Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 3A
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CHROMEBOOKS PROVIDED TO STUDENTS
The Banks County School System rolled out its much anticipated 1-to-1-device initiative starting this
week. This year, all students in grades K-12 will be given a Chromebook (grades 5-12) or IOS device
(grades K-4) to use in class. The initiative aims to provide new opportunities for tech-based teaching
and learning at Banks County Schools.
Lula agrees to purchase depot
BY CINDY R. EDGE
After meeting behind
closed doors for approxi
mately 20 minutes on Mon
day night, Lula Mayor Milton
Turner announced the coun
cil has reached an agree
ment with the Lula Area
Betterment Association to
purchase the train depot.
“In executive session, we
heard something, and we
took a position,” Turner said.
LABA is offering to sign
over the depot to the city
under a quit claim deed.
This action comes after sev
eral months of challenging
and sometimes fmstrating
attempts to discover the actu
al owner of the depot.
The council agreed to
purchase the depot with
the following terms. A quit
claim deed will be prepared
in order to turn ownership
of the depot over to the city
with LABA relinquishing
claim to ownership now
and in the future. In addi
tion, outstanding water bills
in the amount of $1,049 will
be forgiven and no longer
due to the city by the LABA
and property insurance in an
amount not to exceed $950
could be refunded to LABA.
The LABA further agreed
to turn over all keys to the
building along with any per
tinent documents such as
bank records, utilities bills
paid for use of the property,
rental and insurance infor
mation.
In return, the city will sub
mit a payment in the amount
of $5,000 to attorney Jane
Range to be distributed to
various charities in the name
of the LABA.
Also, payment in the
amount of $4,000 will be
made to attorney Jane Range
to satisfy past and present
attorney fees relating to the
Lula Depot.
After taking ownership
of the depot, the coun
cil intends to make major
improvements to the build
ing. “We look at spending
about $80,000 over the next
two years,” said Turner.
“The challenge next year
would be, as the council
dictates what improvements
they want to make, working
around everybody’s sched
ule,” said City Manager Den
nis Bergin in response to a
citizen’s question regarding
current rental obligations.
The city will honor all
scheduled rentals through
December 2017.
JULY BUSINESS OF THE MONTH
The Banks County Chamber of Commerce CVB
named the Banks County Farm Bureau as the July
Business of the Month. Shown are: (L-R) Chip
Shadburn, Kristen Mabrey, Becky Carlan, Jimmy
Morrison, Julie Jackson, Sonya Gulledge and Matt
Bonds.
BUSINESS OF THE MONTH
Maysville leaders hear road complaint
The Banks County Chamber of Commerce CVB
named Travelodge of Commerce as the June
Business of the Month. Shown are Becky Carlan,
Harry Patel and Kourtney Wilkes.
BY SHARON HOGAN
A Maysville couple,
through their attorney on
Monday, voiced opposition
to the use of a private road
by another resident.
A public hearing on two
rezoning requests - one for
Eric Hardy at 135 Rilla Lane
from Agriculture to Rural
Residential 1 and one from
Austin Hall at 16 Cora Way
from Agriculture to Rural Res
idential 3 that also includes a
variance request - was held
before the council meeting.
Hardy is asking for the
rezoning in order to build a
house on approximately two
acres that his grandmother,
Gladys Cochran, deeded to
him.
Cumming attorney Jona
than Beard, speaking on the
behalf of Donald and Bonnie
Moore, voiced opposition to
Hardy using Rilla Lane to
access his property.
Beard said Hardy’s prop
erty did not have any access
onto Rilla Lane and the deed
granted to Hardy was in vio
lation of an easement on
Rilla Lane.
Beard said the Moores,
who have lived on Rilla Lane
since 2001, had spent money
to maintain the private road
and they didn’t want addi
tional traffic and construc
tion traffic on the road.
Beard suggested that Har
dy’s easement to his proper
ty be on his grandmother’s
property and not on Rilla
Lane.
Cochran’s daughter, Paula
Tolbert, told the council that
her mother pays taxes on the
first 98 feet of the easement
on Rilla Lane off Ridgeway
Road, and has been paying
them the whole time her par
ents have owned the prop
erty.
