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Progress
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Health & Services | Sunday, March 24, 2019
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Progress is a publication of The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |
Sunday, March 24, 2019
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Solicitor doubles space in courthouse after annex shift BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com With roughly double the space, Stephanie Woodard and the Hall County Solicitor’s Office have a few minor conveniences some offices may take for granted. A bona fide break room means the days of huddling in a cramped supply room for a snack are over. A bathroom in the office means attorneys won’t face the possibility of using the urinal next to a defendant they are prosecuting. Rickety tables are replaced by rolling stations for holding court in the hallway. “They made it look legal and official,” said Woodard of the rolling stations built with inmate labor. The construction came as a result of the county reshuffling the different groups within the Green Street courthouse and moving some to the annex across Kenyon Plaza. Probate and Juvenile courts occupy newly renovated spaces in the annex, which allowed Superior Court Judge Clint Bearden and State Court Judge Larry Baldwin II to have their own courtrooms. Probate Court settled in at the annex in May, and the county hosted its official open house for the annex in January. Nix said the estimate for the courthouse renovation is $500,000. The departure of Probate Court meant Woodard and her staff could double their space on the first floor of the courthouse. Assistant county administrator Marty Nix said March 12 the work was nearly completed with Woodard’s office and they were hoping for a finished project in the middle of April. “The final piece will be to finish out the judges’ chambers on the second floor and to remodel the courtrooms on the second floor,” Nix said. One of the recent additions to Woodard’s office is a victim waiting space. “It used to be they had to sit outside with their defendant,” Woodard said. Nix and Woodard noted the extensive use of inmate labor in accomplishing the project. “I can’t say enough about the inmates that have worked. We’ve had county and state, and they’ve been wonderful. I feed them in pie,” Woodard said. In some instances, people who have been prosecuted by Woodard and her office returned as workers. The reunion turned to some heartwarming moments. “He said, ‘I owe you guys an apology. You never treated me like a criminal, but I treated y’all’ — and he used a swear word. And he’s like, ‘Now I know what wonderful people you are and how kind you are.’ There have been some cool things like that,” Woodard said.
Photos by AUSTIN STEELE | The Times
New counters built by inmates sit on the first floor of the Hall County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 12.
‘I can’t say enough about the inmates that have worked. We’ve had county and state, and they’ve been wonderful. I feed them in pie.’ Stephanie Woodard Hall County solicitor
A Hall County inmate paints a door frame in a courtroom under construction on the third floor of the Hall County Courthouse.
The first floor of the Hall County Courthouse now features a new holding room, pictured.
Courthouse employees work in a newly finished area on the first floor of the Hall County Courthouse.
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CMYK Progress is a publication of The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |
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Sunday, March 24, 2019
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New system to offer more detailed crime stats BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@ gainesvilletimes.com Renters and real estate agents will soon be armed with more information when making housing decisions once the Hall County Sheriff’s Office finishes a feature for its website. Capt. Sean McCusker said the department was working on building out a module that would allow residents to learn more about crime statistics in an area. “A lot of Realtors ... they’ll call up and say, ‘What’s the crime for this subdivision?’ I would have to run a report, and it’d take me two or three hours to run it,” Lt. Stephanie Gilbert said. McCusker said the module would likely be finished by the end of March, though the date was tentative. The Sheriff’s Office is now a few months into its new records management system, which split from the Hall County Comprehensive Justice Information System. CJIS, which linked jail and arrest information to the Hall County court system, was first implemented in the 1980s. The Sheriff’s Office is now using Superion’s ONESolution Records Management System, Jail Management
System and Mobile Field Reporting. A recent open records request for violent gun crime took Gilbert more than a day to count and sort. With a move to a different reporting system, Gilbert’s counterparts were finished in five minutes pulling more recent data. Expanded categories in the new reporting system meant less sorting through old records. Since the initial rollout, there have been two updates to the records management system from the vendor. Gilbert said the Sheriff’s Office is in a three-month test phase of moving to incidentbased reporting as compared to uniform crime reporting. Much of what the FBI gathered for its previous crime analysis studies was uniform crime reporting, which only lists eight offense categories such as murder, rape and aggravated assault. “We should be knowing probably this month if we’re ready to go straight to (incident-based reporting), but the whole state has to go by January of 2021,” Gilbert said. Incident-based reporting will allow for more categories to be subdivided when investigating crime. For example, uniform crime
Left: Ryan Daly, a hit-andrun investigator with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, showcases his body camera Tuesday, March 5. Bottom left: The interior of a Hall County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle includes various equipment used to make records. Photos by AUSTIN STEELE The Times
reporting only allows for an “assault” report, while incident-based reporting lists different victim types such as police or spouses. “The FBI wanted everybody to move to IBR where we’re all capturing the same information and we’re reporting the same information,” Gilbert said.
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Progress is a publication of The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |
gainesvilletimes com
4-year-old Braselton hospital keeps growing By Megan Reed
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Road projects and new construction are not the only signs of growth in South Hall — Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton has been expanding, too. The hospital opened in April 2015, off of Friendship Road in a quickly growing area of South Hall near Jackson, Barrow and Gwinnett counties. Its reach has extended in to neighboring counties, too. The top four ZIP codes for patients in the last fiscal year, which ran from October 2017 to September 2018, were in Flowery Branch, Winder, Buford and Hoschton. And the hospital’s employees want NGMC Braselton to be a fixture in the community. “We have a three-quarter mile wellness walking trail that surrounds the campus. That trail was funded by employee donations. It actually allows our community to come to the campus, enjoy the walking trail. They might bring their pets, they might ride their bike. ... Then we invite them in to have lunch,” Kevin Matson, executive director of operations at NGMC Braselton, said. Matson said the hospital also reaches the community through its labor and delivery services, which provide patients with happy memories of the hospital. “Labor and delivery programs are very important in the community and to the hospital’s success because oftentimes, it can be the first introduction the community has to the hospital,” Matson said. “They develop wonderful memories of that time and they drive past the hospital, and they may not need our services for many years, but they remember that’s where my daughter was born, or that’s where my son was born.” The Braselton hospital has been delivering babies since September 2016 and since then, the hospital has seen almost 2,000 deliveries. By the end of the year, the hospital will have an expanded labor and delivery section with 22 additional post-partum beds. Tara Jernigan, NGMC Braselton’s chief nursing officer, also said she has spoken with patients who live in the community and want to be able to give birth near home. “Folks I talk to, especially young families, love Braselton and want to have their babies here. ... As this area has grown and more young families have moved in in this area, it offers
‘Folks I talk to, especially young families, love Braselton and want to have their babies here. ... As this area has grown and more young families have moved in in this area, it offers them another option for a place to deliver their baby.’ Tara Jernigan NGMC Braselton chief nursing officer them another option for a place to deliver their baby,” Jernigan said. Matson said the hospital is also considering an emergency department expansion. In its last fiscal year, the emergency department had almost 48,000 visits, compared to about 42,000 the year before that. Another expansion being planned is the addition of 24 acute care beds, a $12 million project. That expansion would start in July and finish by April 2020. An ambulatory surgery center, which would focus on general surgery, spine care and orthopedics, is also planned and has a tentative opening date of spring 2021. “Ambulatory surgery centers offer a unique way for hospitals to offer a high-quality surgery care but without all the cost that goes along with operating a surgery center inside a hospital,” Matson said. “This often allows for more cost-effective treatment for the patient as well.” Both the ambulatory surgery center and the bed expansion will have to be approved by the Georgia Department of Community Health, which evaluates proposals for new health care facilities through its Certificate of Need program. The ambulatory surgery center would be on the first floor of the new Medical Plaza 2 building, which would also house other medical offices and is expected to open at about the same time as the surgery center. NGMC Braselton will hear whether the surgery center was ap-
Above: Patients enter Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton on Friday, March 1. Left: Cafe 1400 at Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton offers space for staff and visitors to enjoy a meal. Below: A bed sits in an unoccupied patient room. Photos by AUSTIN STEELE The Times
proved by the state on March 25, according to Anthony Williamson, the hospital’s president. Williamson said another certificate of need the hospital has filed is for a second linear accelerator for radiation therapy. The hospital’s only machine is often in use because of the growth of the oncology program, he said. Braselton’s Heart Center moved from the first floor to the fifth floor in September 2018, doubling the amount of space for the facility. The hospital also plans to add a third catheterization lab by the end of the year for interventional cardiac care and hopes to achieve primary stroke designation by the end of the year.
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CMYK Progress is a publication of The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |
gainesvilletimes com
Sunday, March 24, 2019
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Progress is a publication of The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |
Sunday, March 24, 2019
gainesvilletimes com
Health system’s residency program starts this summer By Megan Reed
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com The Northeast Georgia Health System is expanding into Lumpkin County with a new hospital and forging a partnership with Habersham Medical Center. Expansions are also planned in Gainesville, with the first residents of a new graduate medical education program arriving in July.
AUSTIN STEELE | The Times
A SimMan, an advanced patient simulator, lays on a bed Friday, March 8, in a teaching space for graduate medical education at Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville.
Graduate medical education In July, 26 residents will arrive in Gainesville for the first year of the Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s graduate education program, which the Northeast Georgia Health System hopes will relieve a physician shortage in the region. The first group of residents will be specializing in either internal medicine or general surgery. Then, in July 2020, the program will welcome its first class of 12 family medicine residents. NGHS hopes training the next generation of physicians will encourage more doctors to stay in Northeast Georgia. About 75 percent of physicians end up practicing within 50 miles of their residency location, according to Dr. John Delzell, vice president of graduate medical education for NGHS and the designated institutional official for the GME program. “Georgia is an exporter of physicians. We train less physicians than we have retiring and moving to other places, so the physician population is growing slower than the general population of Georgia,” Delzell said. “That was a big driver of the system’s interest in it, because we know that 20 years from now, our whole service area would have a major problem in finding physicians to meet the patients’ needs.” Medical school graduates and soon-to-be-graduates learned they would be com-
SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
Heavy equipment levels the land along Jesse Jewell Parkway Thursday, March 7, as construction begins on the Northeast Georgia Health System’s new Medical Park 2 building.
pleting their three-year residencies at NGMC on March 15, the national “match day.” The match process pairs residents and programs that have ranked each other highly, said Donna Brown, director of GME. “We create a rank list of our top choices from those people who interviewed with us who we’re interested in hiring. Then in turn, the resident or the applicant will create a rank list as well of all the places that they’ve interviewed and their top choices,” Brown said. “That is put into a big system and a match is created based on that information. ... The medical student has to rank us on their list, and we have to rank them on our list in order for that person to land here.” In the fall, 208 people came to Gainesville to interview for an internal medicine residency, and 99 people interviewed for the surgery residency program. Those people were selected from 2,800 applications for internal medicine and 1,000 surgery applications. The GME program will be growing every year and is expected to level off at the maximum of about 200 residents
in about 2025, Delzell said. Several spaces at NGMC Gainesville have been renovated to accommodate the program, Brown said. Several classrooms have been built, and the largest one can accommodate 90 people, she said. Residents will also be able to go to on-site call rooms if they are on-call overnight or need a place to rest before driving home. A simulation lab will also be used for training the residents. About 50 faculty members, who are local physicians, will be working with the residents as teachers and mentors. Residents will do rotations at NGMC Braselton and community clinics.
