Mayor Grogan Appeals Removal from City Council
News May 19, 2017
Dawsonville Mayor James Grogan
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Dawsonville Mayor James Grogan has appealed his removal from office by the City Council.
On Monday, Dawsonville City Council voted 3-1, with Councilman Mike Sosebee opposed, to remove the mayor for alleged violations of the city code and charter.
On Wednesday, Grogan’s attorney Steven Leibel filed an appeal in the Superior Court of Dawson County.
Fetch Your News will have more details as they become available.
Chamber, Racing Hall of Fame and Dawsonville Distillery Review 2016 for City Council
News November 24, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — The Dawsonville City Council heard presentations from the Bill Elliott Dawsonville Distillery, Dawsonville History Museum and Chamber of Commerce during its work session Monday.
Council also considered its meeting schedule for 2017 and appointments and mayor and council board member designations.
Dawson Chamber of Commerce President Christie Haynes gave the Chamber presentation, outlining the organization’s structure and activities in 2016.
The Chamber now has 437 members and held 24 ribbon cuttings for new businesses like The Purple Corn Boutique, Turner and Pooch Grooming and Outside the Lines Art Studio this year. They also conducted seminars and activities to assist local businesses in maximizing productivity and profitability.
Haynes said the Chamber is planning to add one new employee soon and is currently working on plans to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2017.
Representatives of the Dawsonville Distillery said two new products were introduced in 2016 and there will be more releases in 2017. The business now has online sales through a third party and has hired one new ‘moonshiner’ They also are the presenting sponsor for KARE for Kids — an organization whose focus is providing opportunity for every child in Dawson County to have the Christmas they deserve — at the Moonshine Festival and the sponsor of No One Alone, a non-profit organization providing emergency shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence.
David Sosebee of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame (GRHOF) reported the facility is operating below budget and added, “We held 124 events this year, not including the holiday season that hasn’t begun yet. We’ve had visitors from 46 states and 12 countries including France, Germany, Russia and South Africa.”
Sosebee added that the GRHOF was featured in a CMT special this year and he said there is a major event coming up in January that should attract more visitors to Dawsonville.
“Raymond Parks will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame so we need to see what we can do to pull a little more traffic down here because this is a really big thing for Dawsonville. It should have happened many years ago but it will happen in January.”
Council also began preliminary discussion of a historic preservation overlay district ordinance.
City Imposes Moratorium on New Demolitions until 2017
News October 18, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — The Dawsonville City Council voted unanimously Monday to place a moratorium on the permitting of any demolition of a city building until Jan. 14, 2017.
The moratorium does not impact demolition already permitted. City Attorney Dana Miles said, “Anything currently permitted can move forward. But no new permits will be issued.”
Council also discussed a vendor ordinance to designate a place for mobile vendors to set up shop and to facilitate parking. Mayor Grogan pointed out, “We have a place for our farmer’s market but we need some place for mobile vendors too. Other cities have mobile food trucks and we need a place for them.” Council agreed to consider an ordinance and place it on the agenda for the next regular meeting, Nov. 7.
There was also discussion about drafting a Historic Preservation Ordinance Amendment to protect historic homes from demolition. Miles indicated that the City of Gainesville has a good ordinance that could serve as a model. “It should be part of a comprehensive policy. I would recommend you not take any action now, but give me time to draft an ordinance and put it on the agenda for Nov. 7.”
The mayor pointed out that there are many homes along Main Street that built in the 1930s and should be preserved.
Council also discussed adopting a tree ordinance. “This came up because of the demise of so many trees on Perimeter that have been subjected to clear cutting,” Grogan said. Items discussed during a work session can be voted on at the next regular meeting Nov. 7.
Mayor Grogan Elected to GMA Board of Directors
News July 8, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Dawsonville Mayor James Grogan was elected to the Georgia Municipal Association’s (GMA) Board of Directors at the organizations annual convention in Savannah on June 26.
