Beall’s, Burlington Coat Factory, Restoration Hardware to Anchor Phase 2 of Dawson Marketplace

Business, News

Executive Director Charlie Auvermann

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Charlie Auvermann, executive Director of the Development Authority of Dawson County has announced that Phase 2 of the Dawson Marketplace on Ga. Hwy. 400 will begin ahead of schedule and that three nationally recognized retail firms – Restoration Hardware, Burlington Coat Factory and Beall’s Outlet — will anchor the second phase of the development.

“All three of these stores provide a solid anchor for the phase two expansion of the Dawson Marketplace,” Auvermann said. “We welcome them to Dawson County and our region.”

Dawson Marketplace is a development of Atlanta-based Hendon Properties LLC.

The original timeline for the start of phase two development was 2018 but Auvermann said popular demand for space and the overwhelming success of the stores in phase one prompted an acceleration of the schedule.

Auvermann said Restoration Hardware (NYSE-RH) needed additional floor space, prompting its move from the North Georgia Premium Outlets. “Restoration Hardware has only two locations in Metro-Atlanta and we are very excited to see this national brand stay in our county,” Auvermann said.

Burlington Coat Factory (NYSE-BURL) will be adding a new location to its inventory of over 540 stores nationwide. Burlington is a major off-price retailer specializing in coats, suits and sportswear.

Dawson Marketplace will also be home to a new Beall’s Outlet. The private family-owned retailer, which specializes in southern lifestyle apparel and offers an extensive line of men’s suits and casual wear, has 450 stores in 17 southern states. Beall’s was named the menswear industry 2016 retailer of the year.

Auvermann stated, “All three of these stores provide a solid anchor for the phase two expansion

Formal ceremonies marking the start of phase two will be held mid-summer. Auvermann also noted that an additional phase two anchor may be announced in the near future.

 

Development Authority Executive Director Resigns

News

Charlie Auvermann

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Charlie Auverman has resigned his position as Executive Director of the Development Authority of Dawson County effective immediately.

As Executive Director, Auvermann was paid out of the Development Authority’s budget which was funded by county taxpayers until last year when the Dawson County Board of Commissioners voted to cut off funding for the organization.

Resigning along with Auvermann is Office Administrator Mary Simmons.

According to the Authority website, Auvermann helped to install multiple Dawson County-based projects with a capital investment of $125 million.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Joint Development Authority for Dawson, Lumpkin and White counties and as adjunct professor at the University of North Georgia’s Mike Cottrell College of Business since 2005. He sits on the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission where he was selected as the 2014 Appointed Official of the Year and is the 2016 Chair of the GMRC 13 County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Committee.

Fetch Your News will have more details as they become available.

 

 

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

 

 

Dawson Sales Tax Revenue Soars to Record High

News

Charlie Auvermann

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Many Dawson County businesses enjoyed a record-breaking month in May, generating $1.2 million in sales tax revenue that will help pay for operation of county government and the school district.

A press release issued by the Development Authority of Dawson County indicated that May sales tax revenue was 11.5 percent ahead of the same month in 2016.

“May was an extremely good month for Dawson County businesses. We hope it is a sign of the start of a very good summer,” said Charlie Auvermann, executive director of the Development Authority of Dawson County.

Dawson County has become the main shopping destination for the northern GA 400 corridor. The result is an increase in sales tax revenue paid to the county, the school system and the city.

Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) revenue was also up by 9% for 2017.

“These are the critical sources of operating and construction revenue for our county,” Auvermann said. “The higher these collections are the less pressure there is on our elected officials to have to raise personal property taxes.”

Sales tax revenue is a fast source of funding for the county since there is only a few weeks delay in getting the funds from the state. With property tax, the county doesn’t collect the funds until the end of each year.

Dawson County is at a 60/40 ratio for tax revenue. That is considered a very healthy situation. According to Department of Community Affairs approximately 60 percent of Dawson County taxes come from a combination of sales and service fee-related activity.

Auvermann noted, “When you compare that to Pickens County, they are considered a property tax county. Dawson is considered an economically-driven county. That gives our elected officials more options rather than just raising the taxes on everyone’s homes.”

The board of directors for the authority is working closely with their staff to insure the tax ratio stays in balance over time. “It has taken years of work to achieve what we see today,” Dr. Sherry Weeks, chairman of the authority, board reminded. “It will take extended vision, commitment and a long-term investment to maintain

There also was good news on the job front where county unemployment fell to just 3.9 percent, one of the lowest rates in Georgia.

Dawson Development Authority’s Future in Jeopardy

News

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — With its very existence in jeopardy, the Development Authority of Dawson County held its first meeting of the new year Tuesday to elect a slate of officers and approve a 2017 budget.

Sherry Weeks was re-elected to serve as chairwoman, Brian Sticker was chosen vice chairman.

The budget adopted yesterday was about $150,000 less than 2016 after the Dawson County Board of Commissioners voted late last year to withhold funding for the organization.

Authority members acknowledged this is the final year it can exist at the new funding level.

Asked by one board member, if the county commission understood they may end up with no development authority, Chairwoman Sherry Weeks said she had informed commissioners they did not have the money to operate for more than one year. “They were clear about that,” Weeks said.

The lone county commissioner to attend Tuesday’s meeting was Chris Gaines, who was not on the board at the time commissioners voted against funding the authority in 2017.

Asked to comment, Gaines made it clear that he would like to see the DADC continue its work.

“Speaking only from my perspective, I believe in the mission you guys have in front of you,” he said. “We have to move forward in finding a way to provide the finances this organization needs.”

Although the county commission no longer funds the authority, it does appoint new members, something it is expected to do in the next few weeks.

