Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 5A
Baldwin citizens air concerns at meeting
BOC purchases land for waste water plant
Council ‘per diem,' comp plan among issues discussed
BY SHARON HOGAN
Baldwin council members getting
a reimbursement or “per diem” for
city work and the comprehensive
plan update were among the issues
brought up by citizens attending the
city council meeting Monday.
The agenda listed “per diem” for
city council members to be discussed
but this item was removed from the
list of action items. Citizen Linda
Caudell questioned mayor Mark
Reed about this item being removed
from the agenda.
“We have made an administrative
decision on this issue,” Reed said.
The decision was that city employ
ees will receive $30 per day and they
will be required to turn in receipts on
this. The mayor and council mem
bers will receive $50 per day and no
receipts will be required.
“My concern is, as a taxpayer, how
the money is spent,” Caudell said.
“Employees should be accountable
for how the money is spent.”
Caudell added that she has worked
for state agencies and they do not
hand over money to an employee to
spend without showing receipts for
how the money was spent. Reed told
Caudell other councils in the area do
the same thing as Baldwin. Council
member Robert Bohannon added that
the money the council receives when
they travel out of town is to be used
for meals.
“You give me $50 and I’ll eat $50
worth, you give me $30 and I’ll eat
$30 worth,” Bohannon said.
COMP PLAN UPDATE
On another matter, Andrea Harper
asked Reed the status of the the com
prehensive plan update.
“We are partnering with Banks
County and will be using MacTec,”
he said. “We are waiting on MacTec
to present a draft to the council for
approval.”
The next meeting of the steering
committee will be held on Thursday,
Feb. 21, in Homer.
“A lot depends on the input from
the citizens,” Reed said.
Jim Sumner asked Reed if the city
is required by the state to have the
comprehensive zoning plan.
“Are we letting Banks County
decide this for the city?” Sumner
said.
Reed said the comprehensive land
use plan is required.
“The comprehensive land use plan
will be done for Baldwin, we are
partnering with Banks County using
the same firm,” Reed said.
Sumner asked Reed if the compre
hensive plan would be available to the
citizens as the city is working on it.
Reed said the plan would be available
to the citizens to review.
Caudell asked Reed if the major
ity of the land being in Habersham
County would conflict with working
with Banks County on the compre
hensive land use plan.
“No, this will be for the City of
Baldwin,” Reed said.
Reed said that the city is not sure
of a price from MacTec but that
Habersham County was “nickeling
and diming us to death” when the city
was considering going in with them
on the plan.
On another matter, Sumner, who
lives on Crooked Pine Trail in Smoke
Rise Subdivision, said that he is con
cerned with no fire hydrant being
located on his street. Sumner said he
understood the problem was the size
of the water line on this street.
Sumner asked the council to keep
this in mind to possibly improve in
the near future. Reed told Sumner
evidently there were no subdivision
regulations in place requiring fire
protection when this subdivision was
built.
Caudell also questioned the council
about some houses that Major Fortson
has moved on to property he owns in
the city. Reed told Caudell that one
of the houses is to be set up on one
of the lots. Reed also said Fortson
was fined for failure to obtain the
correct permits to move the houses
and he also had to pay for a damaged
water line.
Caudell also asked about the status
of the Travel Inn inspection. Code
enforcement officer Shawn Rhoads
said the owner has received a letter
and the inspection will take place the
first of March.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business:
•Reed reported that Shawn Swayda
withdrew his request to place a manu
factured home on two lots on Walden
Street.
•the council set the city’s annual
clean-up day for Saturday, April 26.
•a new lease agreement was dis
cussed with Fred Schlegel, Beef
Barron owner, on the billboard locat
ed in the city park. A $100 per month
charge was discussed. Schlegel asked
the council to send him a bill for this
along with his monthly water bill.
Due to extremely high water bills,
Schlegel requested the city check for
leaks at the restaurant.
•the possibility of implementing
a random drug testing program for
all city employees was discussed.
Council member Beverly Holcomb
said she would check with other cit
ies in the area to see what they do
on this.
•the council discussed holidng a
one-day retreat. Reed said he would
check with a Baldwin business about
the use of their facility for this retreat.
The date will be announced later.
•a possible rate increase for garbage
collection services was discussed. This
increase comes based on the city’s
carrier increasing the fees charged
to the city. Waste Management said
an increase is necessary to cover
the higher cost of fuel. The council
agreed to check around and see what
other cities are charging.
•a problem with the trash compac
tor at Heritage Garden Apartments
was discussed. The compactor is not
working, the dumpster is full and
the trash is piled in the street, it was
reported.
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
After ongoing negotiations of
several months, the Banks County
Board of Commissions purchased
land for a future waste water treat
ment plant.
The 94 acres is on an area off
Duncan Road and was purchased
for $850,000, chairman Gene Hart.
said. The commissioners met in
a closed session during Tuesday
night’s meeting to finalize the deal.
“We are not sure about when
construction will begin,” Hart said.
“We are glad to have this finished.
Several things needed to be ironed
out before we moved forward.”
In other items at Tuesday’s BOC
Homer studies
preservation
BY ANGELA GARY
What can Homer do to preserve its
historic resources? This was the dis
cussion of the Homer Town Council
Monday night as Chip Wright, an
architect with the Georgia Mountains
Regional Development Center, pre
sented options.
Wright discussed restoring the old
cotton gin and a gas station in town,
working toward a Better Hometown
designation, creating a preservation
ordinance with design guidelines and
forming a historic preservation com
mission.