Medical Park 2 To create more space for the GME program, NGHS is building a Medical Park 2 facility near the existing Medical Park 1 building on Jesse Jewell Parkway. The building will house a 25,000-square-foot family medicine practice where residents will work with physicians to care for everyone from babies to seniors, said Dr. Monica Newton, the program director for the GME
family medicine program and the chair of primary and urgent care for Northeast Georgia Physicians Group. The practice will see about 45,000 patients a year, she said. Family medicine residents will also go to community clinics, free clinics, local health departments and more rural communities including Hiawassee to get experience working with different populations, Newton said. “It’s not just focused on the patients you see, that come to the door of your practice, but thinking about those you’re not seeing and how to impact those,” she said. Newton said she hopes residents can learn about continuity by working with many of the same patients over their three-year residency. Medical Park 2 will be finished in May or June 2020, in time for family medicine residents to start that July, said Daniel Tuffy, president of Northeast Georgia Physicians Group. Tuffy said the building will also have other physicians’ offices, as the health system is already short on space to offer doctors for their practices. “We are running out of
space as is. ... This is a net new building with the primary function of supporting our residency program,” Tuffy said. When the building is fully functional three or four years after opening, Tuffy said it is expected to see about 400 patients a day. The building will be about 70,000 square feet, compared to Medical Park 1, which is 88,000 square feet, according to Rudy Lonergan, director of facilities development for NGHS.
Other NGHS expansions Plans for Northeast Georgia Medical Center Lumpkin were announced in February. NGHS will open an emergency department at the former Chestatee Regional Hospital site in July and will later open a new hospital in Lumpkin, tentatively in 2022. Chestatee Regional closed in July 2018. The temporary hospital at that site will have an emergency room, inpatient beds and imaging services. NGHS already owns a 57acre property off of Ga. 400 near the intersection with Ga. 60 in Dahlonega that will be built into the permanent NGMC Lumpkin. NGHS is leasing the Chestatee Regional property from the University System Georgia Board of Regents. The University of North Georgia hopes to relocate some of its health sciences programs to the building once it is vacated. Also, later in February, the health system announced a partnership between NGMC Gainesville and Habersham Medical Center, a 53-bed hospital in Demorest. Start-
ing July 1, physicians that serve NGMC Gainesville will extend their coverage to Habersham. A partnership between the two hospitals had been in discussion for several years.
Veran Lung Navigation The health system has also acquired two Veran Lung Systems, one in Gainesville and one in Braselton, which can help detect lung cancer. Dr. Kimtuyen Nguyen, a physician with Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists of Northeast Georgia, performed the Braselton hospital’s first navigational bronchoscopy in November. Nguyen said the navigation system allows physicians to diagnose and stage lung cancer at the same time. Previously, biopsies of tissue had to be obtained by going through the chest wall. The new technology is less invasive and uses a scope put in through the mouth that goes down through the lungs, allowing access to the tissue without having to go through the chest wall. “I’m really excited about it, and I’m also excited for the surgeons to be able to localize the nodule and make their surgery more precise,” Nguyen said. The system allows for biopsies on tissue that may not have been reachable before, making early diagnosis easier. “If lung cancer is diagnosed at stage 3 or stage 4, the five-year survival rate is 15 percent. With early detection, there is 80 percent survival at 10 years,” Jayme Carrico, executive director of oncology services for NGHS, said.
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Sunday, March 24, 2019
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Progress is a publication of The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |
Sunday, March 24, 2019
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Parks systems look ahead at master plans, projects By Megan Reed
another public meeting for the community to comment on the plan when it is complete, likely in May, Cooper said. The city is also looking for a site for a new youth sports complex that will be named after Cooper. Plans for the complex include six baseball fields, batting cages, a playground and pavilion, trails, and two fields that could be used for soccer, football or lacrosse.
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com The theme of the year for recreation has been connectivity. Trails were the top request in surveys and at public meetings conducted by the city of Gainesville and Hall County. The Highlands to Islands Trail, a planned countywide network of multi-use trails and side paths along roads in Gainesville and South Hall, already has some portions open. And in February, the Gainesville-Hall Metropolitan Planning Organization approved a study that outlines the route for those trails. While the Highlands to Islands Trail is not a county or city parks project, both parks departments are working on other projects and parks that will keep people active, whether outdoors or inside at a community center.
Hall County Trails and green space were also the top requested amenities in Hall County’s parks master plan meetings and survey, said Mike Little, Hall’s parks director. “I think it’s self-guided recreation that people enjoy,” Little said. Both the city and county began seeking public input on their master plans in late 2018 and early 2019. The county hopes to reopen Murrayville Park, which closed in 2011 because of budget cuts during the economic recession. Little said that $1.5 million in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funding has been set aside for the project, but no timeline has been set. The reopened Murrayville Park is expected to have tennis courts, a new playground, restored baseball and multi-use fields and a small walking trail. Tadmore Park, also closed during 2011 cuts, is now only open for some scheduled events. Little said the county hopes to restore the restrooms and playground and open the park soon. Another park that closed in 2011 reopened in July 2018 — Platt Park in South Hall. Little said the park on E. Reed Road in Gainesville has stayed busy. “The baseball and softball fields are being used extensively. It’s slowed a little bit with the weather, but people are really enjoying the pavilion,” Little said. Next on the agenda is some improvements at River Forks Park, including new equipment at two playgrounds expected in July. The biggest project on tap, though, is Healan’s Head’s Mill in Lula, which the county is working to restore and turn into a 100-acre park with trails and a history center. The timeline for that park will depend on funding — the money will come from fundraising by a community committee and grants the county receives.
Gainesville Longtime Gainesville parks director Melvin Cooper will be retiring in May after 47 years with the city. The Gainesville Parks and Recreation Board has named one finalist, Kate Mattison, a recreation administrator in Ohio, for the position, although the decision has not been finalized. But Cooper and the parks staff have still been busy with several projects. Construction is set to begin in July for a skate park at High and Pine streets in midtown Gainesville. The park will include ramps, pipes, drops and bowls and was designed by Wally Hollyday, a California-based skate park designer. The approximately 20,000- square-foot skate park is expected to open in early 2020, Cooper said. The $1.5 million project will be funded by impact fees, one-time fees the city charges for new construction. Also starting in July is an $850,000 improvement project in Gainesville City Park, near the Gainesville Civic Center. The park will get a new concessions stand, pavilion and playground, and those additions should be ready in December, Cooper said. The city is finishing its parks master plan, which will guide the department through 2030. More than 1,600 people took an online survey, and the city also held a meeting for public input. People requested more green space and trails, Cooper said. There will be
Above: Myers Elementary students prepare to board the Chota Princess II Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, at River Forks Park during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Lake Lanier Aquatic Learning Center boathouse and two-slip dock at the park. Left: Hall County is continuing restoration of Healan’s Mill. Below: A large pavilion in Platt Park was part of the renovations for guests when it reopened July 31, 2018. The park closed in 2011 because of county budget cuts but now has additional picnic tables and upgraded playground equipment. Platt Park is the first county park with designated pickleball courts. Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
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Progress
Education | Sunday, March 24, 2019
A publication of
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Sunday, March 24, 2019
Progress is a publication of The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |
gainesvilletimes com
Brenau’s course holds steady amid leadership shift BY JOSHUA SILAVENT jsilavent@ gainesvilletimes.com
‘When you’ve had a good time and sort of accomplished the things you have set out to do, you don’t want to let go.’
Brenau University President Ed Schrader has focused his 15-year tenure on growing the school’s enrollment and curriculum, whether online or at satellite campuses, through international partnerships or at the Women’s College in Gainesville. That makes success for his replacement a matter of solidifying these changes Ed Schrader for a new generation of stuBrenau University dents. As Schrader said re- president cently, his successor will students, with construction be charged with “quality likely in mid-2020. enhancement,” and that Brenau is also looking to takes a new personality. acquire the U.S. Postal SerSchrader will remain in vice office on Green Street an advisory role after he near downtown Gainesretires at the end of 2019, ville, which abuts the cambut he expects the next pus. president to be on the job The property is officially this summer. That’ll give for sale after years of specSchrader time to work with ulation and more than a the school’s new leader- little expectation. ship, particularly when it Schrader told The Times comes to making introduc- that the university was in tions to key donors its “due diligence and collaborators. period” in early “This is a comMarch, which inplex school,” cluded inspections Schrader said, of the property. Schrader told If acquired, The Times in early plans for expanMarch that the sion include recandidate pool had modeling the been narrowed space, including from about 100 ap- Schrader closing the Green plicants to the best Street access, re10 profiles. furbishing the inside and A search committee has adding a new outside fabegun interviewing and çade with major landscapvetting the finalists. ing changes. Under Schrader’s leadSchrader said he imagership, the university’s ines the space could best budget has nearly tripled be used as a student activito $65 million while its en- ties center, replete with a dowment has increased to health clinic, and a new more than $51 million from home for the college of $26.3 million. education. Meanwhile, student A redesign of Brenau’s enrollment has nearly flagship Women’s College doubled to 4,000, and the was announced in Decemuniversity’s 6,500-piece art ber 2018, and includes a collection has grown to an graduate program for exestimated value of $8.3 mil- ecutive women seeking a lion. master’s degree in business Brenau has added administration. campuses in Fairburn, Other academic changes Norcross, Augusta and will include gender-foJacksonville, Fla., since cused training for faculty, Schrader joined the uni- individual career planning, versity. portfolio development and And the university has mentoring for each stulaunched three doctoral dent, along with speakers, programs during Schrad- capstone courses, seminars er’s tenure — nursing prac- and more. tice, occupational therapy Meanwhile, Brenau is and physical therapy — also taking on a new role and in 2019 it will add a with its acquisition of a doctorate of education pro- business incubator from gram. Lanier Technical College. Health sciences educa“Our charge is to take the tion has been a particular traditional approach with area of growth, and with a business incubator and a other degrees available in university,” Schrader said. nursing, psychology and “We want to help start new gerontology, for example, businesses that will even“that essentially covers tually go public and fly on every field of health care their own wings.” other than an M.D. that The switch made sense, you’d have at a medical Schrader added, given that school,” Schrader said. Lanier Tech’s mission is Growth in these fields of to develop the labor force study has driven demand for specific industries in for new and renovated Northeast Georgia. space to support enrollThe incubator, on the ment. other hand, is aimed at supBrenau University re- porting the initiatives of cently completed con- entrepreneurs – potential struction of a state-of-the- job creators – and provides art nursing simulation mentoring and networking laboratory on its campus at its new location within in Norcross. Program of- the Featherbone Comficials say the lab will be muniversity on EE Butler utilized primarily by stu- Parkway, where Brenau dents in Brenau’s Acceler- houses its nursing and ocated Bachelor of Science in cupational therapy classes. Nursing program. The lab As Schrader continues includes five patient rooms his transition out of the all mocked up to look ex- presidency, he said he actly like hospital rooms, plans to remain an integral according to ABSN pro- part of the ties he’s helped gram coordinator Laura the university establish Hart. with partner schools in Schrader said the univer- China and the growing insity is working to have plans ternational student body drawn up for a second-floor that has resulted from it. But, as Schrader told The addition to the Brenau Downtown Center to sup- Times in his retirement port the physician assistant announcement, “When you’ve had a good time and program, for example. That could be a $4 mil- sort of accomplished the lion project to serve be- things you have set out to tween 80-120 graduate do, you don’t want to let go.”
AUSTIN STEELE | The Times
Student enrollment has nearly doubled to 4,000 at Brenau University.
SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
Visitors gather at Lanier Technical College on Oct. 19, 2018, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new campus.
