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Fire service contract revision languishes By LEANNE AKIN
lakin@clickthepaper.com
A meeting is being scheduled between Jackson County, its attorney and the City of Commerce and its attorney in an effort to finalize the latest redline version of a contract for the East Jackson Fire District. A contract was approved by the Jackson County Board of Commissioners in March, however, the document did not get the signature of Commission Chairman Tom Crow. At the next meeting, Crow requested that the contract be reviewed by County Attorney Christopher J. Hamilton. Since that time, the document has been back and forth between the county and the City of Commerce and the East Jackson Fire District Board without final resolution.
At Monday’s meeting, Hamilton explained that there are two components of the current proposal which are problematic from a legal standpoint. He said one part that gave him heartburn related to the millage rate being given “to the county commission to rubber stamp.” Hamilton said one section of the contract conflicts with Georgia law. He said he was unaware of the contract being on that March meeting so he had not reviewed the document in advance. District 2 Commissioner Chas Hardy, who asked the matter be tabled from a previous meeting to allow time for the final sticking points to be ironed out with County Manager Kevin Poe, requested the item be removed from the agenda. “Instead of passing [the document] back and forth by email,” Hardy suggested a
meeting between Hamilton and Commerce officials and legal counsel to reach a suitable amendment. He asked that Poe schedule the meeting as soon as possible. District 3 Commissioner Bruce Yates questioned whether there was an agreement already in place with the commission’s authorization of the contract arrangement. Hamilton said the agreement had not been signed and had not been put into the minutes and executed. It has been the county’s practice to have the chairman sign contracts so several steps of past practices have not been completed. Yates asked if that meant there was no agreement for fire services in the East Jackson Fire District. He asked if the chairman has veto power by declining to sign the contract. Hamilton said he was not aware of a
provision in the county charter that gave the chairman veto power but the lack of a signature could provide a legal gray area that could find the contract being called into question. Yates, who asked the county attorney to research for a definitive answer on the matter, also requested that commissioners be provided a copy of the existing report of the Jackson County Correctional Institute conducted by an interim county manager. The 2015 capacity agreement with the Georgia Department of Corrections is being proposed for consideration June 16. “To me, it’s going to be an issue,” said Yates. The number of state inmates being housed at JCCI was reduced after Poe arrived in a cost-saving measure.
Braselton Parkway Extension gets $1 million state award Flowery Branch roundabout plan is getting $2.1 million GTIB boost
TAKING AIM nat gurley Regional staff
Shawn McNew shoots an MG-74 on Saturday during the Great Dixie Ammo Dump machine gun shoot held at a Hoschton farm. Dixie Ammo Dump employee Arthur Thibeau looks on. Expert marksman Craig Sawyer, far right, prepares to shoot video. April Anderson shoots on full-auto as her boyfriend, J.R. Talley, shoots phone video. The Athens resident said she shot a lot with her father, but hasn’t much in the past 15 years. Anderson said, “He was a really big gun collector with a range of assault rifles and everything. I was always right there beside him.” See Charles Phelps’ story on Page 5B.
The Braselton Parkway Extension project is among the projects approved for funding through the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank (GTIB). It is one of 20 transportation infrastructure projects totaling $33 million in grants and loans provided through GTIB. The extension received a $1 million GTIB award, according to the May 28 announcement by Gov. Nathan Deal. Braselton Mayor Bill Orr, Councilman Tony Funari and Town Manager/Clerk Jennifer Dees were at the announcement. The new roadway will extend Braselton Parkway from Jesse Cronic Road in Jackson County to State Route 211 in Barrow County. The north end of the new roadway will align with the existing Braselton Parkway/Jesse Cronic Road intersection and then continue south paralleling I-85 from Jesse Cronic Road, crossing over the Mulberry River where a bridge is required. The route will intersect with the existing intersection of Highway 211 and Tour De France Drive, the main entrance to Chateau Elan. According to the state documents, several large employers are already located on the existing Braselton Parkway, and the new roadway will allow a more direct connection for trucks and workers heading south to Highway 211 and connecting to I-85. A new road featuring a round-
about in Flowery Branch got a combined $2.1 million boost in funding. Flowery Branch is getting a $650,000 grant and $950,000 loan for its planned Lights Ferry Connector, which will run between Ga. 13/Atlanta Highway and McEver Road. The project calls for a 140-foot roundabout, with goals of spurring economic development in the downtown area and improving access to Aqualand and Hideaway Bay marinas off Lake Lanier. The governor’s announcement represents the largest funding cycle for the GTIB program since its inception. The GTIB program is a revolving infrastructure investment fund established in 2008 by Georgia legislators and administered by the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA). “The GTIB program is an important resource for community improvement districts and local governments seeking supplemental funding needed to move vital transportation projects forward,” Deal said. “The projects receiving awards today will not only enhance mobility in local communities, they will also keep Georgia’s business engine moving by improving access to retail and job centers throughout the state.” Community improvement districts (CIDs), as well as local and
See BRASELTON, 2A
New left-turn signals are emerging throughout state BY JEFF GILL
The Paper regional staff
NAT GURLEY The Paper regional staff
A driver takes advantage of the new flashing yellow arrow to turn from Ga. 347 southbound onto Spout Springs Road eastbound.
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The Georgia Department of Transportation is introducing a new left-turn signal featuring a flashing yellow light, with the first one installed in Hall County on May 21. The signal, which features four left-turn arrows, has been picking up nationwide steam, with Georgia adopting the new signal as its standard early this year. State officials “wanted to see (its) effectiveness in other states and study the long-term impacts of this type of signal,” district spokeswoman Teri Pope said. The first signals installed in the DOT’s Northeast Georgia district were
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How to follow the new left-turn signal Red arrow: No left turn allowed Yellow arrow: Prepare to stop as light is about to turn red Flashing yellow arrow: Yield, but it is OK to turn left Green arrow: Turn left in Forsyth, Barrow and Jackson counties. The Hall County lights are on Ga. 347 northbound and southbound at Spout Springs Road and on Spout Springs northbound at Ga. 347. The intersection is in Braselton, situated among heavy commercial development and Ga. 347 construction that’s taking place between Ga. 211/Old Winder Highway and Interstate 985. “The signal is operating well,” Pope said last week.
“Traffic is flowing well through the intersection.” The new signal will be installed at intersections with heavy left-turn traffic volumes, according to the DOT. The signal’s solid red light means drivers must stop, and green means drivers can go freely. Flashing yellow means drivers can turn left but yield to pedestrians and oncoming vehicles; a solid yellow means drivers should
See SIGNALS, page 2A
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