Wright will meet with interested
citizens to discuss these possibilities
and other options during a public
meeting set for 10 a.m. to noon on
Wednesday, March 5, at city hall.
“It’s a community building pro
cess,” Wright said. “It gets people
involved.”
Wright said the success of his
toric preservation efforts depends on
“educating citizens that you are not
taking their rights away.”
“It helps them do what they want
to do anyway,” he said of historic
guidelines. “It is the city’s gift to
them.”
SfhscM? &DtnH3^
www.cspeedforsheriff@windstream.net
"A VOTE FOR THE FUTURE"
BOARDING
DAYCARE
GROOMING
N N CHOLSON
%% www.tarasplace.net
706-757-3890
CANINES ° FELINES ° GOOD TIMES'
§ NOW ACCEPTING PATIENTS §
^ Hours: Thursday and Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. J
t
t
I
s
Leslie M Pitts, DMD
Pediatric Dentistry
706-335-7793
215 Mercer Place, P. O. Box 1241
Commerce, GA 30529
Website: drlpitts.com
Email: drlpitts@drlpitts.com
NOW OPEN
Ama Kishi
Japanese
Steakhouse
& Sushi Bar
Dinner: 5:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m.
Call for Valentine’s reservations!
S z
706-423-0040
228 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. • Commerce, GA 30529
Across From Home Depot
meeting, the commissioners:
•voted to make the terms of all
development authority members
four years. Previously, some mem
bers were serving four-year terms
while others were serving six-year
terms.
Hart said the state requires the
terms be four years. County attor
ney Randall Frost drew up a resolu
tion which was passed by the BOC
Tuesday night on the matter.
•was informed by county admin
istrative officer Angela Sheppard
that a GEFA loan for $858,725 had
been received for work on installing
new waterlines on Hwy. 105. The
BOC also voted to not install a new
line on Carnes Circle at this time as
it only would serve one customer.
The move will drop the cost of the
project several thousand dollars.
•heard department updates from
Deidra Moore of 911, Phillip
Cronic of the recreation department
and Sharon Clark of adult literacy.
•once again tabled an item con
cerning a lease for the Boy Scouts
at Uchee Lodge.
•approved a conditional use per
mit request for an additional chick
en house on property owned by
Joe and Cindy Tu on Yonah-Homer
Road. The planning commission
had previously approved the request
at its February meeting.
$5 00 OFF
Ticket Of t 2O J0 Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only.
The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant.
La Hacienda Jefferson
605 Athens Street
706-367-5095
La Hacienda Commerce
173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd.
706-335-7458
The only local GM dealer offering Saturday Service
OIL CHANGE, LUBE & FILTER,
TIRE ROTATION, FREE BRAKE
INSPECTION & ALIGNMENT
$
79
95
For Senior Citizens Every Wed. Oil Change - $12.95
Hwy. 441 in Commerce
706-335-3196
800-798-7435
www.wayneneal.com
SERVICE HOURS:
M-F 7:30-6:00 • Sat. 8:00-4:00
Banks County
Board of Commissioners
REQUEST FOR BIDS
BID NUMBER (208-0227)
Sealed bids will be received at the Commissioners’
Office Banks County Courthouse, 144 Yonah-
Homer Road, Suite 1, Homer, GA 30547 up to 10:00
A.M. February 27, 2008, at which time they will be
opened for the following:
BANKS COUNTY RECREATION DEPARTMENT
2008 BASEBALL / SOFTBALL UNIFORMS
Bid packets may be obtained from:
Banks County Recreation Department
607 Thompson Street
Homer, GA 30547
706-677-4407
All bids must be submitted in a sealed envelope
and marked with the words, Bid Number 208-0227,
Opening 10:00 A.M. February 27, 2008. Any bid
received after 10:00 A.M. will be rejected.
The Banks County Board of Commissioners
reserves the right to accept or reject any and all
bids and to waive any formality or informality in
the bid process.
The Banks County News
Get the local school, church, sports and other
community news delivered to your home each week!
Just clip the coupon below to begin saving today over the newstand price!
Name
Address
City State Zip
Subscription rates for The Banks County News are as follows:
$19.75 per year for Banks and adjoining counties; $17.75 per year for senior citizens in Banks and adjoining counties;
$38.85 per year for delivery elsewhere in Georgia; $36.85 per year for delivery elsewhere in Georgia with senior citizen
discount; $44.50 per year for delivery out of Georgia; $42.50 per year for delivery out of Georgia with senior citizen
discount; $42.20 per year for the military with APO address.
Enclosed is my check for $
Expiration
Phone
or □ MC or □ VISA #
MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
33 Lee Street, P O. Box 908 Jefferson, GA 30549
706-367-5233 Fax: 706-367-8056
Website: www.mainstreetnews.com
Reaching thousands of children.
Focusing on one overriding goal.
Teaching respect for our environment.
The NEW Waste Management.
Because today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders, we go out of
our way to help them develop a genuine respect for the
environment we all share. That’s why the NEW Waste
Management provides videos, CDs and other teaching tools to
help students of all ages understand how environmental
awareness is at the heart of what we do every day.
We show them how state-of-the-art engineering techniques help
us safely maintain and restore landfills into usable green
spaces. How we use advanced optical sorting technologies to
efficiently recycle plastics and glass. And how we transform
common waste products into uncommonly clean energy that
powers homes and businesses.
We partner with communities all across North America to
educate students about our environment and the steps we are
taking to safeguard it for generations to come. It’s another way
we’re making a difference. One community at a time.
From everyday collection to environmental protection, look to
the NEW Waste Management.