Tolbert said her mother
could and would grant Hardy
an easement, but she was
getting an attorney to check
into the current easement for
Rilla Lane since her mother
is the one paying taxes on a
portion of it.
No open spoke in opposi
tion to the Hall rezoning and
variance request.
Maysville Planning and
Zoning Chairman Ken Out-
calt advised that planning
and zoning, by a unanimous
vote, recommended approv
al of both requests.
A second public hearing
is set for 6:30 p.m. on Mon
day, Aug. 14, prior to a called
council meeting at 7 p.m.
The council will vote on
the two requests at the 7 p.m.
meeting. Both meetings will
be held in the council meet
ing room upstairs at city hall.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business on Mon
day, the council:
•received the 2016 audit
from Jerry Hawkins, CPA.
• approved the water
agreement with Banks Coun
ty at the same rate as last
year - $3 per 1,000 gallons.
• unanimously approved a
resolution setting the qualify
ing dates for the November 7
election for Monday through
Wednesday, Aug. 21-23, from
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at city
hall.
The council seats for
Wards 1 and 3 will be on the
ballot. Currently Kathleen
Bush and Charlie Howing-
ton, hold these positions,
respectively. The qualifying
fee is $72 for the council
seats.
•approved Jackson and
Banks counties to collect city
taxes for 2016 at the same
rate as 2015.
•unanimously approved
spending $29,650 to pur
chase a Gridbee Mixer for
a 500,000 gallon water tank.
• approved a franchise
resolution for NGN Connect
Fiber Optic Company at a
five-percent maximum rate
for future fiber optic cable
that is mn through the city.
•unanimously approved
keeping the inspections for
non-profit temporary food
service establishments in
the city. The inspections for
events in the city, such as
the annual Autumn Leaf Fes
tival, are currently handled
by the Maysville Community
Improvement Club.
•tabled approving a list
of roads to be paved using
2018 Local Maintenance
Improvement Grant (LMIG)
funds and the amphitheater
design. Mayor Richard Pres
ley said the city needed to
seek additional information
on the amphitheater design
in order to lower the price.
• met in closed session for
approximately 10 minutes to
discuss personnel. No action
was taken.
WORK SESSION
At the monthly work ses
sion on Aug. 3, Maysville res
ident Mary Hart voiced her
concern with issues at the
new city park.
Hart, and her husband
Steve, who volunteer their
time to work in the park said
she had repeatedly asked for
trash cans for the park and to
have some holes filled in, but
no action had been taken.
She also asked the council
to install baby changing sta
tions in both bathrooms.
“I am frustrated about the
park issues,” M. Hart said.
“I’m here to tell you my con
cerns ... my safety issues.”
Hart said she was con
cerned that someone was
going to step in one of the
holes and get hurt.
“It takes so long to get
something done,” M. Hart
said.
The Harts were instmcted
to meet with city clerk Barba
ra Thomas to get the issues
in the park handled.
Lula, Baldwin farmers
market open on Saturdays
Farmers markets are offered through the fall in Baldwin and
Lula.
The Baldwin City Farmers’ Market is now open on Airport
Road, across from the site of the old city hall. Hours for the
farmers’ market are 4-8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays through
October.
In Lula, every Friday afternoon from now through October,
local farmers are invited to sell their harvest on Main Street in
Downtown Lula from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Fruits and vege
tables, as well as original art or locally made craft items, are
included in the items to be available for sale.
Meet Dr. Walpert
Dr. Walpert is a fellow of the American Association of Neurosurgery
and a member of the Neurosurgical Society of America. She holds
an appointment to the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards
and is an assistant clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University
of Georgia Health Sciences Campus. She has a special interest in
minimally invasive, microscopic treatment of spine disorders, head
injury and radiosurgery and image-guidance in surgery for brain tumors.
Medical Degree: Tulane University School of Medicine
Internship and Residency: University of Tennessee College of
Medicine
Learn more about Dr. Walpert by visiting
piedmont.org/DrWalpert
Kimberly Walpert, M.D.
Neurosurgery
242 King Avenue
Medical Services Building
2nd Floor
Athens, Georgia 30606
P: 706.475.1870
F: 706.475.1879
f T Piedmont
9 PHYSICIANS