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Gwinnett
Ballot Measure Aims at Re-Development Problem
By
Paul Snyder
Special to GwinnettForum.com
LAWRENCEVILLE, Oct. 24, 2006 -- When Gwinnett voters go to the
polls on November 7, they will face a ballot question that reads:
"Shall the Act be approved which authorizes Gwinnett County
to exercise redevelopment powers under the Redevelopment Powers
Law, as it may be amended from time to time?"
Voters who support giving Gwinnett County a powerful tool to revitalize
declining areas, improve infrastructure and streetscapes, alleviate
traffic congestion and control sprawl should vote "Yes."
Tom Andersen, chairman of Revitalize Gwinnett, the citizens group
organized to educate voters on this issue, says: "Polling data
shows that once voters understand what the Redevelopment Powers
Law and Tax Allocation Districts are and what they are not - support
for the issue exceeds 60 percent."
The Georgia legislature enacted The Redevelopment Powers Law in
1985 giving local governments a way to use private investment to
pay for improvements to make declining areas safe, attractive and
productive parts of the community again. These "Tax Allocation
Districts" or TADs, leverage the new revenue created by the
increased property values resulting from the redevelopment activities
within the TAD to fund infrastructure and other improvements.
To date, 14 TADs have been created by local governments throughout
Georgia. The best known example, Atlantic Station in downtown Atlanta,
turned a dilapidated and environmentally hazardous former steel
mill into a vibrant mixed-use residential, office and commercial
development. Other examples include redevelopment around the Georgia
Aquarium, downtown Smyrna and downtown Marietta in suburban Cobb
County.
Gwinnett residents Jerry and Laura Moore own several restaurants
in Gwinnett and support the law. Jerry said, "Any resident
or business person in this area has seen problems arise through
traffic congestion and deterioration, causing businesses to close.
We had to close one of our restaurants on Jimmy Carter.
"Vacancies are becoming more evident and we must turn this
around. Live, work and play environments work in other parts of
the country and the Atlanta region. We must make it work here. We
are excited about the opportunity to see this kind of change in
our community. Additionally we must encourage more employers to
come here and create new jobs in the area, along with new residences
and retail."
Peggy Boydston, a longtime community activist and member of the
board of the Gwinnett Open Land Trust, believes, "As someone
who lives near the Gwinnett Place Mall area and some of the county's
older subdivisions, I know that we need this to help bring those
areas back to life and make them desirable again.
"But as someone who cares deeply about preserving undeveloped
land, I appreciate how making those older developed areas attractive
again will take away some of the pressure to build in the undeveloped
parts of the County. Most people don't want to move farther and
farther out. If you can make the closer-in subdivisions viable again,
they won't have to."
What Approval of Gwinnett TAD Means
Voting YES for the Redevelopment Powers Law will:
- Help declining areas become safe, attractive and productive.
- Help alleviate traffic congestion and control sprawl.
- Help fund infrastructure improvements through private investment.
- NOT create a TAD. Approval only gives the County the ability
to create TADs. Creation of an actual TAD requires approval from
the County Commission and Board of Education after extensive public
input and public hearings.
- NOT create tax increases or new taxes.
- NOT grant any powers relating to eminent domain.
For more information, go to www.revitalizegwinnett.com.
Massiveness of Katrina damage stuns you on
visit to area
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
OCT. 24, 2006 -- New Orleans was our destination, a birthday present
to each other. My wife and I just returned on Monday. We wanted
to get an understanding of the area after being wracked more than
year ago by Katrina. And yes, we were looking forward to dining
in New Orleans, always a treat.
Brack |
In a word, we were "stunned." One year after Katrina,
the massiveness of the way the Hurricane and the resulting flood
waters of broken levees has destroyed not just homes, but entire
neighborhoods, is almost beyond comprehension.
Though the Lower Ninth Ward is as bad as reports tell, many other
parts of New Orleans, and the outlying suburbs, are also horribly
ravaged. The flood waters seemed to invade neighborhoods with little
pattern. Later you find it was a broken levee at random spots that
caused the area to suffer.