Lanier Tech looks to the future with new campus BY JOSHUA SILAVENT jsilavent@ gainesvilletimes.com
Lanier Technical College may not be the forerunner for development in North Hall along Ga. 365, but the opening of its new campus in the area this year does fit in well with what’s already established. The nearby Gateway Industrial Centre business park, for example, presents a direct link between the school’s mission and the working world where it’s realized. Lanier Tech even partners with companies like Kubota Manufacturing, which is located in the Industrial Centre. Ray Perren can stand tall after overseeing the construction of the $150 million, 335,000-square-foot campus. “I’m feeling very good ... especially when you think of the scope of what we did,” he said. The school has seen a 16 percent increase in enrollment over the last year as the promise of its new campus came to fruition. More than 3,000 students now attend classes on the Hall campus. Lanier Tech also has campuses in Dawson, Forsyth, Barrow and Jackson counties. Located on 95 acres, more than double the size of the college’s former location, construction of the new campus began in September 2016. Lanier Tech’s main campus had been located off Mundy Mill Road in Oakwood since the 1970s, with classes first beginning in 1966 and held in local schools, churches and civic buildings. The campus is the first newly constructed techni-
AUSTIN STEELE | The Times
The new Lanier Tech includes a 40,000-square-foot conference center with a 20,000-squarefoot ballroom that will seat 750 “banquet style” and 1,500 people “theater style.”
cal college campus since the formation in 2007 of the Technical College System of Georgia, which includes 22 colleges. The new campus includes six buildings for technical education instruction, including an economic development and campus support building, instructional building, and an administration building and student center. It also includes a 40,000-square-foot conference center with a 20,000-square-foot ballroom that will seat 750 “banquet style” and 1,500 people “theater style.” The new campus offers Lanier Tech’s 45 existing programs, but the space allows for targeted expansion, Perren said. The welding program is growing rapidly in enrollment, for example, and plans to enlarge the culinary arts program will include a full commercial kitchen for stu-
dent lab work. New programs include construction management and marine engine technology, which will open in the fall. “We’re just thrilled about that new program,” Perren said. The campus is also developing outdoor instructional space, including a commercial truck driving range and a burn tower for fire science instruction, plus a race car driving pit. It gives students “as close to real world experience as they possibly can get,” Perren said. And a nursing program, which has featured licensed practical curriculum since the school’s founding in the 1960s, is now growing to an associate degree. The new campus also serves as a model for growth at other state technical colleges. Perren said he has been called upon by West Georgia
Technical College about its plans for growth. “We’ve been working with them to guide them along,” he added. Though settled into its own future, Lanier Tech’s focus is unchanged. “Our mission remains workforce development,” Perren said. Lanier Tech graduated more than 1,400 students last year, a school record. And for three consecutive years, 100 percent of graduates are working in their field of study within 12 months, or are continuing their studies. The new campus can ultimately accommodate more than 5,000 students. Perren said he expects the college to also help spur continued commercial and residential growth in North Hall. “When we built the campus in Oakwood, there was nothing there,” Perren said by comparison. “Fifty years later, you see what it is.”
UNG’s Gainesville campus growing rapidly BY JOSHUA SILAVENT jsilavent@ gainesvilletimes.com
Six years after the birth of the University of North Georgia from the consolidation of North Georgia College & State University and Gainesville State College, commercial and residential growth is booming around the Hall County campus. UNG was one of four recommended institution consolidations, and the only one in North Georgia. UNG now serves students at five campuses in Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega, Watkinsville and the Gainesville area. Enrollment growth since the merger has been evident in undergraduate programs, such as nursing, education, communications and business management, while graduate-level and dualenrollment courses for high school students has also grown dramatically. UNG has also seen more interest in programs with ties to local industry and job demands, as well as a cybersecurity curriculum that helps continue the school’s legacy as a top military college with its Dahlonega campus. And like UNG’s cyber education program, the university’s Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis has earned prestigious honors, and expanding this program is a priority for officials. Much of the university’s growth has centered in Hall, however. “There’s something really interesting about the Gainesville campus,” said UNG President Bonita Jacobs. For a non-residential campus, the student body
SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
The vacated space of the former Lanier Technical College will be used by nearby University of North Georgia.
is “very engaged,” Jacobs added, with dozens of clubs and student organizations, on-campus activities and events, and plans for expansion of facilities. UNG’s Gainesville campus has also benefited from a growing Latino student demographic that Jacobs describes as a “very, very vibrant population.” Jacobs said UNG is increasing its faculty and student affairs offices to bolster its work with multicultural students, such as those from migrant-working and immigrant families. According to a report released in December 2018, the University of North Georgia, across its five campuses and online programs, had an estimated $620 million economic impact on Northeast Georgia in the 2017 fiscal year. The study measures direct and indirect spending that contributes to the university’s service region. And it’s these potential long-term benefits — the direct impact of jobs and benefits and spending from UNG’s employment — that has officials at UNG focusing on future growth and development. The university’s approximately 19,000 students spent
an estimated $248 million in the 2017 fiscal year, helping spur the creation of 3,721 jobs across a 17-county region, which extends from Gwinnett, Hall and Forsyth on the southern end, east to Clarke and Oconee counties, and north to Habersham and Lumpkin counties. UNG also had a regional employment impact of 6,769 jobs, the study reports. The employment impact includes on-campus positions and off-campus jobs that exist because of the institution. This growth has produced a steady stream of rezoning applications, particularly for private student housing development, in the last year around the Gainesville campus. A 348-unit apartment complex off Mundy Mill Road got the Oakwood City Council’s first approval in November, for example. Other projects, including townhomes, have also been linked to the student growth at UNG. Student growth at UNG is affecting area retail. The area already boasts a number of fast-food restaurants and coffee places. Jacobs said the Gainesville campus is poised for the strongest amount of growth,
with 8,100 students currently and 75 percent attending full time. And with the relocation of Lanier Technical College from a campus adjacent to UNG-Gainesville, more growth is coming to the school. UNG projects its enrollment at all campuses will reach 22,950 students by 2025, a 33 percent increase from the current figure, with the Gainesville campus leading the way. UNG plans to use the Lanier Tech space for disciplines such as geospatial sciences, film and digital media, nursing, visual arts and the office of information technology. UNG hopes to have the Lanier Tech space occupied by August. The acquisition also provides an additional 600 parking spaces. UNG is also exploring ways to expand its performing arts through the Gainesville Theatre Alliance, as well as music programs, according to Kate Maine, chief of staff for UNG. Renovations are scheduled for completion in 2020, and UNG is using more than $13 million in state funds to plan, build out and equip the new space. UNG has had “such an incredibly supportive legislative delegation for the region,” Jacobs said. The renovation of the Lanier Tech space will have a “ripple effect,” Jacobs said, and it is already leading officials to plan for an expansion of the student center on the Gainesville campus. “They come to campus and stay on campus,” Maine said of UNG-Gainesville’s unique student body. “That’s a top priority.”
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Lakeview Academy has big shoes to fill with Kennedy’s departure BY JOSHUA SILAVENT jsilavent@ gainesvilletimes.com
SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
Retired U.S. Army Col. Stanley C. “Stas” Preczewski, answers questions from faculty and staff members of Riverside Military Academy on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. Preczewski was announced as the private Gainesville school’s new president during the event.
Riverside Military Academy’s growth now in hands of new leadership By Joshua Silavent jsilavent@ gainesvilletimes.com
Riverside Military Academy had a few things going its way in regard to its transition to a new president. First, the man tapped to lead the college preparatory school in Gainesville for the next several years was no stranger to the military, academic leadership or the academy itself. “It’s not as complicated as it could be,” said Lt. Col. James Corbin, vice president of enrollment management at Riverside. “He is exceedingly qualified.” The hiring of retired U.S. Army Col. Stanley C. “Stas” Preczewski last fall from Georgia Gwinnett College, where he had served as president since 2014, was a coup of sorts. He had served as a trustee for the academy for three years, establishing a presence at the school when the opportunity to lead it wasn’t yet in the stars. Corbin said Riverside was “sensitive” to the needs of Gwinnett College as Riversie lured Preczewski away, and wanted to make sure he was able to leave there in good standing. Preczewski was “very much attuned to the strengths and opportunities” at Riverside, Corbin said. Preczewski served 26 years in the United States Army, retiring in 2006. His awards and decorations include two Legion of Merit awards, four Meritorious Service Medals and the Army Commendation Medal, among others. When he was hired, Preczewski told The Times his experience at Georgia Gwinnett allowed him to see what kinds of students K-12 school systems are producing, and his move to Riverside now allows him the opportunity to educate students about what is required of them when they matriculate to a liberal arts college, trade school or the military. “Leadership at any level … the principles are the same in terms of resource management, allocation, strategic guidance and vision,” Preczewski said. “That’s all the same.” Preczewski was on a “listening tour” these last few months, learning more about Riverside, its culture and mission, until he finally took the reins March 1. He has met individually with stakeholders to get a feel for the school’s culture and “hit the ground running,” Corbin said. Corbin and other Riverside leaders handling the transition described an interim period that saw the academy set enrollment records, add new curriculum and establish new feats in athletics. As of early March, Riverside was on pace to exceed its all-time record in scholarship awards for a graduating class with $5.9 million already earned by about 100 cadets in 2019. “We think we’re going to smoke it,” Corbin said.
‘Leadership at any level ... the principles are the same in terms of resource management, allocation, strategic guidance and vision. That’s all the same.’ U.S. Army Col. Stanley C. “Stas” Preczewski Riverside Military Academy president Every senior on the football team has some scholarship offer to play at the collegiate level, including standout wide receiver Khalid Duke, who plans to attend Kansas State University. And at least three students will be attending a college service academy, such as the Army, Navy or Air Force, next fall. That’s about on par with the yearly average, but that speaks to the school’s traditions. Teaching the art of leadership and responsibility, however, requires staying true to the needs of modern youth. It’s what keeps the influence from waning “because of the important role (students) are ready to take in their communities and homes,” Corbin said. In the last few years, the school has focused more instructional attention on science, technology, engineering and math education, and has continued to expand its public speakers’ program. But school leaders are getting even more creative. Offered as an elective course, students can receive real-world experience and build independence by learning how to grill a steak, tie a bowtie, escort a woman, change the oil and a tire on a car, read an apartment lease, hang a door, balance a checkbook and exercise phone courtesy, among other skills. The practical experience is coupled with seminars in leadership and service training, as well as historical profiles that exemplify physical and moral courage. An evolving video production course is also popular among students, who are given the opportunity to create weekly new shows and long-form features about school and campus life, Corbin said. “It’s really cool to see what they’re doing,” Corbin said. Riverside currently has students from 30 different countries and 30 U.S. states. But, that’s nothing new. It’s just one more reminder of its legacy and traditions. “Diversity remains one of our greatest strengths,” Corbin said.
