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OPINION
Phillip Sartain
Fried baloney sandwich
It never happened very often, but when it did, it was always
predictable.
Shar Porier
Georgia winter mornings
Something about Georgia winter mornings.
SPORTS
Banks to tackle tough subregion foes
The remainder of the basketball season will be a critical time
for Banks County.
Neighborhood News...
JACKSON COUNTY
Tax digest tops $1 billion
For the first time ever, the net tax digest for Jackson County
has topped the $1 billion mark. Jackson County's tax digest is
$1.076 billion, up 35 percent from the year before.
Sanders named recreation director
Ricky Sanders is once again heading the Jackson County recreation
department.
News from
MADISON COUNTY
Well water non-existent for some Madison Countians
The milk jugs brought in with water from Athens are evidence
of a hard fact for James Hardman and his family - the well is
dry.
Planners approve rezoning
Madison County planners recommended approval of a controversial
rezoning request by a vote of four to two at a public hearing
on the matter Tuesday night.
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Homer, Georgia
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BALDWIN APPROVES AGREEMENT
Baldwin City Council members moved quickly Friday afternoon
to approve a resolutions on the agreement with the Banks County
Board of Commissioners over a proposed special purpose local
option sales tax. At a special called meeting, council members
Jeff Bohannon, Mitchell Gailey, and Robert Bohannon formed the
quorum. Mayor Mark Reed is shown signing the first resolution
as city clerk Stacey Jacobs gets the second one ready.
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Baldwin to see
SPLOST funds
Baldwin will get 1.5 percent of a proposed special purpose local
option sales tax (SPLOST) if Banks County voters approve a referendum
in March.
The Banks County Board of Commissioners had already decided that
the sales tax would only be shared with Maysville and Homer.
Maysville will get three percent and Homer will get six percent
of the proposed SPLOST. The election has been called for March
20 to continue the existing SPLOST for five years with an anticipated
revenue of $15 million.
Baldwin Mayor Mark Reed appeared before the BOC in a called meeting
Friday morning to ask for a share of the revenue to be used by
the city for water lines located in Banks County. He asked for
four percent, which he said was based on population. After a
lengthy discussion, the BOC agreed to allocate Baldwin 1.5 percent,
or $225,000, of the revenue.
Reed pointed out that 638 of Baldwin's water customers, or 40
percent of the system, are Banks County residents.
"It was a surprise to me that this thing was called so quickly,"
Reed said. "...I really would ask y'all to back up and re-evaluate
this. The cities of Maysville and Homer received SPLOST allocations
out of the last SPLOST... There are six cities in Banks County
and they are not all named Maysville and Homer."
Reed said he understood that the BOC would be meeting the minimum
legal requirements by only allocating money to Maysville and
Homer, but said surrounding counties share SPLOST with all of
its municipalities.
"What is so unique about Banks County is that only two of
its cities will benefit," he said. "...We really had
some high hopes that...we were at least going to be included
in the process...I'm disappointed that we weren't included...It's
not fair to include the same two cities each time. We are a part
of Banks County."
Commissioner Ernest Rogers said that part of his reason for at
first excluding Baldwin from the tax is that he had talked to
several people in the town who said they wouldn't support the
vote on the SPLOST if Baldwin is included.
"We need all the support we can get," he said.
Baldwin councilman Robert Bohannon pointed out that without the
SPLOST funds, it would only lead to an increase in the millage
rate for the town.
Mayor Reed also spoke on the difficulty the town has since it
is in two counties.
"I never would have drawn the county line down the middle
of the city," he said. "We're not an island among ourselves.
The northern end of the county is feeling a little left out.
I think you can remedy this by giving us a taste of this."
After the BOC agreed to include Baldwin in the SPLOST revenue,
the city council held an emergency called meeting to approve
the resolution. This meeting was held at 1 p.m. Friday. Council
members Mitchell Gailey, Robert Bohannon and Jeff Bohannon formed
the quorum necessary to approve the paperwork.
The BOC meeting had ended around noon, but the board reconvened
at 3 p.m. Friday and took final action on the SPLOST matter.
On a related matter, BOC chairman Kenneth Brady said that the
Development Authority had asked for two percent of the SPLOST
revenue to be used to advertise and attract new businesses to
the county. County attorney Randall Frost said this would not
be a legal use since the SPLOST revenue is only to be used for
capital outlay projects.
Citizen complaints
aired at BOC meeting
A Banks County man appeared before the Banks County Board of
Commissioners Friday morning to discuss their concerns with trash
on the roads and debris left in the road after brush was cleared.
Lou Sokowoski said he is concerned about the trash on Hwy. 326,
Sims Bridge Road and Duncan Road. The BOC reported that he could
call the county marshal when trash is found. The marshal can
go through the garbage and make a case against anyone if it can
be determined who the trash belongs to.
Sokowoski also said he is concerned with the debris scattered
along Duncan Road when the brush was cleared. Other issues he
brought to the attention of the BOC included the possibility
of a water line extension onto Duncan Road and the moratorium
in place on junk cars. OTHER BUSINESS
In other business Friday, the BOC:
·approved the service contract for the billing service
for the ambulance department.
·agreed to seek one more bid on leveling two fields and
improving the drainage system at the recreation department. The
board has already received one bid for this project.
·learned that the new gas line permit is for new line
installations only. It is not for permitting gas tanks.
·agreed to look into a proposal for the county to participate
in a county web page project.
·learned that Bill Gowder had sent a letter asking for
Gowder Road and a portion of Mitchell Road be paved. He also
sent a petition with signatures of 200 people supporting the
project.
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Subdivision gets
go-ahead from Lula council
A subdivision planned by developers David Dunlap and Ken Robinson
was given the green light Monday night, thanks to a tie-breaking
vote by Mayor Tim Allen.
Dunlap and Robinson presented the Lula City council with a copy
of the covenants pertaining to the mobile home section of their
development as the council had requested at its last meeting.
After some discussion, council member Mike Ostrander said that
area residents opposed the mobile home part of the development
in fear of the devaluation of their properties. Council members
Buster Autry and Milton Turner moved the subdivision be accepted.
When the vote was called, Ostrander and Lamb Griffin voted in
opposition.
Allen said, "I am satisfied with what they have done."
He voted in favor of the motion to accept.
The developers said that the city will be proud of the new subdivision.
In other business Monday, the council:
·briefly discussed the Hemlock Springs-Holtzclaw dispute
over city right of way. City attorney Brad Patton said that even
though the road had been moved from its original location, the
city had not given up its right of way.
·approved the second reading of the animal control ordinance.
It can be read at city hall by citizens who are interested.
·approved a new $2,600 heating and air conditioning system
for the library.
·specified that leave time for part-time employees must
be taken as time off or as sick days.
Banks County to
receive ARC grant for $300,000
Banks County will receive an Appalachian Regional Commission
(ARC) grant for $300,000 to expand water and wastewater services
to Banks Crossing.
ARC grants are administered by USDA-Rural Devel-opment.
Expanded services to this retail area are expected to attract
new businesses and create economic opportunity.
The grant will make up the difference between the $770,600 contributed
by Banks County and the $1,070,600 needed to complete the project.
When completed, the project will increase wastewater treatment
capacity from 70,000 to 300,000 gallons per day.
Improvements included in the project are adding an aeration pond,
modifying the existing facultative pond and developing five new
spray fields.
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