Orr talks about town’s plans for the future

Future projects — some already under way — were the topic of Braselton Mayor Bill Orr’s recent speech at the Braselton Woman’s Club last Wednesday.


“Some of these projects that are ongoing projects where we already have the bonds out there, I think we need to continue to move forward,” Orr said. “In terms of the projects of the future, these things that we all want to do we have to be really diligent about making sure that we aren’t spending money that we don’t have.”

The projects Orr discussed were the realignment of Highway 124, the town green, the town amphitheater and the presence of “eyesores” around the town.

“You may be familiar with (the work around town) and you might have seen it, but a lot of this work is things I cannot take credit for,” Orr said. “I really have to give the past mayor and really the people in our planning department credit for developing it, but we’re going to continue on this path and that is with the realignment of our downtown streets and the building of our downtown streetscapes and town green.”

Orr said that while he was campaigning to be Braselton’s mayor, he heard a lot of residents speak of the two sides of the town and how it needs to be melded.

“I really think one of the reasons that people say that is that we don’t really have a central place to gather really anywhere in town,” he said. “So I’m pretty excited about the realignment and I’m excited about the amphitheater and the town green and some of the streetscape things.”

As for the realignment of Highway 124, bids for the project will open March 25 and construction is estimated to last about 18 months.

“I’m going to apologize right now for anybody who doesn’t get somewhere quick enough because of that realignment (construction),” Orr said.

He went on to say that planners have done a lot of work to ensure that the construction would be done as simultaneously as possible in order to cut back on travel time delays in and around the town.

For the streetscape project, Orr said the focus will remain on creating sidewalks, proper street lighting, seat walls and small plaza areas.

“It (will) really make the downtown – the whole downtown area – a lot more accessible, a lot more friendly, a lot more inviting for people to interact and talk and interact with each other,” Orr said.

Phase 1 of the streetscape project has begun and design and funding is coming through state grants and bond money. Orr said that final design is expected late this summer and some of the construction will be combined with the Hwy-124 realignment.

The town green project is still under way and will also be designed late this summer with construction and plans scheduled to begin in 2010. Orr said that the project will be funded through bond and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) money.

The amphitheater project is one that Orr said will be hard to predict the timeline of, but design is slated for 2013. He said the amphitheater will get done, but must remain a question mark as to when and officials must watch the economy and make sure the town has the money before beginning the project.

“It’s really going to depend on the local financials and whether or not there’s bond money left and what the market looks like and whether or not we can get grants,” he said.

Orr said that the amphitheater is one of the projects he is most excited about as the people of Braselton will have a place to gather as a community.

Other projects the town hopes to see finalized soon include stabilization of the old mill. Orr said that volunteers have come together willing to donate time and energy to properly assess the building, which the town has recently acquired. Orr said he would like it to become an art center or something else useful.

“I’m pretty excited about being able to – as we grow Braselton – being able to use that facility,” he said.

When citizens at the meeting were given a chance to speak, they spoke of the presence of certain eyesores around the city, mainly buildings.

Town manager Jennifer Dees said that many of the buildings of concern are in the path of the town’s realignment of Hwy. 124, but because the town is using federal funds for the project, it must receive approval to demolish the buildings. Dees said she first sought approval back in June of 2006 and is still waiting for the okay.