Lakeview Academy, a private college preparatory school in Gainesville, is in the midst of a leadership change as Head of School John P. Kennedy prepares to depart at the end of this academic year. John Simpson will serve as interim head of school for the 2019-2020 school year. Simpson is Lakeview’s co-assistant head of school, but he has indicated he will not be a candidate for the permanent position. Lakeview has engaged search firm Carney Sandoe and Associates to guide its pursuit of the next head of school. The school hopes to select a permanent head by the end of 2019, with the aim of installing the candidate by the start of the 2020 school year. It’s been a productive nineyear tenure for Kennedy, who has overseen significant growth in enrollment and facilities expansion. “Under his watch, Lakeview has strengthened its reputation as a first-class private school serving youth and families throughout the Northeast Georgia region,” Clay Eubanks, chair of the board of trustees, said in a news release in January. Kennedy’s contributions have included doubling the fine arts program, a particular passion of his, and strengthening the Spanish program. He’s also worked with school officials and the board to add more robust mathematics curriculum and talented faculty. Under his guidance, Kennedy has expanded the focus on technology, such as engineering and robotics courses, while also growing virtual learning opportunities. “I’m feeling pride,” Kennedy said. “What I’m most proud of here is how we’ve added so many new programs, especially robotics and technology.” Kennedy also oversaw the school’s recent $3 million capital fundraising campaign, which helped develop a new middle school building in 2017. The school also cut its debt in half and tripled its endowment. The results showed as enrollment and graduation numbers grew, with more than 60 annually heading off to colleges and universities. This year, the school will graduate more than 60 seniors, about 20 of whom received earlier admissions acceptance to the University of Georgia. But this graduating class will be heading to great colleges and universities “all over the country,” Kennedy said. And they have a lot to live up to after Dhruv Gaur, a Brown University student who attended Lakeview Academy, was the “Jeopardy!” college champion in 2018, winning a cool $100,000. This spring, Kennedy’s youngest son will graduate from Lakeview, as his oldest son previously did, and attend DePaul University in Chicago. So, it made sense for he and his wife to move on and explore other professional opportunities, Kennedy said. “It’s time to step back,” he added. Kennedy said he has confidence in a strong board of trustees, “people with real vision,” as well as donors and community partners who will help define Lakeview’s vision for the next five or 10 years. “Instead of top-down, this one is going to come from the community,” he said of future plans for expansion or new curriculum at the school. Kennedy said the demands of modern education are changing and “a new set of eyes” will serve Lakeview well going forward. It’s been a banner year for Lakeview in many regards, with the girls’ basketball team placing fifth in the state, a robotics team competing at the state level again, and regional winners in literary competitions. “It’s been a really good, diverse group of students,” Kennedy said. The school has also added mentors at the elementary,
SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
Lakeview Academy Head of School John Kennedy welcomes students to the first day of classes Tuesday Aug. 21, 2018.
middle and high school grades over the past few years. “We now have learning support for the students,” Kennedy said, adding that these supports exist for students with dyslexia and other learning challenges. The 2019 graduation is scheduled for May 18, which Kennedy describes as “one of the great traditions” and
one of the things he’ll miss the most. Kennedy said he’ll also miss his colleagues, including the school’s longest tenured educator, Michael McCann, who is retiring at the end of the school year. “He’s one of those irreplaceable guys,” Kennedy said. Looking forward, Lakeview’s growth will be influ-
enced by its new leader. But old dreams like an access road off Limestone Parkway and upgrades to football and other athletics facilities might still hold sway. At the end of the day, the sky’s the limit. “It’s the strength we have in being a smaller school,” Kennedy said.
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hall county schools
District continues building dual-enrollment options Officials also focused on growth, secure tax funding AUSTIN STEELE | The Times
Students work Tuesday, March 19, in the media center, which will become a part of the part of the Student Success Center, at Gainesville High School.
Gainesville City Schools
System makes plans for more student services, school security BY JOSHUA SILAVENT
other initiatives, such as a minority teacher recruitment plan. Its first cohort this year includes former Officials with Gainesville Gainesville High graduates City Schools are serving the and current paraprofesacademic health of students sionals. with a major services ini“It’s a good range and a ditiative that, after a year or verse staff that reflects our more of planning, is begin- population and will help us ning to come to fruition. serve the future,” Williams “Sometimes you have a said. vision, but you don’t have all And the expansion of Prethe details yet,” Superinten- K to all elementary schools dent Jeremy Williams said. this academic year has been A new Student Success so successful that additional Center will open on the classes are likely next year Gainesville High campus as waiting lists grow longer, in the 2019-20 school year, Williams said. and its mission is to Meanwhile, a “wraparound” stumajor focus over dents with services the next 12 months including: mentors, will be selling the behavioral and voting public on a mental health supnew round of the port, college and special purpose locareer activities cal option sales tax as well as a food to fund the expanpantry and clothsion of schools and ing closet. A food Williams facilities. pantry is also availA second midable at Enota Multiple Intel- dle school, a junior high ligences Academy. school for eighth- and ninth“It’s going to be a pretty graders, and a second high big undertaking,” Williams school for the Gainesville said. City School System have Other key components of been identified by parents the initiative include youth and teachers as some of the mental health first aid train- biggest spending priorities if ing, which gives teachers voters approve a new round and administrators the tools of the one-penny sales tax in to identify students in need November 2020. and connect them with reThe current E-SPLOST, sources. which was approved in 2015 It also includes a nearly with 74 percent of voter sup$3 million literacy grant pro- port, is projected to bring in gram, which entails distrib- $6 million to $7 million anuting books to local barber nually for Gainesville City shops where kids and fami- Schools over the five-year lies are encouraged to read. life of the tax (until 2022). For many educators, The first collections began “wraparound” services last fall. come part and parcel with The school system has improved safety and secu- allocated this revenue to rity in schools by providing pay off construction of the additional counseling and Mundy Mill Academy and support for basic needs. new Enota Multiple IntelEach public school in the ligences Academy, among state is poised to receive other things. $30,000 to improve secuThe “One Gainesville” rity measures on campuses concept, in which students after the Georgia House of from six elementary schools Representatives approved a funnel into one middle and mid-year budget adjustment one high school in the Red on Feb. 8. Elephant universe, is a point Lawmakers OK’d spend- of pride and tradition for the ing $192 million more for community. the current 2019 fiscal Gainesville Middle has an year thanks to better-than- enrollment of about 1,850 expected revenues, and the students. Gainesville High funding also supports ongo- has an enrollment of about ing disaster relief efforts in 2,150 students. South Georgia for farmers And the prospect of adddevastated by Hurricane ing another middle or high Michael last fall. school has many implicaThe one-time allocation tions, some good and some adds up to about $70 million potentially problematic. for Georgia’s 2,294 public For example, adding one schools. of each could open more But other state funding opportunities for students has given Gainesville City to participate in sports and Schools about $240,000 for school clubs that are curall security upgrades at the rently limited in size. district’s six elementary Then again, it may mean schools, middle and high that Gainesville has middle school. and high schools competing Williams said the school against one another. district is in the process of A junior high may be a installing card readers on compromise, but it may nearly every exterior door, not be the best solution long while also looking to furnish term. All that remains to be all main school offices with decided. lockdown technology and Williams said meetings buzzers to allow visitors in with governance councils, and out. board members and other Williams said a particular stakeholders will be held in focus of upgrades was being April as well as follow-ups directed at local elemen- with the public who particitary schools and Gainesville pated in “listening sessions” Middle. about the E-SPLOST camAnd improvements to the paign last fall. expansive Gainesville High Additional E-SPLOST campus, such as monitoring projects could include deaccess from the many points veloping full-size gymnaof entry, will also be a focus siums at three elementary requiring some of this new schools: Centennial Arts funding, Williams said. Academy, Gainesville Ex“We’ll be looking at solu- ploration Academy and tions like closing down those New Holland Knowledge buildings during class,” he Academy. added. “Our target is to have our In the last year, Gaines- core plan (and project list) a ville City Schools has suc- year before the vote,” Wilcessfully implemented liams said. jsilavent@ gainesvilletimes.com
By Joshua Silavent
jsilavent@gainesvilletimes.com This time last year, Hall County Schools was putting the finishing touches on renovations to a campus in South Hall that would become the home of Cherokee Bluff middle and high school for the 2018-19 academic year. It was a big addition that affected many as schools in South Hall were shuffled. Flowery Branch High had been moved to the Spout Springs Road location as overcrowding became a problem; C.W. Davis Middle moved into the former Flowery Branch High grounds; South Hall Middle to the former Davis Middle campus; and the old South Hall Middle location hosted the Academies of Discovery. But with renovations complete for Cherokee Bluff, South Hall Middle moved back home next to Johnson SCOTT ROGERS | The Times High and was joined by the Early College students pass time in the lounge area of the school. Hall County Schools is World Language Academy planning to pump about $800,000 into renovations and upgrades at the Early College at middle-schoolers and the Da Jones facility in the Chicopee Mill area of Gainesville as enrollment continues to surge. Vinci Academy. This allowed Davis Middle There is also a need for — grew to 20.72 percent for funding from the state’s midto revert to its old campus, more secure sources of fund- the current 2019 fiscal year year budget adjustment made Flowery Branch High to come ing. Schofield and school from 19.7 percent in the 2014 in February to support secuhome, and it opened space at board members have urged fiscal year.But that figure was rity upgrades. the Spout Springs lostate lawmakers around just 9 percent in 2000. Adding security cameras at cation for Cherokee from Hall County, There are exemptions all elementary schools is high Bluff middle and and the general pub- available, such as for disabled on the priority list, Schofield high schools. lic, to consider the veterans, surviving spouses of said, as is expanding quickBut Cherokee impact tax exemp- firefighters, and for agricul- alert systems, which have Bluff has many needs tions are having on ture and conservation. been installed at Johnson going forward, and the school system’s Senior citizens, however, High and the cluster of schools Hall Schools Superbudget. account for the largest share located around it. intendent Will SchoThe number of of residents exempt from The mid-year budget adfield said the middle property tax exemp- school taxes. justment also includes $8 school will need its Schofield tions for certain It’s an issue Schofield said million for mental health own, independent qualified residents, requires good-faith dialogue. resources in high schools as space sooner rather than later and the corresponding loss of Of course, improving more and more districts look as enrollment surges in South revenue for local school dis- school security is always on to provide support services Hall. tricts, continues to grow year the docket. But doing so took for students and their famiMeanwhile, Hall County after year. on increased urgency in the lies. Schools is planning to pump In Hall County, the per- last year following a deadly “It’s another one of those about $800,000 into renova- centage of tax exemptions as shooting at a high school in issues that whatever is protions and upgrades at the a share of the gross tax digest Florida in February 2018. vided is appreciated, but it’ll Early College at Jones facil- — or all taxable properties Hall County will receive never be enough,” Schofield ity in the Chicopee Mill area in the county school district about $1.1 million in added said. of Gainesville as enrollment continues to surge. The dual-enrollment school, which partners with Brenau University, the University of North Georgia and Lanier Technical College, allows Hall students to earn college credit as they complete a high school diploma. The facility also houses the Newcomer Academy, which serves as an intensive immersion program for immigrant students of high school age. Students there have a 95 percent pass rate, Schofield said, and 50 percent earn postsecondary credits. Moreover, Early College serves many first-generation college students, Schofield said. But significant improvements are needed to continue to meet Early College’s mission and growing student body. For example, funding approved in early 2019 by the board of education, which For their comes from special purpose local option sales tax revenue, is allocated for renovations to eight classrooms, including additional technology, marker boards, furniture and other materials. Plans are set to convert the cafeteria into a modern student center, Schofield said. The converted multifunction space will also allow Early College to better accommodate parent-teacher meetings and other afterschool events. The gymnasium also needs refurbishing, such as new LED lighting, a sound system, YO U H AV E U S to take and other audio and visual care of all of them – eyes, equipment. Finally, Early College does ears, mouth and nose. not have space or capacity to offer college-level “hard sciences” courses, Schofield said, such as biology, chemistry and physics. But the new funding will allow for the construction of a fully operational science laboratory, with the potential to also establish a community clinic to both train students and serve the public. Schofield described it as one of the “most exciting projects I’ve seen in my 30 years of education.” He anticipates new course offerings resultGainesville | Buford | Braselton | Oakwood | Baldwin ing from these renovations to launch in the fall of 2019. Ad5 Locations | 1 Near You ditional facilities needed also 770-214-4938 | longstreetclinic.com include a new athletic fieldhouse at Johnson High, plus an addition to its band room, Schofield said.
