Barrow Journal

The cost of defending the city government and two top managers in a former clerk’s federal sexual harassment lawsuit has gone up.

But the city government isn’t footing the bill for the two additional law firms retained to defend in their individual capacities finance director Leslie Ginn and city administrator Bob Beck.

The city’s liability insurer, an intergovernmental risk-sharing fund of the Georgia Municipal Association, is covering all of the city’s legal expenses, according to George Van Leuven, manager of the GMA’s Risk Management Services.

He stated Monday in an e-mailed response to the Barrow Journal that the Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency has required the retention of separate attorneys for Beck and Ginn.

The city’s policy, which has a $5 million claim limit, requires the city to pay only a $5,000 deductible in connection with any claim, he stated. [Full Story »] 

The Winder City Council on Tuesday night placed unprecedented restrictions on the ability of the mayor and city administrator to use staff and the city’s financial resources on major new initiatives.

And local residents who packed the meeting sent a clear message about who ultimately calls the shots.

The council instructed city hall that before any money is spent on the town’s LCI plans, officials will have to come back to the city council for approval.

That action, and the overall tone, of the council’s monthly business meeting was remarkable, as issues of strong public interest were vigorously debated before an audience that grew so large that the start of the meeting had to be delayed while additional chairs were set up.

Communicating the sentiment of many in the audience was Chip Lewis, a local resident who has actively participated in the seven-month Livable Cities Initiative to improve central Winder. Lewis said he is “heart stricken” by the lack of community culture in Winder and is disappointed about the state of the city government. [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 »] 

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 »] 

Winder’s utility customers sometime in the not-so-distant future should get monthly bills that more fully explain what the city charges for natural gas and water services.

Alex Wages, the city’s information technology director, told the Winder City Council and some local customers Monday night that programmers are working on the billing software to support the more detailed bills. Wages said the more detailed bills would be put in place about 30 days after the city’s software contractor, Incode, completes the programming needed to support the changes.

The programmers haven’t provided a project completion date, making it impossible to estimate when the new bills will be ready for use, he said. [Full Story »] 

An unusually long billing cycle and a prolonged cold snap caused Winder’s natural gas bills – and some customers’ tempers – to rise this month.

And a natural gas customer who was promised more detailed natural gas bills is planning to attend the March 1-2 city council meetings to find out why that clarification of charges never occurred.

“I’ve had many neighbors call me,” said Kay Pierce, who went to battle with city officials last year over Winder’s pricing structure and lack of itemization of charges on bills. “It will be a year next month when I went to my first meeting. I think a year is plenty of time to change the bill.”
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A team of Atlanta Regional Commission consultants last week announced its final recommendations for improving the look and livability of central Winder.

The Livable Cities Initiative consultants made their Feb. 18 presentation at the Winder Community Center to about 35 city officials, business owners and residents.

The second public hearing for proposed streetscape improvements along Broad Street in downtown Winder will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, at the Winder Community Center.
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