February Newsletter
Jared Bailey
District 5 Newsletter
February 2013
Statesman Quote: "Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."- Benjamin Franklin |
This newsletter is intended to keep the residents of District 5 informed about community matters. If you are not receiving this newsletter and wish to do so, please contact me at Jared....@athensclarkecounty.com and I will add your email address to the list. If you have any questions or concerns about community issues please contact me by email or at 706-338-9019.
Dear District 5 Residents-
Here is another installment of news that affects the best district in Athens:
UPCOMING MAYOR AND COMMISSION VOTES
The next M&C voting meeting will be on Tuesday March 5th at 7:00 PM in City Hall.
The following items are on the agenda for that meeting:
Approval of two STOP Violence Against Women (VAWA) Criminal Justice Grant continuation for ACC Police Department
Police Department School Resource Officer Program contract for 2013-2014 school year
Jennings Mill Subdivision – Restricting vehicle access to partially developed segment
Police Department property and evidence facility (SPLOST 2011 Project #30)
Buena Vista Historic Neighborhood Designation
Amendment to alcoholic beverage ordinance adding a distilled spirits manufacturer class
Proposed right-of-way and public infrastructure abandonment of Pauldoe Court and the portion of Pauldoe Street
ZONING
Request for special use in RS-15 (Single-Family Residential) and C-R (Commercial-Rural) on 60.892 acres known as 1270 US Highway 29 North. Proposed use is the expansion of a private school (Athens Christian).
Request for rezoning from C-G (Commercial-General) and C-R (Commercial-Rural) to C-G (PD) (Commercial-General Planned Development) on 27.87 acres bordered by US Highway 29 North and Hull Road. Proposed use is commercial retail, restaurant, and fueling center. The anchor for this development will be a very large Kroger grocery store.
Request for rezoning from E-O (PD) (Employment-Office Planned Development) and RM-2 (Mixed Density Residential Planned Development) to E-I (Employment-Industrial) on 62.43 acres on Olympic Drive. Proposed use is employment-industrial. This property will be used as a holding area for large quantities of dirt created by the construction of the Olympic Drive overpass on Loop 10 (Athens Perimeter).
Request for special use in C-G (Commercial-General) on 1.332 acres known as 265 Epps Bridge Lane. Proposed use is commercial outdoor recreation. The company that owns this property wishes to improve the site for their existing river kayaking business.
Request for special use in C-D(RIV) (Commercial-Downtown, River Downtown Design Area) on 1.92 acres known as 325 Willow Street. Proposed use is multi-family residential. This special use request is to allow the construction of a new apartment building within an existing apartment complex.
Request for special use in C-D(ED) (Commercial-Downtown, East Downtown Design Area) on 0.25 acre known as 434 and 436 East Dougherty Street. Proposed use is multi-family residential. This special use request is to allow the construction of a new apartment building within an existing office complex.
COMMUNITY NOTES
CLASSIC CENTER EXPANSION
Amidst much fanfare the Classic Center expansion was officially opened on February 16th. Hundreds of people showed up to see the new facilities, the public art installation, as well as the clowns, trapeze artists, belly dancers, and whole gaggle of politicians. Since one ribbon cutting ceremony was not enough the Classic Center is having a Gala Grand Opening next Wednesday February 27th at 6:00 PM. There will be a ticketed black tie reception after the ribbon cutting and a performance by the Boston Pops in the Classic Center Theater at 8:00.
CULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION
The Athens Cultural Affairs Commission (ACAC) is seeking a qualified candidate to fill a 3-year volunteer position.
The mission of the ACAC is to foster the development and enjoyment of performing, visual, cultural and other arts in the Athens-Clarke County community; to make recommendations to the Mayor and Commission on development and promotion of practices and policies pertaining to the arts; and to work cooperatively with Athens-Clarke County Unified Government (ACCUG) entities and other advisory commissions to include an arts element in as many areas of ACCUG planning and development as possible.
The ACAC meets on the second Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m.; additional committee work is conducted between these meetings. Applicants must be Athens-Clarke County residents and registered voters. Applicants should also have expertise in one of the arts or have demonstrated interest in the arts. The deadline for receiving applications is Friday, March 15, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Based upon applications received, the ACAC will select a number of individuals for brief interviews. After making a final selection, a recommendation for appointment will be sent from the ACAC to the Mayor and Commission. The term will begin in May.
Interested applicants may submit an application online through the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government's website at http://athensclarkecounty.com/acac. For more information, contact Ashley L. McCormack, Athens Cultural Affairs Commission at email ashleylm...@gmail.com.
LEAF AND LIMB
March
4 - March
8: Zone
5
Neighborhoods include, but are not limited to, Chadd's Walk, Quailwood, Rosewood, Rivercliff Estates, Tallasee Oaks, Sedgefield, Hodgson Place, Jefferson Valley, Saxon Woods, Oconee Heights, Camelot, Cardinal Creek, and Westgate.
