
to the council on a lease program for
the vehicles. The lease program allows
the city to defer the payment for one
year. The city would make lease pay-
ments for five years and the city
would own the cars at the end of
the lease. This is a lease program
offered to government agencies
through First Capital Equipment
Leasing Corporation. The inter
est rate offered to municipali
ties on this lease program is 4.5
percent. The interest rate on this
lease program is lower than dealer rates,
Osborn said.
Osborn also submitted a bid for a
2008 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4x4
pickup to be used by the code enforce
ment officer at a cost of $28,015.
A bid was also submitted for a 2008
Dodge Charger to be used as the police
chief’s vehicle at a cost of $25,845.
The total price of the four vehicles
is $117,050, plus an additional $1,500
for striping. The cars could be ready in
a month and would be purchased from
Carl Gregory Dodge, Columbus.
Osborn told the council that the vehi
cles would be funded with revenue
from the Special Purpose Local Option
continued on page 3A
f
OSBORN
SNOW DAY IN BANKS
Banks County got a light covering of snow Thursday which
led to school being cancelled for the day. Here, Judd and
Bowen Roberts of Homer are shown enjoying a snowball
fight. They are the sons of Robin and Keith Roberts.
Banks County's tax credit listing changes
BY SHARON HOGAN
Banks County Development
Authority members heard a report
from administrative officer Angela
Sheppard at a meeting last week that
the county has received notice from
the Georgia Department of Community
Affairs ranking Banks County as a Tier
4 county.
The tier ranking of a county deter
mines the amount of Job Tax Credit
(JTC) which businesses in that county
will be entitled to receive, the minimum
number of jobs they must create to be
A higher tax
credit listing will
make it more
difficult for Banks
County to get
grants, according
to administrative
officer Angela
Sheppard.
eligible for the JTC, and other program
requirements and benefits.
In Tier 4 counties, the job creation
requirement is 25 and the credit is $750
per job.
Banks County was a Tier 3 county in
2007. Sheppard told the DA members
that the Tier 4 ranking makes it harder
to get grant money.
Other counties ranked as a Tier
4 county are: Catoosa, Glynn, Hall,
Towns, Coweta, Effingham, Gwinnett,
Cobb, Pickens, Dawson, Bryan,
Columbia, Harris, Fayette, Cherokee,
Oconee and Forsyth.
Sheppard said the criteria used to
determine the rank of each county
includes the unemployment rate, the per
capita income and the amount of people
at or below the poverty level.
Sheppard said the county is looking
into the appeal process on this with the
DCA.
DA member Jack Banks asked
Sheppard to share any information that
she could at this time about the develop
ment of The Pottery property. Sheppard
said the only thing she could say at this
time is the development is “moving
along.”
continued on page 3A
News - 2-3A
•DFCS hopeful about
new building — page 2A
Op/Ed
• ‘Who do you pick?’
• ‘In memory of Uncle
Ford’
— page 4A
Other news
•School News — pages 7-8B
•Social News — pages 9-10A
•Public Safety — page 6A
•Legals — pages 4-6B
• Church — page 8A
• Obituaries — page 7A
— Banks County Election Updates —
Dalton to seek BOC chairmanship
Milton Dalton has
announced that he
will seek election
as chairman of the
Banks County Board
of Commissioners.
“I have had the
privilege of serving
Banks County as
probate judge for 21
years before retiring at the end of 2000,”
he said. “I believe I understand and am
qualified to run our Banks County gov
ernment. As probate judge, I gained much
insight into what the people of Banks
County wanted and expected out of their
commission. In addition to serving as
probate judge, I also served as a deputy
sheriff for almost four years under sheriffs
M.L. Harrison and Henry Crane.”
Prior to working as a deputy, Dalton
was a business owner for 19 years. He
is a member of Hollingsworth Lodge
#355 and a member of American
Legion Post #215. He volunteered for
the Hollingsworth Fire Department from
1969 to 1991. He was also in the Army
Reserve for eight years.
Dalton and his wife, Marguerite, live
in the Hollingsworth community. Dalton
has three sons and three grandchildren.
“I will be running on the Republican
ticket and please know that I thank you
and your support will be greatly appreci
ated in the upcoming election,” Dalton
said.
DALTON
Carlton Speed to run for Banks Co. sheriff
Carlton Speed has
announced his inten
tion to seek the office
of sheriff in Banks
County. He will run
on the Republican
ticket.
“Currently, I am
in my 15th year of
SPEED
law enforcement, having served
several of those years in Banks
County,” Speed said.
He is currently employed as an
investigator with the Hall County
Sheriff’s Office in the property
crimes division.
“I believe I have the experi
ence and the ability to take the
Banks County Sheriff’s Office to a
new level,” he said. “I hope to meet
and talk with as many Banks County
citizens as possible in the next couple
of months leading up to the July
primary.”
His campaign website is www.
cspeedforsheriff@windstream.net
and will be available in a few weeks.
See page 3A for details on advanced voting in the presidential preference primary
Homer's voting site changed to new city hall
Banks County Probate Judge Betty Thomas has
announced that the voting location for the Homer precinct
has changed from the county courthouse to the new city
hall. The new city hall is located at 943 Historic Homer
Highway in Homer.
This permanent change is effective with the presidential
preference primary on Feb. 5. This change will have no
impact on the day-to-day activity of the board of registrars,
Thomas added. The absentee and advance voting will con
tinue to be held at the registrar’s office in the courthouse.