JANUARY 2022 NEWSLETTER

Dawsonville Profile

City News for the Residents of Dawsonville— JANUARY 2022

  Message from your Councilmember William Illg …….  

The New Year is upon us! At the beginning of each year, I like to make goals that help to focus my attention over the next several months. Maybe you’re an avid goal setter or maybe you haven’t set goals in a while. I would encourage you to think through some things you would like to accomplish this year. They can be in the areas of health, relationships, finances, spiritual, etc. I have goals in my professional life, personal life as well as goals for this great city. If it’s okay with you, I would like to share a few below…

• Construction of an Administrative Building for the city’s Public Works and Utilities Department in 2022. Did you know these departments work out of a warehouse without HVAC or an office? It looks like something from 1980. Our employees sometimes work over 24 hours straight in order to be ready for severe weather or winter storms!
   
• Increase the buffer for neighborhoods that are going to be developed in the future. It doesn’t make much sense that someone can have a minimum buffer of only ten feet between neighborhoods. I am asking the Council to double it and to make sure that it is an “undisturbed” buffer so all of our residents can still see woods when they look out their windows. 
   
• Hire a part-time or full-time Main Street Advisor for the City of Dawsonville. I want more Friday night food trucks, more special events and more collaborative events with businesses/non-profits within the City. As of right now, we do not have anyone at the City with the bandwidth to handle these massive events regularly. This has to change!

So, now that I’ve shared a few with you… feel free to email me some of your goals for our City, and together we can hopefully see them become a reality. I love being your Councilmember and I love the direction our City is headed. 

I am praying you have a wonderful, blessed and prosperous 2022! 

A  message from your City Manager Bob Bolz ……. 

Happy New Year – the City of Dawsonville wishes you and yours the very best in 2022!

Full depth reclamation paving of Main Street, Memory Lane, and Jack Heard Street is completed except for striping. The joint city/county paving of Howser Mill Road is nearing completion. The extensions to the Allen Street sidewalk is complete, connecting the Farmers Market to the sidewalk along Hwy. 53, Main Street Park, and the City Hall Complex. Plans are underway for adding shade to various locations within Main Street Park. Other additions to the park we are working on include construction of a basketball court, expansion of the skate park, the addition of pickleball courts and disc golf, and construction of the walkway/bridge to the library.

City personnel responded to the first serious winter weather of the year during the third weekend of January. The Public Works and Utilities Departments worked around the clock from Saturday night through Monday, ensuring roads were open and critical infrastructure for water and sewer were operational. Georgia Power provided 350 additional men to replace numerous broken   power poles and several hundred spans of power lines. Sawnee EMC and Amicalola EMC operated around the clock as well. 

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

John Tatum, Roads Equipment Operator

Our January spotlight falls on our newest Public Works Employee, John Tatum.  He and his Public Works teammates are responsible for everything related to streets, sidewalks, parks, cemeteries, stormwater, care of our city buildings and facilities. This department manages over 12 miles of roadways, which includes keeping the roads safely open, clean and in good shape, even during these challenging winter months that bring snow and any other severe weather. They maintain over 10 miles of sidewalk, take care of both cemeteries, the Farmers Market, Wallace Park and Main Street Park. They also care for the City Hall building complex, that includes the GA Racing Hall of Fame and City Hall. They work with HOA’s to install speed bumps, speed limits, directional signs and other tasks needed to protect our residents.   

John was born and raised in Dawsonville and has lived here all his life.  He enjoys driving through the mountains with his girlfriend  of two years, Skylar.  We are proud to have John as part of the Public Works team and as a part of our City of Dawsonville staff.