Barrow Journal

The Barrow County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to hire the county’s internal candidate as the new elections supervisor.

Katie Ferm has served as the interim supervisor since the December 2009 resignation of Kristi Royston, who left for a position in Gwinnett County, and has been an elections assistant in the Barrow County Board of Elections and Registration since 2005.

Human Resources Director Norma Jean Brown said she was the unanimous choice of the selection committee comprised of commissioners Billy Parks and Steve Worley, along with operations development manager Bob Hohe and Brown.

Brown said there were 75 applicants who were narrowed down to three finalists. [Full Story »] 

The final Livable Cities Initiative plan for central Winder that was presented Tuesday night to the city council will cost more than $50 million in public funding and will take more than 25 years to fully implement.

That begs the question: Can the improvements be made quickly enough to save downtown?

The chairman of the Winder Downtown Development Authority told the Barrow Journal that downtown businesses and restaurants have lost 35-45 percent of their sales from the double whammy of the drawn-out recession and last April’s relocation of the county courts from the historic courthouse on North Broad Street to the new criminal justice center off Hwy. 211.

And there is a third potential blow on the horizon.

The dean of Lanier Technical College’s Winder campus told the newspaper she wants to move the college’s credit programs, which draw hundreds of students downtown each week, out of the downtown facility to a new campus off GA-316 that would be jointly developed with Barrow County Schools for its proposed career academy.
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Local taxpayers could be on the hook for more than $729,000, if the Winder City Council votes March 9 to proceed with an application for federal funding to restore the historic Granite Hotel downtown.

But after hearing the Winder City Council on Monday night express doubts about the size of the required commitment, two local preservationists at a subsequent public hearing pledged to help the city meet the financial commitment.

Winder resident Gwen Hill told the council that while the Barrow County Historical Society has existed for many years, a new group has been formed to focus on preserving historical structures downtown. [Full Story »] 

Winder’s and Auburn’s local governments hosted simultaneous meetings one night last week to get public input about proposed improvements to their downtowns.

Winder’s meeting, which drew a crowd of 30 or more, was about a planned streetscape project along a section of North Broad Street from the CSX railroad tracks to Stephens Street.

Auburn’s meeting, which attracted a smaller audience, was about a plan that will guide city officials on the implementation of projects in the pipeline. [Full Story »] 

Every business operating in the Town of Bethlehem next year will pay more for its business license.

The Bethlehem Town Council on Monday night approved a new fee structure that goes into effect January 2011.

Instead of the current flat rate of $20, each business will pay a base fee of $25 and an additional $5 per employee beyond the first three.

However, the town’s largest employer, Harrison Poultry, will not face the full impact of the increase. At last month’s meeting, company officials complained that with 700 or more employees, Harrison would have to pay as much as $4,500 for its business license. [Full Story »] 

Tuesday’s snowfall caused a one-week postponement of the monthly meeting of the Winder City Council. The rescheduled meeting is set for Tuesday, March 9.

Not only will the council vote on several items of significant public interest, but if Monday night’s work session was an indication of things to come, there may be a political tsunami under way.

The council’s newest member, at-large councilman Bob Dixon, is keeping his campaign promise to work for more open communication and improved public relations. And in the process, he is making waves.

Dixon is asking lots of questions – in front of everybody – and it appears Winder’s era of quick meetings and perfunctory votes is over. [Full Story »]