Debris is stacked in front of homes on almost every block where
the flood waters came, amid slums of the city, or areas of once-fine
houses. Yet driving around, suddenly you would come to areas with
no detectable damage, which seemed like modern suburban America.
A friend said before leaving, "Take lots of pictures."
But, once seeing the destruction, I could not bring myself to snap
photos. It seemed like an invasion of the soul of New Orleans, like
it would be desecrating these people who had been through so much,
to depict their homes or them amid their troubles. You will see
no pictures from me.
Yet talking to residents, you know those who have either never
left or returned, will slug through it all, and survive. They press
on, putting the bad times behind.
Meanwhile, they told us that tourism, so much a part of New Orleans,
is picking up. The French Quarter, on the high ground, is still
vibrant, though not quite as crowded as once. Yet most of its commercial
activities are up and running, though most all have "Now Hiring"
signs out, since getting enough workers is a big problem.
We're glad we went. But the effects of Katrina, here a year later,
are staggering. With whole neighborhoods virtually wiped out, you
wonder if the city will ever be as large. But for sure, those remaining
seem stronger and their spirit as vibrant as ever!
* * * * *
We returned via the Gulf Coast, and again, were not ready for what
we found. From Pass Christian on the west, to Biloxi on the east,
traveling U.S. Highway 90 along the coast, you see virtually 100
per cent of the buildings fronting the beach destroyed. Maybe one
or two per cent are rebuilt. The area along the coast was hit by
both wind and water damage, and the destruction is complete. Clothing
still flies high in trees. Bulldozers have pushed away rubble, but
only foundations and some trees remain.
Except in Biloxi. There several of the casinos are rebuilt, or
in the process, and for sure, open to take your money. We passed
four Waffle Houses along the beach….not rebuilt, for after
all, no people nor tourists are around. But across from the Beau
Rivage casino, aglitter and manicured, that Waffle House is busy,
since there are people around.
Back a block or two from the beachfront, Gulf Coast houses had
damage, but they were not as destroyed as they were on the coast.
It was an eye-opening three days. It showed the tremendous power
of wind and water….and man's inability to build structures
and systems to ward off all circumstances.
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is Brand Banking
Company, headquartered in Lawrenceville, where it has three
offices, with additional branches in Snellville, Grayson and Flowery
Branch. It is the largest privately held bank in Gwinnett, with
assets of $830 million. Member, FDIC and Federal Reserve System.
More: http://www.thebrandbank.com
Horror
movie, Trek or Treat are set for Suwanee
The City of Suwanee has two community events on tap for the final
weekend of October.
In a chilling twist on its typical "Movies Under the Stars"
presentation, the City of Suwanee is presenting a "monster
musical" Friday evening, October 27, at Town Center Park. The
classic 1932, black-and-white film version of The Mummy, starring
Boris Karloff, will be shown with sub-titles while a band provides
a live "soundtrack."
The Mustangs, a six-member local band, will open the evening at
7 p.m. with a short concert. At about 7:45, the movie will begin,
with captions, and the band will provide the live soundtrack, adding
a light-heartedness to this classic thriller. Blankets, chairs,
picnics, and snacks may be brought to Town Center Park for the movie,
but no alcohol is allowed. Concessions will be available for purchase.For
more information, go to www.suwanee.com.
On Saturday, October 28, the activities move to Suwanee Creek Park.
The annual Trek or Treat event is scheduled from 11 a.m until1 p.m.
Activities include a costume parade and contest, fall festival and
carnival games, free hot dogs while supplies last, music, and trek
or treating along the Suwanee Creek Greenway. Ghouls and boys are
invited to test their skills at, among other activities, bobbing
for apples and the dangling doughnut challenge.
Rail museum plans
trek to Alabama, and arrival of Santa
The Southeastern Railway Museum has scheduled a road trip to visit
the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum at Calera, Ala. This trip will
depart by motorcoach from the Southeastern Railway Museum at Duluth
at 9 a.m. on Sunday, November 5. Plans are to arrive at the Alabama
museum around 1130 a.m., for lunch, visit the museum and ride the
train.