LONGSTREETCLINIC Pediatrics
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Growth & development | Sunday, March 24, 2019
Gainesville’s core expanding City focuses on growth downtown, connecting to other parts of city By Megan Reed
mreed@gainesvilletimes.com Change is coming to downtown Gainesville — and that’s not just the square. City spokeswoman Nikki Perry said officials want to market downtown as more than just the four sides of the square. “The connectivity between different parts of downtown, the Brenau historic district and Green Street, the Longwood Park area, midtown — all that is downtown according to our master plan and our comprehensive plan. ... There’s lots of opportunity and activity all over downtown,” Perry said. “It’s not all just happening on the square. While that is the heart of our downtown and that is where the most activity will always be by nature, I think connecting those other areas and changing the perception that people have of downtown is very important to the future of downtown.” Parkside on the Square, a multi-use development is set to break ground later this year and change the face of the square itself. Parkside will have 32 condominiums — bringing residents to the square — as well as retail and restaurants on the first floor. City Manager Bryan Lackey said having people living on the square can keep the area busier on the nights and weekends, not just during the day when workers are nearby. While progress has been made with offering more nightlife on the square, Parkside will help boost that goal, he said. “Our master plan talks about wanting to have more rooftops, more 24/7 presence downtown, to bring people in,” Lackey said. “Traditionally, the square has been a daytime type of place with lots of activity during the day.” Another development coming to downtown is Carroll Daniel Construction’s new headquarters at the corner of Jesse Jewell Parkway and Main Street. The 60,000-square-foot building will have leasable space for retail, restaurants or offices on the first floor. The company plans to move in in August, President and CEO Brian Daniel said. On March 5, employees signed a steel beam to commemorate the “topping out” of the building, meaning the building is structurally complete and brick and glass can now go up. Carroll Daniel has been in its current building on Athens Street since the 1940s, and Daniel said the company wanted to stay in Gainesville. Downtown seemed like a good fit. “As we began to search for places that could handle the growth that we had and the need for extra space, we just realized that that downtown area was where we wanted to be,” Daniel said. “It’s vibrant and growing, and there are ■■Please see DOWNTOWN, 3PC
Inside ■■ Gainesville still looks toward midtown growth, works to market city properties ■■ Development booms around University of North Georgia campus in Oakwood ■■ Apartment plans provide for new growth in Flowery Branch
SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
Development of downtown Gainesville continues March 18, on the Carroll Daniel headquarters building at 330 Main St.
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City’s properties could spur growth in midtown By Megan Reed
mreed@gainesviletimes.com
Revitalization efforts for midtown Gainesville may include moving the Gainesville Midland.
‘The whole plan for this area just sounds like it’s going to grow. More businesses have been coming in recently. ... People are talking this area up.’ Andrew Elliott,
co-owner of The Inked Pig developed. The city paid the county about $7 million for the land, and the jail was demolished in 2017. The city has been in discussion with developers for both sites, Lackey said. “People in our community and throughout North Georgia and Atlanta understand that the city owns both properties and is what I call a willing property owner to have realistic discussions about what happens there,” Lackey said. “We’ve had a lot of people approach us, and we’re still in the conceptual phase on both of those, crafting ideas about what we can do with that.” The city is trying to discourage some types of businesses in midtown and passed an ordinance in November banning several uses including homeless shelters,
coin laundries, thrift stores and crisis centers. Another project that could help with development in midtown is the Highlands to Islands Trail, a planned trail network in Gainesville and South Hall with some portions, including the Midtown Greenway, already open. Connecting downtown, midtown and other areas for pedestrians could encourage people to visit midtown, Lackey said. Plus, the city already owns some land along the Midtown Greenway on Davis Street and hopes to create a pocket park along the greenway for people to stop and gather. New businesses in midtown include Let There Be Rock, a music school on Main Street, and The Inked Pig, a barbecue restaurant also on Main Street. Jimmy Ellis, co-owner of The Inked Pig, said the industrial feel of midtown aligns with overall trends of repurposing former industrial sites for retail or restaurants. “What’s in right now is the industrial renovations and bringing up industrial buildings. ... This part of town is ideal for that,” Ellis said. “Also, parking is much nicer away from the square.” Andrew Elliott, The Inked Pig’s other owner, said he sees potential in midtown and has enjoyed getting to know other business owners. “The whole plan for this area just sounds like it’s going to grow,” Elliott said. “More businesses have been coming in recently. ... People are talking this area up.”
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
Gainesville is recruiting a developer to bring life to the old Hall County Jail site on Main Street. The jail was demolished in 2017.
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Gainesville city officials hope to see more development in midtown, and some city-owned properties could be key to kicking off that change. The city defines midtown as an approximately 350acre section bordered by E.E. Butler Parkway, Jesse Jewell Parkway, Queen City Parkway and the railroad. The area is largely industrial, but some new restaurants and businesses are moving in and slowly changing the area. City Manager Bryan Lackey said he hopes that trend continues. “We’d like to see some catalyst projects start that will also go along with some other private investment in the area to see both a mix of retail and new housing options to match what’s already there,” he said. Two properties the city already owns — the land on the southern end of the Jesse Jewell Parkway pedestrian bridge and the former Hall County Jail site on Main Street — could eventually be developed, which might encourage others to consider making the move to midtown. In November, the city purchased the 6.8-acre lot at the end of the pedestrian bridge, paying $10 million to take over the contract from the Northeast Georgia Health System. Part of the deal with the health system included a stipulation that the land not be resold to a developer who would provide medical services or products, unless NGHS approved the transaction. The land has been sitting empty for more than a decade, earning the bridge the local nickname of “bridge to nowhere.” Plans for the site announced by private developers in 2008 included a hotel and conference center, but the economic recession stalled that development. Another property the city owns is the former jail site, a 4-acre piece of land the city hopes could be privately
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Construction crews work on the downtown Gainesville parking deck Nov. 16, 2018, as they prepare the deck for two additional levels.
DOWNTOWN ■■ Continued from 1PC a lot of options for our people to go find something to eat for lunch or a beer after work or shop retail during the day.” To accommodate for growth, the city expanded its parking deck on Main Street, adding two new floors. The deck closed in September for construction. Three floors reopened in November, and the top three floors opened in February. The deck now has about 600 spots, and the fifth floor will have 64 spots set aside for Parkside residents. Events that have traditionally taken place downtown will be moving this year — Beach Bash is going to Lake Lanier Olympic Park, while the Spring Chicken Festival will be in
Longwood Park. Main Street Gainesville, a city-sponsored downtown development program that plans events, will be hosting two movie nights on Roosevelt Square in the summer, with the hopes of bringing foot traffic downtown to make up for the two festivals moving. To compensate for the loss of some of these events, the Gainesville Business Coalition, a group of downtown businesses, has formed to host other events. Mike Mills, general manager of the ChopBLOCK restaurant set to open on the square this spring, said he was excited to see the action on the square this summer. “I just like all the activities that the city is doing, and all the small businesses are doing,” Mills said. “I think this is going to be a great summer for concerts and music. It’s going to be great.”
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Sunday, March 24, 2019
Flowery Branch may see growth in apartment plans BY JEFF GILL
Newland Communities. “We attribute the community’s continued success to the myriad choices we offer home shoppers,” she said. Some 170 homes were completed in 2018, and “we anticipate about 150 to be built in 2019,” Landers said. Otherwise, subdivisions are being cleared — as weather allows — off Radford and McEver roads and off East Main Street between Mulberry Street and Thurmon Tanner Parkway. Another developer is looking to build 325 singlefamily detached homes on 109 acres, known informally as the Conner property. The site would be bounded by McEver Road, Gainesville Street and Lights Ferry Road, not far from the city’s downtown, with entrances off McEver Road and Gainesville Street at Chattahoochee Street. Home prices could run from the $200,000 to $400,000 range, and the development would feature an amenities area, lake and walking trails. Atlanta-based The Residential Group, which is proposing the 324-unit apartment complex, also is looking to turn property now occupied by the former City Hall and police station on Main Street between Railroad Avenue and Church Street into 15 apartments and 7,700 square feet of ground-level retail. Such a project would continue a downtown revival that includes a new City Hall, extension of Pine Street from Church Street to Railroad Avenue and a new commercial building at the corner of Main and Mitchell streets. The commercial building features a craft beer store, Beer Me, and Lakeside Market.
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Single-family housing may be booming in the Flowery Branch area, but Jonathan Collins doesn’t see the same trend for apartment rentals. “It is somewhat underserved,” he said. Collins’ company, Gainesville-based Capstone Property Group, was hoping to change that with a proposal for 520 apartments off Hog Mountain and Spout Springs roads. The proposal was slated to go before Flowery Branch City Council in early March but was postponed to an undetermined date. Capstone’s proposal, if approved, ensures that the South Hall city’s growth will continue into 2019, much like it did in 2018, when hundreds of homes were approved in several projects around the city. The city also approved a 324-unit apartment complex off Phil Niekro Boulevard in late 2018. That project also could feature five outparcels, varying in size from 1 to 1« acres, to contain retail businesses, such as restaurants. Much of those 2018 rezonings could turn into 2019 construction. “I think this will be the year you begin to see homes actually come out of the ground,” said Rich Atkinson, Flowery Branch community development director. One of Hall County’s busiest communities for housing construction continues to be Sterling on the Lake off Spout Springs Road in Flowery Branch. The subdivision, which has a buildout of 2,000 homes covering 1,000 acres, closed on 132 homes in 2018, said Jennifer Landers, vice president for operations for the developer,
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Oakwood grows with UNG BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Oakwood is growing, and much of it is because of the thriving University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus. The biggest development on the way is a private company’s plans for a 488-bedroom complex — or 122 fourbedroom “pods” spread over four five-story buildings. The project was approved in February by the Oakwood City Council. “This is similar to dormstyle living that you would have on traditional college campuses but in the form of privatized student housing,” Eric Johansen, spokesman for the project, told the council. “We believe this provides another student housing option. It could be a great centerpiece for the rest of the growth ... in this area.” Suwanee-based GAH Holding LLC’s project calls for each of the four-unit pods to have a living room, kitchenette, bathrooms in each individually locked bedroom and a laundry area. Each building could feature study areas, coffee bars, gyms and plazas. “We’ve even talked about possibly a rooftop plaza on one or two of the buildings to take advantage of the grounds that we’re proposing and also overlooking the city and the views back over (Interstate) 985 and the surrounding area,” Johansen told the Oakwood Planning Commission in January. Complex amenities include a swimming pool, green spaces for outdoors games and connection to Hall County’s walking trail that runs alongside Ga. 13 to Chicopee Village. “It’s very important to have this feel like resort-style living for these kids,” Johansen has said. “Yes, we want them to go to college, but we also want them to have fun while they’re on the site.” Rents could run from $700 to $750 monthly per bedroom. Construction is underway on University Commons, a complex comprising 18
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rental cottages at 2988 Frontage Road, near the Thurmon Tanner Parkway entrance to UNG and near the Hayes Chrysler dealership off Frontage. The three-bedroom cottages are within walking distance of the campus. They will feature rents of $1,650$1,800 per month, or potentially up to $600 per roommate, development officials have said. Bill Stark of Bill Stark Properties has said he hopes to have the complex open by August 2019, in time for the fall semester. A 348-unit apartment complex off Mundy Mill Road got the Oakwood City Council’s approval last year. “This property is designed specifically to take advantage of the growth of the University of North Georgia (campus in Oakwood),” said Kurt Alexander, principal with The Residential Group. The units would vary be-
tween one and three bedrooms and be spread out among nine buildings. Also, the complex would feature a swimming pool, an amenity area and a small commercial area facing Mundy Mill Road. Alexander said after the vote that if all goes well with the project, construction could begin in the summer of 2019, with the first apartments opening in the fall of 2020. The entire complex could be finished by the spring of 2021. Other residential building is underway in Oakwood, including an active-adult community off McEver Road between Old Flowery Branch Road and Crawford Oaks Drive. Also under construction is a townhome development between Allen Street near Oakwood Elementary School and Thurmon Tanner Parkway. And then, in January
2019, a 195-home development off McEver, Oakwood and Flat Creek roads was approved, following previous failed attempts by the developer, MB Endeavors, to get government OK for residential development on the property. The approved plan calls for 101 townhomes and 94 detached single-family homes spread over nearly 29 acres. A map shows entrances to the subdivision off McEver and Oakwood roads. Oakwood Road runs between McEver and Flat Creek Road. McEver Road is a main West Hall artery running between Buford and Gainesville. The development also features a swimming pool and green space area. A 1.16-acre tract at the corner of McEver and Flat Creek roads would be reserved for commercial uses.