“The thing we have before us now is to fill the board with qualified candidates,” Gaines said. He added that he is trying to schedule a meeting with newly-elected Commission Chairman Billy Thurmond to discuss future appointments.

“It is my goal to find a way to support you but I’m only one of many,” Gaines added.

Dawson County Economy is Booming in 2017

News

 

Charlie Auvermann

DAWSONVILLE Ga. – The economic doldrums of the past 10 years appear to be over in Dawson County.

Charlie Auvermann, executive director of the Development Authority of Dawson County, says the 400 corridor is bustling with new business development, jobs are available for anyone who wants to work and sales tax revenue has experienced a dramatic uptick during the first quarter of 2017

The most recent figures show the unemployment has dropped to just 4 percent, the lowest level since the recession began in 2007.

The strong need for workers, particularly in both the retail and construction sectors has driven the unemployment rate down dramatically.

“With all of the new businesses opening in Dawson County and commercial and residential construction returning, the number of job openings has exploded,” he added.

Basic sales tax revenue is up almost 9 percent for the first quarter, which is typically the slowest quarter of the year because it comes right after the Christmas holiday.

“These numbers suggest we are a very vibrant economy,” Auvermann said in a press release this week.

March LOST/SPLOST collections alone are up 8.35 percent over March 2016. The combined collection was $1.14 million in March. February saw an increase of 8.4% and January was 9.47% better than last year. The March collections were the highest since 2009 and the second highest in the last decade.

The total LOST/SPLOST tax collections for the first three months of 2017 were just over $3.05 million and that does not include the education local option sales tax revenue which is reported separately.

“These LOST and SPLOST increases are important for our county,” Auvermann said. “The LOST funds help pay county salaries, keep the lights on and pay for a host of services provided to our citizens. The SPLOST funds help build roads, bridges and new buildings.”

The Authority has done studies that indicate most of the SPLOST and LOST taxes collected are from shoppers who live outside the county. At the same time, with all the new stores opening in Dawson County, local shoppers can spend their dollars at home instead of traveling to Hall and Forsyth counties.

Auvermann said as stores and businesses continue to be attracted to Dawson County the economy will continue to be robust.

 

 

 

New Kroger Opens in Dawson County

Business, News

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — The long-awaited new Kroger’s grocery store opened in Dawsonville today.

Believed to be one of the largest grocery stores in the state, the new 123,000-square foot Kroger’s is located in the new shopping mall on the south side of Ga. 400 between Whitmire and Dawson Forest Roads and features a nine-pump Kroger Fuel Center.

Store Manager Ed Loy said, “Opening day was outstanding. It was beyond all our expectations.”

Loy estimated that between opening at 6 a.m. Wednesday and closing at 1 a.m. Thursday more than 10,000 customers visited the new store.

Kroger closed its old store further north on Ga. 400 Monday and is looking for a tenant to lease it.

An expanded bistro, full line of wearing apparel, Little Clinic, expanded natural food, meat and seafood are among the features that helped draw such a large crowd.

“It’s an adventure shopping here,” Loy said.

Kroger is the first store to open in the new shopping center. Hobby Lobby, Petco, Marshall’s and Ross will soon follow.

Charlie Auvermann, executive director of the Dawson County Development Authority, has said Kroger was being wooed by other counties and it was critical to the tax base to keep them here. “We wanted the location in Dawson for the convenience it will bring to our citizens and because it will bolster our overall commercial tax base,” he said.

The Georgia Department of Transportation had to agree to reconstruct the intersection before the plan to build Kroger could move forward.

 

 

Commissioners Approve Canopy Design for Government Center

Business, News

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Dawson County Commissioners approved the design for a new canopy to protect visitors to the Government Center during inclement weather, amended the county’s smoking ordinance and adopted a vacant and burned structure ordinance during Thursday’s voting session.

Commissioners chose Option 3 with a revision to be determined later for the canopy that will stretch from the handicap parking area at the rear of the facility to the front entrance. Approval was for the Rosser design only and the bid contract will still need to be approved. The canopy has a price tag between $167,300 to $270,228 depending on the options the Board chooses.

The new ordinance defines vacant commercial structures as those that have been unoccupied for 90 days and requires they be maintained in good repair.

The owner of a partially burned structure has 30 days after the completion of an investigation by the Fire Department and law enforcement or insurer to remove all refuse, debris and charred or partially burned material. If the structure is burned to an extent that can’t be repaired, the owner has 60 days to remove the remaining portion of the building. Penalty for violation of the ordinance is not less than $250 per day nor more than $1,000 per day. Each day that the violation continues after due notice is given is a separate violation.

Commissioners also amended the county smoking ordinance to read: No person shall smoke tobacco products or use electronic cigarettes or vape products on property owned, leased or operated by Dawson County.

In other action, commissioners:
⦁ Approved a request by Casey and Constance Tatum to rezone five acres from Residential Sub-Rural Manufactured/Moved to Residential Agriculture
⦁ Approved the 2016 Arbor Day Proclamation;
⦁ Tabled re-cosideration of a bid to replace the county’s servers until the May 5 meeting;
⦁ Approved a budget amendment for the District Attorney’s office to cover the expense of a murder trial;
⦁ Scheduled public hearings for consideration of the 2016 Land Use Plan for May 17, 2016 and May 19, 2016;
⦁ Approved the surplus list of 2016 vehicles and equipment;
⦁ Approved naming an unnamed county creek Logan Creek;
⦁ Approved an Etowah Water and Sewer agreement to allow residents to grow crops on property owned by that entity;
⦁ Approved a request by the Clerk of Courts Office to allow a budget amendment to cover a legal settlement in the amount of $4,950;
⦁ Appointed Charlie Auvermann to the Joint Development Authority Board.

All votes were 3-0 with Commissioner Sharon Fausett absent.

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