GMA is an Atlanta-based voluntary, non-profit organization with a membership of 521 municipal governments, or about 99 percent of the state’s municipal population. Created in 1933, it provides legislative advocacy, educational, employee benefit and technical consulting services to its members.
The 63-member Board of Directors is made up of city officials who work with the Executive Director to govern GMA.
Grogan is a native of Dawsonville who was first elected to the Dawsonville City Council in November 2010 and appointed mayor in April 2012. He has a 40-year background in the wholesale hardware industry and has held many leadership positions and won many awards and certifications in those positions.
His vision for the city where he was born and raised revolves around a vital downtown that attracts and keeps new business, promotes tourism and enhances its shopping experience through locally-owned and operated business.
Robert Wiley, County Commission Candidate Dist. 2
News, Politics June 10, 2016
DAWSON COUNTY, Ga. — Dawson County is among the reddest of red counties in Georgia, if not the nation. Few can remember the last time a Democrat or independent was bold enough to even run for county commission here, much less win.
So, you might say that Robert J. Wiley, who is attempting to run as an independent against Republican Chris Gaines in the November General Election for Board of Commissioners in District 2, will have an uphill battle on his hands.
First, he will have to obtain more than 600 signatures on a nomination petition in the next three weeks to even become eligible to run. Then he will have to defeat a popular former Dawsonville City Councilman who has strong name recognition, a history of public service and who is battle tested.
But then, Wiley is no stranger to combat. He is a retired U.S. Army Major and a combat veteran with two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan under his belt. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Indiana, a Masters Degree in Public Administration From Weber University and is working on his PhD in Public Policy and Administration. He is currently a junior ROTC instructor at Dawson County High School.
Wiley says he is a Republican and would have run in the Republican Primary had he not missed the deadline due to working on his PhD.
He and his wife and three daughters have only lived in Dawson County for two years, but he says the people he has talked to feel they have been disenfranchised and want to have a strong voice in county government.
If he’s elected Wiley says his top priority is to oversee a healthy budget. “If the budget is out of whack you can’t do anything,” he said.
Another priority for Wiley is employee retention. “I believe our county employees are underpaid,” he said. “We can do better than what we’re doing. Also, the infrastructure must be maintained. New developments coming to the 400 corridor. I don’t want us to bring in retail businesses that put old established businesses out of business and leave us with a bunch of empty buildings. I’d like to see most of the retail businesses stay in the 400 cooridor. There are a lot of farms on the north side I dont want to see their farming way of life change.”
Chris Gaines Quest for County Commission Seat Not Over Yet
News, Politics June 10, 2016
DAWSON COUNTY, Ga. — Chris Gaines expressed disappointment Thursday that in order to reach his goal of becoming Dawson County’s District 2 Commissioner he may have to win one more election.
It was less than three weeks ago that Gaines, won a hotly-contested race over Tim Davis in the Republican Primary. Since no Democrat had qualified, it appeared Gaines would be headed to the swearing in ceremony in January. Then he discovered that Robert Wiley, a retired Army major, combat veteran and junior ROTC instructor at Dawson County High School, is attempting to meet the requirements to run as an independent in November.
To qualify, Wiley will have to obtain the signatures of 5 percent of Dawson County’s registered voters (about 661) on a nomination petition by July 1. He says he currently has more than 400.
“Obviously I’m disappointed,” Gaines said. “He has followed the rules, but he claims to be a Republican so he should have qualified to run in the Republican Primary election.”
Gaines said he reached out to Wiley and the two had lunch a week ago.
“I didn’t know him and I wanted to find out why he was running and why he didn’t run in the primary. He said he just missed the deadline and the elections office told him the only way he could run was to qualify as an independent.”
Gaines previously served on the Dawsonville City Council. “I’m dedicated to running for this seat,” he said. “I have a proven track record and I’m confident we will pull it out with my long history of leadership in the county. It will just take more time, effort and capital now.”