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Industry & Poultry | Sunday, March 24, 2019
Poultry lab awaits funds, fixes State planning repairs after issues with HVAC By KELSEY RICHARDSON
krichardson@gainesvilletimes.com The Georgia Poultry Laboratory in North Hall County is playing the waiting game with needed repairs. The facility, which opened in January 2015 at the Gateway Industrial Centre business park off Ga. 365 in North Hall County, monitors and tests for diseases, such as avian influenza, and inspects hatcheries to ensure the state’s poultry flock is healthy for consumption. In June 2018 the high-containment lab was closed once employees began complaining of headaches, nausea and other discomfort caused by a low-frequency vibration emitting from the rooftop’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. John Groves, a spokesman for the lab, told The Times in January that air flow imbalances through the facility were discovered and affected the 2,500-squarefoot high-containment lab. The HVAC system sits directly above this portion of the lab. Groves claims that poor ventilation is to blame, and that it is a flaw in the design of the building, not in the construction. Louise Dufour-Zavala, the executive director of the lab, said the facility cannot start fixing the issue until it receives the proper funding. “The appropriations process is ongoing,” she said, “until the House and Senate adopt the bill and the governor’s office signs it.” In February nearly $1.5 million was approved by the state House Appropriations Committee to use toward the lab’s repairs. This is only a portion of the $4 million in fixes required, as told by Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black to state lawmakers in January. While waiting for the funding, Dufour-Zavala said Marvin Woodward, a deputy state property officer with the Georgia Building Authority, is planning out repairs. Morgan Smith-Williams, Georgia Building Authority communications director, said only 10 percent of the facility needs restoration. If bond funds for the project are approved by the legislature, then the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission would wait until the bonds are sold before the project would be initiated. Historically, bond sales take place in July. As for the lab’s needed repairs, Smith-Williams said it could take around 90-180 days. This includes a reconfiguration of the ceiling above the lab, installing a new base on the lab floor to aid with sterilization, relocating a fan from the roof to a new structure adjacent to the lab and replacing the HVAC mechanical equipment. ■■Please see lab, 2PD
Inside ■■ The Times and Brenau University’s Business Incubator launch Venture program for entrepreneurs ■■ How the Ga. 365 corridor is changing with coming inland port ■■ Traffic is a sign of success, Gainesville city manager says. Keep an eye on these 8 road projects in Hall County ■■ Expert opinions on the poultry industry
SCOTT ROGERS | Poultry Times
A technician works in one of the labs Monday, March 4, at the Georgia Poultry Laboratory in northeast Hall County. Nearly $1.5 million has been approved by the state House Appropriations Committee to start fixing problems at the lab located off Ga. 365 in Hall County, but it’s far short of an estimated $4 million needed for a full remedy.
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Progress is a publication of The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |
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Trade policies positive for egg, poultry industry
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
The 39,500-square-foot Georgia Poultry Laboratory, which opened in January 2015 at the Gateway Industrial Centre business park off Ga. 365 in northeast Hall County, monitors and tests for diseases, such as avian influenza, and inspects hatcheries to ensure the state’s poultry flock is healthy for consumption.
lab ■■ Continued from 1PD Although the testing done in the affected area had to be relocated to other portions of the 39,500-squarefoot laboratory, Dufour-Zavala said the lab’s various programs haven’t had any problems. She said the only issue involves not being able to use that space. “Yes, we have design issues of the lab and need to have construction for a few months, but at the same time really good things are happening here,” DufourZavala said. The laboratory features a poultry diorama, which completed its last phase in early March. Freddie Smith, project coordinator at the lab, said he has worked on the model for nearly three years. With moving trains, illuminated lights and busy lifelike scenes, people recieve an intimate view of the poultry industry. The diorama takes people on a journey by displaying myriad aspects of the poultry industry, including live production and distribution, jobs associated with the field and the industry’s partners. “When we started this, we thought we knew what we wanted, but we never envisioned this,” Smith said while gazing at the diorama. “As we started working on it, it started to take shape.” The last piece of the diorama, which Smith recently finished, involves the sustainability side of the poultry industry. This includes the protein products made for pet foods. People can also see through the newest addition where poultry is further processed for soups, nuggets, breaded chicken and other products. “It gives us an opportunity to explain that the poultry industry is not only about farms, and not only about exports, there’s a whole support to it,” Dufour-Zavala said. Since opening the diorama to the public, school groups have been flooding into the laboratory to gain further insight into the poultry industry. Before,
Louise Dufour-Zavala, executive director of the Georgia Poultry Laboratory, shows an aerial map of a portion of the state that will soon have a diorama made to show containment measures that will be taken if there is a breakout of avian influenza.
‘Yes, we have design issues of the lab and need to have construction for a few months, but at the same time really good things are happening here.’ Louise Dufour-Zavala, executive director of the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Dufour-Zavala said kids weren’t frequent visitors of the facility. She said one of the aspects she enjoys the most about the large model is the fact she can cater people’s experiences to their level of knowledge, whether a poultry veterinarian or a middle-schooler. “They may know nothing and come out with something, or they may already know and learn something
or, have misconceptions that we may be able to clarify,” Dufour-Zavala said. Past the diorama and into a second room, the poultry lab is gearing up for another diorama to add to the facility. Dufour-Zavala said this one will be much smaller, displaying an aerial view of poultry-producing regions. Since many of the lab’s international delegations want to hear about how
Georgia is prepared for an avian influenza outbreak, the diorama will show just that. She said this model will offer an interactive communication with the lab’s visitors. Smith said he aims to finish the project this fall. To schedule a tour of the Georgia Poultry Laboratory or for more questions about the facility call 770766-6810.
Freddie Smith, project coordinator at the Georgia Poultry Laboratory, works on a model of the poultry industry at the lab Monday, March, 4, in northeast Hall County. The model shows the poultry industry from live production to processing and distribution of poultry products, the jobs associated with the industry and the allied industries that support poultry.
STONE MOUNTAIN — It seems like everywhere you go these days Americans are talking about President Trump’s impact on the country. It’s no different in our industry, really. Wherever I go someone’s always asking me about how Trump’s policies are affecting U.S. poultry trade. Often, they’re expecting something critical. It’s true that certain industries are experiencing repercussions from some of Trump’s policies, most notably, the tariffs that he’s applied on imports. But from the perspective of the poultry and egg industry, I can honestly say we have seen no significant negative impact. The biggest effect we’ve felt is from competing proteins like pork that are experiencing export reductions as a result of the tariffs. That’s putting increased volumes of this so-called “other white meat” into the market at a time when both of our industries are guilty of overproduction. Overall, in the last two years, we’ve experienced many more positives, at least in terms of market access, than we have negatives. Granted, some of these successes were initiated before Trump took office, but it took his administration to put them in place and bring them to fruition. First among these achievements was the opening this year of the Indian market, potentially the largest in the world. We also finally gained access for U.S. poultry to Morocco, 14 years after our countries signed a free trade agreement. Our other big success is, of course, Mexico. No, it’s not a new market, but it’s our largest and most important one, and that is something we needed to preserve during the long and arduous negotiations to revise NAFTA. The good news is that the new U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement that resulted from those negotiations appears to have done no harm to that relationship. As for the Canada piece of USMCA negotiations, while our increase was not to the degree that we had hoped, it was, nonetheless, a net positive for our industry. For other commodities, the big market that has been most affected by the Trump administration’s trade policies is China. I can honestly say, however, that our industry’s trade situation with China was not harmed. Of course, we have not had trade with China for nearly four years now. Still, I cannot take issue with his approach, which was long overdue. Had we stood up to China a decade or more ago when we should have, there’s no doubt that we would not be facing the situation we are today, especially as it relates to intellectual property and other restrictions. When it comes to the World Trade Organization, China, like Russia, disregards the rulings. Otherwise, we would have had improved access years ago. One negative experience we have had this year has been with South Africa, as its government continues to thumb its nose at us and make our African Growth and Opportunity Act agreement, which opened the market for 65,000 tons of U.S. chicken annually, as cumbersome as possible. It seems to me that we need to start playing hardball again with South Africa. It remains one of the most protectionist countries that we deal with. Despite the USMCA, we do have a concern regarding trade with Mexico. It is not how Mexico treats us, though, it’s how Mexico is treating other countries, most notably Brazil. Mexico has granted Brazil the open access that the U.S. earned through NAFTA negotiations. We do not mind going head to head against Brazil in many markets in the world. But, in the case of Mexico, Brazil is cherrypicking some of our most valuable potential exports to Mexico, high-value products including breast meat,
Jim sumner
USA Poultry & Egg Export Council
wings and whole birds. All of these could be provided by the U.S. And Brazil is doing this duty free! Last year, that directly reduced the export value of U.S. chicken, alone, by 35 percent. The Mexican Poultry Association is up in arms about this, as Mexico never negotiated a NAFTA-like agreement with Brazil, and so is the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council. What’s fair is fair. While Mexico’s Ministry of Economy granted Brazil special import status under the pretense of protecting Mexican consumers from inflation, there’s no doubt that the real reason was to provide Mexico with leverage in USMCA negotiations, and it went unchallenged by the U.S. trade representative. Perhaps my biggest irritant in recent months isn’t something that someone at USTR or at USDA did or didn’t do. It’s what was said by U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton. He denounced Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba as new members of the axis of evil, a “Troika of Tyranny,” in recent comments. While Venezuela is fair game, let’s not pick on Cuba or Nicaragua. Both have become reliable markets for U.S. poultry, with Cuba being our fourth largest chicken export market. Nicaragua is a key component of(Central America Free Trade Agreement and our Central America Poultry Export Quota group, and has always been cooperative and supporting of our industry. Bolton needs to tend to his security issues and refrain from comments affecting our trading partners as I think neither Cuba nor Nicaragua is a threat to our security. On the other hand, I would like to give kudos to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. Never before has our poultry and egg industry had someone in this leadership position who understands our industry so well. While he has shown no favoritism, he has certainly been one of the most supportive secretaries of agriculture since Earl Butz, if not the most. What a brilliant choice he was. Were it not for him, I’m sure USMCA and certain other agreements would not be what they are today. I would also praise the efforts of Ted McKinney, undersecretary for agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, who has been a strong proponent to increase market access, evidenced by his recent meetings in the Middle East, Africa, and, most recently, Thailand. He and his staff are also making progress on getting all agencies within USDA to better understand and support the role of trade. What’s in store for the future? We continue to face challenges around the world, from the entirety of Europe, to countries in Africa like Nigeria, Egypt and Senegal, and in Asia, countries like Indonesia, and even Australia. These are all countries where I never expected much progress, especially within my career. But maybe, just maybe, I should rethink those notions. We might even be regaining access to China, sooner than I thought. Maybe the 600 traders who are expected to attend USAPEEC’s upcoming annual trade reception in Suzhou, China in mid-January know something I don’t know. Jim Sumner is president of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council headquartered in Stone Mountain.
