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Chicken House
A Total Loss
Neese-Sanford fireman Neil
Mathis applies water to a poultry house owned by L.S. Pittman
on Seagraves Mill Road just inside Madison County. The Friday
fire totally destroyed the building. Firemen from the Danielsville
and Ila fire departments also responded to the blaze. The column
of smoke could be seen for miles.
Out With The Old,
In With The New, And Up With The City's Electric Rates
There was a lot of talk Monday night about
the "old" city council and the "new" city
council, but after the "old" finished their work and
the "new" were sworn in, there was a remarkable similarity.
That's because they were the same people. The installation at
Monday night's Commerce City Council meeting of a "new"
mayor and "new" city council members was a formality,
since the new and the old were exactly the same.
Nonetheless, with as much pageantry as they could muster, and
a paid photographer to record the changing of government for
history, "new" mayor Charles L. Hardy Jr. and "new"
city councilmen Bob Sosebee, Sam Brown and Richard Massey were
sworn in by Superior Court Judge Bob Adamson after their "old"
selves had adjourned one council meeting so their "new"
selves could be installed to begin new four-year terms.
After completing that bit of business, the council proceeded
to re-elect Billy Chandler as municipal court judge, John Stell
as city attorney and Archie D. Chaney Jr. as mayor pro tem. Then,
with the city government firmly in place, the council got down
to the real business at hand.
One of the first orders of business was to raise the electric
rates.
City Manager Clarence Bryant was home battling the flu and not
present to explain exactly how the new rate structure worked,
but Hardy gave it his best shot. The raise in rates, he tried
to explain, was something the city thought it had done earlier.
"Last February, we adopted what we thought was a four percent
increase, but it never came about. We're not exactly sure why,"
the mayor said.
The result was that increasing costs to the city for wholesale
electricity caused the city's revenue from electricity to fall.
The new rate structure is made up of a "cost adjustment
rider" allowing the city to increase (or decrease) rates
quarterly to maintain its margin of profit. That rider will be
implemented effective with all January billing.
"Basically, what it means is a four percent increase. Most
of that will be generated by the cost adjustment rider,"
the mayor stated.
The matter was approved with no discussion on a motion made by
Riley Harris and seconded by Chaney.
In response to a question by Councilman Donald Wilson, the mayor
pointed out that the city's electric rates will remain below
both Jackson EMC and Georgia Power.
"We don't want to be high, but we don't want the lowest
rate," the mayor said.
The rate increase was the second item relating to electricity.
The first was approval of a contract with the city's electrical
supplier, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG)
to participate in the construction of a power plant.
Again, the absence of the city manager left it to Hardy to explain
that MEAG plans to build a combustion turbine plant similar to
what the Southern Company is building in Center. That plant will
lower the city's cost of power during times of peak demand, and
will also serve as a non-peak generating plant.
The council approved a resolution authorizing Hardy to sign a
contract with MEAG, but no mention was made of what the city's
share of the construction cost might be, a cost that will be
based on the city's power consumption.
Construction Up
257% During 1999
It may be too early to call it a building
boom, but the value of construction that occurred in 1999 in
Commerce increased by 257 percent over 1998.
The city issued permits for $14.53 million in residential, commercial
and industrial construction during the year, compared to $5,637,715
during 1998. In 1997, the city issued permits for construction
valued at $3.85 million.
Dollar figures are based on what the contractor places on the
permit application and are not necessarily accurate, according
to David Lanphear, the city's building inspector.
"A lot of them think that is what taxes are going to be
paid on, so they are very conservative," Lanphear said.
"This figure has nothing to do with assessments for taxation."
Almost half of the construction was for commercial projects.
Five of them totaled $7.2 million, based on the cost figure on
the permit form.
Residential construction was up this year. Some 36 single-family
units were permitted, compared to 31 last year, at an estimated
value of $3.5 million. There were nine mobile home permits, down
from 17 last year, valued at $296,270. That figure should climb
rapidly in the next two years, thanks to a 201-unit mobile home
park under construction.
The permit for the 80-unit apartment complex across Minish Drive
from Commerce Elementary School put that project's value at $2.8
million. In 1998, only one permit for two apartment units was
issued.
Five commercial alteration projects were estimated to be worth
$600,000, and 12 alterations to residences were valued at $169,630.
There is no sign that construction will slow down in 2000. In
fact, it could well accelerate, at least at the residential end.
A number of developments are in the planning stage, including
the large mobile home park and a 153-unit subdivision of stick-built
houses, both near Mount Olive Road. Other residential developments
will add to the number of houses built, and a 125-acre tract
was recently rezoned for an industrial park.
Bassett-Walker
Building Sells To Distributor Of Trousers
A Wichita, KS, businessman has purchased
the former Bassett-Walker building in Commerce for use as a warehouse.
Officials of the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce and
the city of Commerce confirmed this week that Quick Response,
a trousers distributor, bought the 90,000-plus square foot building
that has been vacant since Bassett-Walker closed in June.
"The company has leased warehouse space in Athens and Winder.
My understanding is that they are consolidating both to Commerce,"
said Pepe Cummings, president of the chamber.
The company currently employs about 30 people in its two local
operations and is expected to employ about that number at the
Commerce site.
Officials say the company sells mid-priced trousers to a variety
of customers, specializing in just-in-time deliveries. The CEO
is Randy Nevil.
Operations are expected to begin this month.
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