Bidding process may start soon for Braselton LifePath

The 10 foot-wide multi-use path will accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and those driving golf carts or Segways on the LifePath — which will be installed in the existing rights-of-way along Ga. Hwy. 211 and Thompson Mill Road (Ga. Hwy. 347).

A portion of the LifePath — from the intersection of Thompson Mill Road and Ga. Hwy. 211 to The Gates of Braselton subdivision — has been installed, as the town’s visitors bureau authority funded the project.

Once completed, the LifePath will connect residents to area businesses along Ga. Hwy. 211 from the Liberty Village shopping center to Bayberry Ridge Drive, an entrance to Mulberry Park. It will also be installed along Thompson Mill Road to a residential entrance to Chateau Elan on the roadway. Overall, the LifePath will be 1.7 miles.

Eventually, it may be further extended along Thompson Mill Road to The Village at Deaton Creek and a new healthcare campus for Northeast Georgia Medical Center. A new alignment of the state highway, which is set to go to bid this summer, will also include a 10-foot wide multi-use path for recreational vehicles.

But for now, the Georgia Department of Transportation is still reviewing design plans for the LifePath, according to Braselton CID administrator Guy Herring.

He told the CID board of directors on Monday that once the group gets those documents approved for permitting, it can begin seeking bids — possibly by next month.

CID chairman Scott Snedecor — who is a co-owner of Ace Hardware in Braselton and development partner of Liberty Village — plans to build another building on Ga. Hwy. 211 in his development. Herring said that portion of the LifePath by the new retail building has been permitted by the DOT.

The Braselton CID is a self-taxing group of non-residential property owners in the district that is funding the LifePath with a $450,000 loan. So far, the group has withdrawn $111,100 from that loan to pay for mostly engineering fees tied to the project.

The CID’s millage rate is five mills for those non-commercial properties in the district. Through the end of February, the group had collected $8,800 in property taxes, according to a financial statement.

CID election ahead April 2
The Braselton CID will hold an election on Monday, April 2, to fill two spots on its board of directors.

The election is open to the 28 non-residential property owners in the CID. Registration will be held from 3:45-4:15 p.m., on the second level of Ace Hardware, located off Ga. Hwy. 211. The election will be held at 4:15 p.m. and the newly-elected members will be sworn into office in the CID meeting that immediately follows.

On the ballot will be Post 1 — currently held by Denzil Wasson, an owner of Discovery Point Child Development Center — and Post 3, currently held by Scott Snedecor.

The Braselton CID board of directors has five seats that are decided in an election and two seats that are appointed by the Braselton Town Council.

Next month’s election will mark the second for the Braselton CID. The first was held in January 2011 to name the group’s inaugural members.