CMYK Progress is a publication of The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |
Opportunity abounds with tomorrow’s poultry leaders TUCKER — When you reflect on the challenges facing our industry, the list can be formidable: food safety concerns, regulatory burdens, the need for more young leaders in our industry, etc. However, our industry has met and overcome many similar, difficult challenges throughout the years. So, the question with which we are faced as an association is: Which of these challenges can U.S. Poultry & Egg Association best address through its mission areas? Research has long been a cornerstone of our efforts. Much of our focus in recent years has been on animal welfare, using fewer antibiotics and further enhancing food safety through our comprehensive and extensive research programs. John Starkey U.S. Poultry & Egg However, another one of Association our cornerstones is helping find our leaders of tomorrow. Many have seen the continued increase in the numbers and diversity of students available each year through the college student career program and doctorate student career fair at the International Production & Processing Expo. To continue extending that reach, we are evaluating how we can also connect with vocational technical school graduates. We are seeing a greater and greater need for workers with non-agriculture degrees, such as management, accounting, engineering, maintenance, marketing, talent management and much more. One concept we are evaluating to assist with this effort is funding grants via our affiliated state associations, on a $2 per $1 scale. We have also further extended our relationship with the national Future Farmers of America through our FFA to IPE program, sponsored by the USPOULTRY Foundation. More than 80 FFA students and advisors were invited to attend the recent 2019 International Production & Processing Expo in Atlanta. These future young leaders had an opportunity to network and meet with some of our great industry executives while seeing all the career opportunities that await them on the vast IPPE trade show floor and in our industry nearly irrespective of the type of major a bright, young student pursues. We hope to continue to seize an increasingly larger share of these students and lead them into our industry! John Starkey is president of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association headquartered in Tucker.
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8 upcoming road projects BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Road construction is a way of life in Hall County, and it’s about to become more widespread. Officials with the Georgia Department of Transportation, Gainesville-Hall County Metropolitan Planning Organization and city of Gainesville described numerous projects during the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Transportation Forum Thursday, March 7. “It’s truly an economic development phrase: Traffic is a sign of success for a community,” Gainesville City Manager Bryan Lackey said to a crowd at University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus. Flashing a picture on the screen above him of traffic backed up on Jesse Jewell Parkway, he added, “Obviously, we’re very successful.” According to officials, here’s a look at projects that are on the horizon:
Ongoing projects ■■ Widening of Atlanta Highway/Ga. 13 from Sawnee Avenue to Lanier Islands Parkway/Ga. 347 in Buford ■■ Widening Ga. 347 from Lanier Islands resort to McEver Road ■■ Construction of Exit 14, between Oakwood and Flowery Branch ■■ New bridges on Cleveland Highway/ U.S. 129 and Browns Bridge Road/Ga. 369 ■■ Widening Athens Highway/U.S. 129 from Gillsville Highway to the Talmo bypass
Ga. 53 bridge replacement The westbound bridge on Dawsonville Highway/Ga. 53 over the Chattahoochee River is slated for replacement, with the project possibly being awarded to a contractor in July 2019. Cost: $26 million.
I-985 maintenance A new resurfacing and restriping project is planned for the entire length of Interstate 985, from Interstate 85 in Gwinnett to Exit 24 in Gainesville. The project, which would include new reflectors, would start later this month or in April. Cost: $1.7 million.
I-985 widening The interstate is set to be expanded from four lanes to six lanes between I-85 and Mundy Mill Road in Oakwood. Construction could take place in 2022-23. Engineering is underway. Estimated cost: $87 million.
Major intersection improvement Turn lanes will be added at Queen City Parkway/Ga. 60 and Ga. 369 in Gainesville, which did the preliminary engineering. The project could be awarded this summer. Cost: $3.6 million.
Howard Road fixes A possible interchange at Ga. 365 and roundabout at the Lanier Technical College entrance. The project is in early phases, but the project could be built in 2022-23. Estimated cost: $14.5 million.
Spout Springs Road widening Right of way acquisition is about to wrap up on one of Hall’s most eagerly awaited projects, with the project being awarded to a contractor later this year. The road would be widened in its first phase from Hog Mountain Road to Union Circle at a cost of $32 million. Phase two, from Union Circle to the Hall County line, hasn’t been funded.
New South Hall roundabout A roundabout is planned at Martin Road and JM Turk Road, near the planned Exit 14 interchange off I-985. Work is expected to take place this summer while school is out of session. Cost: $640,000.
Sardis Road Connector One of Hall’s oldest projects could be coming to fruition early in the next decade. The nearly $80 million project calls for a four-lane road between Dawsonville Highway/Ga. 53 in West Hall and Thompson Bridge Road/Ga. 60 in North Hall.
CALLING ALL ENTREPRENEURS!
The Venture into the World of Business competition is an accelerated version of what a typical entrepreneur may need to go through to launch their product or service. The WINNER will receive a cash prize! Brenau Business Incubator is partnering with The Times for the coordination and administration of this event.
ENTREPRENEURS, APPLY TODAY! E-mail venture@gainesvilletimes.com for your application
SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
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Sunday, March 24, 2019
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Inland port, Lanier Tech bring growth to Ga. 365 corridor BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Gainesville-Hall County is hoping to address traffic impacts along the growing Ga. 365 corridor in northeast Hall, but a future major player in the area — the Georgia Ports Authority — also has that issue on its radar. “We’re working on all of that,” said the authority’s chief administrative officer, James C. McCurry Jr., at a February Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce meeting. “We want to make sure that the plan is the best that it can be for the community, as well as the market.” McCurry was referring to plans being laid for the Northeast Georgia Inland Port, which will be in the Gateway Industrial Centre off Ga. 365 at White Sulphur Road. Construction could begin later this year on the regional cargo terminal, which is projected to open in 2021. “We will work with the community to make sure that whatever questions are out there that we answer those as clearly as we possibly can,” McCurry said. “... We want to make sure this is a positive for the community.” Officials estimate 150,000 containers per year could pour into the 104-acre port by way of Norfolk Southern railroad, which cuts through Gateway. The port, expected to produce a boom of its own, is just one of a few developments emerging along Ga. 365. Also in the works off Ga. 365 is Gateway Village, a 522acre site that could produce up to 2.6 million square feet in industrial and commercial space. Development could begin by late spring. The project at 3240 Chiplan Drive could consist of up to 130,000 square feet of
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
Traffic moves along Ga. 365 between Howard and Ramsey roads Tuesday, Feb. 5.
The site of the future home of Auto Metal Direct is graded Monday, March 4, 2019, at the Gateway Industrial Centre. The company will be located across the road from the inland port yet to be built.
retail at the front of the property, which is north of White Sulphur Road and across from Gateway Industrial Centre.
Industrial development on the site could be up to 2 million square feet, said Gainesville engineer Brian Rochester, who represented
Speakers at IPPE discuss ag production, politics By Barbara Olejnik
bolejnik@poultrytimes.com ATLANTA — Outlooks for U.S. agricultural products and the national political scene were discussed at the recent Poultry Market Intelligence Forum held during the 2019 International Production & Processing Expo. Speakers included Dr. Paul Aho of Poultry Perspectives; Michael Donahue, vice president of Agri Stats Inc.; and Christian Richter of The Policy Group. Aho said basic assumptions for the years from 2020 to 2030 will be: world growth at about 3.5 percent, more growth in developing countries, greater consumption of meat, at least one global economic recession, and commodity prices on the rise. He also doubted there would be a drought, but added there is a 17 percent chance of one in any given year. Aho Specific agricultural issues forecasted included: ■■ Grains: Corn prices are projected to go from just above $3.50/bushel in 2018-19 to $4/ bushel in 2020-21. Soybean exports are starting to come back with China again buying some U.S. products. Corn and soybeans are both at the bottom of a cycle, Aho noted. ■■ Chicken leg quarters: 33 percent of chicken leg quarters are consumed in the U.S. Consumption of the rest of the product depends on the export market. In 2019 the dollar rose against the Mexican peso and many other currencies making leg quarters less competitive. ■■ Deboned breast price: Peak price will be lower than last year — a barely profitable year at best. ■■ Wings: Robust demand with prices higher than 2018. Worth more than breast meat. ■■ Paws: Worth hundreds of millions of dollars if China market opens. ■■ Eggs: Per capita consumption going up. Industry profits higher. ■■ Turkey: Same production as last year. Profitability improving. Donahue said the conversion to cage-free production for layer hens has been a major trend in the egg industry. California’s 2008 Proposition 2 started the move when voters approved the measure to require specific space for layer hens. Donahue Donahue also pointed out that: California’s recent Proposition 12 clarified
the previous proposition as cage-free and will require eggs and egg products to be cage-free. Many food, restaurant and grocery companies, Donahue noted, have stated plans to buy only eggs from cage-free production, generally by 2025 — subject, in may grocers’ statements, to “availability, affordability and consumer demand.” However, 76 percent of pledges are from grocers where consumer demand is important. To date, Donahue said, producers have converted in order to meet current customer demand and to gain cage-free production experience. However, while conversion continues on a limited scale, two of the largest producers have announced plans to curtail the conversion until there is more marketplace demand. To convert to the stated 225 million birds is still an additional $6.7 billion capital expenditure, Donahue noted. Richter spoke of politics in his address, pointing out that the “landscape has changed” with the 2018 congressional election that saw Democrats win a majority of House seats while the Republicans maintained the Senate. He noted that House Richter Speaker Nancy Pelosi (DCalif.) is under-rated by many — “she’s the adult in the room in the Democratic caucus.” The two parties have different legislative agendas, Richter said, House Democrats will seek to (1) Reform campaign ethics and voting rights, (2) Cut drug prices and fortify Obamacare, (3) Roll back GOP tax reforms, (4) Address climate change, (5) Revamp U.S. infrastructure and (6) Raise the minimum wage. Senate Republican priorities include (1) Confirm President Trump’s nominees, (2) Balance House Democrats’ oversight, (3) Improve infrastructure, (4) Support Trump’s border wall proposal, (5) Lower drug prices and roll back Obamacare and (6) Defend tax reform. The number of voters identifying themselves as either Republican or Democrat has shrunk in recent years with a rise in those claiming to be independent, Richter said. The Republican and Democratic parties will be in competition for these independents as they could likely affect the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Richter noted that a January 2019 rating of the 2020 Electoral College showed 232 solid or likely Democratic states with 220 solid or likely Republican states — leaving 86 toss-up states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. There are 538 members of the Electoral College who will vote to certify the presidential election. A majority of 270 is needed to win.
