Trying not to sound like a broken record, those working on the Braselton LifePath say the multi-use path is now on the verge of starting construction.
“It’s really tough to keep saying we’re almost there,” said Scott Snedecor, chairman of the Braselton Community Improvement District (CID) board of directors, which is installing the LifePath.
But after months of delays — mostly because of easement acquisition and utility relocation issues — the Braselton CID says it’s just weeks away from moving dirt for the LifePath.
The 10-foot wide path will be installed in the existing rights-of-ways along Ga. Hwy. 211 and Thompson Mill Road (Ga. Hwy. 347). The 1.7 mile-paved path will be open to pedestrians, cyclists and those driving golf carts.
Once fully completed, the LifePath will allow residents in Chateau Elan, Mulberry Walk, The Falls of Braselton and The Village at Deaton Creek to connect to area businesses, the Braselton Mulberry RiverWalk and Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s new hospital on Thompson Mill Road.
The self-taxing CID is funding most of the LifePath, although the Braselton Town Council recently agreed to use sales tax money earmarked for roads in Gwinnett County.
The council will use its share of Gwinnett County SPLOST revenue to fund a total of $268,000 for the LifePath. It previously used Gwinnett SPLOST funds to pay for a small portion of the LifePath along Thompson Mill Road — from the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 211 to The Gates of Braselton entrance.
With design completed for the LifePath, the CID is still trying to acquire several easements for the project. The Georgia Department of Transportation has allowed the CID to build the LifePath in phases, as it gets those easements, according to CID administrator Guy Herring.
“Easements are coming along, but they’re slow,” he told the group during its meeting on Sept. 17.
For now, the Braselton CID will begin work in the coming weeks on the LifePath from the Liberty Village shopping center to Mulberry Park. The CID recently named a contractor for the project.
Meanwhile, the group agreed to pay $25,000 to Windstream for the company to move some of its utilities to other poles in the area. The Town of Braselton will also relocate several fire hydrants in the way of the LifePath.
In other business, the CID set its Barrow County millage rate at 5 mills — which is unchanged from last year.
However, the CID will lose an estimated $3,505 in Barrow County property tax revenue because its tax digest in the CID fell 26 percent. Last year, the Braselton CID received $13,681 in Barrow County property taxes, but is set to get an estimated $10,176 next year.
Despite the drop in Barrow County tax revenue, the CID is still expected to get more property tax money next year — thanks to increases in the Gwinnett and Hall county tax digests. Those increases will net the CID an estimated increase of $7,000.
Gwinnett County’s tax digest rose 14 percent, while Hall County’s jumped 86 percent in the CID. The Braselton CID includes 25 commercial properties in Barrow, Gwinnett and Hall counties. All of the counties have the same millage rate — 5 mills — which is unchanged from the previous year.
—Kerri Testement