This cost is $45, including roundtrip bus fare, museum admission
and lunch. For reservations contact Greg Weaver or Gragg Robinson
at the Southeastern Railway Museum at 770-476-2013. Space is limited.
* * * * *
Another event sponsored by the Southeastern Railway Museum is the
arrival of Santa on November 18 at noon. See Santa arrive and eat
pizza, too. Visitors may take photos with Santa, eat, and walk through
historic rail passenger cars, sleeper cars, diner and cabooses.
The Southeastern Railway Museum, in Duluth, is "Georgia's
Official Transportation History Museum". The museum has over
80 other pieces of retired railway rolling stock including vintage
steam and diesel locomotives, passenger coaches, private business
cars, a World War II army troop kitchen, wooden freight cars, railway
post office car and maintenance of way equipment. Many other items
from Georgia's transportation history are also presented on the
museum's 30-acre site.
Dacula
area gets new precinct for county police department
A new East Precinct is now in operation for the Gwinnett County
Police Department. Ribbon cutting was Wednesday for the new facility,
located at 2273 Alcovy Road in Dacula. Previously the precinct was
in the former Dacula City Hall.
The 18,175 square-foot East Police Precinct includes offices for
sergeants, detectives, a community response team and chaplain. The
motor squad, DUI and Accident Investigation units have moved into
this precinct. The facility also has an Intox room, squad room,
crime prevention work area, classroom, break room, evidence storage
area and fitness room.
The new precinct joins four existing precincts in Gwinnett: the
North Precinct opened in July 2005 and is located at 2735 Mall of
Georgia Boulevard in Buford; South Precinct, 2180 Stone Drive in
Lilburn; West Precinct, 6160 Crescent Drive in Norcross; and Central
Precinct, 3125 Satellite Boulevard in Duluth.
Funding for the construction of the East Police Precinct was provided
by funds from the 2001 Special Purposed Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).
.
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
Modern-day
genealogy far different
Genealogy,
or the research of family history, is a far different field of inquiry
in the 21st century than it was in the past. Viewed as the pursuit
of a great and noble heritage, genealogy was earlier treated as
a hobby and a pastime, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
However, genealogy is also the personal history of ordinary people,
and each person has a unique genealogy.
Genealogical research provides the backbone of all human history
and, when carefully done, can elucidate larger historical events.
Studying, for example, the War of the Roses in fifteenth-century
England requires a study of the major participants' family histories.
So, too, the histories of several families are of particular importance
to Georgia's history: genealogy illuminates the historical links
between the Marburys of Augusta, the Telfairs of Savannah, the Cobbs
of Athens, and the Woodruffs of Columbus and Atlanta.
By the late 20th century, a number of strong genealogical societies
existed in Georgia. These include the Georgia Genealogical Society
(founded in 1964), which takes a statewide focus, and such regionally
based organizations as the Southwest Georgia Genealogical Society
(founded in 1968), the Central Georgia Genealogical Society (founded
in 1978), and the Augusta Genealogical Society (founded in 1979).
Each group publishes a journal; maintains separate research publications,
guidebooks, or annals; and hosts speakers and special events. Most
have ties to a larger genealogical collective, to which they donate
publications or act as an informal or even an official friends'
group.
The advent of genealogical societies in Georgia spurred the growth
of major genealogical collections in the state's public libraries.
These collections specialize in Georgia's history, but they also
include a large number of books, microfilm, and periodicals representing
other states and regions. Libraries in Athens, Atlanta, Columbus,
Macon, Marietta, Rome, Savannah, Smyrna, and Thomasville house some
of the best collections. Several individual genealogical societies,
including the Augusta Genealogical Society, have created their own
libraries. Private citizens fund other libraries, such as the Ladson
Genealogical Library in Vidalia, which is a branch of the Vidalia-Toombs
County Library, and private donations support others, including
the Ellen Payne Odom
Intelligence from early
day Greece on what is sweet
"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."
-- Aristotle, via Roy McCreary, Dacula.
Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves
or comments on any issue to Gwinnett
Forum for future publication.
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MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
© 2006, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum
is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible
social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett
County, Ga. USA.
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