March 11 - March 15: Zone 6
Neighborhoods include, but are not limited to, North Place, Cherokee Forest, Timberwood, and Hidden Lake
March 18 - March 22:
5 Pts. area including the Springdale, Milledge Circle, Bedgood, Bloomfield, Dearing, Milledge Terrace, and University Drive neighborhoods and surrounding areas
March
25 - 29:
The Newtown, Boulevard, Hospital, Brooklyn, East Athens, Hancock, Rocksprings neighborhoods and surrounding areas
April 1 - April 5:The Beechwood, Briarcliff, Moss Side Drive, Homewood Hills, Whitehead Road, Country Club Estates, Knottingham, and the Forest Heights Drive neighborhood and surrounding areas
OCONEE STREET PARK & RIDE
The new 223-space Oconee Street Park & Ride has recently opened. This Park & Ride is principally designed for traffic from the north and east of Athens which is exiting with the intention of then travelling into downtown. By encouraging such commuters to use the lot the hope is that it will alleviate some of the traffic congestion which occurs on Oconee Street in the morning and in the late afternoon. The project was initially approved by the Mayor and Commission in May 2007. Construction began in May 2012. Funding was from a $2.4 million Federal Transit Administration grant.
The project is designed to be a showcase project and so will highlight a number of innovative features, including: solar powered LED lighting, rain gardens, pervious concrete and celled aggregate parking bays to reduce run-off and encourage recharge of rain water into the underlying soils, three new bus shelters, an information kiosk, security cameras, an emergency call station, bicycle lockers for travelers, a traffic signal upgrade at Oconee Street and State Route 10 Inner Loop ramps to allow traffic to enter the Park and Ride without having to be on Oconee Street, pedestrian crossing improvements, and devices for the buses to control the duration of traffic lights in certain directions.
In addition
to being served by Athens Transit Routes 22, 25, 26, 27, Athens Transit has
established a new route: Route 23, the Oconee Street Park-n-Ride / Downtown
Express. This will link directly to the UGA Campus and downtown and will depart
from the Park and Ride every 20 minutes during peak hours (7:00am - 9:30am and 3:00pm
-5:30pm) on weekdays during the UGA school year. Additional bus routes will
provide access several times an hour, in each direction, from 6:30 am until
9:30 pm, Monday-Saturday. Parking is free within the lot, except during
University of Georgia home football game days. Use of the Athens Transit System
is subject to usual fares or passes. Details on route schedules and fares are
available at www.athensclarkecounty.com/transit or www.athenstransit.com. Alternatively, citizens can call the Athens
Transit Information Line at (706) 613 3430.
RECYCLING BINS
AVAILABLE
The ACC Recycling Division has received additional recycling roll-carts for residential use. If ACC is your waste services provider and you would like to swap your recycling bins for a 96 gallon roll-cart call 706-613-3501 from 8-5 M-F and request a cart swap out.
STORMWATER
2013 Stream Walks
Stormwater staff will begin stream walks along Sulfur Springs Creek, Sandy Creek, Big Creek, and Bear Creek. During stream walks staff will be conducting watershed assessments to gauge the condition of our local waterways. The length of each stream will be walked between February and May 2013 to gather information. In this time you may see Athens-Clarke County Stormwater staff along your property if you own property that one of these 4 streams crosses through. To see what stream you live closest to visit www.AthensClarkeCounty.com/watersheds.
Stream walks are part of an initiative to compile watershed management plans for each creek in ACC. For more information about watershed management plans visit www.AthensClarkeCounty.com/index.aspx?NID=1883
If you have any questions or concerns please contact Storm...@Athensclarkecounty.com or call 706-613-3440.
Glencrest Stormwater Project
The
contractor for the Glencrest Drive project completed the installation of storm
drain pipe in the cul-de-sac on Marsha Court, and installed a storm drain
structure along Marsha Court. The contractor has been delayed this week due to
rain and wet conditions. The main purpose of the project is to alleviate the
constant flooding of property that occurs along Crestview and Glencrest Drives.
The work began in January 2013 and is expected to last until September
2013.
WASTE REDUCTION
AWARDS
The ACC Recycling Division is accepting applications for awards in four categories for area business, industry, individual and school recyclers who have proven to be innovative or a champion of the environment by implementing waste reduction techniques or increasing an existing program in waste reduction during 2012.
Winners will be notified in early April and will be publicly recognized with an award and certificate during the GreenFest Awards Ceremony on April 19 at the UGA Warnell School of Forestry Flinchum’s Phoenix in the Whitehall Forest. Winners will also receive recognition on the ACC Recycling Division website and Facebook page, ACTV Cable Channel 7, and in the ACC Recycling Division quarterly newsletter One Man’s Trash, which is distributed to 13,000 Athens-Clarke County residents.
All entries must be postmarked or hand delivered to the ACC Recycling Division, 725 Hancock Industrial Way, Athens, Georgia 30605 by Friday, March 22, 2013. Applications can be found online at www.athensclarkecounty.com/recycling or requested electronically by e-mailing rec...@athensclarkecounty.com.
Your Commissioner,
145 Marsha Court, Athens, GA 30606
706-338-9019, Jared....@athensclarkecounty.com