The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current, January 23, 2008, Image 1

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The Banks County news., January 23, 2008, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextSports: IB Leopards continue subregion battles Community: 5A ~ TV a New cafe opens in Lula January 23,2008 mt f| 1 f> . \t 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.