About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2013)
PAGE 2A THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013 Baldwin PD bass tournament raises money for cancer society The City of Baldwin’s Police Department hosted the 6 th annual Bass Tournament on May 4 at Lake Hartwell to raise money for the Habersham County Relay for Life. Police chief Jesse Varner said 22 boats participated in the event and the top five places received awards. Donated door prizes were given randomly to the remaining partici pants, Varner added. Many local busi nesses contributed items for the door prizes. “We would like to thank all who participated in the event to help make it successful,” Varner said. The tournament winners were: first, Jim Gooch and Greg Keith - 12.12 lbs.; second, Dennis Woodall and Steve Colmon; third, Chad Ivester and Jimmy Perry; and tied for fourth, Travis Garrett and Grant Forested and Robin Bair and John Baird. The big fish winners were: tied, Gooch and Keith - 3.6 lbs. - and Sosebee and Sosebee. Varner said, “If you would like to donate to help with the bass tourna ment fundraiser next year contact the Baldwin Police Department.” Baldwin leaders consider employee insurance plans BY SHARON HOGAN At the monthly meeting on Monday, the Baldwin City council heard a proposal that would save the city over $110,000 each year for employ ee insurance benefits. Tiffany Davis, Premier Benefits, Lakemont, presented the council with a proposal from Coventry Health and Life Insurance Company that would save the city $110,970 per year over the city’s current United Health Care plan. And the current UHC plan is set to increase by $53,428 a year or 18 percent effective July 1. The city currently pays $285,783 per year with the increase going to $339,211 per year. The Coventry plan would be $174,812 per year with an 18-month rate guarantee. “You wouldn’t have to worry about the rate again until 2015,” Davis said. The council agreed to look over all the paperwork pre sented by Davis and vote on the proposed plan at the coun cil meeting set for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28, in the court room at the Baldwin Police Department. OTHER BUSINESS •the council discussed a request from Chris Hulsey to operate an auction house in the old Golden Corral build ing located at 474 441 Bypass, Baldwin. City attorney David Syfan explained that an auc tion house is not a permitted use under the current zoning classification for the property, but the council could approve a special use permit for Hulsey. The council advised city clerk Amanda Sexton to contact Hulsey so that he could fill out an application for the condition use permit. Syfan said the property would need to be posted, a legal notice would have to run in the paper 15 days prior to the public hearing on the request in order for the city to comply with zoning guidelines. •the council unanimously approved the adoption of the Georgia Retention Policy per taining to public records and open records requests. •the council held a pub lic hearing on abandoning a street located in Lot 1 Block 48 of the old vet building proper ty. Following the public hear ing at which no one spoke in favor of or against the street abandonment, the council approved a resolution, cer tificate of abandonment and the mayor and city clerk to sign a quit claim deed for the property that was abandoned. Tim Simmons came before the council in April seeking to have the street - Southgate Street - abandoned. Simmons said he was in the process of purchasing the bank-owned property. •the council table action on the Habersham County SPLOST 6 Intergovernmental Agreement until the May 28 council meeting. Mayor Jerry Neace said there was some issue with the language in the agreement and Syfan was in contact with the Habersham County attorney on this issue. • Neace announced that this week is Public Works Appreciation Week. •Neace read a letter from Baldwin resident Claude Green thanking the city and its staff for work recently com pleted on his driveway. •the council approved the minutes of the April 22 council meeting. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Budget expenditures topic for BOC BY ALEX PACE Despite proposed budget cuts, the Banks County Board of Commissioners is still anticipating the county’s 2014 expenditures will be greater than last year’s. The Banks County BOC met Tuesday night to further discuss department cuts in the FY2014 budget. One proposed change would be a decrease in general supplies and material for jail operations. Banks County Finance Director Randy Failyer explains the reason for this cut is that the jails are already equipped with the supplies that the budget would fund. Failyer has spoken with the jail’s director who feels confident that he can run the jail on the new proposed funding. The general supplies and material’s funds for the jail will decrease from $50,000 to $25,000 The BOC discussed whether to pro vide the sheriff’s office with four or six cars. Currently, the budget stands to fund six cars. The cars will be approxi mately $35,000 each. The lease for the six cars would total around $45,000 for the year. If the county were to only provide four cars, the lease would be approximate ly $30,000. The commissioners all agreed they will only commit to a one year lease. Other proposed budget cuts include eliminating $75,000 for the county’s ponds, a decrease of $10,000 for water meters, and a decrease in $5,000 to water pipe and fittings. Even with the proposed budget cuts, the commission has not reached its goal. The proposed budget expects $289,350 more in expenditures than last year. With the budget cuts discussed in the meeting, the new budget would total at $12,450,456. OTHER BUSINESS In other business Tuesday night, the BOC: •approved a rezoning application for one acre on 1682 Highway. The previous owner used the property as a cabinet shop but Freddy Holder hopes to use it for his automotive repair shop. •approved a rezoning application for 48.05 acres on Highway 51. James Moon hopes to rezone the property to Consolidated Agricultural District- Intensive. This will enable him to keep his farm despite potential changes to the land or the community. •agreed to abandon Sprout Drive. Josh and Lisa Pope purchased the land, with Sprout Drive running straight through it. The road is no lon ger needed for public road purposes. •awarded the bid for the road patching project to Stratton & Sons Construction for $59,205. The road patching project will affect Stephen B. Tanger Blvd (near Home Depot), Emory Chambers Road, and Garrison Road. Alcohol can be served at special events in Homer BY CINDY R. EDGE Nonprofit civic organizations may now sale alcoholic beverages during special events held in Homer. The issue was discussed at the Homer City Council meeting Tuesday night. Nonprofit organizations must file an applica tion with the city, pay a fee, and provide a copy of their permit furnished by the Department of Revenue authorizing the organization to sell or distribute alcoholic beverages for con sumption only on the premises. The orga nization may also request permission to sell wine at retail for off-premises consumption, or to auction wine in sealed containers dur ing special events. The regulations limit the number of events an organization may sell alcoholic beverages to six times per year. OTHER BUSINESS In other business Tuesday night, the city council: • tabled the second reading of ordinances to create and adopt building codes for further review. • received a report on improvements to the fire department. • discussed holding a work session for bud get review following next month’s meeting. • reported that the Relay for Life will be held this weekend. Chamber CVB golf tournament coming up May 23 The 14 th annual Banks County Chamber CVB Golf Tournament is set for Thursday, May 23, at Scales Country Club, Homer. Registration begins at 10 a.m. The entry fee is $100 per player and includes green fees, golf cart, goody bag and lunch at the clubhouse. The shotgun start will be at 12 p.m. A Chamber CVB Business After Hours event will be held following the golf tournament. For more information, contact Judy McClure at 770-310- 7424 or Alicia Andrews at 706-677-2108 or 706-654-7124. 11% Off Every Day Jackson EMC’s residential electric rates are 11% lower than the average in Georgia - among the 10 lowest in the entire state.* So our members can enjoy watching TV, heating and cooling their homes, surfing the Internet and gathering for family meals knowing that the price they pay for electricity is low every day - not just during a sale. * As reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Georgia Public Service Commission for 2012.
