New website for Braselton LifePath now online

The new website — www.BraseltonLifePath.com — is the work of the Braselton Community Improvement District (CID), the group responsible for the LifePath. An accompanying Facebook page has also been established for the trail.

Once completed, the Braselton LifePath will create 1.7 miles of 10-foot wide concrete pathways connecting residents to businesses along Ga. Hwy. 211 and Thompson Mill Road (Ga. Hwy. 347).

The LifePath will connect The Village at Deaton Creek and Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s new hospital in Braselton to Chateau Elan, Mulberry Walk and the town’s riverwalk, according to the website.

The first segment of the LifePath — along Thompson Mill Road, from The Gates of Braselton to the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 211 — was installed by the Braselton Visitors Bureau Authority, which funded the project with Gwinnett County sales tax revenue.

Installed wider than a typical sidewalk, the Braselton LifePath will allow golf carts to use the trail, along with cyclists, pedestrians and joggers.

Those on the CID board of directors have said that the LifePath will allow residents and visitors to take a golf cart to a doctor appointment, a local restaurant or other stores for shopping.

The new website features a map of the proposed LifePath, information about the CID, businesses within the district, news and contact information.

The LifePath is being funded by the self-taxing CID, which includes 24 non-residential properties along Ga. Hwy. 211. The CID assesses a five mill tax rate for those properties in the district. The group has a $450,000 loan to fund the LifePath.

Other Business
In other business on Monday, the board of directors of the Braselton CID:
•authorized spending $250 to apply for a grant from the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank (GTIB) and to submit its application to the agency.

•agreed to ask the Braselton Town Council to change the town’s CID legislation to allow it to apply for grants. The action will require approval from the Georgia General Assembly, which started its 2012 legislative session on Monday. The town council also agreed on Monday to seek the change to the local legislation.

•learned that the Georgia Department of Transportation is still reviewing plans to revamp a crosswalk at the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 211 and Thompson Mill Road for the LifePath. The CID is also waiting for additional comments from the state agency on its initial plans for the LifePath.

•approved its financial statement through the end of December, which included receiving its initial CID taxes totaling $10,005 and contracted services totaling $16,220 for the month. As of Monday, the group has received a total of $19,000 in taxes. The CID board of directors held its first meeting in early 2011. By the end of December, revenue (property taxes) for the district topped $10,005 for 2011 and expenses reached $106,100.