the developer at planning hearings. “On the back side of the property, we have a research and development center that would be developed between 100,000 and 500,000 square feet,” he said. Jonathan Collins of Gainesville-based Capstone Property Group, which is developing Gateway, has said he believes “there is a lot of activity for larger industrial space — certainly, you’re seeing that in Jackson County, Jefferson and North Gwinnett County.” “Hall County has been extremely successful in recruiting large industrial companies … and available properties are at a real premium,” he added. “There’s not a lot of those, if any, at
this point.” A 1 million-square-foot single user “would be nothing like (what is in) Hall County today, but we feel like that with the economy and the market, there’s a potential for that in the next few years,” Collins said. Construction has started on Auto Metal Direct, a 318,000-square-foot classic car parts distributor at Gateway near the inland port. Mark Headrick, the company’s president, has said he’ll be happy to have more space when the new plant opens later this year. He had to close the showroom in his current plant off Sherwin Parkway, near Atlanta Highway, in Buford, so he can have more room for the boxes that now reach the
ceiling of his warehouse. Also, the port will be like a godsend for the business. “Most of our big parts come from Taiwan, so they’re all on containers,” Headrick said. “I’ve got to pay to truck that stuff up here from (the Port of) Savannah, and they’re never on time.” Also adding to the growth is the opening of Lanier Technical College off Howard Road at Ga. 365. The school had been located next to the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus in Oakwood. The Gainesville-Hall Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Committee, the decision-making arm of the transportation planning agency, voted in February to seek federal money for a traffic study of the area between New Holland and the planned inland port. “There’s been some great things happening up the Ga. 365 corridor ... and we really feel a traffic impact study for this area would be very beneficial and forward-thinking,” said Chris Rotalsky, Gainesville’s public works director. Getting the federal money would require a 20 percent match, and the city “has the funds necessary,” Rotalsky has said. “The traffic generated from new and future developments in the area will affect the traffic flow on (Ga.) 365, Jesse Jewell Parkway and the connecting state and local streets,” he wrote. A study “would explore existing roadway networks, model current and future traffic demands, recommend potential improvements along with estimated construction costs and provide detail on new facilities needed to handle the economic activity this corridor is experiencing,” Rotalsky said.
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CMYK Progress is a publication of The Times, Gainesville, Georgia |
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Sunday, March 24, 2019
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Local entrepreneurs’ chance to shine Brenau University, The Times offer Venture, a ‘Shark Tank’-style opportunity By KELSEY RICHARDSON
krichardson@gainesvilletimes.com Imagine an accelerated version of the show “Shark Tank” that’s open to people with fresh business ideas in Hall County. Through the team effort of the Brenau Business Incubator and The Times, local talents can take the next step in their entrepreneurial journey with Venture 2019. Participants are guided through consultation, education and capacity for investment by a pool of business experts. The process begins Monday, March 25, and comes to a close on Thursday, June 20, with the final winner announcement. The top team will receive a cash prize. “The goal is to let all these local entrepreneurs and all these people know that we have all these resources in the area, so that we can keep them here and foster their new business to help them succeed,” Leah Nelson, The Times director of revenue, said. Nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit Carroll Turner, executive director of the Business Incubator, said Venture aims to showcase the area’s unique capabilities and also display the business-building tools available in Hall County. As a microcosm for the real economy, Turner said the Business Incubator will be used as an asset to those involved in Venture. “We’re all about building business here,” he said. “This is a great way to bring more attention
Venture 2019 What: Program that fosters businesses When: Begins March 25 Where: Brenau Business Incubator, 999 Chestnut St., Gainesville More info: venture@ gainesvilletimes.com or 770535-6330
to entrepreneurism and business growth. Even with the area being at full employment, this is where your future is.” The Business Incubator helps launch businesses and provides a place where startups can work on their products. One recent item that was developed at the incubator is a tool used for scraping out leaves and dirt on a porch. Instead of using a pressure washer, this device’s serrated edge simply removes the unwanted debris between boards. Pro-GeneX, a Gainesville-based gene testing company, recently took advantage of the Business Incubator’s facility, establishing its own lab. With a location inside the Business Incubator, the company is able to test patients’ DNA with its own staff, as opposed to outsourcing those services. Nelson said the idea of putting on Venture was mostly inspired by Hall County’s resources. Instead of people envisioning Athens as a hub for research, she wants people to turn their gazes to Hall County. “Everybody knows we have
Photos by SCOTT ROGERS | The Times
Brenau University Business Incubator executive director Carroll Turner holds an invention created at the incubator that helps in maintenance off decks and decking boards.
great medical facilities, but they probably don’t think of us as a research place, but we are,” Nelson said. “Hall County has three colleges, that’s a lot to say for a community this size.” How to apply and what to expect After participants fill out an application — which can be accessed by visiting this article on gainesvilletimes.com — Nelson and Turner will choose who will compete in Venture. People must turn in the applications by emailing them to venture@ gainesvilletimes.com. People can apply as individual representatives of their business or as a team. The form includes questions
about the business product, the amount of investment sought and sales projections for next year. Nelson will contact those who have been approved for Venture, then lead them through the weeks of preparation leading to the final presentations. The participants will first meet with their fellow competitors and receive formal guidelines as to what they should anticipate in the upcoming weeks. Every Sunday, starting on March 31 and ending May 26, teams will work with a group of coaches, composed of experienced entrepreneurs, investors, local business owners and manufacturing company owners.
These experts will guide the participants through different focuses including persuasive entry, product, pricing strategy, placement and promotion. All of the preparation builds up to the final presentations, where participants relay their business plan and ideas to a panel of business leaders. Nelson said this part of the program will take place over two weeks in June. The final winner will be announced during a dinner ceremony at the Business Incubator on Thursday, June 20. For more information about Venture email venture@gainesvilletimes.com or call Nelson at 770535-6330.
Egg farmers continuing to adjust to cage-free regulations JOHNS CREEK — United Egg Producers celebrated its 50th anniversary of “Leadership for Egg Farmers by Egg Farmers” in 2018. Our members are at the forefront of issues affecting animal agriculture at the state and federal levels from disease prevention to air emissions, and from hen housing to egg safety. UEP continues its leadership role in all areas specific to egg production and our industry.
Hen housing UEP continues to be actively engaged in conversations with egg producers, USDA and other key stakeholders about planned transitions to cage-free housing. While hens are housed in a number of different environments and housing choices continue to evolve, one thing remains the same: egg farmers recognize and embrace their responsibility to provide excellent care of their hens in all housing systems. That is why transitions between housing must be done while maintaining the highest standards for egg safety, food affordability, environmental responsibility and animal welfare. And while the future-state of egg production will be heavily focused on cage-free, both customers and consumers will continue to rely on egg producers to provide choice in their egg supply. USDA data from October 2018 indicates that 230 companies across seven egg-consuming sectors (retail, restaurant, institutional, etc.) have made some form of commitment to cage-free. To meet commitments to 100 percent cage-free supply, these companies would require 63 billion cage-free eggs per year by 2026, which would require a total U.S. cage-free flock of more than 225 million hens. Currently, USDA reports the current nonorganic, cage-free flock nationwide is about 43 million hens — a shortage of 182 million hens needed to meet planned transition demand if these commitments remain in place. UEP’s farmer-members are working to support those customers planning for a cage-free transition and also continue to produce eggs under other housing systems. UEP Certified, which includes compliance verified by an independent third-party audit, offers both traditional cage housing guidelines and cage-free guidelines to provide options to our producers and the customers they supply. Customer transitions to cage-free will take time to implement and require significant investment by both customers and egg
CHAD Gregory
United Egg Producers president
producers. Egg farmers will continue to work with their customers to meet set deadlines or adjust timelines as needed to assure a smooth transition.
Air emissions UEP welcomed the signing of a proposed rule to amend the emergency release notification regulations under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act by U.S. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Oct. 30. The rule confirms that reporting of air emission from animal waste at farms is not required under EPCRA. This rule reflects the effects on EPCRA reporting that stem from the amendments to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act that were made earlier this year by Congress with the bipartisan passage of the Fair Agricultural Reporting Method’s Act. UEP and the nation’s egg farmers participated in beneficial conversations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on this measure. Credible research has proven there is no value in requiring individual producers to report emissions to emergency response authorities under federal emergency response laws, which were never intended to apply to routine, nonemergency farming activities. UEP’s farmer-members are active members of their communities and regularly engage and support local emergency personnel. A recent UEP survey of egg producers who manage about 155 million hens, or half the U.S. laying flock, found that 85 percent of the respondents are already in contact with their local emergency personnel on a yearly basis or more frequently. About 75 percent of these farmers also provide direct financial support to their local first responders, and about 50 percent have family members or staff who volunteer with the first responders as firefighters or emergency medical service technicians.
Egg safety Food safety is a top priority for farmers, and UEP provides leadership and guidance to help egg producers supply a safe,
quality product. The UEP area briefings, held in six locations throughout the country in August, provided the latest egg safety and plant sanitation information to UEP members. Dr. Christine Alvarado, professor of poultry science from Texas A&M University, presented significant plant-related causes of food safety problems and outlined sanitation standard operating procedures, and good manufacturing practices. Dr. Deana Jones, research food technologist at USDA Agricultural Research Service, reviewed the Egg Plant Sanitation Study and discussed the need for collaboration on research in 2018-2019. Tony Wesner, COO of Rose Acre Farms, provided information on the changes made to the plant and equipment to improve sanitation and new protocols after the company’s April egg recall. These changes are being implemented across the company’s farms and plants nationwide. UEP will continue its commitment to egg safety through collaboration with regulatory officials, education of producers and ongoing support for efforts to enhance egg safety. Further, UEP provides leadership on egg safety through frontline management of egg safety regulatory affairs, coordination with federal and state agencies, and support to egg farmers about concerns that may affect individual farms or companies.
Other issues On Election Day, about 59 percent of California voters approved Proposition 12, a measure requiring all eggs sold in the state come from cage-free hens by 2022. UEP remained neutral on the ballot initiative, which will require 1 square foot of usable floor space for egg-laying hens starting in 2020, with the progression to cage-free, defined by the 2017 UEP Certified Cage-Free Housing Guidelines, by 2022. Disease prevention remains top of mind for U.S. egg farmers. In particular, recent California testing has found both low-pathogenic avian influenza in commercial turkey and mixed poultry flocks, as well as virulent Newcastle Disease findings in live bird markets and backyard flocks in California. Six cases of LPAI also have been reported in commercial turkey flocks in Minnesota. Rigorous biosecurity protocols on the nation’s commercial egg farms and diligence in comprehensive disease prevention measures are critical elements of U.S. egg farmers’ onfarm production practices.
UEP created a dedicated Animal Health & Biosecurity Task Force to provide resources to our members and develop guidance for programs like the National Poultry Improvement Plan and the Secure Egg Supply Plan. As the transition to cage-free continues, UEP members are proactively identifying the unique biosecurity challenges for cage-free and other
housing systems. UEP continues to advocate for passage of the farm bill, which expired Sept. 30, and will be taken up in lameduck session now that midterm elections have been completed. Of particular interest to UEP and its animal agriculture colleagues are provisions in the farm bill that call for proposed disease prevention improvements to federal testing,
vaccination and laboratory programs. Looking ahead in 2019, UEP will continue to serve as an advocate on behalf of its egg farmer-members providing effective leadership on issues affecting the nation’s egg industry. Chad Gregory is president of the United Egg Producers headquartered in Johns Creek.
Serving the nation’s leading broiler producing state.
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